Decorating with Antiques Archives

October 12, 2020 by whatmorganmakes

DIY Ironstone Fall Centerpiece

This step by step blog will show you how to use an Ironstone chamber pot and artificial pumpkins and florals to make a beautiful Fall centerpiece.

This centerpiece is a super simple, inexpensive, and beautiful. I was super proud of myself for this one because it is another one of those “trust the process” kinds of projects, so I was very doubtful until it was complete.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A vessel for your centerpiece – I chose an antique ironstone chamber pot. You could use anything that is relatively shallow. I found one similar using a dough bowl on Pinterest.
A piece of floral foam for artificial flowers like this.
Any Fall florals/greenery – I used a Fall floral spray pick from Joann and just used a wire cutter to cut it apart. It had mostly greenery and eucalyptus. The key is to make sure they are vining a bit so they will lay nicely over the edges of your centerpiece.
Small faux pumpkins – I got mine from Joann.
Mini Acorns and Pumpkins – I got mine from Joann.

1. Cut your piece of floral foam into random sizes to make it fit into your vessel.

It doesn’t need to cover every single bit, but you want to get as close as you can, like this:

2. Add in greenery/florals so that they vine over the sides of the vessel.

I started going around the edges of the piece of Ironstone like you’ll see below and then added just a few more to the middle. You do NOT want to add in all of your greenery/florals at this stage.

3. Put your larger pumpkins into the vessel.

I liked the look of one or two turned a little on their sides so that they didn’t look so perfectly placed. Remember, this is all about finding perfection in imperfection.

As you can see, some also sit higher than others. That is because when I put my floral foam in I didn’t cut it evenly. Embrace it! 😉

4. Start using the rest of your greenery/florals to fill in and cover up the floral foam you can still see.

At this stage, I also added some in the middle of the centerpiece between all four pumpkins.

5. Add in acorns & mini pumpkins

If you’re like me, you like the idea of neutral Fall decor. But then reality sets in and what is fall really without some COLOR? You can totally skip step 5 or you can just add in acorns or white mini pumpkins but I felt like I needed some orange. When you add in the acorns and mini pumpkins, you should try to add it to spots where you might still see a little foam. That was the strategy I used and it worked perfectly for me.

Here is the finished product:

October 10, 2020 by whatmorganmakes

Our Fall Front Porch: Festive Ideas to take your Porch to the Next Level

This post will give you ideas for incorporating vintage, handmade, and nature into your ideal festive Fall front porch.

One of the best things about all this time at home lately means I have time to actually decorate for Fall.

Our front porch is finally ready for its close-up. Here is the finished product:

Here are a few tips and tricks I came up with to get your front porch Fall ready quickly and easily.

Incorporate Vintage Items into your Seasonal Decor

Use vintage items and crates to create depth and height on your front porch. This Cape Cod Cranberries crate is absolutely one of my favorite finds ever from Boxwood and Grace. I typically keep it on my hearth throughout the year, but this year it made its debut on the front porch. I mean, come on. Mayflower? Cranberries? Can you find a more festive crate?

There is no bottom in it but the hay bale I purchased at the Kinsey Warehouse Sale (along with the fantasy and heirloom pumpkins) fit in perfectly.

This incredible industrial antique stool also came from the Warehouse Sale and I am in love. It will stay on the porch through all seasons with different potted plants on top.

Add a few items you made.

There is something incredibly cozy and endearing about things you made with your own hands. They do not have to be perfect. They do not have to be without flaw.

I made these two signs and they are perfect for our front porch this year.

We tried twice to get it to hang on the siding without putting a screw through it. No such luck. So now there is a screw hole in our siding. The small price you pay for cuteness, #amirite?

This one is double sided.

That way, we could add a touch of Halloween without being too intrusive with the rustic Fall colors.

Buy ALL of the pumpkins and mums. All of them.

I’m not gonna lie. The pumpkins weren’t cheap. But I’ve dreamed of this porch for basically ever now.

Also a friend left her pumpkin to rot in her yard out of pure laziness last year and this year she harvested something like 12 pumpkins from that. And I can be pretty lazy, so basically what I’m saying is next year I’m going to have my own pumpkin patch. So it was an investment. At least that’s what I’m telling my husband.

What are your best tips for decorating your front porch for Fall?