Sunday, November 25, 2012

Front Porch Winter Display With FREE Greenery

Sheeewww! What a busy Thanksgiving break. I got a LOT done but still have a lot to do.....probably like everyone else. We're just getting started with the Christmas/Winter season so there are plenty of posts coming your way now that I am getting back into the swing of things after Thanksgiving.
 
I was up for two days straight as I went from Thanksgiving dinners straight into black Friday shopping at midnight then on into the morning at 6am and didn't stop until about 2:00pm Friday afternoon, then had to be at our 3rd Thanksgiving dinner at 6pm Friday evening. I was exhausted and took it easy Saturday.

Today I had more energy and  spent time working on some projects that I will reveal one by one throughout the next week.
Here is one of the projects I worked on today.......our front porch.
You know me...I am a thrifty chick so I knew that I wanted to ultimately create a warm and welcoming front porch without spending much any money, so here is what I put together.
For starters, I picked up some FREE pine clippings from HD. Tip of the day......the hardware stores have to clip the bottom of the trees to shape them so they have a PILE of pine branches sitting in a bin for the public to take. It is their TRASH but YOUR treasure! As we all know, fresh winter greenery can be costly, but HELLO! They are throwing it away so why not do them you a favor and take if off of their hands for them! :)
So this is what I did. I helped them out LOL


Gasp! ....What a waste! I just HAD to help them out with their trash problem. LOL


I could have taken more but this will work for now. I didn't want to be too obvious or look greedy.




And this is what I used for my project......FREE greenery and FREE burlap from the hardware store, FREE wood from my house, and FREE pine cones from my neighbor-not pictured.
(I helped her out too!) LOL












If you follow my Thrifty Finds posts you may remember when I found this really cool galvanized tub at the local thrift store and I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for...until now!



Here is the bucket  put together with the wood, evergreen clippings, pine cones and burlap ribbon. Since I was going with a rustic feel, I decided to add a simple "Welcome" message to the front of the bucket by freehand with a Sharpie, to welcome guests up to our front door.



Then, on the other side of the porch as you walk up the steps I added a black lantern and dwarf spruce tree in a black urn.
Again, if you follow my Thrifty Finds posts, this lantern was a thrifty find back in the Summer. (You can read about it and all the other finds that week, HERE).
I debated on whether or not to paint it a different color but in the end I stayed with classic black and displayed it with more pine cones and evergreen clippings, with a creamy white vanilla candle.






I just {LOVE} how everything turned out. It was all virtually FREE, or things I already had on hand that I used to create a warm and inviting Winter vignette on the porch.

So lets recap the thrifty tip of the day.....run, don't walk, to your local hardware store and ask for their clippings. They consider them trash, but for YOU this is a home decorators treasure!

I hope you enjoyed my front porch and were inspired. It should not cost you a lot to create a warm and inviting home. Just look around and use what you already have on hand then embellish it with simple touches of free things provided by Mother Nature.






Have a wonderful week!
Pin It


Jennifer


Linking Up to These Great Parties:







The Chicken Chick
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Vintage On A Dime
House on the WayAdorned From Above

The Mandatory Mooch

http://www.craftberrybush.com/2012/11/happy-hour-linky-party-11.html
Made in a Day
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36 comments:

  1. I am heading to HD tomorrow and getting my greens on! Thanks for the tip!

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  2. So Cute! This time of year that is the kind of trash problem I am looking for!
    Sherry

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  3. Great idea. Maybe I will see if my mother in-law has cool outdoor bins. I am doing something similar like this but only with an old candle jar.

    Garrett @The Growing Patch

    http://www.growingpatch.com

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  4. I didn't know that about Home Depot. I will have to check them out closer and see if mine has clippings too. Great idea by the way. That turned out so cool. Free makes it even better than cool.
    Debbie

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  5. Wow, I didn't know this. Thanks for passing that along! Your porch looks great - love your galvanized bucket!

