I’ve been blogging for more than 4 1/2 years but I’ve never shared a Christmas front door using my hanging basket. I know that I’ve shared this hanging basket a lot but I just can’t help it. It’s so incredibly easy to change out for the different seasons. Who doesn’t need easy in their life, right?

Add holiday color and style to your front door by creating a simple DIY Christmas front door basket, with berries and black buffalo check ribbon.

Last year I used it and went super simple with a bunch of greens in it from the yard. This year I decided to add a bit more thought to it. It’s still very simple but it’s just a bit more put together than a bunch of clipped greens. 

My inspiration for this year’s Christmas front door was a trio of hanging bells that I ordered online a few months ago. I also wanted to use a pretty black and white checked ribbon that’s been added throughout other rooms in the cottage this year. 

Create a simple DIY Christmas front door basket, with just a few supplies, to add holiday color to your front door.

Affiliate links used. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Supplies for a DIY Christmas Front Door Basket

  • Hanging basket – World Market (I can’t find it on their website anymore)
  • Floral foam – Hobby Lobby
  • Black and white checked ribbon – Etsy (affiliate link)
  • Faux pine stems and berry stems – Hobby Lobby
  • Hanging bells – Amazon (affiliate link)
  • Floral wire – Hobby Lobby
  • Wire cutters

The well-used floral foam needed to be replaced so I cut a new block in half and stuck it in the basket.

Create this simple DIY Christmas front door basket to add holiday color to your front door.

Next, I added 4 pine stems to the back of the basket and 3 berry stems in front.

When I pick out the faux stems that I’m going to use for a project I try to look for the most realistic I can find. I also try to stick with one or two varieties, this time berries and pine. You can certainly use more but I like to keep it simple. 

How to create a simple DIY Christmas front door basket, with a few supplies, to add holiday color to your front door.

Once I was satisfied with the placement of the faux stems, I tied my ribbon around the basket, getting as close to the top as possible. 

From past experience I knew that the ribbon would probably try to slide down so I used a couple pieces of floral wire, in inconspicuous spots, to secure it to the basket.

How to make a simple DIY Christmas front door basket to add holiday color to your front door.

The last step was to add the bells. They aren’t very heavy but they did add a little bit of weight. To attach them securely, I tied all 3 to the basket with more floral wire, trying my best to keep all of the wire hidden under the ribbon.

Create a simple DIY Christmas front door basket with bells to add holiday color to your front door.

The whole project took about 15 minutes to make. Very simple, but it adds a bit of Christmas color to the front door.

Creating a simple DIY Christmas front door basket, with bells and black buffalo check ribbon, to add holiday color to your front door.

The wooden clappers in the bells make such a nice sound when the door opens and closes.

Did you know that was the name of it? I had to look it up.

Gotta love Google. 😉

How to create a simple DIY Christmas front door basket, with bells and black buffalo check ribbon, to add holiday color and style to your front door.

The bells are pretty big but I think the size of the basket and the height of the berries and pine stems balances them out. 

I love how it turned out.

I really love it with my new door (and paint color).

Creating a simple DIY Christmas front door basket, with berries and black buffalo check ribbon, to add holiday color and style to your front door.

How do you decorate your front door for the holidays? 

DIY Christmas Front Door BasketA simple DIY Christmas front door basket to add holiday color and style to your front door.

 

 

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Last week was a crazy week, with all of the fall home tours, but today is a new day and it’s all about the Thrifty Style Team. I shared my fall home tour last week but I’m not quite through sharing all my fall decor. Today I thought I’d share this quick and easy fall centerpiece that I made with a thrifted antique mirror. 

Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom to check out all of the Thrifty Style Team projects.

A quick and easy fall centerpiece made with an antique mirror and wood feet. An inexpensive way to add fall color and style to your table.

I’d like to tell you that I put hours of thought into this one but…nope.  This one just came about by accident. The hubs took me estate sale(ing) over the weekend for my birthday and I found this cool antique mirror for just a couple of bucks. Love a good deal!

