Fall Porch Reveal

All of the projects are done and it's time to reveal my decorated fall front porch. This year I went with a fall theme instead of our traditional Halloween pirate theme. Husband and I aren't feeling skeletons and ghosts since our one eyed pirate dog Captain Blitzkrieg isn't here to pilot our ship this year.

That's why we're going with Fall y'all.

Sorry, can't help it. It rhymes.

I did the new fall porch decorations for under $20 because I remade and reused what I had on hand.

Let's break it down.

Quick and Easy Butter Maple Shea Butter Soap

I love handcrafted soap but figured I shouldn't jump into another hobby that requires so much new equipment, is stinky, and makes a ton of stuff we may or may not like cold process soap. 

Then I found handmade glycerin soap. I can make small amounts if need be and play with scents, colors, and additives more easily - that’s my favorite part. 

Let's give it a whirl.

I bought my soap making supplies from Consumer Crafts and may have gotten a little carried away while I was shopping.   I made an unboxing video to show you what I got in my order because my $50 budget went a very long way. Yay! Now I have extra supplies to make Christmas gifts.

I did a little comparison shopping at Michael's yesterday. Can I just say woo to the hoo for Consumer Crafts bigger selection and lower prices?

How to Color Natural Shea Butter Soap With Kitchen Spices

Fall Drop Cloth Garland

This year I’m going with more autumn fall decorations for our porch instead of Halloween garlands and ghouls. I’m also trying to use what I have on hand with a few little extras here and there. Not only is that greener and cheaper but it will also help me clear a bit of leftover the fabric I have stored in my craft room from my costuming days. High fives all around!

I like the garland décor I see all over Pinterest. I think strings of orange pennant flags over the windows and door will be festive. To tie the bunting flags in with the drop cloth house flag I made, I moved into an urban country chic decorating direction (I hope) and made a cloth garland from the leftover orange and drop cloth fabric. Waste not and all that.

If you are looking for a plastic free decorating idea, this one’s for you!

Barnwood Speaker Shelves

Its funny how one little DIY project like painting an accent wall turns into a tumble of DIY projects like installing a TV wall mount, updating the fireplace surround with paint, and now building barn wood shelves for the surround sound speakers. It is like eating Terra Chips around here. I can’t eat just one.

During the mounting the flat screen TV project I did as part of Husband’s birthday present, I originally wanted the surround sound speaker placement to be on the back wall around the TV for optimal sound. I realized I have more TV than TV niche wall space. Plan B: make surround sound shelves from the reclaimed wood I rescued from a broken fence.

Learn how to build these reclaimed wood display shelves. It's easy. Promise.

I feel like I should almost apologies for having a flat TV, surround sound, and TV components because in  having a TV, let alone cable and a video game system is pooh-poohed in eco circles. I’m going to address it but I’m not going to apologize for it.