We have two holiday wreaths that go up each year: one on the front door, and the second on a wall in the dining room. I realized these wreaths must be at least 15 years old, probably older. I am also pretty sure the wreaths themselves were hand-me-downs that we redecorated. The metal framing of the wreaths was rusty, so it was definitely time to trash them. I’m on a kick to refresh my holiday decorations this year, purging things I’m tired of or that are just not pretty and adding new things. The wreaths were definitely on the list.  They had tired ribbon, ancient silk flowers and metallic holly that was peeling.

I started by buying two new wreaths at Michael’s for $7 each. We fluffed the greenery on the wreaths after bringing them hom. Since my holiday colors don’t include red (I know, call me a rebel) it’s always hard to find decorations that will work with my pastel theme. I picked up some small white poinsettias at Michael’s as well as some glittery baby’s breath and spray of some sparkly leaves with sparkly berries. I then ordered, returned and reordered several different color pink poinsettias from the Joann Fabrics site. The colors were different in person but I ended up keeping the second batch.

I then went Menne Nurseries, a local garden shop that has a huge indoor Christmas decor shop and found some beautiful light pink sparkly flowers and sage green leaves with white sparkly berries. The choices at this shop are definitely more high end and interesting than what I am finding at Michael’s and Joann. All in all I spent about $60 for the material that went on the wreaths.

The husband did the hard work of wiring the items to the wreaths after we collaborated on placement.He used green floral wire to attach the piece to the wreath frame.  I think they turned out well. The bright pink poinsettia wreath is bit gaudy, but I think it will look nice on the front door, and actually be visible from the road. The lighter pink wreath may be going in the dining room or it may find a new home somewhere else this year.

I’m working on a third wreath that will go in my kitchen and will post about that adventure once I finish it!

Do you have holiday decorations that are tired and need to be refreshed?

Here are my tips for making your own wreaths:

– Buy an inexpensive wreath and put loads of things in it, You’ll never know it was inexpensive because you won’t see much of it.

– Come up with a theme or color scheme and shop towards it. Don’t get distracted by things outside your plan.

– Buy more than you think you will need to fill the wreath. Buy three times more than you think you will need. You always need more than you think and you can return whatever you have leftover.

– Decide on an orientation for your wreath. Which is the top and which is the bottom? Then decide if you are going to distribute your decorations throughout the wreath evenly or if you want to create a larger asymmetrical display area on one section of the wreath.

– Do a dry run first, setting things where you think they might go before you wire anything in or cut off long stems from anything you buy. You’ll be able to move things around and determine what works in the wreath and what doesn’t.

– Once you know where things are going to go, cut them and place them but don’t wire anything in until everything has been placed. If you need to readjust it is much easier if things are not wired in.

–  If you are going to have a bow, wait until the wreath is finished to make it. If you make it for a bare wreath it often looks too small when applied to a fully decorated wreath.

We have two holiday wreaths that go up each year: one on the front door, and the second on a wall in the dining room. I realized these wreaths must be at least 15 years old, probably older. I am also pretty sure the wreaths themselves were hand-me-downs that we redecorated. The metal framing of … Read more →

I went to Home Goods earlier this week (always a mistake). The Christmas decorations are out. October wasn’t even half over. The fall decorations have been shoved to the side and Santas and snowmen have taken over. I’ll admit I have no qualms buying Christmas decorations in October. In fact, if you want to get the good stuff, you’ve got to get to Home Goods NOW before it gets picked over, broken, and scratched. So I’m really ok with the appearance in stores.

My problem is Thanksgiving. I like to decorate for Thanksgiving. To my husband’s chagrin, we have three types of storage boxes for fall decorations. Some are called fall and include pumpkins, leaf wreaths, nut wreaths, and gourds. These come out in September and stay out until after Thanksgiving. Some are called Halloween (jack o’lanterns, ghosts – you know the drill). These come out in September and are put away right after Halloween. Then there are some called Thanksgiving, which includes turkeys and cornucopias. They come out after Halloween and get put away after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving decorations are hard to find, however. Home Goods has one little end cap with turkey plates. I am hungry for more! I just bought a little glass turkey candy dish at Michael’s for $4 so that made me happy, but the truth is Thanksgiving isn’t a a holiday most people seem to be decorating for. Since I host Thanksgiving, I like to have my home beautifully decorated for this holiday.

In addition to the lack of decorations, a big problem with Thanksgiving is that it comes too late. By the time Thanksgiving arrives, everyone is focused on Christmas and some people even have their homes decorated for Christmas by Thanksgiving. If Thanksgiving were a couple of weeks earlier it would still feel like it is part of fall. Right now it is merely the kickoff to Christmas.