A simple fall centerpiece made with an antique mirror and wood feet. An inexpensive way to add fall color and style to your table.

I brought it home and placed it on the kitchen table to keep it safe.

Trying to clean up the kitchen island (a never ending process) I moved all of my pumpkins on to the mirror. 

That was all it took. An idea was born…

I didn’t have time for a big project so I decided to tweak the mirror to see if my idea worked. It did need a little stability to keep it level so I picked up a pack of wood feet (candle cups) from the craft store to make feet (my only purchase). 

Easy fall centerpiece with pumpkins

I didn’t like the natural color of the “feet”, so I used some dark walnut stain I had in my stash. Not quite the look I was going for either, so I pulled out my gold Rub ‘n Buff and…well…rubbed it on. I loved the aged brass look from the stain and the gold. 

A simple fall centerpiece with an antique mirror and candle cups.

Next I added a small piece of velcro to each “foot”. I’ll probably hang the mirror at some point, which is why I bought it, so the legs are only temporary. I did consider adding handles but decided that they really weren’t necessary. After all, this is supposed to be a quick project. Who needs handles? 😉

fall centerpiece velcro and candle cup

The only thing left to do was to arrange the pumpkins. Easy fall centerpiece in a jiffy, and for just a few dollars. Not something you’ll find on everyone’s table, but it fits right in here at the cottage. 

A quick and simple fall centerpiece made with an antique mirror and wood feet. An inexpensive way to add fall color and style to your table.

A simple fall centerpiece made with an antique mirror and wood feet. A quick and inexpensive way to add fall color and style to your table.

A simple fall centerpiece made with an antique mirror, wood feet and lots of pumpkins. A quick and inexpensive way to add fall color and style to your table.

An easy and simple fall centerpiece made with an antique mirror, wood feet and lots of pumpkins. A quick and inexpensive way to add fall color and style to your table.


Now it’s time to see what the other ladies of the Thrifty Style Team are up to this month. It’s always so much fun checking out all of their creative thrifty finds. 

Create a simple fall centerpiece with a thrifted antique mirror, wood feet and lots of pumpkins.

 

 

 

I’ve been feeling craft lately and also made an easy hoop front door wreath (complete with video!). You can check it out here.

Create a simple fall hoop wreath for your front door with just a few supplies. Plus there's a video.Simple DIY Fall Front Door Wreath

 

You can also find me at Between Naps on the Porch, Worthing Court, Savvy Southern Style, French Country Cottage

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If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, then you know that every season I whip up an easy DIY wreath for our front door. I don’t want to disappoint, so we’re continuing the tradition with a simple fall front door wreath. I also made a video so make sure you check it out at the end of the post, along with the winner of the velvet pumpkin trio.

A simple DIY fall front door wreath made with an embroidery hoop and faux flowers.

I’ve had a love affair with my hanging basket for the past several seasons (you can see some of my creations here and here). This time I thought I’d ditch the basket and really change it up with something that is very simple in design.

Not only is the design simple but it was also very easy to make, with just a few supplies. Perfect for me because I get distracted easily if I’m doing anything complicated.

So let’s get right to the supply list and how-to.

Supplies to create a simple fall front door wreath

  • embroidery hoop (I used a 14″)
  • wood stain (I used dark walnut)
  • foam brush
  • faux sunflowers (or any fall flower)
  • wheat bunch (I used blackbeard wheat)
  • floral wire
  • wire cutters
  • feathers (optional – I chose not to use them in the tutorial)

Create a simple DIY fall front door wreath with an embroidery hoop, wheat and faux flowers.

To start my wreath, I separated the 2 pieces of embroidery hoop. I was going to use the inner hoop but the sticker left a residue and I couldn’t remove it. 

Next, I stained the hoop. I wanted to warm up the wood so I chose my favorite color, dark walnut. 

Create a simple DIY fall front door wreath with a stained embroidery hoop, wheat and faux flowers.

