Christmas

Carrie from Making Lemonade and a few blogging buddies collaborated to come up with simple holiday ideas called Christmas in a Minute. One of those fabulous ideas is a ribbon Christmas tree that you can make in literally 15 minutes! Carrie says, “Have a few minutes? Great, then you can create these easy ribbon looped Christmas trees that make perfect holiday decor for tables, mantels, buffets, and even window sills.” I love how easy it is to customize this project to fit your holiday color scheme.

Wanna put a modern twist on the traditional nutcracker this holiday season? Check out these silver and white beauties from Allison at House of Hepworths. It’s hard to believe they were once rather scary-looking nutcrackers with crazy hair from the dollar store. Allison gave them a sleek, monochromatic makeover with some silver and white spray paint. Much better I’d say!

Melissa from Two It Yourself was inspired by a a vertical wood Christmas sign from Pottery Barn to turn a pallet into a sign of her own. And since she already had the materials on hand, it cost her nothing but a little time! Melissa decided to go with a different finish than Pottery Barn’s and used one of her favorite techniques to achieve an aged look. She also customized her text and simply printed the letters from the computer to trace around. I agree with Melissa – her free sign is just as charming as Pottery Barn’s pricey one!

It’s no secret that Pottery Barn has absolutely beautiful pillows. Last year one particular pillow with a holly leaf wreath caught the eye of Colleen from Just Paint It.  She knew she could replicate the design with craft paint on a piece of drop cloth for a similar effect. I love how Colleen breaks the steps down for you, so even the non-artist can pick up a paint brush with confidence. Here’s what she says about her new pillow: “It wound up much easier to knock off than I thought, using a simply holly stencil and cotton swabs for the berries. It can be painted easily in an afternoon.”

Morena of Morena’s Corner shares at Crafts Unleashed how she as inspired to create her own burlap ornaments. She says, “I adore the simplicity and versatility of burlap. I saw these adorable printed burlap ornaments in a catalog and decided to make my own. You can easily make several of these homemade ornaments in one sitting, and they would make lovely gifts that would be cherished for many Christmases to come!”