You can make DIY brown paper bag pumpkins in minutes — making them couldn’t be easier! I added them to my fall decor this year. Here is the whole tour.
Welcome to the Blue Cottage Fall Home Tour
I finally took pictures of our porch a few days ago!
I’ll show you how I decorate my home on a budget this year for fall — and how I created a few easy fabric and paper bag pumpkins anyone can make in minutes.
I wanted to post my fall home tour much earlier, but I needed to finish a certain project first: can you tell what I’ve done?
I finally painted the porch railing white!
It took me about four hours so far, and I still have another hour or so to go, but I’m so thrilled with the change. I never liked the look of that weathered pressure-treated wood.
Also new to you: meet our finished driveway. We had Belgian blocks added to the edge of it, and the walkway, and around the flower beds.
The first contractor had just added concrete to the sides to keep the stones in place — to keep the costs down — but that was breaking and shifting after just a few months from the weight of my car on it.
It was expensive to add the Belgian blocks but had to be done, and now we don’t have to worry about the winter weather destroying the driveway.
This is how I decorated the right side of our porch.
I added two strands of fake leaves I found at HomeGoods to our door, and added a few pumpkin decorating items from HomeGoods, Target, and Michael’s.
We picked up the real pumpkins from Harvest Moon Farm.
That black tiered stand with the small pumpkins was another thrifty find, as well as the “Give Thanks” sign.
I simply added a $1 burlap letter I found at Target to update the wreath for this fall.
We installed a screen door in the summer and need to change the screen for the glass door soon.
That gray little table cost me only a dollar at a recent tag sale, and the green bench was $10 at Goodwill.
Yesterday, I noticed a tree full of these little cherry-looking things in our backyard. They are hard like hazelnuts, and about the same size, and I thought they would add a cute pop of color to my fall decor!
I picked half a bucket full, washed them, and fill three large mason jars with them — one is sitting in our living room.
On the left side of the porch sits a large coffee table we are either going to give away soon, or I’ll paint it white eventually.
It does provide extra seating and storage underneath, and since I added the porch (shower) curtains that I can pull close when it rains and snows, I don’t have to worry so much anymore about furniture on the porch getting wet and ruined.
I would’ve liked to decorate our porch with even more things, but I had to get it all done on Sunday, before the first frost here killed all of our flowers. The ferns and hydrangeas look very sad now.
I hope our hydrangeas will grow much taller next year. I just love having fresh flowers to cut, and drying hydrangeas is so much fun.
Now, come on in for my fall home tour of the inside of the Blue Cottage.
I already showed you how I decorated our mantel in another post, with the dried hydrangeas. That door is from our white hutch I recently repainted with chalk paint.
And after I decorated our table with a chic coastal fall tablescape for HomeGoods…
…it’s now decorated like this centerpiece:
Can you guess what I used to make these upcycled pumpkins?
Yes — toilet paper rolls! Here is the complete tutorial for toilet paper pumpkins.
It too even less time to make these paper bag pumpkins! I used them to decorate the little table in our kitchen.
These brown paper bag pumpkins are so easy to make:
- Simply fill brown paper bags with extra plastic bags
- Grab the top of the bag and twist it into a stem
- Shape the bottom of the paper bag pumpkin be more round by taping the four corners of the bottom of the bag to the underside of the bag.
- Add ribbon to the stem, make two knots so the stem stays in place, and you are done!
And this is how I decorated our table on the stairs for fall, again with more DIY pumpkins.
A family member painted that pretty oil painting and gave it to me years ago, and it fits perfectly with the fall colors.
I covered white ceramic apples with left-over fabric, and used a vintage tablecloth to make the white pumpkins.
Can you tell that there is a vintage Jello mold hiding under the fabric? Once I started, I couldn’t stop making a bunch more of these no-sew fabric pumpkins.
I hope you enjoyed my fall home tour! Autumn is such a beautiful season — enjoy it!
What is your favorite fall decorating idea?
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Sherry, thank you for inviting me!
Sherry Legan says
I so enjoyed your tour ‘again’! Thank you for linking at the Fabulous Fall Party.
Please feel free to come over and link all your Fall posts! The party goes all the way until Oct. 30 for Fall. The link changes every Thursday.