After the stain dried, I started assembling my wreath.

Using an embroidery hoop to create a simple DIY fall front door wreath.

The wheat stems were pretty long so I used my floral clippers to cut some of the length. I didn’t count how much was in each bunch, I just eyeballed it. Remember, we’re keeping it simple.

I split the wheat in half so both ends of the wheat had “flowers”. 

Next I took two pieces of the floral wire and tied the wheat together. 

Using wheat to create a simple DIY fall front door wreath.

Adding tied wheat to an embroidery hoop to create a simple DIY fall front door wreath.

After I tied the wheat together, I took 2 more pieces of wire and attached it to the hoop. 

Attaching wheat to an embroidery hoop with floral wire to create a simple DIY fall front door wreath.

Are you still with me?

Now it was time to add the sunflowers. First, I cut each one down so that the stems were short. Then I wrapped a long piece of floral wire around the stem. 

Attaching sunflowers to an embroidery hoop with floral wire to create a simple DIY fall front door wreath.

After I wired all 3 flowers, I attached them on top of the wheat and around the hoop. 

Attaching wheat and sunflowers to an embroidery hoop with floral wire to create a simple DIY fall front door wreath.

I go into most projects with an idea of what I want to do, but I’m never really sure how it’s going to look until I’m done. This one came out a bit different but I liked the asymmetrical look so I decided to hang it that way.

Not an easy thing to do. Well, once we figured it out it was easy to hang but it took us a few tries to get it right.

Since I couldn’t use a traditional wreath hanger, I went with my old standby…jute twine. 2 pieces to get this simple fall front door wreath to hang just so.

I didn’t use the feathers in my tutorial but just stuck them in by the sunflowers to see how they looked. I actually liked it better without.

Not my usual front door decor, but it’s a nice change.

I’ve decorated the front porch for fall and I can’t wait to share it with you. It has turned out to be my favorite space in the cottage to decorate for fall.

How’s your fall decorating coming along?


Want to see my quick how-to? Check out the video. 

A super simple DIY fall front door wreath that you can make in no time with an embroidery hoop, faux sunflowers and wheat.

I’ve also decorated the cottage simply this year. You can check out my whole house fall tour, here. 

Welcome Fall Home Tour

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I try to decorate our front door according to the seasons and holidays but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Just last month I wanted to change the spring front door basket for something patriotic for Memorial Day and never got around to it.

I wasn’t going to let the 4th of July come and go without some red, white and blue on the front door so I decided to do an easy American flag display using my trusty hanging basket. 

Add a bit of red, white and blue to your front door with this easy American flag display using a hanging basket, floral foam and flags.

This is a quick and easy craft (typical for me) and it only cost $1 a piece for 14 flags. 

Supplies for American Flag Display for the Front Door

  • hanging basket (World Market)
  • floral foam
  • 13, 12×18 American flags (I got mine at Walmart)
  • utility knife

Add a bit of patriotic flair to your front door with this easy American flag display using a hanging basket, floral foam and flags.

As always, with the crafts I do, I went into this without a plan. I started by placing the flags here and there in the basket to see what I wanted to do. Once I took a look, I decided that I wanted to place them at different levels so you could see them all. In order to do that, I had to cut down the sticks of a few of the flags. 

Add a bit of red, white and blue to your front door with this quick and easy American flag display using a hanging basket and flags.

It’s a pretty big basket so I ended up using 13 of the 14 flags (I didn’t want to use too many 😉 ). It took a few minutes to get them placed just so, but the floral foam helped to keep them in place.

Add a bit of red, white and blue to your front door with this quick and easy American flag display using a hanging basket and flags.

Once the flags were placed, I tried a red and white ribbon around the basket. It was ok but I decided that simpler was best. The focus is the flags, as it should be. 

Add a bit of red, white and blue to your front door with this quick and easy American flag display using a hanging basket, floral foam and flags.

