Aly Dosdall: outdoor fall & halloween decor

Fall is my favorite season to decorate for, and Halloween is my kids favorite holiday to decorate for so...guess what we did last weekend? Yep. We decked some fall halls at our house! We started by filling our front porch with some lovely fall decor pieces, so I'll focus on some outdoor fall and Halloween decor ideas today.

So, here's my philosophy about decorating for fall and Halloween. I prefer to use mostly fall themed decor that can last from September through November with a few minor adjustments to give a nod to the the big holidays and events in between.

I started by selecting a basic color scheme and theme--orange, ivory, and gold. I knew I wanted plenty of pumpkins, so I hit the 50% off sales at Michael's and added a few older ones I had purchased previous years.

Don't be afraid to pair real pumpkins and gourds with fake ones as long as they create a cohesive feel together.

I'm really loving gold right now, so I knew I wanted to work that in with the traditional fall colors.

I added some clearance mums embellished with a leftover roll of burlap ribbon, and then filled in with an old hay bale.

Here's the other side of my fall porch decor.

I love the way the white pumpkins break up my fall front porch decor, so I included a few of those as well.

Now, on to the Halloween decor! I decided to add some black crows to give my fall front porch a bit of a creepy feel.

I scored these little guys on clearance at Joann. They have wire on their feet so you can attach them to just about anything. I love how they stare at you with their head tilted to the side. Reminds me of the Aldred Hitchcock movie, The Birds. Creepy!

I grabbed some stretched out cheesecloth cheesecloth and threw it over my porch railing to reinforce the Halloween theme. I like how it turned out!

I love this black iron crow with decorative swirls and covered in glitter. You can add a tea light to a candle holder in the back, or just leave it as is.