New Year Centerpiece

Black, silver and gold colors for this New Year' decor theme.

Hot Cocoa in a Mason Jar

Just add milk!

Blue and silver Christmas chandelier

I decorated the chandelier with blue and silver ornaments tied to a fabric ribbon.

Ikea Strala Hanging Drape Lights

I bought the Ikea hanging lights for this corner window in the dining room.  It has 16 LED lights and measures about 15 feet.  For $9.99 this starry string of lights has brightened up the whole room plus a warm holiday feeling throughout.  This photo shows two sets.

Christmas Village

Every year we put together our simple Christmas village that I have collected from thrift shops.  I got these buildings and figurines for less than $3 each! The pine trees were from Walmart and Joann. I added cut garlands and shaped them like Christmas trees and put them at the back of the village for a cozier look.

Glitter Ball

I have been on the lookout for bigger Christmas ornament balls, at least about 6 inches in diameter. Though more costly, it fills up a bigger space on the tree or garland, so I do not have to add more ornaments to create a fuller look. 

As much as possible I try to stay away from glitters for obvious reasons. It is so hard to clean and  it lingers until July!  But without the glitters, it is not easy to create a stunning and sparkling Christmas display.

So lately I noticed these huge ornaments, sparkling, without the glitters. Or the glitters are sealed under a bed of beads and sequins so they don't shed off as much.  This is what I'm looking for!  But they are at least $4.

And then I went to the 99cents store and found almost the same thing! No glitters coming off and it's sparkling and cheap.  The balls now hang on the garland by the stairwell along with the blue nets and blue poinsettias.

  

And then I found more blue stuff in the 99cents store.  I brought home a blue ribbon, blue Christmas placemats, along with this blinking blue snowflake ornament!

 

 

Loving the 99cents store and I'm planning to go back for more!

White Christmas Ornaments

I found this photo of our Christmas tree a few years back.  I decorated with white Christmas balls and bows.  I arranged them in clusters for a fuller look.

Turquoise and Silver Christmas Tree

Christmas tree is up! Still in the initial stages of decorating just with turquoise poinsettias, silver and blue picks.  No ornaments yet and it looks full already.  I guess I like this design for this year.

I clustered the turquoise poinsettias with the silver and blue picks and added a silver white net fabric under it for a fuller look.

On the top are silver glittery swirls and peacock design picks to anchor the topper.

I used a turquoise metal snowflake ornament to top it.  

Added more poinsettias

And now I think I am ready for Christmas!

Christmas Flameless Candle

A simple and cheap Christmas project.  Flameless candles, a glass vase, some glitter, all from the dollar store.  And a die cut holiday scrapbook paper from Joann.

I bought materials for three candle glasses. I taped and glued the holiday paper around the vase, and added some glitters and a snowflake bling.  I arranged them on a glass platter and added some Christmas picks and stems, and yey! I now have a stunning Christmas centerpiece!

Pumpkin Butter on Pumpkin Ice Cream

"How should you use Pumpkin Butter?  Heat it and pour over Pumpkin Ice Cream."
From Trader Joe's.

How to Make a Ball Garland

A quick cut wire is an ideal material to use to put together the christmas balls to form a garland.  I found it in the floral section at Joanns.  It has a built-in cutter that makes it very convenient to use.

After stringing the christmas balls onto the quick cut wire, I can now easily wrap it around the christmas tree branches.

Christmas Countdown

52 days to go, but it starts today for our little family!  Right after Halloween I start googling and planning  for this year's theme.  The past two years I had a gold and silver theme and now our family thinks we should move on to a more colorful one.

Here is last year's silver and gold tree:

I like this more organized and compact design where I strung the Christmas balls on to a long floral wire like it is a long garland, and wrapped it around the tree.  Here's a closer look:

 

I used a gold metallic net fabric that I bought at Joanns last year.  I cut it to about 36 x 12 inches size, then  I inserted the net fabric in between the garlands to create a fuller look.

 I added silver and gold berry garland and white poinsettia bouquets that I bought also at Joanns.

I finished it with an angel topper that sat on cream golden bows and gold floral picks.