What's your Christmas decorating style? I'm having so much fun trimming my home in coastal style that I decided to share with your some unique ways to decorate a nautical Christmas tree. Before we talk about the decorations... let's talk about the tree. Don't you LOVE the aroma of a fresh evergreen tree at Christmas time? It makes the house smell so fresh and festive. It's an aroma you just want to capture and bottle. The candle manufacturers try really hard to create a wonderful balsam fragrance... but it just doesn't compare. How do I know? Because I was asked if I would … [Read more...]
I've been having so much fun creating a coastal Christmas for my home this year. Thanks to a little gift of posies from my friends at FTD, I will show you how to make your Christmas tree elegant with fresh flowers. It's a fun twist on my handcrafted coastal Christmas corner tree. We spend a ton of time in this little corner, so I decided to let my creativity run wild with coastal-style ideas. It all started with making the wall-hanging, over the sofa, festive for the holidays with hanging mason jars and miniature Christmas trees and baubles. A short time later I joined in the Home … [Read more...]
Today I'm back with an idea for more easy to make coastal Christmas decor. Previously I shared my coastal styled poinsettia pillow which was beautiful and simple to make. When it comes to holiday decorating, I love handmade items, but I want to get them done in a snap and I want them to look fabulous. All the criteria were met with this whimsical art, plus it was inexpensive, too! Lucy from Craftberry Bush heard her friends ask for coastal styled art and she nailed it with this fun and FREE watercolor printable. I downloaded mine to a memory stick and drove over to Staples. … [Read more...]
This year I'm going coastal for Christmas. My focus is Simple to Make Coastal Christmas Decor. For this year's fabulous Home for the Holidays Blog Tour, hosted by my amazing friend, Sondra, I decided to focus on a little corner of my home where we spend a lot of time. It's filled with handmade Christmas items like this poinsettia pillow I created with a coastal flair. And I put together a super easy tutorial so you can make your own coastal Christmas poinsettia pillow, too. If this is your first time here... Welcome! Be sure to take a minute to introduce yourself and sign up to receive more … [Read more...]
My desire to make coastal Advent candles comes from some very sweet childhood memories. Every Christmas, my parents would take me to services at the Swedish Lutheran church. A highlight for me was observing the Advent candle lighting. The Advent candles hung near the altar in a large circle of evergreen. There were four red candles on the wreath with a large center white candle. And though I really enjoyed singing the Christmas carols, I was mesmerized with that wreath. Once I was an adult I realized many families had Advent wreaths and candles in their home. Many even participated in special … [Read more...]
There's no doubt about it. Lately I'm "into" mason jar lids. Within the past several weeks, I've added knobs to lids here and here. And I've even created Christmas ornaments with mason jar lids. So, it should be no surprise to you that I'm doing something fun with lids again. This time, I'm "hooked" on hanging my Ball mason jars. I have this fun wall art that hangs over my sofa. It kind of reminds me of a seaside fishing town... albeit a very simplified version. This year I decided to go with a coastal vibe for Christmas and pulled out my … [Read more...]
Raise your hand if you love seeing Christmas trees on cars and trucks and other moving vehicles. Whether it's a pillow or place mat... a cute vintage truck with a Christmas tree stuck in its bed at Home Goods... or that first car going down the road with a fresh-cut tree... I smile. Every time. I am in love with Christmas trees on cars. So when my wonderful blogging friend, Malia from Yesterday on Tuesday asked if I'd like to join her for a Christmas Trees on Cars Blog Hop... of course I said yes... without another thought. I had so much fun creating little vignettes last year with an … [Read more...]
Wouldn't you like to have a wreath that could transition from late fall through Thanksgiving to Christmas and into New Year's? Me too! Whether you have space issues, time issues, or just want to be efficient in your use of resources, I think you'll love this stunning transitional wreath for Thanksgiving to Christmas and beyond! It has the earthiness of fall with the burlap colored ribbon and the sparkle of the holidays with the gold polka-dots. My goal is always to make a big impact without spending oodles of time and money on a project, so I'm always keeping my eyes … [Read more...]
Looking for a way to give your tree a little sparkle this year? Try your hand at making these super quick and easy classy marbleized metallic Christmas ornaments. As you know... I'm all about adding a personal touch to my home decor. In my book, handmade always trumps store bought. So it was just a natural thing for me to invite my blogging friends to join me for 31 days of sharing handmade Christmas ornaments. I'm number 5 on the 31 Days of Handmade Christmas Ornament Blog Hop which runs October 1-31, 2015. I hope you've been inspired by the talents of my good … [Read more...]
