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...]
If you put out a tray of Christmas cookies... the very first cookie I will look for is a chocolate one. No exceptions. I love chocolate and cookies are my favorite dessert. So when I discovered a recipe for amazingly delicious chocolate Christmas cookies... I flipped. And I'm no gymnast! These cookies are soooo good I'm also sharing them at a virtual Cookie Exchange with some of my fellow blogging friends. Links to all their Christmas cookie recipes will be found at the end of this post. The Christmas season is filled with so many memories in the making. I don't tend to dwell much in the past, … [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...]
Have you finished decorating your home? I haven't! Tomorrow we'll fill our window box with greens and winterberries. And then there are all those ornaments I still have to make for the tree. Yikes!! Where does the time go? Wherever you are in the realm of decorating... from just thinking about it to finished and gathering ideas for next year... we've got some truly fabulous and festive DIY Christmas decor ideas waiting here for you. If you're a cookie baker... you'll want to revisit this week's link party for inspiration. There are tons of cookie recipes waiting for … [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...]
That four letter word that begins with 's' is in the forecast. I confess that I really thought that the white stuff would come much later because this has been the best fall I can ever remember. We'll see how correct the meteorologists are... 6-10 inches. Ugh!! Now on to a warmer note.... You're going to love all these fabulous ideas to make your Thanksgiving extra special. Get your "pinning finger" ready for these all Great Ideas... Lovely Details to Make Your Thanksgiving Extra Special Fall Centerpiece by The Painted Red Cottage Be Thankful Window Decor by Giggles … [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 something fun and quirky to give to your friends at Thanksgiving? I'm pretty sure you'll be snickering while you create this quick and fun mason jar gift project everyone will enjoy. Who wouldn't love to get a jar of Turkey Toes? The candy corn and candy lovers in your life will flip for this gift. It's a great conversation starter... and it's just plain fun! Turkey Toes Mason Jar Supplies Pint-sized Mason Jar Lid - Use the lid that comes with your jar, a solid lid like mine, or a drink lid with the silicone washer removed Drawer Pull Knob - I … [Read more...]
The Thanksgiving countdown has begun! Before you know it... it will be time to thaw the turkey. On Monday I joined up with 18 fellow bloggers to bring you some terrific Thankgiving Centerpiece and Tablescape ideas. If you missed that post, pick it up here and be sure to stop by the other blogs for more fabulous inspiration. This week's link party was filled with ways to make your Thanksgiving table extra special. So many truly creative ideas for inspiration! Get your "pinning finger" ready for these all Great Ideas... 20 Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving Table Extra … [Read more...]
Today I'm joining some of my blogging friends for a tour of Thanksgiving tablescapes and centerpieces. You'll find all the details at the end of the post. Many of my friends say Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday. There's something to be said for a holiday that's about gratitude, celebrated around the table with a special meal, isn't there? This year I won't be hosting Thanksgiving. I'll miss doing that. However, I won't miss creating a lovely tablescape and centerpiece. That's because I created one for a good friend of mine. I had so much fun putting together this simple but spectacular … [Read more...]
This is a sponsored post for Parrot Uncle for which I received compensation. All opinions are my own. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine the interior of your favorite farmhouse style home. Doesn't it feel warm and homey? As you picture in your mind your ideal farmhouse style home, you are likely seeing a bright open space, filled with things you love in your favorite colors. Though you are aware of the brightness and charm, you may not necessarily be seeing light fixtures. That's because when a room or home is well lit with natural light from windows and beautiful artificial lighting, … [Read more...]
This year I'm not going to be celebrating Thanksgiving at home. But, I cannot pass on the decorating. A good friend and I were planning a day together and I asked her if I could put together a centerpiece and something fun for her sideboard in her style and do a photo shoot of it at her lovely condo. She said, "Yes!" My friend decorates mostly with grays and silvers and blacks, and her walls are the loveliest shade of cool blue, warmed with beautiful rich wood floors. Except for a few red accents, she stays within that color palette. With that in mind I went shopping. When I'm working at … [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...]
Trick or Treat is always a highlight as October begins her slide to November. It's always fun choosing candy (that I would like) and giving handfuls out to the princesses and supermen that ring the door bell or call, "Trick or treat!"at my door. Since I'm all about the treats and not the tricks (I'll leave the tricks to those of you who are naturally practical jokers), I've come up with a fun gift or treat container to keep on your desk or display somewhere in your home. And yes... it's in one of my favorite containers... a mason jar. Today I'm joining with a wonderful group of bloggers to … [Read more...]
