Fall Decorating Tips using the Outdoors

Hi Everyone! I’m Ashley from Cherished Bliss, and I’m so excited to be here guest posting for Anna! I actually had the pleasure of meeting her a few months ago and I absolutely adore her! Today I am here to talk budget with you! I don’t know about you, but I certainly can’t head out to Hobby Lobby every season change and holiday throughout the year. Especially since I have been working so hard on my kitchen remodel. Whew, that will take the dollars right out of your pocket! So when the fall season rolled around around I decided to head outside and shop my own house for some fall decor.

One of my favorite things to decorate with was pine cones this year. I took my kids on a walk and gathered up as many as I could!! To use pine cones you just simply bake them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 250 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. This helps rid your new decor of those pesky bugs!

I filled mason jars with them, displayed them on plates, and used them in baskets. You just can’t go wrong with them!

I also grabbed a whole lot of leaves! I seriously LOVE the leaves in the fall. I’m like a little kid screaming to go outside and play in the leaf pile! Nothing like beautiful weather to bring out your inner child! : ) This year I preserved a few of them by soaking them in 1 part glycerin 2 parts water for 2-3 days. I just sandwiched them in between two casserole dishes and now I have some leaves to last me a few years. I didn’t do too many cause I didn’t know how well it would work, but I will definitely be doing some more next year!

I made these fun little leaves by just dry brushing some white paint on them (see my tutorial here) ! If you aren’t familiar with me or my blog… I have an obsession with white! Don’t let those yellow frames fool you, I’m a white paint girl all the way!

And there is the good old fashioned, throw leaves in a vase technique! But it’s beautiful isn’t it! Sometimes it’s the simple things!! But my favorite thing was throwing my preserved leaves in a fresh fruit centerpiece.