Three of the most Important Fall Porch Items I Use.

It is that time of year! We need to get the farmhouse ready for the Fall season. Let’s get this porch decorated for Fall! I have a Fall tour coming up and needed to get started getting things done for the season. Plus with canning season is coming up too and the older I get the sooner I need things out of the way so I can concentrate on one thing at a time.

First area I concentrate on is my porch. I already have lots of pumpkins for my steps and cornstalks from my garden. So the first thing I get is a new entry mat. These are some of my favorites.

As an Amazon Influencer I make a small amount form each purchase.

The second Item I look for is a garland of some sort. Because of the wind here I have to buy or make a new one each year. I found this one which is 20′ long with lights and under $10. Or there is this one which is 30′ long and under $14.

The Third item I use is from nature, pumpkins and cornstalks from my gardens. This is how I add texture to the space. Every room needs some texture added including your porch. Since they are from our land that makes them free, the best kind of price. Here are some photos of my previous Fall porches.

https://junktogems.blog/2020/09/27/welcome-to-my-fall-porch/

And if you click on the link below you can see another years porch and some lanterns I made.

DIY Lanterns for the Porch

Happy Fall decorating and God Bless!

First Fall DIY, Craft

Today my friends Terrie and Tammy and I are sharing our first fall diy craft.

For mine I found an inspiration pic I liked from Kirklands, since I don’t live near a store I needed to find a way to make my own and in my own color palette. So of course I went to the dollar store. Here is my inspiration picture.

Here is what I found at the dollar store to make one myself.

  • Two flat wood pumpkins
  • Small box
  • Things I had:
  • Wire
  • Glue
  • Paint

I started by removing all the extras and then I wanted to add texture. So I rubbed on some spackling from the dollar store. I had to let that dry most of the day as it is humid here right now. Also in order for this to work right both stems have to face the same way. So you will need to cut one stem off and glue it on the opposite way so it matches the other pumpkin.

Then I spray painted them with some of the cement spray paint I have used before. I let that dry and started adding the details. You can see other Fall projects I have done here

After everything was dry I glued the wood pumpkins to the wood little pumpkin box. And then added some Faux flowers and leaves. And then I added some raffia tied around the stem.

Did this get you excited to try some fall decorating projects?

God Bless!

Quick and Pretty Diy

I’ve been wanting to do this diy for a while now. Why did it take me so long? I have no idea! So easy it’s embarrassing. Literally you just need four things. These flowers will not die and they will stay looking pretty for as long as you want to display them in your home.

Floral foam, your planter of choice. I went with a clay pot because that is what I had on hand. Your flower of choice, I bought mine at Hobby Lobby half off. I used two branches of flowers to make this look fuller. Just cut your flowers to the height you want. I wanted a big arrangement that appeared like a bush in my clay pot.

Put your floral foam in your pot, squeeze it in tight so it stays. And then put your floral or greenery picks or stems into the floral foam. I then put some excelsior on the top of the foam to hide the green color of it.

I love how it turned out and it was so easy and fun! Give this diy a try you will be glad you did!

God Bless!

Greek Chicken

I had to share this recipe with you, I was a little skeptical at first as I have never done the lemon and garlic together. Boy have I been missing out. There is so much flavor in this chicken and it is so moist. We did ours on the grill, I think it would be even better done in a cast iron skillet. I will try that next time. There a very few ingredients which makes for a quick and tasteful meal. I served ours with some of our fresh green beans from the garden and some other veggies and dip. A light refreshing dinner on a hot humid Summer evening.

First combine all the marinade ingredients. I do all of this in a baggie inserted in a glass to make it easier. I am telling you that fresh lemon juice and garlic are amazing!

Marinate for the allotted time and then brush with extra olive oil before putting on the grill. I put my chicken on aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray so it didn’t stick. A grill pan would work great too.

The taste of this chicken is so amazing! You will love it!

