Happy Holidays!

Whatever you celebrate, wherever you are, just know that I am sending happy and warm holiday wishes your way. 

This holiday season has been so busy, but the last few days have been filled with a sense of peace. As someone who runs full speed ahead at all times it is a very refreshing feeling and I hope it carries into my new year. 

And I am thrilled that after 2 years of growing paperwhites that never bloomed, we finally have a bumper crop of them! 

 

Maybe using dirt and sand was my issue? Who knows! But I'll be forcing them in old milk bottles again next year.

 

Last minute wrapping, out of tags and paper at the end.

 

A sweet little card from my bestie for Wren. 

 

Jingle bells and baker's twine make for festive touches on odds and ends.

Have a special, safe, happy holidays.

xoxo Holly

Dashes of Holiday Spirit

We are officially all decked out in these halls now! We did all the exact same decor as last year in the family room (which you can see here!), but we added a few fun new touches that were easy, fast and CHEAP. Here are our last minute, quickie holiday touches.

I picked up a glass felt pen at HomeDepot (it was $5, by Rustoleum) and did a little free hand message on the front of our bookcase. How fun would this be on a mantle mirror, maybe putting names over stockings? I think it would be cute to add snowflakes or other seasonal touches (a santa beard and hat) to photos or paintings that have been framed..

 

These funk-a-licious black and white ornaments from Urban Outfitters (full price here online, but I found them for $2.50/set instore) make a cool touch to small bunches of clippings in the dining room. Totally non traditional and unexpected, but perfectly awesome.

 

because every holiday arrangement should feature cats and unicorns. 

 

My vintage jars-turned-hurricane lanterns got festive some greens looped around the neck thanks to some floral wire. I don't think I'll chance lighting these with real candles, but the battery operated pillars will be beautiful in the evenings.

 

A stray jingle bell got tied onto the creamer and another creamer welcomed a few more stray clippings from the back yard.

I hope the holiday spirit is in full force in your home and life this season! And thanks so much for putting up with all my absences this month. It's good to be back!

Gift wrapping with Yarn

 

They say it is better to give than to receive, but you know what is better than giving? Getting crafty! I have nearly as much fun wrapping gifts as I do giving them, usually personalizing it somehow to the recipient. But that can be a little too much of a time drain this time of year so Wrennie and I set up a production line to get the first of our gifts wrapped up and ready to give.

 

It all started with two standard rolls of yarn, but if you want to customize your gifts to any specific color scheme it doesn't come easier than using wool. The sky is the limit with color choices!

 

My only investment in our gift giving this year was a set of pom pom makers. 

Where have these been all my life? They are little rainbows of pure happiness! The whole set was around $5 and it allows you to make different sizes of pompoms. I won't go through the specifics because I am sure there are different techniques and ways to use different makers, but once you do one you are a pro.

 

I made some big, some small, some a little fuller, some a little thinned out, and even a couple multicolored. It is addicting! The only thing you want to make sure and do to save yourself some trouble is to leave the ends of the piece you use to tie it together instead of trimming them off. This is what we will use tie them to our gifts.

 

For the wrapping paper I just used standard Kraft paper. I pick up a giant roll every so often and that usually lasts me a few years. But to add some extra umphf  I 'wove' more yarn around the gifts. This is just one piece I wrapped around the present 5 or 6 times, then I wrapped it the other direction the same number of times, weaving it as I did the second go round.

 

All tied up! I like to think of it as extra protection from little fingers getting into them early.  Wren's favorite part after making the pompoms was showing me where she wanted me to tie them on the parcels.

 

For smaller gifts (or for the gifts you wrap after your third glass of wine) I just wound the yard around. I actually like this look a little more!

 

Different shapes, sizes and color combos.

 

Now I just need to round up some more boxes so I can get the rest of my wrapping done! 

(when did stores stop giving these? I miss those days!!)

Tied Up

Besides greenery, my go-to staple for holiday decorating has been ribbon. I clipped out out a Michael's coupon for 50% off last week and grabbed a 10 meter roll for $1.99. And that $1.99 has been the gift that just keeps giving.

I've said it a hundred times, Keep It Simple is my motto. It's cool how such a small touch as a little ribbon can pop when you keep all other things to a minimum too.

Little pops of red are showing up in random corners and on unsuspecting victims.

 

 

 

It doesn't have to be fancy ribbon, intricately tied or anything complicated. Sometimes simple is just the best way.

Now I need to go find more things to tie my little bows on... au revior!

going green

Simple is my motto this holiday. Oh yeah, and cheap! A commenter yesterday asked how come I would hesitate over a tree skirt purchase when I love designer clothes and that got me thinking... For me it isn't about what I can or can't afford. It is about the challenge that comes with trying to make the most of a dollar.  All of us splurge or treat ourselves from time to time, but stay frugal in other areas. For example, I NEVER get my nails done, hair appointments are yearly at best. And we all know I have a love affair going with thrifting! So I don't have any guilt over my splurges from time to time because of all the other areas I am pretty thrifty in. But really this is neither here nor there.

Today we are going to deck the halls. And while I could go out to buy greenery, I don't want to if I can get it for free in my own back yard. It doesn't take much, and definitely not enough to strip any of my trees, so even if you don't have an ever green tree on your property maybe ask a friend or family member if you can help yourself to some greenery this season in the name of saving a few dollars.

{out with my little helper}

Just a little sprig or two make it so much more festive.

Be sure that when you are decking your halls you try to keep any greenery from directly resting on furniture in the event of any sap dripping or sticking to your the surface. A perfectly tarnished tray feels like it was made just for this little holiday set up.

I threw a few paper towels behind the mirror along with just a few sprigs again.

 

I kind of loved thinking up items and containers I could throw my assortment of collected branches in. An ice bucket is a sparkly way to keep an arrangement, plus with water in there these ones should last all through the season.

For a more rustic look I literally just plopped the whole thing into an old crate.

My biggest bundle is on the dining room sideboard. I also wanted this one to hold out for the whole season so I threw them into a pitcher and then tucked a length of scrap canvas in there to hide the container and add some texture. No decorations or added work, just simple and lots of lovely fragrances floating through the house.

My favorite spot I tucked some branches was this old trophy. I picked it up last summer for $.50 at a garage sale. It is plastic and super tacky but I loved the shape and that there was some stone on the base.

So I unscrewed it all and spray painted the cup and wood base.

Voila! All painted up and with the marble back in place it looks super fresh.

I call this one my winning combo. Ba dum bum *ching*

 

And finally, in the family room I just shoved some more bundles into water in an pitcher a family member gave me and a burlap covered glass vase. A few of you have asked about the burlap one before and I while I wish I could say I made it, I actually grabbed it at TJ Maxx back in March but I have seen them at HomeGoods and HomeSense since then. I think it was $7.99. 

I am all about simplicity this year by not throwing up decorations all over the house. Instead, just doing greenery (and a few other small touches I'll show you tomorrow)  I am so happy to report that it almost feels like this is the most festive our house has ever felt. The real spirit comes from the people who live here.

How is your 'hall decking' coming? I hope I'm not the only person throwing branches up everywhere they can find a spot!

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!