Bright Green Is In My Christmas Color Scheme!!

 

Decorating for Christmas this year is so fun for me since it is the first Christmas in our new home.

Since I am just getting acquainted with our new home it took me awhile to come up with a color scheme and overall design plan.

Once I looked at the inspiration images I had pinned the overall design became more clear to me…..

Yesterday was a fun day of decorating the Christmas tree and wrapping a few gifts. 

This year I went to Spoonflower to purchase my main patterned papers. The quality of the paper and the clarity of colors is wonderful. 

I highly recommend getting paper from them. It might be more than you pay at the big box stores, but it can make just the right statement and set the whole mood for your Christmas decor.

When I choose my color scheme I look for papers and ribbons that will tie the overall look together. Remember those presents under the tree are part of the total look.

This is my original collage of wrapping papers. I did not get the plaid, but in looking at it again, I just might have to order it too.



The malachite wrapping paper ties in nicely with the bright green malachite pillow I am using as my base pillow this year.

I am using my woodland creature pillow from last years Christmas décor. It is one of my all time favorites and just seems to work in our home.

It’s fun to see it all coming together. Of course there are some twist and turns along the way. 

Sometimes the design process takes on a life of it’s own. One of the many things I love about the process.

For instance. I was not going to put bows on my tree this year, however once I was done I realized I needed a tie-in to the rest of the décor. 

First I tried white bows, like I used last year. In my head they looked good, but in reality they were way too much for this look.

Next I tried a double faced ribbon of bright green with a red interior and it felt just right to me. 

You see our tree is full of family memories and almost every ornament has a story to tell so they are brightly colored and all different shapes and textures.

The little glimpse of red on the ribbon seemed like the perfect  addition on the tree.

I wish the ribbon was a bit wider, but I used what I had on hand for this year. 

Who knows before the season is over the tree might have wider ribbon. I kept the streamers long because it felt more elegant to me. 

I love a touch of elegance with simplicity. I know our tree is not even close to Simple, but  this is our family tree, and it is perfect in my eyes because of the memories attached to it.

I have a bright green velvet pillow that I will be adding to the white and black chair behind the JOY pillow. It is coming all the way from Ireland.

In this picture you can see  my vintage Chinoiserie pedestal. This is a favorite piece of mine and I love that I can use it in our new home.

Speaking of Chinoiserie, that brings me to my next project……

You might remember this from last year. This  picture shows the wreath in process.

I used an inexpensive black frame as my base. You can read HERE how I made it, if you are interested.

This year I will be hanging my pagoda wreath in our kitchen dining nook. I had to fill in more greenery on the sides so I worked on that yesterday. I will show you all the pictures once I get the dining area all dressed up.

I hope you are all having as much fun decking your halls as I am!!

 

BTW:  Just click on the underlined site.......Ribbon purchased from Nashville wraps, Paper mart and Ribbon shop.
The double faced ribbon that is green on one side and red on the other purchased at Costco.

 

 

My First Christmas Mess In My New House!!

What is that saying about you have to create a mess before you can create beauty. Well, that is what I am doing in my new house.

I don’t even mind the mess because it is the very first time we get to decorate our new home for Christmas.

The first thing I did was bring in the pillows and switch out the covers. I had feathers all over me. 

Just in case you did not already know this, don’t wear all black when decorating for Christmas.

Then the rug had to be adjusted and the tree box came in. I get the job of fluffing up the branches. 

It felt like such a good idea last year to sprinkle snow on the branches. This year, NOT so much. I had faux snow all over me and the floor. LOL 

Still having fun and it won’t dampen my spirit!!

Just like most years some of the lights did not work, in fact the whole top of the tree did not work. 

Hubby had to go to the store to buy more lights. I don’t think he was too happy, or in the falalala spirit with that one.

I put a smaller tree in my kitchen area that is in a white square pot, and it has white lights. I love the simplicity, and how the green looks against the white walls.

Ooops I need to hide the cord!! Don’t you just hate cords showing?

Next came the wreath for the front door.

This year I decided to use a preserved boxwood wreath and found the best deal at Target.

My color scheme this year is going to be greens and white with my base of black and white so I carried that out onto my porch. Here is the collage I made of my plan….

I also had an inspiration picture for my wreath. I took creative freedom and did my own interpretation that feels more like my home.

I love the look of this one, and before it is all said and done, I just might add one more wreath to my configuration.

There was some tweaking along the way before I got it right. I started with this look first, but knew it was not quite right.

I love simplicity, however this was not going to give me the welcome I wanted for my guest. 

I talked with some of my friends who are design enthusiast to see what they thought. 

They all agreed I needed 3 balls not two. One friend suggested making a double loop bow. I listened to them so……

Back to work I went, and I did some tweaking. I added another ball, and another loop, but I took it a step further and made the streamers go down the middle of the back of the wreath. I chose to use 3 streamers at different lengths.

A little tip for you, when making a fish tail streamer, make sure the points are long and slender as opposed to shorter and wider. The longer points have a more elegant look.

I used battery operated lights that I got from Home Depot last year, they work great!

I added two white lanterns on each side of the door, but it still needed more.

I debated on using 4 or 6, but once it was darker and I lit the candles 6 was just too many so I went with the 4 lanterns.

So far I am having a lot of fun. The tree lights are done and the tree is in it’s corner. 

I moved furniture a few inches here and a few inches there and I think we have just the right base to work with now.  

You will be surprised at how much a difference it can make in a room when you take the time to move your furniture even a few inches. Always keep furniture pulled out at least 4-6in. from the wall, giving it some breathing room.

Step back from your room and look at your room from all angles when moving your furniture pieces. You will be happy that you took the time to make it right.

My busy Christmas helper. He always does such a good job putting on the lights. The decorating is up to me, but I think I am going to talk him into helping me this year. Wish me luck.

The room is starting to look like a nice cozy Christmas room. 

I think I am going to have fun decorating the rest of this room. Once I get the ornaments on the tree I will move to the mantel. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!!!

  

 

 

10 Gifts For The Hard To Buy for Guy!!

One of the things that we can all use each others help with is gift giving. 

I love to give a special gift chosen for the people in my life, however sometimes I come up with a blank, and many times I have found the perfect gift by reading a blog that had a gift list of ideas.

So in the spirit of giving I am going to show you some ideas that might help you out in your Christmas shopping.

Lets start with gifts for men, that seems to be the hardest for most women to find since when we ask our men what they would like, we always get the reply, “ I don’t know!”  I don’t need anything!”

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In this day and age every family has multiple devices of communication and this station can keep them all in one spot and looking neat and tidy!! Yay!!!

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This is a gift of a lifetime because a Pendleton wool blanket will literally last a lifetime. I love the masculine presentation with the leather belt strap holder.

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If your man loves GOOD sound then these Bose ear buds are for him!

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This electronic meat temp. monitor will allow your man to leave the grill and continue watching his favorite game on tv. The remote will tell him when the meat on the grill is done!

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Once he gets the meat all ready he can carve it with his own personal carving set. This is on sale right now too!!

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For the guy that likes to take his lady on a picnic how about this fun grass is greener blanket and then add two of these, one for her and one for him…….

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Handy, and complimentary to and for your man!!

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How about a special metal card he can carry in his wallet with a personal note from you. Or if you want a reminder of how much his family loves and appreciates him, include one with a personal photo…..

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Since this blog post is all about sharing please leave any ideas you might have that you think we all might like for the men in our lives!!!

Happy Gift Shopping!!