Christmas Round Our House 2011

I'm already sad Christmas is almost over. I'm still making new Christmas decorations! Why? Who knows! Sometimes I like to change things up around the house. This year I made or bought a few handmade items to add to our christmas decor.

christmas shelves- land of misfit toys- santa's galore- mix of vintage

we decided to go gold again this year with unbreakable ornaments

we also got a new tree topper at the beehive bazaar

my new friend courtney made this {isn't it gorgeous} as well as the blue house above & the santa shoe filled with vintage goodness

christmas tree collection & stockings- minus reyns {not going to get to it this year}

*** Also if you love christmas music as much as I do- check out this cover of Rockin Around The Christmas tree my brother in law Benton Paul & his wife Jen - I ♥ it soooo much!

How To Make a Pom Pom Garland

Haven't you been dying to make a pom pom garland? No? We'll I'm going to teach you all anyhow! It's easy- it doesn't take too much time & the end result is super cute & since I'm sure you're super bored this week- since you have absolutely everything finished for this coming Sunday- you're dying to make something new right?

                supplies-  

                scissors {preferably small} 

                      yarn {I used vanna whites gold glamour}

                 pom pom maker {you can buy them  at your local fabric store} 

                 needle {with a big enough eye for yarn & a dull point}

1. follow the directions on the back of your pom pom maker to make your pom poms {you can also use your fingers but you won't be sorry buying the pom pom maker- it really does make the pom poms close to perfect that you only have to trim them a little in the end- use a coupon!}
2. make about 9 to 11 depending on how long you want your garland to be {having an odd number gives you a center pom pom- even though I was too lazy to fix mine in my picture...}
3. trim all your pom poms so they are beautifully round or oval {depending on what you prefer} 
4. measure the length of your yarn {however long you want your garland to be- I did mine about 3 1/2 yards with 11 pom poms}
5. thread your garland string & go through the middle of each pom pom 
6. take a tape measure {I used a book} to place your pom poms on your garland evenly- starting from the middle going out
7. hot glue your pom poms in place making sure you hit the middle so they don't move- if they move they could fall apart

Wallah! You're finished & now you have the garland you've always wanted- use it to hang your christmas cards on or to make your room or your kids room a little more festive- use non christmas colors & leave it up all year! The decoration possibilities are endless.

So How's Everyone?

I've been the worst blogger lately! I blame the insane amount of pom poms I have been making. I ended up making 6 wreaths for my local shows- yes I said 6! Each wreath had approximately 66 pom poms. So that's 6 x 66 = 396 pom poms! Let's just say I'm a little over pom poms & I still have one more wreath to make- but it's top secret who it's for....

I haven't even shown you the pom pom trees I made. Super cute & kind of fun. Baby pom poms are so much quicker to make than the big ones. 

DIY: How to Make Bottle Brush Christmas Trees

I've been wanting to make bottle brush Christmas trees for years- so when a few of my girlfriends put together a craft night to make them I was in! I decided to put together a little tutorial for any of you out there who would like to make your own. It's really easy- but beware- it is a bit time consuming. If you can get together with some friends it helps with costs & makes the night so much more fun! 

1) start by buying some village accessory trees- we found Home depot had the best deals but your local fabric or craft store will have them as well

2) grab a pot- fill it with water & bleach {follow direction on the bleach bottle for the water to bleach ratio then add a bit more} I left mine in over night

3) let them dry standing up- otherwise the brush will smoosh

4) buy some dye- we used fushia- kelly green & blue rit dye

make sure you use gloves! I actually used gloves but then put my hand in just a little to far... they were short gloves!

5) set them out to dry again- this time have a fan blowing on them so you can get started with decorating ASAP. they'll turn out darker the longer you leave them in- lighter if you put them in for just a few seconds

6) decorate the trees with glitter or fake snow-we used Martha Stewarts glittering glue to glue the bling on. spread it onto the trees & then roll your trees in the glitter or snow.  

you can see the pretty-ness happening already!

7) cut up your beads & hot glue them onto your trees {we used colorful mardi gras beads from the party store zurchers - martha stewart pearl colored beads & holiday gold & silver colored garland beads from joann's}

     

8) make sure you have your big gulp of diet coke/diet dr. pepper even if it's 10 pm...

9) add some deer or whatever & Ta-Da! {these trees have gold glitter on them- it's hard to see in this picture but they're really pretty}

I used wax paper snow on the trees below- just an FYI the glue didn't really keep the snow on very well so I ended up spreading the hot glue on the trees a little bit at a time- then rolled the tree in the snow

Reusable Christmas Tags- Dandee designs

I have so many friends who have a tradition of giving a want- need- wear- read items to their spouses & kids for Christmas. How cool are these Want -Need -Wear -Read wooden reusable tags from Dandee Designs. I love the idea of anything reusable. We may have to start this tradition around here only I'll have to make the last one a listen...

I'm also loving this cross stitch pattern kit you can buy & everything else in Danyelle's shop!