2013 Christmas Home

I’m a little…well, a lot…behind this year but I finally got my act together and am showing you our house all fancy and decorated for Christmas. The link-up parties have come and gone but its always fun to post this so I can remember what I did the year before! There are a lot of pictures and just a few comments so if you have a question, please leave a comment below or send me an email.

My favorite part of the whole house…a lot of wine and champagne was drank in here this season!

Wrapping paper from Ballard Designs, burlap ribbon from Hobby Lobby and tree skirt from Pottery Barn…I prefer modern in my home design but traditional at Christmas is my favorite.

I copied Wisteria’s holiday catalog, using red instead of blue. I love the many functions of this giant clam shell.

The coffee filter wreath from 2010 has held up so well – who would have thought?

The dogs favorite spot – by the OSU tree, looking out the front window.

Santa Max and his little elf, Carl, hope you all had a fantastic holiday season! See you in 2014.

Read Full Post »

2012 Christmas Trees

I have a major love/hate relationship with Christmas trees. I love looking at them and no home at Christmas feels complete without one but they are such a pain to decorate and take for-ev-er. The final result is always worth it though, especially at night when the only light in the room comes from the tree in the corner.

Once again, I chose to do two trees – a live and traditionally decorated one in the main living room and a fake, OSU decorated one in our other living room. I used burlap ribbon (found online, thanks to Pinterest), clear lights and silver ornaments that have been collected over the past six years and are from every store that’s ever sold a Christmas ornament.

I like to make sure the mantel blends into the tree and doesn’t get too crazy so I kept it pretty simple and clean. Christmas gets to be so stressful and crazy so I need the decorations at home to be relaxing and calm. Some bling, red plaid and natural texture make me feel very festive!

This year’s wrapping paper came from The Container Store and Hobby Lobby. It was my first time buying paper from both stores and I will definitely do it again! The paper is super thick and easy to cut. I can’t stand flimsy, cheap paper that rolls up on you while you’re trying to wrap the paper and tears while folding. The awesome gift tags were a free printable and I love them!

The icicle ornaments are from Target from several years ago and have popped up around the house each year in different spots but finally were used on the tree this year and I love the way they reflect the lights. Even though glitter is usually terrible, I still love it at Christmas and try to use it at least a little bit. I wish I could take the claim for the monogram ornaments but I cheated and bought them (plus the mercury glass ornaments) at Pottery Barn.

This guy… Max and Carl have no clue what to do when I take pictures of the house and start moving around all crazy like. He finally just stopped and ended up right in the middle of everything – typical! I have to say though, he looks pretty darn cute in front of the tree.

Carl prefers this spot in front of the OSU tree – he loves to watch everyone and everything out of the front window. Some of these ornaments hang a little low and I always worry I will find one (or three) broken and on the floor but I think he’s scared of them and leaves this area alone. He does love to smell the burlap from the DIY tree skirt though!

Our ‘tree topper’ is actually a stuffed Pistol Pete. The limbs at the top of the tree help keep him in place since there isn’t a bottom holder to him.

My newest ornament is the top left and I love it! A friend of mine makes these for schools, states, NBA teams – whatever you want. She is so talented so I had to buy one from her. The candy canes are the cheapest ornament I have. I took three packages of fake candy canes from the Dollar Tree and spray painted them orange. I’ve used them now for three years and they haven’t had one problem!

The trees at night, with no other lights on, are my favorite views and make the decorating hours all worth it. So pretty and so serene!

Read Full Post »

2012 Christmas Vignette(s)

Vignettes are the simplest and easiest way to show a little you in your home. A grouping of figurines, a stack of books with a piece of coral on top of it, a buffet with pictures and candles – all are “moments” that happen in your home and reflect who you are. Christmas is a fun time to experiment with these little moments and really shouldn’t take a lot of time. Lets face it – putting up a tree and decorating it is a time killer so these vignettes should be quick and easy!

Our entryway has the standard – a buffet with some books, a lamp and a mirror. I like to play with the seasons in this vignette so at Christmas, I add a metal reindeer (found maybe at Target several years ago?), a wonderful smelling Christmas candle and my coffee filter wreath that is now surviving its third Christmas! The plaid ribbon holding the wreath on the mirror and my monogram moss letter on the front door help tie in my plaid theme I have going this year. (check out this tutorial on how I made a smaller version of the monogram moss wreath last year)

This large vase usually holds sand and my favorite candle – the Blue Volcano. This year, I’m using it to hold fake snow and all of our lovely Christmas cards! I’ve made clothespins wreaths to hold cards, I’ve let them sit in a stack on the kitchen counter, I’ve even tried to spread them out on our mantel – this is by far my most favorite way to display them though because you can see the pictures, easily grab one to view and it brings more Christmas cheer to the front door!

These two lanterns sit on the floor, next to our entryway buffet. During the year, the candles sit on grassy moss but I like to change it for the winter. Fake snow and jingle bells make me feel more festive and it continues the look from the top of the buffet, right on down to the floor.

A simple strand of lighted garland helps make this vignette more festive. I kept the stack of cookbooks, lamp and mirror all the same – just added some festive greenery and lights!

This little moment is special in our living room. I usually have a piece of coral sitting on top of these dropcloth covered books but swapped it out for a small glass nativity scene. I can’t remember who gave me this set but I love how the glass reflects off of the lights from our tree and shines in the small round mirror.

This vignette is on the sofa table in our living room. You also see it when you first walk in to our house, thanks to knocking down the dining room wall! This nativity scene is supposed to be a Christmas present for me but I wanted to use it as early as possible. My mom and I got this while shopping the day-after Christmas sales last year and I was really hoping she would forget she was saving it to use as a gift – sometimes that works and sometimes? Not so much. I love it though and it looks great on this table, sitting on top of a “table runner” I made. Nothing fancy about this runner – it is simply wrapping paper that I’m using for this year’s gifts, cut to the lenght of the table and folded in half to break up the white table and white Nativity. Sometimes, you do what you can and for as cheap as possible!

Sharing this over at Southern Hospitality’s Holiday Home party today!

Read Full Post »