by P Vandegrift

Created on: October 25, 2009   Last Updated: November 17, 2009

Creative opportunities in the Fall abound with evocative colors. Porches, if you are lucky enough to have one, are perfect places to display your craft projects.

A new wooden 'house number' plate:

Would you like your friends, not to mention the UPS or Federal Express deliverer, to be able to better locate your house number? You can create a new wooden number plate or buy larger wooden numbers, both of which can be decorated with paint, 'rub-on' transfers, or a little decoupage to make them stand out. There is even glow-in-the-dark paint which very handy for the Fall and Winter time, especially in those areas of the world where the stars start to come out at 4pm.

Creating your own theme is very easy. If you are a dog lover, cut out photos of dogs or use your own photos of your dogs to decorate the wooden number plate. And if you like, you can nail or glue the house numbers separately onto that decorated plate. You could also use metal or even a unique piece of wood and display the numbers on top of those.

Decorative front door panels:

Instead of painting the door, decorate a few of the inset panel areas with paint, stencils, or decoupage. Or purchase strips of thin plywood and decorate those with Fall or Winter scenes. With this idea, you can create decorative panels for any season or holiday. There are also rub-on transfers that contain entire scenes. If flowers are your obsession, these rub-on transfers have an abundant choice of floral designs such as grapevines, ivy, daisies, roses, sweet peas.

With transfer paper now abundant, copy your favorite images onto the paper and transfer it to the wood. Images of elves, fairies, famous actors, actresses, Celtic knots, Greek gods and goddesses, or wild animals can all adorn your front door.

Make your own Welcome mat:

Purchase a plain rubber mat and stencils from Home Depot, Lowe's, Acme or your closest and most affordable DIY store. Use stencil paint as it is much thicker than ordinary acrylic paint. Using a sponge or brush, stencil on your chosen images, let dry for at least 24 hours and then, in a ventilated place, apply polyurethane spray or other waterproofing material.

Create a beautiful Fall scene using different sized leaves and rich colors. Set a basket of pine cones and branches next to it for that added Fall touch.

The same technique can be used for decorating rubber stair protectors to match the Welcome mat. This would certainly brighten up the pathway to your home and perhaps encourage others to do the same.

There is no limit to creativity for your porch; it is an open canvas just waiting for your inspiration!

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