Category: Fall Decor

Simplify NOW for Holiday Season

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The calendar doesn’t lie, we are heading into the Holiday season fast and furious!  With the hustle and bustle of the holidays comes stress and chaos. Say Yes to Less now and simplify your life so the holidays are less stressful.  This will allow to enjoy more time with friends and family. …and isn’t that what the holiday season is really all about?

5 ideas to help you start decluttering BEFORE the holiday season takes over:

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  1. Holiday Decorations.  Throughout different stages of our life, our decorating needs change as does our taste in decor.  Have you recently become an empty nester?  Donate the kid-focused decorations to Goodwill and try a new color scheme. Your local Goodwill Store is also a great place to start your new holiday decor collection; or if you are crafty, look in the aisles of Goodwill for things you can paint or #repurpose or #upstyle and make your own.  Just got married?  Time to start building your holiday decor collection!  Be sure to only keep what fits in your storage space.

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  1. The Kitchen.  Ask yourself how many things in your kitchen you really use.  If you haven’t used the turkey platter in 20 years, donate it to Goodwill and free up room in your kitchen.  Have a set of holiday dishes you love, but are missing a few pieces? Goodwill is a fantastic place to search for those random pieces to complete your collection.

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  1. Kids Stuff.  Now is the time to go through all the toys and games and pare down by donating gently-used toys to Goodwill.  Why not brighten someone’s day when they find that treasure you’ve donated?  Since I know many of you will have a ton of this kind of donation, here is a helpful tip:  did you know you can also use a Goodwill Drive-Thru to get help with unloading?

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  1. Closets.  As you change your closets over for the new season, it is the perfect time to access those out-of-season things.  Did you wear it over the summer?  Is it showing signs of wear?  Donate what you don’t love and what doesn’t get worn to Goodwill.  And when you are filling your closet with your current season clothing, make a shopping list of the things that are missing.  Maybe you don’t have a scarf or mittens to match your winter coat?. When you are at Goodwill donating, take a look to see if you find something perfect to add to your closet!    

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  1. Garage. Over the summer, we all drop things in the garage when we’re busy having fun during the warmer months.  Now that the weather is changing, clean up that clutter!  Bring in all the outdoor planters and pots, organize all of the storage areas in your garage and fill your car with those things you really don’t need cluttering up your garage…and donate them to Goodwill.  In the Spring, you will be so happy you did this now!

Say Yes to Less and have a less stressful holiday season!

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Fall Wreaths that Wow

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I have just been loving our style features this year especially when it comes to Fall decorating. I hope you didn’t miss our gathering of Halloween decorating ideas as well as fun items to upcycle for your Fall decorating needs! 
Today I want to talk about dressing up a doorway, mirror, window, wall, or frame in your house. Ever since I began piecing together my first wreath for holiday-giving when I was in high school, I have really appreciated the beauty of a well-dressed door. It doesn’t have to cost a lot to create a beautiful wreath and I have a stunning collection to share with you today of unexpected ways to decorate. 
Just as a reminder, Goodwill often has donated wreaths and various floral decor that is donated. It’s a great place to start gathering items for your wreath projects and it is always a fun place to check for an unexpected detail. 

Dye Flowers to Match Your Style

Never ever feel limited by the colors you might find at your Goodwill Store because chances are really great that you can utilize a product like Rit Dye or even items in your pantry to achieve the colors you are after. Songbird Blog shows you how she utilized tea to stain white roses into the natural hues she was after. I love this so much that I can’t wait to try it on a wreath of my own! 

Fake an Expensive Wreath (Inexpensively)

One of a decorator’s best kept secrets is the ability to achieve full wreaths without spending a lot of money by simply stacking them together. I did this one year with Christmas greenery wreaths by wiring the two together to create the optical illusion of an expensive wreath. Ella Claire shows you how to wire two wreaths together to do this with two thin wreaths to make a full and visually stunning wreath for your front door. Consider buying not one, but two wreaths to create the look you are after! 

Add Charming Detail to a Pie

Wreaths don’t just have to be on doors, in fact, imagine adding a wreath detail to a wrapped gift or homemade treat. Proper shows you how she takes a beautiful homemade pie to another level altogether with a quick handmade wreath detail to shape over it. What hostess wouldn’t be wowed by this charming pie? Be sure to check Goodwill’s housewares section for beautiful pie tins that you can place your pies in for gift-giving! 

Add Unexpected Texture

Wreaths don’t need to boring and flat, in fact, some of the most beautiful wreaths incorporate fluffy feathers, burlap textures, felted details, and yarn. One of my favorite projects I have done for my own home was to replicate a ridiculously expensive Anthropologie pom-pom wreath into a beautifully affordable handmade detail for our home. You can get the scoop on how I made this with some inexpensive yarn and a few Netflix binges. I still count this as one of our favorite things in our home and love its cozy warmth all year-round!
 