It’s definitely a large display but I think that if I would have gone any smaller with the flags, they would have gotten lost in the basket.

Once 4th of July and Labor Day have passed, I’ll remove the flags and store them away until next year. That’s why I love this basket. It’s so versatile and easy to change with the seasons.
Add a bit of red, white and blue to your front door with this easy American flag display in a hanging basket.

Thanks so much for stopping in!

This hanging basket gets a ton of use. Check out a few different ways that I’ve used it for different seasons.

Make this easy summer front door basket in just a few minutes with faux hydrangeas.Summer Front Door Basket

Make this pretty forsythia basket to add a bit of spring to your front door.

Spring Forsythia Front Door Basket

 

You can also find me at Between Naps on the Porch, Worthing Court, Savvy Southern Style, French Country Cottage

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DIY Wood Sign in the Kitchen

A couple of supplies and a few minutes are all you need to make this easy DIY wood sign for the kitchen or any room in your home.

In my last post I shared my new kitchen light and hinted about the one last project I had for this space. It’s a DIY wood sign that is hanging over my kitchen sink and I think it’s the perfect finishing touch for my space.

I’ve known that I wanted to hang something in this spot since we moved in and I’ve been searching, but haven’t found anything that fit.

A few supplies and a few minutes are all you need to make this easy DIY wood sign for the kitchen or any space in your home.

One day it hit me…”Helllloooo? Aren’t you all about DIY?”

“Why yes…yes, I am!”

I could make my own and get the perfect size.

It just so happened that I had a piece of barn wood that I got from an estate sale for $2. I hadn’t used it for any other projects because it was badly warped and falling apart. I thought I’d give it a shot and, if it didn’t work because the condition of the wood, I would get another piece and try again.

DIY Wood Sign for the Kitchen

Supplies to make a DIY wood sign

  • piece of wood cut to size (I used old barn wood)
  • stencil (or make your own)
  • paint
  • brush
  • sandpaper
  • picture hangers

I would usually go DIY all the way but there were a few issues to deal with that lead me to break down and buy a stencil.

The first problem was that the wood was rough and flaky with a very uneven surface. I did try to use individual stencils that I already had but, because of the condition of the wood, I couldn’t get them straight. I also have very shaky hands so doing any of it freehand was just not going to work.

So I bit the bullet and I bought a stencil on Etsy. There’s a ton of sellers who offer these and most will customize them to the size you need.

DIY Wood Sign for the Kitchen

Once I had my customized stencil, my sign came together very quickly.

I centered the stencil, using some painter’s tape to keep everything straight, and started to paint.

It took 11 minutes to do the whole thing. That’s it!

After I was done painting, I carefully removed the stencil and let the paint dry.

Once dry, I went over some of the letters with fine sand paper, just to give it more of a rustic look.

Then I added the picture hangers and hung it up.

A couple of supplies are all you need to make this easy DIY wood sign for the kitchen or any room in your home.

So easy! A couple of supplies and a few minutes are all you need to make this rustic DIY wood sign for the kitchen or any space in your home.

I wasn’t sure how my sign would hang with the board being warped, but I think it’s ok. After all, it’s supposed to be rustic, right?

So easy! A couple of supplies and a few minutes are all you need to make this rustic DIY wood sign for the kitchen or any room in your home.

So easy! A couple of supplies are all you need to make this rustic DIY wood sign for the kitchen or any room in your home.

Now that the DIY wood sign is hung, I can officially call the kitchen done.

What kind of project are you working on right now?

 

Check out a couple more projects I’ve completed to put this space together.

DIY open shelving in the kitchen using barn wood and inexpensive shelf brackets.DIY Open Shelving in the Kitchen

 

Painting window frames black to give a space rustic farmhouse charm.Painted Black Window Frames

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We used to enjoy the tradition of dyeing Easter eggs with our girls when they were growing up. Without fail, the Saturday before Easter we would grab our store bought kit and all sit down for an hour of dip dyeing fun. 

