Red and White Delight

I have briefly mentioned my red obsession as of late. And there is no better excuse to add some drama than the holidays so I've been painting the town red this week, so to speak.

With a little help of course!

 

I am super super thankful because not only did Wren help me this year, but Ikea offered to help as well in getting our holiday perfectly rosy red. And a little goes a long way over there so if the feeling moves you to make a little color scheme switcheroo too then head over there for lots of inspiration. I promise there won't be any guilt involved (which I had at first for abandoning my beloved teal/blue holiday treasures).

The past 5 or 6 years I have painstakingly collected and cared for countless antique holiday ornaments. And while I probably should have changed the agenda a few years ago after first losing a few to curious fingers, it hit home last year that Wren will only be little once and she finds so much magic in the season that this year we wanted a VERY kid friendly holiday home. No breakable items. AT ALL. Which is also what led to my decision to try some new colors this year, so long as it didn't break the bank.

The first item to hit the bottom of my cart was this Henrika throw blanket. I love the subtle, sparkly border. It is very well priced ($19.99) but I found this guy in the AS IS area for $9. ALWAYS head back there before you hit the checkout!

We have never followed the tradition of an Advent wreath at home, but I always loved when we lit the candles at school growing up. So I am really excited to start our own new tradition this year. Not exactly a wreath, but we put our own spin on it thanks to these adorable numbered candles (only $6.99 for all 4! this is by far my favorite holiday purchase) and a thrifted silver platter.

My 'most fun' award of the holidays go to these Julmys garlands. I grabbed 8 of them to put on both the mantle and tree. They come in different patterns in black/white and red/white. I tied three together with some grey yarn to swag them on the mantle for a bit of Suess-ical fun.

 

Because the budget didn't allow for a whole tree's worth of new decorations we got creative and turned the whole tree into our advent calender. Wren and I stickered up this $10 set of gift bags {filled with tiny treasures} and hung them instead of many decorations. If you have little ones I have to tell you that this is a HIT. It was so fun to do together and was impossible for her to do wrong. And Wren cannot wait to get started with finding the right number each day on the tree to see what surprise lies within.

Another fool proof and improvised project came in the form of our tree skirt. Man, those can be pricey! I am gonna keep my eyes peeled after the holidays for a deal on one for next year. But this year I want to keep all the decorating on the CHEAP. So I grabbed a meter of red and white fabric ($7.99/meter, surprise!surprise! also from Ikea) and just draped it around the base of the tree. 

If you actually know how to sew this could be a really easy project. But me. no. sew. 

{ the red and white delight }

 

The cones are also from Ikea, but the droopy linen bows are just ripped linen I tied to the tree (details on that post here). 

And to top it all off I got majorly luck when I stumbled on to a huge bucket of these darling straw ornaments at GoodWill. The whole bucket was all of $3. I am still pinching myself over that one! They fit our Swedish Tree to a tee.

 

All adorned! I threw Wren's sheepskin under the tree for added texture, but MungKee has now assumed it as his new bed.... for now.

Our 'Swedish Holiday' is just beginning, and so are my Christmas posts. So stop by tomorrow as we add some more holiday cheer with ribbon!

A BIG thank you to Ikea for helping to make our holiday that much more magical!