A fall arrangement for your front door; How to

This is a quick post to show you how E-A-S-Y it is to make your own front door arrangement. Are you in the mood for something different? This is what I made using a simple basket I found in a thrift store. Remember this basket from my last post? I couldn’t resist the price: $7.99

It’s long (19 inches) and narrow (8.5 inches) but I loved the rich colors of the basket and I thought, “why not?” Here it is on the floor with some other “finds” of mine.

Not sure where to get your basket? I happened to see optional baskets at our local Michael’s Crafts Store; choose one that has a nice flat backside that would work well on a door.

1. First, pick a basket.

2. Next, gather your items. You can use fall flowers, like sunflowers or black-eyed Susans for your base flower. And you can add foliage, vines and berries. You may even add a pumpkin or small gourd to your arrangement.

These were my materials.

• Dried green moss. This is my favorite stuffing but it’s pricey.
• Excelsior grass. This is option to moss. I used both because I had some on hand.
• 5 stems of tall (fake) grass for the back of the arrangement.
• 4-5 stems of fake flowers; tubular shaped
• 4 fake clusters of short filler flowers (see rust colored ones above)
• Dried grass (real) and dried hydrangeas (from my garden)
• 3-4 stems of miniature pumpkins on stem
• Florist wire (optional); I used the excelsior grass to hold my foliage in place.

Be sure to select colors of foliage, flowers, grasses, vines and berries that will compliment the color of your door and your home's exterior paint.

3. Think of a Staircase.  Organize your items by height. Tallest and most dramatic grasses in back. Shortest and fullest flowers at the bottom of your arrangement. I put the green moss in front poking through the cracks of my basket. I also put a couple of small rocks in the bottom for added weight. If your front door is exposed to a lot of wind you may need weight to help hold the basket in place.

4. I added my “fillers” last. I picked dried grasses on a walk. I added some dried hydrangeas I’d originally picked from my garden and I purchased some tall pumpkin ‘picks’ for texture.

5. Add bow and hang with ribbon.

What do you think? I made a bow from the same ribbon I used for my wreath. Do you know how to make a bow? Click HERE for some simple directions.

Also, my basket had a loop on back for hanging. In order to stabilize it on the door, I used two adhesive backed hooks (the white, plastic ones) behind the basket. I hung the basket on one and attached the basket body to the other one. This keeps the basket from swaying since it’s so long. The directions on these adhesive backed hooks say, “damage-free hanging” and they should pop off with no residue on the door.

Now. I have these two large pots that were given to me from a friend who is relocating. Initially, I didn’t think these would go well with my home’s exterior paint color and my traditional style. But they are a perfect shade for fall decorating. Hmm…all of a sudden I can envision spectacular gold and rust colored flowers in these, right next to some plump pumpkins. Oh well,  to be continued…

I’ll show you my front entrance whenever I get it finished. By the way, how is your fall decorating going?

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: Fall front door arrangment,how to