Come over and let’s party!
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Sherry, thanks for inviting me!
Crystal Green says
You have truly created a beautiful well-decorated home. I love how it’s a nice balance between feminine and masculine. Your front porch is beautiful!
Marie says
Your porch looks beautiful! So festive and perfect for autumn! Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday this week!
Amy says
I love your cute little blue house!
Sahana says
Lovely front porch.It is so inviting and I like your design style. Thank you for sharing with us at #HomeMattersParty.We would love to have you again next week.
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Thank you so much, Sahana!
Erlene says
Your home is beautiful and so many great little vignettes to visit. I can’t believe all the wonderful finds you have…so wish our stores had cute inexpensive finds like yours. Thanks for sharing your home with us on Merry Monday.
Brooke Berry Kroeger says
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful post with Flea Market Friday! I will be featuring it in a little bit when this weeks party starts! xxx….Brooke
Amanda says
Beautiful home tour! I would love to have a large front porch like you do. Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Brother Oliver says
Dear Dagmar,
Amazing photos! You would get a big compliment from my Lette Photo teachers! The arrangements are very professional, you can think of a second income :-)
Your Brother Oliver
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Danke, Oliver! Und dass von einem professionellen Fotografer!
Ilona says
Hallo, liebe Dagmar, ich habe Deinen Blog gelesen und bin ganz begeistert wie schön Du wieder alles gemacht hast. Die gestrichene porch und die Beeteinfassung sieht toll aus. Ich wünsche Euch einen schönen Herbst. Viele liebe Grüsse und Küsse Deine Mama
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Schoen, dass es Dit gefallt! Nachsten Herbst muss Du uns besuchen kommen — trage das schon mal in Deinen Kalendar :) And Deinem Geburtstag!
Rhonda says
Your front porch looks so pretty and inviting, dressed for fall! And the driveway and walkway looks fantastic! Love all of your pumpkin projects! You have been a busy lady! :) ~Rhonda
Cyndee says
I love, love, love your front porch. Painting your railing white made a big difference! Your house is similar to mine (blue house/white railing) love that look!
Sydney @ Tastefully Frugal says
Love all the fall aspects of your home Dagmar! Your porch is especially gorgeous I love the blue and white. I can’t believe you’ve already had snow! We barely had it drop into the 60’s here in Utah this week. Brrr
Cathy says
Your house is so pretty – love your drive and porch – so many great fall vignettes to see. Those little paper bag pumpkins are adorable and the no sew ones are perfect for me. Love your fall home tour – so many wonderful things to see. You did an amazing job. Cathy
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Cathy, thanks for your sweet comment! Look out for my tutorial post about those no-sew pumpkins :)
Emily, Our house now a home says
I love all of this! That front porch is adorable, I love the colors you chose. Beautiful and perfectly fall!
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Emily, thanks for your sweet comment!
Amy | Canary Street Crafts says
Your home is so pretty and inviting. I love all the different pieces you paired together.
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Thanks for your sweet comment, Amy!
Christine says
oh what an awesome cottage!!!! YOur house has so much personality!!!! Soooo may I ask, are you German, Dagmar???? If so, Liebe Gruesse aus WA!!!!
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Christine, yes, I’m a German expat. I moved to Los Angeles from Bremen 22 years ago, and moved to New York 8+ years ago. Are you German as well?
Christine says
Hi Dagmar, yes I am German as well. Moved to WA State 22 years ago (married a Sodier stationed in Germany) I am from a litte town in between Frankfrt and Wiesbaden.
Beth F says
wow! I love your fall look. And the driveway is super! Great job.
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Thank you, Beth!
Rita C at Panoply says
Dagmar, your home is so perfectly dubbed blue cottage! You have done some terrific things this year with your driveway and porch, to name just a couple. Love those paper bag pumpkins! Really, it all looks great. And no doubt, your hydrangeas will grow very large, probably to a point where you’ll be faced with pruning (and perhaps not having blooms in a subsequent year, depending on the variety and whether they bloom from old or new wood).
Here was my home tour, early September, and I’ve been enjoying it all, still. http://wvpanoply.blogspot.com/2015/09/fall-home-tour-2015.html
Rita