12/17/10 Decorate With Me (Tons of Pics)!

Today I thought I'd share some of my Christmas 'Martha Moments'...my one sister makes fun of me and calls me Martha (Stewart) when I'm decorating, crafting (ha, you'll see just how EASY most of these are!) or working on one of my house projects. I try to add/replace one Christmas thing each year and in my extended family, we exchange a decoration or ornament with each family every year, so I usually mass produce one item to give out.

I love sharing ideas (tell me yours!) for EASY things (you WILL be able to do most of these...some of these you could do with kids, like I have) that add some Christmas cheer. If you're like me now and don't have time to craft before Christmas, the after-Christmas clearance sales are your new best friends for gathering supplies for next year, and the kiddo's always get bored over the holiday break, so you'll have something to do! The five things you must buy: 1) small/mini wreaths, 2) artificial roping/pine garland (easily cut with wire cutters), 3) floral picks (a wire stem with cute holiday things at one end; ie. a piece of pine, a pinecone and a mini package, and if you don't like everything on the pick you can cut them apart...instant decorating), 4) ribbon, and 5) ornaments (they aren't just for the tree!).

NO WORK- ALL YOU NEED ARE ORNAMENTS:
Ornaments aren't just for the tree, so go steal some from your tree and scatter them around the house (also see my ornaments in spools on yesterday's blog):

- I have an angel theme in the first floor bath...bought angel ornament on the towel rack.
-Bought angel ornaments all over our antique medicine cabinet display (see the dozen tiny mini angels sitting on top of the antiques in the cabinet).

Add Command Hooks to interior doors with bought ornaments:

-I love the sound of bells on doors...a santa/bell bought ornament I just hooked over the door handle:


JUST A FLORAL PICK AND SOME WITH RIBBON:

Here's a large berry floral pick I just bent into an arch and set above a picture.

-Bell with ribbon on a door handle:

- Bell with ribbon and one floral pick on a door handle:

-A floral pick that had a red bell, add ribbon and tucked above my sleigh bells.
NO WORK- SMALL/MINI OR CANDLE WREATHS:
Small/mini wreaths and candle rings are as simple as buying them and spreading them around the house. Keep in mind that if you have something larger that these won't slip over that you can cut the ring in one spot so you can open it up (see the holly rings I add to my buffet lamps below):
-Add the rings to a candle (lamp one here), or on hooks (peg rack):
-Bought berry wreaths and I just added a piece of ribbon with two straight pins (one that holds the ribbon around the wreaths and the other anchors it to the top of my valances).

-Just slip them over candles:
SEVERAL OF THE ABOVE:
- Candle wreath (holly) that I just cut the ring in one spot and then open and placed on my lamps.
- Ornaments just placed in 3 glass vases.
- Floral picks (holly) just placed at the top of my plates that hang on the wall.

-Door frame...this one is an ornament, bead garland and ribbon, but how easy (with 3 command hooks)!

GET OUT YOUR GLUE GUN (and if you're me, some ice), USE THE PICKS, RIBBON, AND PINE, AND BUY...
- BUY...Cinnamon sticks (or maybe you have these in your spice cabinet), glue together with some ribbon, and wire them to your metal grater(s) with a votive candle inside shining through (and the heat makes them smell yummy...keep any ribbon far from the flame).

- BUY...a mistletoe ball...bought the pre-made mistletoe ball at JoAnn's (glued in the red berries, ribbons and a bell)

THESE REQUIRE A LITTLE MORE TIME AND SUPPLIES (AND SOME EASY ONES MIXED IN):
- The kids and I made wine charms with sculpey clay (bake and glaze them) for everyone (each of them made two shapes and a dozen of each). We just used wire and beads as well (I found the glass tree at TJMaxx).


-Bought this wooden stacking snowman at the craft store and DD and I painted it.

-Look closely, there are two wooden snowmen on either side of the tree that my two oldest made when they were very young, with 3 scrap pieces of wood and then we painted and glued on stick arms.
-I made the 'feather' tree and painted small pre-made wooded shapes for the ornaments.
-EASY: stick a tree topper in candlesticks- each end of the entertainment top (use some sticky tack to hold if the hole isn't the same size).

-BUY...cookie cutters (or use yours), hot glue ribbon and add several floral picks where they hang.

-The kids and I sponge painted these Santas for everyone one year. Use 2x4 scraps of wood, paint and hot glue some pick parts and a bell w/ribbon on the hat.

-Just a bought mini wreaths and some prepainted wooden shapes we glued on with a bow. Each of my kids made their own for their bedroom doors one year (they wrote their name on one shapes).

- Just a bought horn and glued on pieces of pine, picks, and ribbon:

-Same items hanging:

Several Ideas Here:
-EASY: Bought berry wreaths at the base of my candle sticks.
-EASY: Pine garland just bent over chandelier arms, hook on ornaments and add bows.
-Apple cone: Buy fake Apples and a Pineapple, green 'moss', red berries, and a styrafoam cone, then just glue gun it together. I sit this on a charger on top of a glass cake pedestal and I added some more pine with mini apples around the base.

HAPPY DECORATING!!!