The girls are out on their own now so it’s been years since we dyed Easter eggs. I’ve missed our tradition of dyeing eggs, so this year I set out to do a dozen just for fun. No store bought kit for me this time though, I wanted to try doing it the natural way. Years ago I’d read about using red cabbage to dye eggs, so I picked up a large head and a dozen white eggs from the grocery store and got cooking.

Coloring Easter eggs a beautiful robin's egg blue with red cabbage. It's one of those easy and inexpensive DIY ideas for decorating dyed eggs naturally. | Chatfield Court

There are so many foods and spices that you can use to dye eggs but I was going for simple, and I really wanted robin’s egg blue Easter eggs, so I just went with red cabbage this time.

Natural Dye Supplies for Easter Eggs

  • large head red cabbage
  • dozen hard boiled eggs
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 tbsp. white vinegar
  • pinch baking soda (optional)

The first step is to make the hard boiled eggs. Everybody has their own tried-and-true method of doing this so we won’t cover that this time.

While the eggs were cooking, I prepared the red cabbage by chopping it up and putting it in a large pot with 4 cups of water. 

Dye Easter eggs naturally with red cabbage | Chatfield Court

I brought the water to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

How to dye Easter eggs naturally with red cabbage | Chatfield Court

After 15 minutes, I took it off the stove and let it cool. Once it was cool, I strained out all of the cabbage so I was only left with liquid.

Next I added 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the strained liquid. 

Two glasses were filled with dye, and I was ready to color my Easter eggs.

How to dye Easter eggs naturally with red cabbage and vinegar | Chatfield Court

I’d never done Easter eggs this way before so I did a bit of testing to see how long the eggs needed to stay in the dye. In using red cabbage, I found that it takes a while for the eggs to turn color. My eggs were left in the dye for as little as 30 minutes and for as long as 12 hours to get different shades of blue. 

How to color Easter eggs a beautiful robin's egg blue with red cabbage. It's one of those easy and inexpensive DIY ideas for decorating dyed eggs naturally. | Chatfield Court I loved the variation in color I got and the robin’s egg blue was just what I was going for. The hubs had never heard of dying eggs with red cabbage so he was amazed that they turned blue. 

How you can color Easter eggs a beautiful robin's egg blue with red cabbage. It's one of those easy and inexpensive DIY ideas for decorating dyed eggs naturally. | Chatfield CourtTips on how you can color Easter eggs a beautiful robin's egg blue with red cabbage. It's one of those easy and inexpensive DIY ideas for decorating dyed eggs naturally. | Chatfield CourtBecause I can’t leave well enough alone, I did a little experiment with baking soda. I’d read somewhere online that adding a pinch will help the egg turn color faster and will change the intensity of the color.

You can see the difference in the color of the dye in the glasses. The glass on the left, with the lighter liquid, has no baking soda in it and the glass on the right, which is darker, had a pinch or two of baking soda. 

Dye Easter eggs naturally with red cabbage and vinegar | Chatfield CourtI kept one egg in each glass for the same amount of time but didn’t see any difference in the color. Either way, they are beautiful.. 

I’m so glad I spent the time to dye a dozen eggs. It brought back wonderful memories of Easter’s with our girls. 

How to color Easter eggs a beautiful robin's egg blue with a head of red cabbage. It's one of those easy and inexpensive DIY ideas for decorating dyed eggs naturally. | Chatfield Court

Have you ever used food to dye Easter eggs?

Thanks so much for stopping in. I hope you have a great week.

Happy Easter!!!

 

Check out these other easy spring crafts …

An easy but pretty spring forsythia front door basket to brighten up the entrance of your home. | Chatfield Court

Spring Forsythia Front Door Basket

DIY chalk painted mason jars turned spring planter for your kitchen window | Chatfield Court. DIY Spring Mason Jar Planters

 

You can also find me at Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, A Stroll Thru Life, Worthing Court, Savvy Southern Style, French Country Cottage

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