I went to Home Goods earlier this week (always a mistake). The Christmas decorations are out. October wasn’t even half over. The fall decorations have been shoved to the side and Santas and snowmen have taken over. I’ll admit I have no qualms buying Christmas decorations in October. In fact, if you want to get … Read more →

Recently the lamp shades in my house were looking a little dusty and a few swipes with a cleaning cloth did no good. The best way to clean a lamp shade is with a clean, dry paint brush! Brush down, going all around the lamp. You’ll be surprised by how much dust comes off! You should never vacuum your lamp shades – the suction will damage the fabric and if you have a pleated shade it is unlikely you’ll get all the dirt. If you have stains on your lamp shade, try the Magic Eraser.

Recently the lamp shades in my house were looking a little dusty and a few swipes with a cleaning cloth did no good. The best way to clean a lamp shade is with a clean, dry paint brush! Brush down, going all around the lamp. You’ll be surprised by how much dust comes off! You … Read more →

Rug

Dresser with the planter

Our daughter moved out this summer to attend medical school. While we’re so lucky that she has remained in the same area, we miss her terribly. But that hasn’t stopped me from doing cartwheels about all the added space in my house (in the pantry! In the bathroom! In the fridge! In the coat closet!) and from having fun decorating her old room. She took her furniture with her. Fortunately, I’ve been ready for this for years:) When my grandmother passed away, I inherited the bedroom set that was hers when she got married in the early 1930s. When I was a kid, this set was in her spare room and was the room I slept in when I stayed with her (which was often). I took not only the bedroom set, but the coverlet and the bedside lamp. It’s all been waiting.

Lamp with the new shade and the Spode vases

After the big move happened, I spent three days painting the room (goodbye pink, green, and sparkly white stripes) and crying the entire time. I think my tears mixed with the paint. But it was therapeutic. We cleaned out the closet (she had left behind a few things) and then my husband and son moved the furniture in. It was like meeting an old friend. When I pulled open one of the drawers, I recognized the smell and it made me feel connected to my grandmother. My husband then moved his desk into one corner of the room (and out of our bedroom which freed up a whole corner in there for me to go nuts with – I might have bought a curio cabinet to go there) but the rest of the room was mine for the decorating. I was giddy. It has been years since I

Vanity with chamber pot

decorated a room from the ground up, so to speak.

The furniture completely shaped my plans – whatever I did needed to look good with it. I decided to start with a rug and happened upon this cute (and very modern) rug at HomeGoods. This gave me my color palette – pale blue and white. I found some beautiful sheers at HomeGoods also for the windows and used the existing curtain rods my daughter had picked out in her princess stage. I had the bedside lamp, but I had forgotten it was a converted milk glass oil lamp. I love the milk glass but was not a fan of the glass chimney or the ancient shade with pom poms on it. I took them both off and after much searching, found a plain little shade that clipped onto the bulb. The lamp was transformed into something cute.

I also bought an Oriental lamp at Marshall’s that were marked down (you can see the red clearance tag is still on it in this photo!). This is where I got stuck though. I said goodbye the old matelasse coverlet that was in the room when I was a girl (it was now old and threadbare). I needed new bedding, but the rug really limited my choices. After ordering, chasing down, and buying 5 different bedding sets, I finally settled on this set from Bed Bath and Beyond which was nicely priced. I stumbled on a round throw pillow that was exactly the right color then I added a white throw pillow.

Bed and bedding

Accessorizing was easy. I did some in-home shopping. I brought in a blue Oriental planter that was my mother-in-law’s, a chamber pot that was also hers, added a couple plants, some photos and dug out a set of Spode vases my mother-in-law had gifted me with once. It was all the right colors. I had one challenge left. I love the sheers, but I like to have some kind of window topper. Finding a valance was not working – the blue color is so hard to match. Then I had a moment of pure genius. I pulled out the stack of linen embroidered handkerchiefs that belonged to my two grandmothers and my mother-in-law and draped them over the top. I had exactly enough for both windows and it was fast, easy, and cheap. And I think it looks pretty cute. My daughter is calling this the old lady room, but even though the furniture is very old, I think I spiffed it up with some modern accessories and linens.

Handkerchief valance (taken before I ironed them!)

And I’m already starting to slowly take over the dresser drawers and closet space….

Our daughter moved out this summer to attend medical school. While we’re so lucky that she has remained in the same area, we miss her terribly. But that hasn’t stopped me from doing cartwheels about all the added space in my house (in the pantry! In the bathroom! In the fridge! In the coat closet!) … Read more →

I got the idea for this from something I saw on Pinterest. Get out all those doilies you inherited from your grandma but couldn’t bear to throw away, even though you would never, ever use them the way she did. Layer them over each other to create a table runner down the center of your dining room table. Or use them as I did here, to cover a side table and display items on top of them. It’s a cute look for Valentine’s Day.

I got the idea for this from something I saw on Pinterest. Get out all those doilies you inherited from your grandma but couldn’t bear to throw away, even though you would never, ever use them the way she did. Layer them over each other to create a table runner down the center of your … Read more →

I love to decorate for the holidays, but I love it even more when it costs me absolutely nothing. One trick I’ve hit upon is to take tree ornaments and display them in other ways to create more decorations throughout the house.

