The decorating over here continues!  Recently I completed my step…and truth be told this year I found it a challenge!  My post from last year was such a hit that I felt like I needed to up the ante this season.  But what I actually wanted to do was take a whole different approach to it.  I wanted to bring all the natural elements of where I live to my front step.  I love the outdoors.  Our forests, our mountains…everything about where I live.  And I wanted my front porch to reflect that.  So this year things are looking very different.  But I love it.  Love love it.

I had a vision…so when I discovered that our local grocery chain was selling huge bundles of greens, and twigs and birch branches so inexpensively, I loaded up.  First, let me tell you, when I saw the bins of all these greens my heart started pounding with excitement!  I didn’t even know where to start.  So I just grabbed!  ;)

My mother-in-law gave me this old metal voting box, and it’s perfect for this arrangement.  I started with placing the two birch branches in the middle, then layered all the different types of greenery and twigs.  Gorgeous!

Let’s look at this planter again shall we…

Wait a second.  Why yes, in case you were wondering, yes that is in fact a child licking the window.  That would be my 3 year old.  That’s how we roll around here.

Anyhow, moving on…  ;)

On the other side of the door I made the same arrangement, but just placed it in a different container.  I found this old butter box at a garage sale this summer…LOVE it!  Then I added some ornaments and wooden snowflake.  Pretty pretty pretty!

This is what they look like from the sidewalk.  Simple & pretty.

I also added back the hanging ornaments from last year.  I love how these look.  So festive!

And no front door of mine is complete without a wreath!

I used an evergreen base, then added all the little red berries, pine cones, snowballs and gems and topped it off with a silver ribbon!  I love how it turned out.

So, maybe you are wondering what ever happened to my pots from last year?  Well they have a new home…

I moved them to the front of my home, on either side of our garage.

Now I’m sidetracking you…notice all the gorgeous gorgeous frost?!  We have had the most amazing hoarfrost this winter.  I’m talking like almost 5 days or more of this gorgeousness!  Everything coated in frost.  I couldn’t believe my luck…my pots looked like Christmas perfection!

Here is what each pot actually looks like.

I have always wanted to have little evergreen trees lit up with lights in the front of our garage, but any that I ever found were so expensive so I never bought them.  Then a neighbour (Hi Sheryn!) posted pictures of her little trees that she made from tomato cages.  Genius.

I didn’t have tomato cages, but I did just so happen to have 2 iron circular cones that I use for growing beans and sweet peas…why didn’t I think of them earlier?!

I just wrapped the cones in evergreen garland and white lights.  Done.

Love love them!  They look so pretty from the road.  And in all the fog and frost?!  Divine!

And to finish them all off, I filled the bottom of the tree with large red & silver ornaments.

These looked so pretty!  Looked?  Yes, that’s past tense.  See, we also get wicked chinook winds here that blow every beautiful decoration in existence away.  I had 2 neighbours knock on my door with ornaments they retrieved from the road.  That’s just real life I guess!!  ;)  I plan on putting them back…I just haven’t yet.  I practically blew away this weekend, so I’ll wait just a little longer!

Well, I hope you like what I’ve put together this year!  I really like the change, and feel like it reflects my tastes a little more.  And besides, it’s fun to keep things new and fresh every year!

Have a very Merry day!

Merry Linking:  The Winthrop Chronicles, DIY Dreamer, Funky Junk Interiors, Songbird, At the Picket Fence