Skip the Wreath, Try a Basket

Not everyone is an arranger of wreaths so I love the idea of adding that floral detail with a basket instead of a wreath form. Four Generations One Roof adds a beautiful floral decoration in a small basket that hangs on her door. Luckily for you, Goodwill always has loads of baskets to choose from that can be spray painted or left natural for your door decorating needs. How fun is that?

Feed the Birds With Beauty

I can’t even begin to tell you how inspired I am by this beautiful bird seed wreath made at Study At Home Mama created with her kiddos for their birds. What a thoughtful project to partner with learning about wildlife or for a day of bird-watching. I hope to try making one of these with my kids this winter for our birds!

Add a Pop of Color

There is nothing I love more than a vibrant pop of color with an unexpected texture and The Wood Grain Cottage achieves both with this beautiful apple wreath. I love how she weaves in natural elements to fill out the holes around these apples to create a cohesive piece. This would be one apple gift that a teacher really would love too when thinking of gift-giving for the holiday season. Be sure to check the store for a wreath form that you can repurpose from Goodwill. 

Get Back to Nature

Don’t want to spend a lot to create the perfect wreath? Consider hunting around the backyard for the perfect materials. House Full of Handmade made this incredible wreath out of her neighbor’s castaways when they had a tree cut down. I love the idea of filling in these details with a little moss from the craft store!  Be sure to head to her blog to see how she secured these heavy materials! 

I hope these ideas inspire you to get crafting for your own front door! Be sure to leave us a comment and let us know your favorite ways to dress a doorway! 

7 Easy Upcycle Projects for Fall

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Do you love decorating for Fall as much as I do? Of all the seasons, this one is my favorite and I love that you don’t have to spend a lot to make a beautiful impact on your home during this season. Nature brings so many free and fun elements to your home decorating. Pairing these with a few simple upcycle DIY’s, you don’t have to spend a lot to make your space cozy and beautiful.

Today I want to share with you seven easy upcycle projects you can try to make yourself and your home cozy for Fall. These projects were selected with your Goodwill shopping in mind and should be easy to execute with some commonly found items at our store!

Transform Book Pages Into a Wreath

Book page projects are always my favorite and I just love this easy DIY Paper Leaf Wreath created by Nalle’s House as a whimsical element of decor to a door or window in your home. I particularly love that she uses a fallen leaf as a template to create a rustic feel to the wreath and the addition of fallen acorns really embrace the natural elements of autumn.

Turn Sweaters Into Cozy Legwarmers

Living in Indiana, a girl can never have too many layers in the colder months. I love a good legwarmer or boot cuff to add a touch of color and warmth to my wardrobe. Lucky for you, sweaters are available in every color of the rainbow at Goodwill. As Svetlana HillKovich Photography explains in her easy tutorial, this is a simple no-sew project since no one will ever see what’s lurking underneath your boots if you don’t feel like making a finished edge. So cute AND easy!

Add a Little Pottery Barn Style

Wouldn’t we all just love to fill our homes with everything from Pottery Barn? I know I would, but just can’t justify the expense especially when it comes to simple seasonal decor. Live Laugh Rowe replicates these elegant mason jars filled with seasonal filler and votives for families on a budget. Glass jars are always something I can snag at my store and filler for these can be purchased at your local craft store (with a great coupon, of course!) 

Create a Book Page Pumpkin

I am always looking for thrifty seasonal touches to add to my bookcases and shelves. Consider making a simple book page pumpkin out of a book from Goodwill and finish it with a little twine and twig to complete the rustic look. If you select books in different sizes, you could create a beautiful coffee table display for your home! Check out this easy step-by-step tutorial from Red Ember to create one of these (or ten!) for your own home! 

Add a Fall Touch to a Mug

It is rare that I stop in the store and can’t find a few white mugs for my DIY projects. I have transformed many a mug into a beautiful gift and I love the idea of adding a fall touch to these Goodwill treasures with a simple stencil. Since these are a rub-on transfer (versus a permanent paint transfer) consider using these as a place to tuck your toothbrushes, to fill with a treat for a teacher, or plant a little succulent to place next to a kitchen window! You can get the scoop on this easy stenciled mug over on Callaloo Soup. 

Add Simple Details to a Faux Pumpkin

Although I love a glitzy pumpkin, my eye is drawn to these simple Baker’s Twine pumpkins because they create such a beautiful detail with such pretty lines. If you aren’t crafty, this is the perfect DIY project for you and just requires a little wrapping of twine to complete. This project is so easy, you can enlist your kids to help you!  Check out Design Improvised to see how to create these for your own home. 

Add a Tassel Detail to a Cozy Throw

I am absolutely nuts about tassels and how they can transform anything from clutches to necklaces to pretty trims. A basic vintage throw from Goodwill can be taken up so many notches with a beautiful tassel detail. Design Sponge shows you how beautiful this detail can be in cozy neutrals for the fall season. I’m dying to replicate this project for our home, aren’t you? Get the easy tutorial over here today! 

What is your favorite upcycle project that you have done for Fall? Feel free to leave your ideas in our comments below!