Usually I like to go traditional with golds, reds, and garnets galore. Lots of fabrics, ribbons, and bows. This year, however, I thought I'd try something I haven't done before- a blue Christmas. I figured new house, new look, how about just go for it. So go for it I did. Hobby Lobby and Michaels never saw me coming...
a wreath for the main bathroom (thank you Bonnie!):
The wreath was the start of my blue Christmas, and I have my second mom, "Aunt" Bonnie to thank. She is so talented (and has had lots of practice with all the houses she decorates for Christmas, and the trees at WhitAsh).
the tree:
I like to do things that aren't necessarily "Christmas" ornaments. (I get that from my mom, who enjoys not one, but three Christmas trees in her home...) For example, feathers. (Yes, La, feathers! hehe). I always will browse through the flowers and stems section of Michaels to see if anything catches my eye. I found so many pretty blue stems this year, so I just had to use them! The tree skirt is the combination of two silk drapes I wasn't using, and fabric remnants of burlap and linen (recycling- check). I just twisted them out around the bottom of the tree instead of spending money on an expensive tree skirt. Maybe one Christmas I'll splurge on something monogrammed to adorn the bottom of the tree, but this year we'll just have to fake it. ;)
the mantle:
I bought garland last year at Rite Aid (yep, I did). It was $4.99 for a strand 7 feet long. Now, you pay for what you get with garland I think. This is the really thin stuff, not much fluff going on here. So, I twisted two strands together to give it a little more life, and now it's donning a few dozen ornaments to add some sparkle (and try to mask the cheapo greenery). Really, sometimes you just gotta fake it.
my front door swag:
This I made to try and match the rest of the blue Christmas theme I had going. I know most people don't do "themes" per se with a certain color scheme, but since I already had the blue going, I decided not to stop at the tree and wreath. This came together using pick stems, ornaments, feathers, ribbon, floral wire and floral tape. Initially I had planned on trying my hand at a wreath, and then quickly realized I had no clue what I was doing... so swag it is!
the manger scene:
A gift from my "Aunt" Bonnie. Love it.
Hubs was in charge of this project. There's a thin line I think between pretty and tacky when it comes to Christmas lights. Hopefully we are on the pretty end of the spectrum. (And for my earthy liberal friends, they are LED energy saving lights). I think he did a great job, and I will gladly hand over this responsibility to him again next year. :)
And so, that's it for our Christmas. I still need to figure out my dining room centerpiece since Christmas Eve dinner is at our house... I had better get to it since there's only a few weeks left, gulp!
What Christmas touches have you brought into your home this year?