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  6. That is a great and thrifty tip, thank you! Everything looks lovely

    xoxo, Tanya
    twelveOeight

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  7. Great ideas!!! Love the lantern and the freebies!

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  8. Too cute! Such a great idea and I never would have thought of it so I HAD to Pin it!

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  9. Great thrifty tip, thanks for sharing with the Clever Chicks!

    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick

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  10. This is a great idea. I think a lot of us are keeping it cheaper and simpler this year. Sometimes the overload just gets overwhelming.

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  11. Jennifer, Your tub looks beautiful. Thanks for the tip!

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  12. I adore lanterns (I have a few posts about them as well :)! Your porch ideas are great! And I love that you got the greenery free!


    Melanie @ keepitsimpleandfun.blogspot.com

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  13. I got freebie pine stuff from HD last year for my porch! I put mine in a little bucket of water in my wood box and it kept until after New Year's. Your porch looks great.

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  14. Got to love free greenery. The arrangement looks great.

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  15. Jennifer, Great idea for the free greens!!! Stop on by, I posted http://www.sewsweetvintage.com/2012/11/reversible-holiday-note-board.html to thrift share monday:)

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  16. Thanks ladies! I'm glad you like what I did with the greenery and I hope you are able to snag some from your local stores.

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  17. Brilliant free idea. I really like that lantern. Happy Christmas, Olive

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  18. Thanks for the tip! I LOVE the natural look! It COULD be more expensive going natural but with all your great tips, not so much!
    Have a wonderful week!
    sandy :)

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  19. A girl after my own heart!!!! LOL Bravo!!!! So cute....thanks for linkin up.....Deb:) Vintage On A Dime

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  20. Oh that is gorgeous, and free greenery, score!

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  21. Beautiful tub. We have been doing this for years. Nice and cheap. Often don't even have to go to a tree lot or hardware store. We usually have at least one or two wind storms that will tear off pine branches from the trees. Just a few stops to pick up branches by the curb.

    Yael from Home Garden Diggers

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  22. What a beautiful display and I love that you got the greenery for free. Fantastic tip!

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  23. I didn't even think to look at HD for free clippings!! Thanks for the tip. I also have a metal container that I've been trying to decide what to do with. Thanks for the blog post!

    Shine with Jennifer Leigh Photography
    http://blog.shinewithjl.com

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  24. I love your display! I can't believe you got all that stuff for free. What a great find! We live in the woods so I love to decorate with natural items because they are free and abundant!

    Clicked over from Tilly's Nest :)

    Tammy
    http://ourneckofthewoods.net

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  25. Jennifer love your "free" display! I always try to snag the left overs when we get our tree. Thanx for joining THT! Hope your week is going fab.

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  26. Free is the best! You created a beautiful Christmas porch! :)

    xoxo laurie

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  27. Nothing better than free, that is a great budget project. Thanks for linking it up, hope to see you again next week.

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  28. Great tip...thanks for sharing, visiting from Stone Gable

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  29. first of all, this looks fabulous, and second, oh my goodness, NOW i have to go in home depot's trash. there are no large greens around me, and i refuse to buy things that i see other people just snipping, so this is perfect! thanks SO much!

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  30. Now you know I LOVE FREE!!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  31. Very pretty! I love the galvanized tub with the burlap mixed with the pine cones. Gorgeous!

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  32. Great ideas, and I have a lot right on my own property!!! Loved it with the look of galvanized holders and tubs. Plus burlap!! OH YES!

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  33. Beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing at Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop. This weeks party starts at 12:01AM on Wednesday and runs through Sunday night. Have a great week.
    Debi, Joye and Myrna (The Busy Bee's), Linda (Two Succulent Sisters)

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  34. Beautifully done... and you are so helpful - lol
    Thank you for linking up at Shabbilicious Friday.

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  35. This is FABULOUS!!! Hugs and thanks for sharing with us at Junkin Joe! LOVE THIS!!!

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