Quick Holiday Budget Decor Tip: Or How I Transformed My Front Porch for the Price of a Can of Paint

Here's an easy way to "spruce" up your holiday decor in three easy steps and for only the price of a can of Rustoleum.

Step 1: Gather a lot of evergreens from your yard. Use a box or a tarp so you can do all your pots at once. Cut the shrubs back in places where they can't be seen or go to town and get out your big Black+Decker and do the shaping that you probably never got to in spring like you were supposed to.

Step 2: Gather twigs from your yard or from a walk around town. Look for long branches that will be able to stick up above the evergreens. Spray them red with a can of Rustoleum. This makes them look like Red Dogwood.

Step 3: Take your tallest evergreen pieces and stick the sharp end into the middle of the pot. Angle additional evergreen pieces out from the middle by also stuffing their sharp ends into the dirt. Keep adding evergreens until the pot is full. Stick 3 pieces of red-sprayed twigs into the center of the pot as if they fan from the middle.

Voila! Your pots are ready to get you through the season. And they never need watering which is my big downfall. Just toss them into the mulch pile in the spring when you plant your pansies.

Also for fun, if you have red sports balls in your garage, try nesting those in the pots as they can look like Christmas balls from far away. The jury is still out on this. Let me know what you think.