To me... there's nothing better than a handmade Christmas. If I didn't make it... I would purchase handmade items. Especially Christmas ornaments. The handmade ones are the ones I treasure most. They are the ones that have a story. Yup I'm sentimental like that. That's why I put together a very special event for you... My Project Inspire{d} co-hostesses agreed to join me in hosting this very special event, and together we've invited an amazing line-up of bloggers to bring you a whole month filled with beautiful handmade Christmas ornaments that YOU can make too. Here's our inspiring … [Read more...]
In busyness of the season, you may have missed my popular series, Creating Christmas Memories with Vignettes. Each week we were blessed by one of my blogging friends as they shared their Christmas Memories with a special vignette or maybe several. More than anything, I loved the stories they shared. Our heart strings seem to be more sensitive this time of year. Maybe now that everything is decorated, you'll enjoy their posts in a new and fresh way. It's a good time to take a look at your decor and make plans now to create Christmas memories to be treasured with vignettes. If you missed the … [Read more...]
Christmas Baking Vignette What a treat to be here visiting my friend Diane at An Extraordinary Day! I was so excited when Diane told me that she was hosting a series on Christmas vignettes. I love the idea of creating small vignettes in my home. It's an easy way to break decorating into small manageable bites. And that is especially welcome at the holidays when decorating the whole house can feel quite overwhelming. Today I'm sharing a simple little vignette that sits on my kitchen counter and it's all about family traditions and baking Christmas cookies. I … [Read more...]
How would you like to have a fresh evergreen centerpiece for Christmas? I've been making one for years and now... with this tutorial you can too! Let's start with our supplies... Waterproof container ~ This Lenox Winter Greetings Bowl*is a new version and similar to the one I used. Pruner * Sharp knife with a long blade Oasis® floral foam* Assorted fresh cut evergreens Berries or rose hips ~ fresh or artificial Pine cones English ivy or boxwood is also a wonderful addition Optional: small bird house, bird cage, candle, bird, etc. Hot tip! I picked up my … [Read more...]
Have you noticed them? Christmas trees on cars? Or maybe campers even? I can't tell you how many Christmas trees on cars we saw on our drive home at Thanksgiving. We live near several Christmas tree farms, so really it should be no surprise. There's something wonderful about seeing a car (or truck) with a tree tied on. There's something special about bringing home a fresh-cut tree. I like to think that each car I see is filled with joy and anticipation. And I imagine the plans being made to decorate that perfect evergreen treasure for … [Read more...]
Farmhouse Christmas Vignette I bet you are in the process of making your home MERRY AND BRIGHT! Decking the halls and doing Fa-la-la-la-la fun things this Christmas! I am doing that right now too! One great way to give your home a festive holiday look is by creating Christmas vignettes. I'm so thrilled to be a part of Diane's CREATING CHRISTMAS MEMORIES WITH VIGNETTES. And I am soooo happy to be here at AN EXTRAORDINARY DAY today!!!! A big thanks to Diane for letting me visit her beautiful blog and be part of this wonderful series! My favorite vignettes to create any time … [Read more...]
Yesterday I mentioned the value of taking photos of your Christmas decor each year. By looking back at my past photos I made a discovery. In my quest to be frugal, I've become a little shabby. Shabby chic that is. Looking through past years' holiday photos I discovered my first attempts, at shabby Christmas decor. And it's not all bad. The photos... not so great. But the shabby Christmas decor... pretty nice (if I say so myself). You see that year, like most, I just snapped a few photos of my decor for posterity. Mostly so I'd remember what I did. It's always been a … [Read more...]
Ready for a hot holiday tip? Do you take pictures of your past holiday decor or table settings? If you don't, I urge you to do that. Bloggers have a tendency to take lots of photos, and I was "guilty" of that in my pre-blogging years. But, now as I look back, I'm so glad I did. It helps me remember the good ideas and get the creative juices flowing when I'm tired from all the festivities and I might still have some decorating to do, or tables to set for those special dinners and parties. Why not create a special file on your computer, just for holiday decor you want to remember? I think you'll find … [Read more...]
