Front Porch Updates {Before & After}

This past weekend was beautiful! I spent the whole weekend sprucing up the porch so we could do some serious front porch sittin this Spring!

I am really happy with how it turned out. It is amazing what a little pop of color can do. I found the colorful pillows and rug at Target. The pots were from various nurseries as well as Big Lots & Home Depot. The rest of the items I had around the house. I love re-purposing items from my house, it is like finding new items for zero cost!

The Sisal Pouf (found at Home Goods) was originally in the Hubs office, but it happens to move from room to room a lot. I love how it gives this vignette a little texture. (The kitty is an optional touch as well.)

Door is Calypso Blue..painted a couple years ago. You can see the before and after pics Here. 

You can check out my DIY Spring Wreath Here and Welcome Mat Here. 

Me and kitty have really been enjoying some front porch sittin!

So have you been outside getting ready for nicer weather or are you still stuck inside with cold temps and snow!? 

And...you know I couldn't leave you without a couple before and after pictures. Thanks for hanging in there, it has been quite the picture overload today. My apologies! :)

Linked up at: Thrifty Decor Chick

{DIY} Welcome Mat for Spring

Welcome to Monday! Not sure if I am ready for the day, but ready or not it's here! I hope you had a nice weekend. It was in the 80's here and I so enjoyed spending time outside. I did get my front porch spruced up for sitting and entertaining this spring/summer. I can't wait to show you. I should have some pictures up on Wednesday!

While sprucing up the front porch I noticed that my welcome mat was plain and boring. I wanted to do something to make a small statement as guests arrived at our front door. I came across this Etsy site and knew immediately that I wanted to recreate one of these mats for myself. Originally I wanted to write "Welcome Ya'll" or "Hey Ya'll" but the Hubs wasn't going for those. So I decided on something very simple:

We have been joking all weekend and saying "Hi" really quick to each other and laughing. We have to entertain ourselves somehow people! 

1. First, I used my Silhouette to cut out 4" letters onto white Cardstock. (You could just print some fun letters and trace them onto a heavy paper.)

2. Then I punched the letters out and placed the stencil on the lower left corner of my welcome mat.

3. I used a thicker bristled brush to help get the paint to soak down into the mat.

4. I also made sure to use a little painter's tape at the corners so the stencil wouldn't slide while painting. Then I waited for an hour or so until the paint dried. 

You can see in the above picture that I used a sample of Valspar paint that I had on hand. It is a fun limey green color, but reads almost yellow in some of my pictures.

I love the small update. It isn't too bold and crazy....just a little somethin to add some fun to our porch!

How about you! What were you up to this weekend? Any outside work or fun DIY's that I must know about?

Linked up at: Thrifty Decor Chick

Inspiring Outdoor Spaces

I am sure all of you are in that "Spring Fever" mode. I am so excited that our weather here in NC is finally warming up and I am seeing all sorts of flowers popping up in my gardens. This coming weekend is going to be an outside work weekend. I am trying to create a fun outdoor space on our front porch, but find myself wanting to spend more money on flowers and plants than furniture and accent decor. Crazy..I know! So I am going to find a few items to spruce up the porch this weekend on a tiny budget. Wish me luck! I will let you all know how it goes.

So to get me in the mood to create a relaxing space with bright colors for spring I decided I needed some inspiring outdoor spaces to drool at this morning! Enjoy!

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Wow! I'm inspired to stop working right this minute and head outside. How about you? Are you ready to tackle some outdoor projects this spring? What do you have up your sleeve? Please tell!