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.

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!

With a neutral base, it's easy to add a bit of temporary holiday flair to a bedroom. Drape hand towels or tea towels over a headboard, and pin together covers for throw pillows using striped napkins and place mats. Drape an unfinished length of burlap over a side table and add a potted dwarf evergreen. For the final touch, hang a few pine branches on the wall over the bed to accent the headboard.


The best holiday decorations make use of what you already own, allowing you to transform them with the changing seasons. Add festive touches to a neutral pillow in no time at all. Cut a holiday shape a tree, a star, an ornament from felt or burlap, and use thick yarn or twine to secure the shape to the pillow.


Adorn this buffet table with several traditional and unique holiday decorations. Filled with apples and cherries, these lanterns light up the table without a candlestick in sight. Cut from inexpensive burlap that's fringed at the edges, a table scarf adds a colorful pop underneath, while a trio of trees are actually branches set in wet florist's foam in clay pots. A sliver-size window displays a holiday message spelled using adhesive letters.


Surprising accents make present wrapping and giving  that much more enjoyable. Instead of ribbon, tie bits of twine around each wrapped gift and add miniature sprigs or ornaments.



Votive candles with the right touches are the perfect holiday accent to any room, so consider polishing off your candle presentation with this smart idea. Fill a larger vase part way with fresh cranberries or small beads and insert a smaller glass votive holder. Mix and match sizes of vases or keep them all the same for a more consistent pattern.



A new crop of holiday cards is a great way to display lots of color and pattern throughout your house. Use an old window shutter and tie lengths of ribbon from top to bottom, and attach a cards with double-stick tape.



The produce aisle often has more decorating possibilities than you might think. Bundle fresh herbs together with twine and tie them together with a length of ribbon to make festive bouquets. For fragrance and color, try an arrangement of thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and a bay leaf. 
Editor's Tip:
The bouquets can be made several days in advance
refrigerate them until you're ready to use them.



What would the holidays be without a few sweet treats? Luckily, bright ribbonlike varieties are pretty enough to display on their own. Fill a few lidded glass containers with various colors and sizes and loop a bright green cord through a pretty paper label.



Twisted into a cone, a square of decorative paper bedecks everything from a chair back to a doorknob. Secure the cone with glue and trim the top, then punch holes to insert a ribbon hanger and line with a pretty handkerchief or towel. Fill the easy-to-make decoration with a little gift or a sachet for a pretty take-home present.



Some of the most elegant focal pieces are crafted from simple materials and can be assembled without a fuss. Fill a wicker basket with repeating rows of moss, smooth stones, pinecones, and a cheery row of green apples, or use items from around the house and yard, such as acorns, nuts, sticks, herbs, flowers, and oranges.

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.
 

There's no need to downsize your holiday expectations with a small space to decorate. Our space-saving ideas bring the merriment of the season into even the tiniest corners.

Ornaments have tons of pop -- utilize their glitter and glow for a small-space display. Glue an ornament to a small, round plastic or glass disk. Remove the hanger and tuck in mini blooms or sprigs of berries. Group the vase ornaments on a tray for a centerpiece.


Instead of leaving extra chairs empty, place beribboned packages on, under, and around them for a small-scale version of under-the-tree package bonanza.


Simplicity is key for small-space decorating. White pillar candles, placed on a silver tray, add elegance to a windowsill. Two faux dwarf evergreens, wrapped in burlap, add a bit of color to the wintry scene.


Large and impactful are typical design credos for wreaths, but small can be equally as mighty. Hang a mini wreath with a velvet or satin ribbon from shelves or drawer pulls.


Nooks, crannies, shelves, bookcases: All are great spots for diminutive seasonal decor. If there's no space for a full tree, put a single dwarf version -- with a few presents -- on a midheight shelf. In place of lights, decorate with small-scale ornaments.


If you don't have space for -- or just don't want -- a real tree, you can get the same feel with this evergreen idea. Start with a wide branch; hang on a hook from the wall and decorate with treasured ornaments.


Look out on something pretty -- a basic painted frame strung with ribbon and hung with ornaments jazzes up a window and requires zero rearranging.


A small table by the stairs is a prominent small-space spot to start your Christmas merriment. Add a little, lightly decorated tree and a modest display to the tabletop. To give the evergreen a bit of height, place in a tall silver vase.



You've already decorated your home with personal pictures -- give them a holiday touch with a sprig of evergreen. No special crafting tools required.


That lovely solid-color wall in your living room? The perfect home for a holiday display. Here, miniature grapevine wreaths add texture to a green wall. We chose a variety of accents -- faux birds, small ornaments, sprigs of berries -- and glued them onto the wreaths before hanging the displays from a length of ribbon.



Don't overlook bathrooms as places to add some merry touches. Here, a small corner offers a great spot for a potted tree decorated with cream and blue ceramic bells and glass balls.