Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Add something new to your standby Christmas decor. Alongside your sentimental ornaments and favorite pieces, introduce an updated centerpiece or a fresh take on stairway decor, and you might find a new decorating tradition!

Transform a clear glass lamp base or a large vase into a festive still life with a few accents. Fill the bottom with sea salt (a stand-in for snow) and arrange a scene with small ornaments, pine branches, and old photographs or cards.


Sometimes the simplest flower arrangements can add the perfect amount of holiday cheer to a table. Arrange bright red roses in a tall vase and complement the centerpiece with leftover glittery ornaments in various sizes.


Pretty wrapped boxes -- even if they're empty -- can play up a distinctive holiday color scheme. Here, an unexpected combination of gold, cream, and chartreuse provides a vivid pop of color both on and under a bench. In place of bows, wrap a few loops of ribbon around the boxes and stick in a cedar sprig or two.


A wall, a headboard, and a door are all great spots for this simple-as-can-be idea. Sew a single ornament to the end of a length of ribbon, then loop around a hook or headboard and hold in place with strong tape. To create a diminutive bedside tree, wire together full branches and prop in florist's foam.


Add festive greenery to the kitchen entryway with a large, leafy garland. Make it unique by adorning it with last year's (or this year's) Christmas cards, gold and green orbs, and sprigs of fir or spruce.



To pamper visiting family and friends, consider adding a few extra touches to the guest bedroom. Add a bright pop of color with a throw pillow and an extra quilt. To brighten the side of the bed, include a few red blooms in tin containers, and carry through the same color with a ribbon accent for a bottom-of-the-bed fir wreath. Spray-paint paper letters with a welcoming holiday message and set them atop a fir garland on a nearby shelf or table.



This potted dwarf Alberta spruce tree makes a great tabletop accent when combined with other holiday elements. Put the tree container into a basket such as a picnic tin and surround it with apples, oranges, or other fruits, adding pinecones or nuts for accent. Attach a vintage holiday card to the open lid to make the decoration even more festive.



You don't need to go out and buy a special container or vase for the holidays -- instead, get crafty and adorn what you already own. Cut felt to fit around a container, adding an inch to the length. Wrap the felt around and glue at the overlap, then center a ribbon and glue it in place. Using a cookie cutter as a pattern, cut seasonal shapes, such as trees, wreaths, or ornaments, from a complementary color of felt and glue in place. For the final touch, fill the container with ornaments and bits of greenery.



A waterfall of wooden snowflakes, hung from thumbtacks and ribbon, cascades behind the headboard of a bed. Depending on the color scheme of the room where you put the decoration, change up the color of the hanging ribbon or use more than one color to add more festive cheer.



Dressing up the chairs around your dinner table is super easy with candy canes and holiday ribbon. Tie one end of some wire-edge ribbon in a pretty pattern around an oversize candy cane and the rest in a big bow on the back of each chair. For solid chairs, use T-pins or cut longer ribbon lengths for a sash.


Cloves are the go-to adornment for decorating fruit, but crafts materials can also add dimension and visual interest. Arrange inexpensive brads (found at crafts and office supply stores) in various patterns around apples or oranges. Pile the arrangement in a bowl and place on a coffee table or in an entryway.

Clever embellishments turn plain-Jane ornaments into seasonal standouts.

Take a walk in the woods to gather materials for this simple, natural ornament. Clean the sap from pinecones with a weak water-and-bleach mixture. Twist an eye hook into the top of the pinecone, dust the edges with spray snow, and tie on a bold ribbon to add outdoor charm to your tree.


 Bring the beach into your Christmas decorating by painting stripes of glue on an aqua-color ornament and sprinkling it with sand. Add small shells and beige buttons for a casual, sunny look.


Turn an old sweater into a warm and festive ornament. Cut a 6-inch-long tube from a sweater sleeve. Slip a plastic-foam ball into the tube. Gather cut ends at the top and bottom of the ball using straight pins to hold the fabric in place, trimming where necessary. Glue red velvet ribbon around the ball as shown, dividing the ball into quarters. Use a red pearl-head pin to secure a felt poinsettia or a small purchased artificial flower to the top of the ornament.


Swirls, teardrops, and tiny dots cover satin baubles like frost on a winter windowpane. Freehand paint paisley-inspired patterns so each ornament is one-of-a-kind. All you need is a white paint pen and some colorful Christmas balls.



These delicate snowflakes are definitely sweet -- but they aren't edible! To prepare the dough, mix 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup water until sticky. Roll the dough to 1/4- inch thickness, and cut out snowflake shapes with cookie cutters. Use a skewer to pierce a hole for hanging. Bake the shapes for 4 hours in a 200 degree F oven. When cool, draw hearts, squiggles, and dots with a red permanent marker. Hang from a loops of festive twine or yarn.