Grilled Greek Chicken

This recipe is so moist and has so much taste. It has few ingredients and is perfect for a warm humid Summer evening.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 hrs
Cook Time 40 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Greek
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 Cup Olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp Oregano
  • 1/4 Cup Red wine vinegar
  • 1 Zest and juice Lemon
  • 1/4 Cup Sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper
  • 4 Chicken thighs

Instructions
 

  • Mix all ingredients except chicken into a plastic storage bag. I just mix with my hands from the outside of the bag.
  • Add in the chicken, Marinate for three hours.
  • Dry off chicken with a paper towel. Brush with a little more olive oil.
  • Cook on grill until done. Or reaches 165 degrees with a meat thermometer.

Notes

You use any type of chicken you would like.

Hope you try and love this recipe as much as I do!

Fall Pillow Refresh

Let’s talk pillows, Fall pillows that is. I know it is early for some but as an influencer I have to think ahead to the next season. So hopefully I can provide some inspiration out there. I have already been thinking Fall around Curly Willow Acres.

We planted a huge pumpkin patch this year, that may be part of it as I watch each type of pumpkin growing. My husband said I am like a kid in a candy store every time I find a new one growing. That gets me thinking of Fall. Plus I have that new variety Indian corn we planted. Here is a project I made last year with some indian corn.

Partly because we planted a huge pumpkin patch with some new varieties. My husband said I am like a kid in a candy store every time I see a new one growing. It’s exciting! Also we have some new indian corn growing it is supposed to be pastel colored. Stay tuned! Here you can see a diy wreath I did using some of our corn last year.

Back to the interior of our home for Fall I always start with throws and pillows and then I have my color added. This year I found so many cute pillows that I wanted to share them with you. There are neutral and colored ones. I can’t decide this year! These are the ones I think I am going to go with this year.

Click on the picture to shop

And almost all of them are on sale! YAY! Now to make a choice.

This post contains affiliate links which I may make a little money from. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

God Bless!

Decorating my Countertops

Do you ever wonder what to do on top of your counters? Hang in there with me as I tell you what I do. If you have been here very long you know I am a neutral girl with my rooms. I do this so I can add little pops of color throughout the seasons. In the Summer months I like to add fresh flowers as my pops of color and my vintage or vintage look bottles. Since I have open shelving above my counter top. I like to keep them clutter free, there is enough going on with the shelves already.

I love my plants so some well placed plants are always on my counters. To be honest I only have one section of countertop. I use furniture pieces on the other side of my kitchen and this side has the sink section. I use my island for most of my cooking.

Everything else on my counter is useful. I have a white pitcher I put my utensils in. And pretty salt and pepper cellars. On my peg racks below my open shelving I have a pretty watering can that sometimes makes its way to the counter.

I do switch things around for the seasons on my counters too. Pumpkins in the Fall and greenery in the Winter. Let me know what your favorite item to put on your counters are. Here are the links to my watering can and my kitchen scissors. Love both of these, they are functional and beautiful.

God Bless!

Upcycled Items for the Garden

If you have been following for long you know I love repurposing items. And using them to display my flowers is so fun! Here I have an old bike that I put a basket on to hold some flowers. And also an old log that my son in law had hollowed out for me. It is just perfect for some impatiens.

    I used an old coal bucket here that my son had gotten me. Remember to always put drain holes in the bottom of you containers.

    I love using old galvanized buckets, they are my favorite.

    And this year I used an old horse trough we had that was rusting and already had holes in the bottom.

    I took my white truck and an old urn I had and used them as planters this year too. It is always fun for me to think outside of the box. And these are just some examples of that.

    Use your imagination as my mom used to tell me, I guess that stuck because I am. Hope this helps you reimagine some items into flower containers.

    God Bless!

    Follow Me Here for Recipeshttps://www.foodtalkdaily.com/member/48833431/corinemapes

    Thrift Store Transformation

    This week my friends, Terrie and Tammy are doing some thrift store transformations on our Facebook pages and blog.

    I love thrifting it honestly is my favorite thing to do. For my birthday every year that’s what we do. I go to all my favorite ones. Do you love to go thrifting too?

