christmas porch!

or, alternately titled: how $12 at the dollar store became front porch christmas trees.
cheapo wired garland, shimmery snowflake, and party hats [for another project], all $1 a piece!

here is the front porch in its fall setup:
my idea was that when i saw our old tomato cages flipped upside down, they were the shape of trees! i saw an adorable one spray painted red with little paper-covered clothespins used to clip your christmas cards to it and make a christmas card tree, and totally wanted to make one, but when i checked with my dear hubby he asked that i please not paint them. so, on to plan b.

i figured if i wrapped them in something (tulle or garland?) they could make great front porch trees. then i found super cheap 15 foot wired garland at the dollar store for, of course, $1 each! i zip-tied the top of the cage into a point and started wrapping the garland. each tree took 5 garlands and i also zip-tied a shimmery snowflake to the top to complete it! i am SO happy with how they look. the only trouble is that now i'm having a bit of an if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie moment, because now that they're done i want to put lights on them. which means i would need to go out and buy more lights. which totally defeats the purpose of my super cheap dollar store front porch trees.

ta da!
winter porch!
i re-used the planters for some borrowed faux poinsettias [i tend to unintentionally be a plant killer, so i stay away from the real deal if it needs to be around for any given amount of time]. i also re-used the grapevine wreath by sticking a few little red winterberries in it, and hanging a big snowflake in the middle- also a dollar store score! it's styrofoam so it's light and floaty as a snowflake should be! and i kept the giant green apple gourds because they're green and fun. works for me.
so excited these are done! and the best part is, i can take them all apart and reuse the parts when christmas is over.