Our No-Cost, Crafty, Wintery Outside Decor

Welcome to Number Fifty-Three!  I usually don't do a lot of outside decorating at this time of year. One, because we don't have outside outlets so I can't plug in lights, and two, because sometimes it snows so much up here in New England that everything gets buried anyway.

However, this past weekend my husband and I put up a few wintry touches to welcome guests.  And guess what? We spent $0 to do it!

First thing I started with was a fresh evergreen wreath.  I began with a plain grapevine wreath that I had in storage and tucked in small branches of pine until I got a look I was pleased with. (I used the same method to make this wreath as I did my bittersweet wreath seen here.)

Instead of using ribbon, I tied it up with several long lengths of twine. We always have it on hand, not only for craft and decorating purposes, but also to bundle branches when we're cleaning up the yard.  My husband secured the twine to the back of our storm door. (I won't show you how, as it's not super pretty, as it may or may not involve duct tape.)

Next, I tucked more pine branches, twigs and pine cones into a galvanized bucket.  I've probably had this bucket for close to 15 years and I use it all over my house. It's something that is such a good investment and so classic.

The pine cones and twigs were collected in our neighborhood. 

And, I have a fantastic tip for getting all the pine branches at no cost.  Something I do daily is check out the free listings on our local craigslist website.  Someone in a nearby town had cut some pine trees down and, instead of hauling it all away, cut the branches into reasonable sizes and advertised them for Christmas decorating.  I was all over that listing!  I got enough to decorate the inside and outside of my home without even making a dent in their pile.  I am totally loving tucking in these pine branches all over my home!

Do you recognize the cranberry garland?  It's the simple one I made using my leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving.  You can see the original post here.  All I did was remove the bay leaves and drape it on my arrangement. I'm curious to see if the birds will come and eat the berries!

 

 

 

 

Just so you all know, I am pretty much always enamored with the projects that Cassie from Primitive & Proper creates.  Here picket fence signs were no exception.  You can check out her awesome version here.  I created mine from part of an old fence that was had previously been up in our backyard.  We already had the black and white exterior paint on had to touch up the trim on our home.  I simply painted the picket white and then added my word.  When everything had dried I distressed it with a sanding block. Super easy!

 



 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my DIY outside décor!  If you missed my front entry post you can check it out here.

 

 

 

Plus, in addition to the usual places that I link up weekly I will also be sharing this post at the 'Tis the Season 2012 Holiday Link Party!

 

 



I literally am so giddy over being included with all these fabulous bloggers!  I'll even be hosting a Christmas tree party on December 22!  But first, on December 12th Laura from The Ironstone Nest (one of my fav. blogs ever) will be hosting an outdoor decoration party. Be sure to stop over for all the inspiration and fun!

 

 

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