I have recently become obsessed with Chalkboard-style typography. So I thought I’d round up a few beauties from Etsy to share with you this week.
I’ve been practicing my skills and am working on my own version of this holiday-themed art! Check back soon to see how it turned out!
1. OliveRue / 2. SarahSaysSew / 3. – 5. LilyandVal
This is the last installment of the Dare to DIY challenge (sponsored by Two Twenty One, Newly Woodwards, Decor and the Dog, and Maybe Matilda), and I am sad to see it go! I really enjoyed each week’s challenge, and seeing all the great ideas that other bloggers came up with. Definitely found some great inspiration and some new blogs to follow! Whoo!
So, without further ado, here is how I’ve decked my halls for this holiday season:
I wanted to go for a “Winter Wonderland” theme, full of metallics and whites. It all started with the silver Ornament wreath I diy’ed a few weeks back, and from there, I started envisioning a mantel awash in mercury glass, silvers and golds. I would love to do our entire family room in silvers, golds, and whites (tree included), but… one thing at a time.
Some items I already had on hand, some are new additions, like the mercury glass pillars, metal reindeer, angel, and silver sequin tree (from Kohl’s and JoAnn Fabrics, respectively).
I used the branches on the far end in my Fall Mantel, but wanted to glam them up a bit for the holidays. I added glass vase fillers, a spray of white flowers, and swirly silver twig things that you always see in the floral section of craft stores. I have no idea what the official name is. Then I hung a few ornaments and mini-snowflakes from the branches to give them some festive flair.
The only items that don’t really fit the theme are our stockings and stocking holders, but they are too sentimental for me to switch them out, even for just one season. My stocking is the one on the right – my mom hand-stitched it for me when I was a baby, and my aunt made the Santa stocking holder. My mom also made Tom’s stocking. He’s always used whatever generic stocking we had stashed in with the Christmas decorations. But not this year! He’s finally got a personalized stocking 🙂
Check out more decked-out halls here!
I’m also sharing this at:
This week, I’m really loving the idea of bringing some special throw pillows into our family room for the holidays. Specifically – metallic embellishments and textured neutrals to make the room feel chic and cozy. Imagine being curled up on the sofa, homemade hot cocoa in hand, fire roaring, and tree twinkling. Ah, heavenly!
All of these picks are from Pier 1. Enjoy!
Tom & I have made quick work of our holiday traditions together. We always get a real tree (I grew up on the artificial stuff), and we make it a family affair – meeting up with his parents and sometimes his uncle’s family to pick out our trees. I love it. His mom is a live tree connoisseur. She has a very discerning eye, and will comb through the whole tree lot before making her decision. And her trees are always spectacular. I’m trying to learn her ways.
At this time last year, we were packing up our condo, getting ready to close on our current home. So, Christmas decorating didn’t happen. I insisted on some kind of tree, so we bought two small potted trees at Home Depot, and I decorated them after we moved in (which was literally 1 week before Christmas).
So this year, we’re making up for last years tree-less Christmas. We’ve got 10-ft ceilings in our family room, and I intend to take advantage of every last inch.
We made our annual trip to the tree lot this past Saturday. Here’s the tree before we left the lot! Don’t you love how part of it is hanging off the back of the car? Not quite as glorious as the scene at the beginning of Christmas Vacation, but still pretty sweet.
Here’s a peek at it in all its glory in our family room:
Is it weird to be super-excited about a Christmas tree? Because I am super excited about this Christmas tree…
Don’t worry – I’ll show you the final decorated product soon. I’m working up a post on all of our Christmas decor. What’s the tradition that you love most about the holidays?
I’m reaching back into the “archives” for this week’s Dare to DIY: give homemade challenge.
Over the summer, I pinned this jewelry DIY from the Martha Stewart blog as a way to keep myself occupied during our 12+ hour drive to Florida. I made two necklaces, and nearly lost all of the wooden beads in the car when we made a sudden stop.
All you need is some plastic lanyard lacing (remember all those summer camp crafts??) and beads. You could probably use silk cord or ribbon, and other types of beads. I just went off of the instructions on the MS blog.
I ended up improvising a bit when I had trouble looping the two strands back through the lacing.
I had fun playing with the color combos and dreaming up outfits that my new neon necklaces would go with.
Check out the Dare to DIY hostesses: Two Twenty One, Decor and the Dog, Maybe Matilda, and Newly Woodwards. And check out more handmade gift ideas here!