    I was looking for an old ice cream bucket. I keep seeing all these beautiful ones on Instagram used for flower arrangements. I could not find one but I did find this slated wood planter. I love the texture from the rope and thought painted I would really like it. So lets get this transformation started!

    I put two coats of plaster chalk paint on it. I left some spots showing through. I wanted a more distressed look to it. No perfection here!

    Then I decided to add our little farm name to it. So I cut out a stencil from my Cricuit maker then I stenciled that on. And after that I sanded the letters to make them look worn.

    After giving everything a good sanding and wiping it all down. I was done. I filled it with some dried hydrangeas for now. But I am already thinking how it will look with sunflowers for Fall and greenery for Winter.

    I hope this helps you look at thrift store items in a different light. If it has good bones you can do anything with it.

    God Bless!

    A Mid Summer Garden Update From Curly Willow Acres

    I can’t believe we are half way through the Summer. I have not given you any updates on the garden here at Curly Willow Acres. First we had heat and drought and now we can’t seem to get rid of the rain and humidity. It sure has been a weird Summer. While fighting the Japanese Beatles UGH!

    My companions every morning are the two cats and my mini horse.

    I caught him in mid meow! See that sunflower back there it is growing form the compost pile.

    You can see last years garden here. This year has been a struggle as I said but our sweet corn is doing good.

    It is starting to tassel and get little cobs. Our Zucchini is doing good also.

    The mini peppers are starting to blossom. They are a late variety but when they get going they really produce.

    little buds

    The melons and cucumbers are just spreading out and getting blossoms. We planted them later because of cucumber beetles last year. I read somewhere to wait an extra couple of weeks the following year to prevent them from coming back. It seemed to work we got a few but we were able to combat them.

    The Dill is doing very well. I planted it as a companion plant to help with bugs.

    We have been digging our potatoes for a couple of weeks now and enjoying them. I have a great recipe using them here.

    Second crop of onions and beans. Our first crop of beans received too much rain from the recent storms. They did not like that at all. They look like they might still produce some beans but not very many.

    Our pumpkin patch is doing great so far, fingers crossed and prayers!

    We planted Cinderella, Flat White, Jordale, big and small and some pretty grey pumpkins this year. Also some Cotton Candy Indian Corn its supposed to be in pastel colors. I’m excited to see it all. I will begin self pollinating the pumpkins to ensure success. I have done that the last two years and it seems to work.

    That’s what we have been up to here at Curly Willow Acres. We keep saying next year we will do a smaller garden. It hasn’t happened yet.

    I will keep you posted!

    God Bless!

    Christmas in July

    Last week on Instagram I shared a picture from last year of my Christmas tree. You can see that here

    Christmas Dining Room

    I know it is way too early to think about Christmas yet, but I can’t help it. As an influencer it forces you to think ahead to the next season. So I start planning. I am not a good wrapper of gifts but I love to decorate the wrapped gifts.

    So today I am going to show you some ways I do that. It is all simple and inexpensive. This year I have a Cricuit so I am going to have fun cutting shapes on that. But you could easily use a cookie cutter or a pattern from something.

    This one was fun! I cut out a tree shape, one smaller and one larger. Then I added pom poms to the branches. I use all kinds of different accessories to decorate packages.

    Here I used a larger version that I had cut out of a gift bag. And I love using tulle for the bows. It is easy, inexpensive and fun to use.

    I used gold tulle and a tassel I had left over from another project for this one.

    you can use stamps to stamp the persons name on the gift instead of using tags. I like using craft paper form the dollar store to wrap my gifts in. Its fun to decorate and inexpensive.

    I hope this post helped you think outside of the box for decorating your packages.

    Now check out my friends Christmas Ideas

    https://patinaandpaint.com/diy-pour-paint-ornaments

    https://decorateandmorewithtip.com/diy-dollar-tree-yarn-christmas-trees/

    https://www.athomewithjemma.com/2021/07/christmas-cake-centerpiece.html

    God Bless!