Merry Christmas and a Wreath Tip

We had our family pictures taken by my friend Andrea this year.  Our families did a photo swap with each other and another friend's family. It was busy, but we all got our family pictures done and then we had our Harvest Party together. What a fun day!

                 We printed our pictures through Zazzle this year. They were easy and quick to make.

Now for a tip: I've had several people ask me how I hung my wreaths on my window. Two words: Suction cups. I've seen how other people loop ribbon or burlap up top or bring it through the window- which looks so great. However, since my windows don't open up through the top I thought the easiest way to put them up would be suction cups. They've been great and held on tight. I got my wreaths at AC Moore for only a couple of dollars each.

                                 I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! I'll be back next week.

How To Make Your Fake Christmas Tree Look Not So Fake

 Yes, we are one of those families that have a fake tree. We love it! Putting this tree up is simple: three sections come together, fluff, pre-lit- enough said. However, I adore a real Christmas tree. For quite a few years now, it's been cost effective and like I said- simple to just put up what we have and be happy. In order to make our tree look not so fake I have done a few things that I think really help it look more real.

 Here is how our girls decorated the tree with all their ornaments. Not bad, but maybe it needs a little more decorating. I have been trying to go through some of my Christmas decorations and weed out the things I do and don't want anymore. I came up with a few sections of my favorites: star fish, ribbon, handmade fan ornaments, old Christmas cards turned into ornaments, and some cream and gold balls.

I had some clear glass balls I got last year on clearance that I painted mint condition, the leftover paint from the craft closet project

 Once it dried, I dry brushed on some splatters of pink paint to give it a textured look. Dry brushing requires very little paint on a dry brush and a paper towel to wipe off extra paint before you start paint. I simply swished some all around.

Add some real greenery in there to give it a fuller look. I also added several berry branches I clipped from our backyard. I wrapped the tree in the green striped ribbon. Throw in some pine cones and dried hydrangea and it's getting fuller. The point is to fill some of those gaps and give it a bit more texture.  

I also used some extra fabric I had in our house and wrapped it around as the base. Who says you need a tree skirt anyway? What I really love is the look with Christmas trees in buckets or baskets. Maybe next year. This year, our tree has quite a mix of treasured, handmade ornaments, natural elements and lights! Do you feel like you need to do some extra layers to your fake tree? I would love to hear and see what you've done!

Christmas House Tour 2013

Welcome to our Christmas home! We haven't quite lived here for a year, but we are making headway into creating a comfortable place for our family. Our living room houses our Christmas tree, which has plenty of homemade ornaments and some dried hydrangeas. I recently finished sewing the curtains (tutorial soon), which help make our room feel cozier. 

My husband and I finished making the chalkboard above our mantle (another simple tutorial coming soon). Branches from our backyard trees were helpful this year in decorating our planters which have rosemary in them. 

I really love fresh greenery, so I've been clipping some trees. Let's just say, my morning runs were not just for running but collecting greenery (only public trees). It was a two for one deal! 

Our tree doesn't get presents under the tree until Christmas eve, which makes things a lot simpler to not have the temptation for young children to start tearing at gifts. Maybe someday I will buy or make a tree skirt, but this year I put some extra fabric around it. 

My mom gave me her Christmas village- which I've always thought was darling. Now, my girls love to see the village and the little people. Oh, and somehow, our elf, Paul got in the village last night. Sneaky elf!

Our kitchen has the peppermint wreath and a little banner I made too (Target dollar isle silver letters). The centerpiece is a moss wreath (handmade) with pomegranates.

My daughter, Alison, created a cute chalkboard wall for all of us and made the snowflakes too. I think it's  important to have our children get involved in the decorating and crafts too, don't you think? 

I love how our stocking chandelier turned out! For the table I decided to stick with simple white candles and of course, more cut greens.

The buffet table has the advent calendar and goodies for cocoa. The small brass bar cart I got at a yard sale- (which I couldn't believe anyone would want to sell this- it's so nice). The chair I reupholstered (awhile ago), and was also a yard sale find. 