Let it be known that Santa is in the house with this greeting. Paint a ball ornament with red acrylic paint. When the paint dries, apply letter stickers and a snowflake to make Santa's voice ring throughout the holiday season.



Add a little jingle to your tree with an ornament that's sure to bring music to your ears. Fill a clear ornament with small red bells. Wrap ribbon around the top of the ornament and glue the long tails in place. For an extra touch, tie ribbon through the hanger and glue a felt Christmas tree to the center of the crossed ribbon tails.



Dab metallic paint onto an ornament using a sponge to create texture. Punch snowflakes from cardstock and adhere just the centers (so the points are not secure). Top the snowflakes with round, epoxy stickers adhered to the centers for a frosty fun addition to your tree.



Cut out a tree shape from festive holiday-motif cardstock. Mat the tree on white paper, then add rhinestone trim and a snowflake on top.



Add a little bling to your tree with this dazzling ornament. Dress up a clear orb with pink acrylic paint. Let the paint dry then add evenly spaced rows of multicolor adhesive-backed gems.

Clever embellishments turn plain-Jane ornaments into seasonal standouts.

Spell out "Joy" on ornaments in glittery script, then add some jewels and extra glitter to make these flashy tree decorations.


Simplicity says it all with these flower-topped ornaments.


Brighten up the tree in no time with vibrant orange ornaments embellished with glitter.


Let your creativity show with these simple paper ornaments. Cut out circles from colored cardstock. Add string, ribbons, buttons, and other holiday decorations to make one-of-a-kind ornaments. Glue on a piece of gold foil to mimic an ornament top.


Make your Christmas a traditional one by personalizing your tree with old family photos. Simply mat pictures on fun, Christmas-color cardstock and cut to fit a 3-1/2x5-inch black photo frame.



Give your tree an old-fashioned look by slipping Christmas stamps into a clear ornament. Look for sets of stamps with different pictures to add interest.



Turn your Christmas fir into a forest by filling it with dozens of paper-tree ornaments made by simply rolling up strips of green scrapbook paper.



Dressed up in jewels for the holidays, these quick-to-make ornaments will be the star attraction of your Christmas tree. The ornaments are crafted using a purchased ball ornament, crafts-store beads, and gold glitter.



For ornaments that dazzle, decorate satin balls with dimensional paint and shower them with the tiniest of beads. A few simple crafts supplies, our free pattern, and a steady hand are all you need to create these striking holiday decorations.



Here's a variation of the ornament shown in the previous slide. The free-form star pattern is easy to re-create and gets a little visual kick from the dots at the end of each arm.



Sparkling beads make any tree decoration stand out from the rest.
 

Add something new to your standby Christmas decor. Alongside your sentimental ornaments and favorite pieces, introduce an updated centerpiece or a fresh take on stairway decor, and you might find a new decorating tradition!

Texture can play a key role in boosting the visual interest of a small space. Here, a simple swag of evergreen boughs and three stockings in three different materials spruce up a short banister.


Think outside the box when it comes to your small-space decorating. In place of everyday kitchen curtains, swap in a few spray-starched Christmas aprons and add a cluster of faux trees.


Tiny wrapped boxes provide a base to a few glittering paper houses that take up very little space. To make "trees," wrap squares of scrapbook paper into cones and glue the edges; cut off the bottoms to be level. For extra sparkle, place the grouping on a silver tray.


Open, airy windowpanes dance with color, thanks to these colorful snowflakes. Hang similar ones in a pattern or at random; add the final touch with a simple swag of greenery overhead.


A bare-bones tree is a treat for a small corner, and choosing just one accent color is a good way to cut down on visual distractions. For the base of your tree, wrap a small box with a dish towel and fill the base of the box with stones (disguised with a layer of pearl-white ornaments) to hold in place. Add a few more wrapped boxes in a variety of papers and ribbons.


Old photos are great conversation starters, particularly at the holidays, and this display takes up only minimal wall space. Start with baby photographs; cut them in a circle, mount on foam core, and arrange in a tree shape. Little space, big impact. 
Editor's Tip:
For a great together-time activity, have family members guess who is who in each photo.



Even if you have more expansive spaces, a small tree can add charm and whimsy to small rooms, such as an entry. Tuck a small tree in a bright container and string garland and ribbon ornaments as well as a few round ornaments. Include accents that are similarly scaled down, such as small presents or containers of candy canes.



There's no need to overdo accents in downsized spaces. Go for impact, such as this tiny twinkling tree, made by drilling tiny holes into a stick and inserting lengths of pipe cleaners.



Look to your dining table to display holiday merriment. A tiny wrapped box offers a warm welcome at a place setting. Best yet? It fits inside a teacup.

Try something new this season! Decorate your home with haute holiday hues that are anything but conventional.

 By : Brian Patrick Flynn