I used to decorate with a winter theme after Christmas, but I soon decided it didn’t give me enough time for my Valentine’s decorations, so I stopped. All the winter decorations got put away in a box. Some of those decorations were originally snowflake Christmas ornaments. This year I found the box and rediscovered these ornaments. A few of the ornaments (handmade lace snowflakes made by my grandmother) went on my tree, but I had a collection of blue and silver snowflakes left.

I pulled out this dish I inherited from my grandmother. I love it because it is so unique, but it is often hard to find the right items to display in it. I played around with the snowflakes then remembered I had a bag of fake snow that came with a Christmas village item someone bought me. I dumped in the snow, arranged the snowflakes to stand up in it, and suddenly I had a beautiful new decoration that didn’t cost me a dime.

I love to decorate for the holidays, but I love it even more when it costs me absolutely nothing. One trick I’ve hit upon is to take tree ornaments and display them in other ways to create more decorations throughout the house. I used to decorate with a winter theme after Christmas, but I soon … Read more →

A couple of years ago I fell in love with decorating kitchen or dining room chairs after I saw it done at a holiday tour of homes. What a fun way to add some more decorations, I thought. My husband thought it was not as exciting, since I needed his help to make it happen. Last year we made an attempt at it, decorating our kitchen chairs with some blue and silver jingle bell snowflakes I found at Walmart. My charming husband wired them to some faux pine boughs from extra garland, tied a silver bow and hung them on our chairs from those 3M removable hooks. It didn’t go well. They kept falling off and falling apart.

This year, I stumbled on some cute silver wire wreaths at Hobby Lobby for $6.99 each. We bought blue ribbon. He tied the ribbon around the kitchen chair after looping it through the wreath, then tied it into a bow. No hooks, nothing that could fall off. They are fantastic and I am so thrilled with them! In fact, I’m so thrilled that my mind is already thinking about what we could use to decorate the dining room chairs next year….

A couple of years ago I fell in love with decorating kitchen or dining room chairs after I saw it done at a holiday tour of homes. What a fun way to add some more decorations, I thought. My husband thought it was not as exciting, since I needed his help to make it happen. … Read more →

Pink Christmas tree

Red and green definitely say Christmas, but do you have to stick with tradition? Absolutely not. In fact, choosing your own signature color for the holidays allows you to customize your decor and make it extremely personal and unique.

I come from a long line of customized Christmas color-themed households. My grandmother always had blue decorations, even in the 70s. My mom went with blue and silver for her own tree, so I grew up without a lot of the red and green that fills most households.

My mom bought me ornaments over the years as I was growing up and what I really liked was pink, so she went with it – and they looked fine on her blue and silver tree.  Pink stuck and when I had my own tree, I bought pink lights. Red looked ridiculous, so I avoided it. Fast forward 25 years and I have a house without red at Christmas. Most of my decorations are pink, blue, silver or gold. I have some cranberry colored items in the family room where they fit the decor. It’s become one of my signatures and I love adding to my collection.

There are so many colors that can work at Christmas. Purple is beautiful when paired with silver or gold and has a rich, regal feeling. Orange can be a fun color to work with and yellow is bright and welcoming. Brown offers a woodland motive. Black and white or black and silver could create an elegant decor. Don’t be held back by traditional notions of holiday colors – make the holiday your own!

Red and green definitely say Christmas, but do you have to stick with tradition? Absolutely not. In fact, choosing your own signature color for the holidays allows you to customize your decor and make it extremely personal and unique. I come from a long line of customized Christmas color-themed households. My grandmother always had blue … Read more →

I have a box of my grandmother’s old blue Christmas ornaments. For years, I’ve been displaying them in a bowl, but this year I decided to use cake pedestals. They create much more drama, and you get to see more of the ornaments. Clear pedestals will work with any ornaments, but I happened to have blue ones that were perfect for this project. Be sure to use pedestals that have a lip so your ornaments don’t roll off!

I have a box of my grandmother’s old blue Christmas ornaments. For years, I’ve been displaying them in a bowl, but this year I decided to use cake pedestals. They create much more drama, and you get to see more of the ornaments. Clear pedestals will work with any ornaments, but I happened to have … Read more →

I got a little creative yesterday and made these super simple Thanksgiving candle centerpieces. It is just popcorn and cranberries and a small votive. Next time I will try to find some colored popcorn (they sell red and black) to mix in for more color. Very easy to make and you can still use the popcorn afterwards!

I got a little creative yesterday and made these super simple Thanksgiving candle centerpieces. It is just popcorn and cranberries and a small votive. Next time I will try to find some colored popcorn (they sell red and black) to mix in for more color. Very easy to make and you can still use the … Read more →