Autumn Makeover for My Front Entry

This autumn makeover is perfect for Halloween and with a few adjustments in a couple of weeks, it will go right through Thanksgiving.

I love everything about autumn. When the temperatures start to fall, I know that good things are right around the corner.

Having three fun holidays in a row gives me so many options for outside decorations. 

This autumn makeover for my front entry adds seasonal flair and great curb appeal

I love decorating my front porch entry for all the holidays. See how it looks for the 4th of July here.

I’ve been a busy bee lately, doing all sorts of new holiday decor projects. I decided to bring them all together on my front entry step.  The entry was very pretty as it was.

We redid it this summer and we have new doors and shutters to match. All it needed was a few things to say autumn in a fun way. 
I knew the caladiums had to go. They will only take temperatures down to about 50º and then they die.

So I dug them up and replaced them with colorful mums. (The caladium tubers can be replanted in the same pots next spring.)

I did this project over the course of a few weeks, to give me time to do my other Halloween and fall craft decor projects. 

Here is a tip:  Do your decorative work with the pumpkins LAST.

Even though I did not carve my pumpkins but just decorated them with stencils, two of them rotted as I was doing the other projects.  

This entry makeover might be more aptly called “The Case of the Vanishing Pumpkins,” since I had to keep throwing them in the trash as they bit the dust.

But before this, I used some Halloween stencils to decorate my pumpkins. The stencils were super easy to use. I just peeled off the backing paper and stuck them to my pumpkins. I had them specially ordered in our initials, and the words Boo, Spooky, Jess, and Ashleigh for my daughter and our German Shepherd dog.

I thought Ashleigh might like being featured, but here she is, saying, I would rather sleep!
This is a photo of the monogrammed pumpkins before they started their disappearing act! Alas, I only have three left now.

I love the look of the monogram decals that I got from the stencils.  They look so festive! Next in my step decor comes a spooky snake basket. This project was so much fun to do and came together pretty quickly.

The hardest part was finding some snake shapes to use in the project, but luck was with me on a trip to Michael’s craft store. See the tutorial on this project here.

Next, I added a colorful Jacko Lantern (don’tcha love the name?) to the pumpkin area.

I just adore this guy! The crackle paint on him looks so vintage. This basket and the pumpkins were getting my entry into the mood, but I wanted something to add to each side of the steps for more seasonal appeal.

An old mailbox post gave way to both scrap wood ghosts and some colorful Fall cheery pumpkins.  (click these links for the tutorials if you would like to do the projects yourself.)Everything was looking very festive, but I felt that the front door and shutters needed something to dress them up.

I made an autumn door swag from some yard greenery and a few sunflower stems and added a small chime pumpkin to the shutters that I picked up at the Dollar store.

See the door swag tutorial here.  A few more Dollar Store faux gourds and pumpkins and the stage was set. 

I love the way it turned out. Very colorful, very festive, and a lot of fun.

Bet my local trick-or-treat friends will love coming up the steps to our front door! What do you do to decorate your entry for autumn? I’d love to hear about your decorating projects in the comments below!

I love the way the door can be changed to suit the season. See my Easter Door swag here.

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