For our entryway, I put up a mix of natural berries (from our backyard) and fake ones on our banister going up the stairs. The black bench is a Craigslist find and same with the small blue table (that I painted).

           I hope you enjoyed the tour! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a very merry Christmas!

Christmas Stocking Chandelier and Progress on our Project

 Life has been busy lately with some school concerts, planning parties, and Christmas baking. You know the drill- it gets a bit crazy for all of us in the month of December. Throughout all this 'hustle and bustle' I made a whimsical look for our chandelier by hanging stockings (got last year, after Christmas shopping) and gluing mint ribbon onto them.
We're also Santa's helpers (sweatshop) working on our playroom for our girls under the basement stairs. Steve made a door and put up walls and mudded everything. It's looking good. We ordered a small amount of carpet tile for the space, since our basement is unfinished, the carpet will be nice for their toes instead of cold concrete. The walls are primed and ready to be painted.

Progress! Come back tomorrow for our Christmas house tour.

Peg Boards and Organizing

The peg board is a great invention! I love that I can see where my scissors, tape and ribbons are in our new craft closet. 

                                 My husband framed the back of the peg board using liquid nails.

We hung it using toggle bolts. Let's just say- this was not an easy task putting up a peg board on a hollow core door.

The baskets are IKEA and I banded it with some washi tape to give it a punch of color. The clear bins and glass jug came from Target. I used mainly bins we already owned. The labels are from the Martha Stewart line at Staples (love them).

 The hanging file used to be a brown cardboard, but I spray painted it to look like metal. I hung it using 3M velchro strips, and it worked great. I'm glad it went on the wall to give me more room at the desk area. The frame to my quote is from a thrift store which I spray painted white. I staple gunned some burlap onto the back of the frame and taped my quote up. Taping the quote means it will be easy to change it out for other inspiring messages.

The hanging scissors are also thrift store and I stained it. The metal caddy holds things like stamps, washi tape, brushes, glues, etc. 

Overall, it's really nice to have a home for my sewing machine and a place to put extra fabric, papers, and supplies. We did install an outlet in the closet too, so I can do quick sewing projects. Organizing my crafts meant throwing out some things that were not being used or old. It's always good to purge a bit so you can get the look you want. Next, I want to make a little chandelier for this space. Add it to the project list! 

How to Wallpaper with Wrapping Paper

When I decided to make our closet into an organized craft space I wanted to try something unique in this area. Wallpaper is expensive, so I went the wrapping paper route instead (which is a lot more affordable). The wrapping paper I used is from Rifle Paper Co., which has heavy, quality papers, and I pretty much love everything on their site. Try only to use heavy wrapping paper if you are going to wallpaper with it, or it might not work well and tear with thin paper. I measured my space and got three rolls- which was the perfect amount. The paint color I used for the sides and the door is Shermin Williams, Mint Condition. 

 SUPPLIES:
-sheet rock knife or exacto knife
-ruler
-small towel
-sponge brush
-board for cutting
-wrapping paper
-wallpaper paste (got it here, since it's hard to find in hardware stores)

We took out the wire shelf that was in here and filled the holes. Then, my husband worked on making two shelves and a small desk to fit in this space and he put up the boards to hold everything.  I primed and painted ahead of time before we put up the wrapping paper.

First, we cut what we needed and did a "dry fit" to make sure everything would work well. Next, we used our foam brush to liberally apply a coat of paste on the back of the wrapping paper. Note- we found it worked even better if we applied the adhesive right onto the wall and then stuck the paper to it.

There will be bubbles and wrinkles! In order to tame the bubbles, we used a cloth to help wipe it in an upward motion. We discovered our ruler was a great way to press down to get the bubbles and wrinkles out after we had used the cloth.

Let it dry for several hours. I didn't get an after picture with it all done, but this is close.

After the wrapping paper was put up and dried I was already on my way to organizing all the crafts. The paper on the wall is a fun pattern and it really livened up the space. Have any of you ever wallpapered with wrapping paper? It didn't take too long and is a great idea for a small space.