Brass Scales of Justice–A Unique Decorative Accent

December 15, 2015

I’m popping in late today to share a fun little accent I added to our holiday decor.

I found this brass scales of justice at a thrift store a few weeks ago for an amazing price of $10 and have plans to sell it in my Etsy shop. I’ll make it available after the first of the year but until then I decided to use it in my Christmas decor.

I placed the scale on the buffet table in the dining room and added small packages and ornaments to the bowls.

We have several pieces of original artwork in our home and this one in the dining room is one of our prized possessions. It’s a piece by contemporary African American artist John Holyfield.

See my dying poinsettia in the background? Anyone else having a tough time keeping them alive with all this warm weather we’re having?

Come back tomorrow for the finale of the Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour. There’s still lots of decor to see from me and the other bloggers on the tour.

Use What You Have Holiday Decor

December 14, 2015

Hey, hey, hey! Just when I thought I was finished decorating I came across a remnant supply in the garage as I was organizing some shelving in the garage. I walked around with the remnant in my hand for a bit, not knowing what to do with just this single piece. Toss it…store it….donate it….or craft with it.

If you know me, you know the answer was craft with it. So that’s what I did!

I’m sure you’re wondering by now what the remnant supply piece was, well the wait it over.

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Favorite Christmas Decor From Around The Web!

December 12, 2015

It’s the weekend and the perfect time to share some of my favorite holiday decor from around the web.

Enjoy the images and the weekend!

CHRISTMAS TREES

A frosted tree with beautiful decorations!

Craftberry Bush

A pretty tree with a great mix of plaid patterns!

Yellow Bliss Road

Shades of blue and teal!

Rambling Renovators

Neutral with a pop of red–so pretty! And the books nestled into the tree is brilliant.

Ella Claire Inspired

CHRISTMAS TABLES

A pretty in pink table–simple and sophisticated!

Celebrations At Home

Inspired by nature–love the garland centerpiece.

Aedriel

A table that sparkle and shines in more ways than one. The sequin tablecloth can easily transition into a new years celebration.

Style Me Pretty

CHRISTMAS VIGNETTES

A garland draped mirror just enhances the view.

Simple Details

A cozy Christmas corner.

The Fancy Shack

A welcoming spot for holiday guests to come and go.

UnSkinny Boppy

Layers and layers of rustic Christmas charm.

Rooms for Rent

CHRISTMAS MANTEL

White garland makes such a chic statement.

The Hunted Interior

Wood stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

Inspired by Charm

CHRISTMAS DOOR DECOR

A simple statement with a pop of color.

The Hunted Interior

Lots of little details make for a merry welcome.

Fleeing France

Gift Wrap On Wheels: DIY Holiday Wrapping Crate

December 11, 2015

Hello friends! I hope everyone is easing into the Christmas season with joy and merriment.

This year I’ve been able to complete several DIY projects to include in my holiday decor and I’ve got fun and simple one to share with you today.

It’s no surprise that I love to wrap gifts. I love paper, ribbon and all the fun embellishments that can make wrapped gifts special and unique.

During the course of the year I keep my gift wrap rolls and supplies stored in a basket in my office. But when the holidays roll around I want to make our holiday wrapping supplies accessible for me and the hubs so I created a mobile gift wrap crate.

I picked up a wood crate at HomeGoods similar to this one. The one I found was painted grey and black.

Since I wanted the crate to be mobile I added brass casters to the base. I had the casters in the garage and they were the perfect size for this project.

Once the caster were attached I decorated the crate.

The feature element of the crate is the darling Merry & Bright vinyl decal from Welcoming Walls. Candi, the owner of the Welcoming Walls Etsy shop graciously partnered with the Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour and sent me and the other bloggers a decal to use in a holiday project. The Merry & Bright decal was the perfect piece.

The decals are super easy to use and will work on a variety of surfaces. I placed my white decal on the center board of the crate so the decal really pops against the black background. I used a decorative paper ribbon (from another favorite Etsy shop) on the top and bottom boards and secured them in place with white thumbtacks. It will be easy to remove the paper and change the look whenever I want.

To make the crate super functional I added two short tension rods to create sections for wrapping paper rolls, tissue paper and rolls of ribbon. I added a plastic shower caddy to the side to hold gift tags, scissors and small ribbon rolls.

Including the time it took to attach the casters, this project took less than 30 minutes to complete.

Vinyl decals are such an easy way to decorate and personalize the decor around your house. Welcoming Walls has over 150 amazing decals including designs for the kitchen, inspirational quotes, children’s decal and custom door decals. And not only do you have an amazing array of designs to choose from but you can select from 12+ colors so your decal will fit your decor to a T.

I’m hoping to finish up my holiday shopping this weekend so my giftwrap crate will be getting lots of use.

Cheers to the weekend my friends~

DIY Merry & Bright Placemats

December 10, 2015

I hope you enjoyed part 2 of the Merry & Bright Holiday Home tour yesterday on the blog and my festive tablescape. Today I want to share the details of the DIY placemats I made for my table.

You might remember that I used printable art pieces from My Love Note Designs in my bedroom refresh back in May. Christina has a wonderful collection of custom art pieces available in her Etsy shop. Several weeks ago she reached out to me again and asked if I wanted to use a print in my holiday decor. I jumped at the opportunity. Not only are there loads of amazing designs at great prices, but since all the images are downloadable and printable after purchase, you have instant gratification.

In looking through the My Love Note Designs shop, I spotted several images that would have worked with my Christmas decor but the Merry & Bright print was a perfect fit! #merryandbrightholidayhome

image via MyLoveNoteDesigns

Once I saw the image I started thinking about other ways I could use it besides in a frame. The idea of turning it into a placemat came to mind.

So here’s what I did…

Originally I was going to cut my own wood but then I stumbled across 12″ x 12″ unfinished plywood sheets at JoAnn’s ($4.99 each). They were thin and the perfect size for a placemat. Next I grabbed four sheets of green glitter scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby ($1.99 and 50% off) and printed four of the Merry & Bright art images on glossy photo paper.

To create the placemats I used a permanent double-sided table to attached the glitter paper to the wood and then used Mod Podge to adhere the artwork to the glitter paper and to coat the surface. The Mod Podge creates a durable finish and seal over the art image.

I haven’t done it yet but I’m going to paint the edges of the wood with gold rub-n-buff to finish the look.

I must say without these placemats, my holiday table wouldn’t be as Merry & Bright!

♦♦♦

If you’re looking to add some holiday decor to your home this season, I highly recommend checking out the selection of holiday art in My Love Note Designs. These are a few of my favorite pieces and some creative ideas on how they could be used:

Snowflake Red Plaid–use as a decorative topper on gifts wrapped in white, craft or black wrapping paper

Eat Drink and Be Merry–frame and hang over your bar cart, cocktail station or food buffet

Making Spirits Bright–the perfect piece to hang in the guest bedroom or bath to welcome guests for the holidays

Be Joyful–a fun piece to include in a gift baskets as a hostess gift (I adore this image)

Merry Christmas Y’all–I’d place this piece in the center of a wreath and hang it on the front door to welcome family and friends southern style

Plaid Tree–this tree design would be cute framed and used as the topper on a Christmas Tree or the centerpiece of a DIY serving tray

Thanks for stopping by.

A big thanks to MyLoveNotedesigns for providing the prints used in this project. I love sharing my favorite Etsy shops with you and know you’ll find something for yourself in this shop. All opinions are 100% mine.

Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour-Part 2

December 9, 2015

Welcome to part 2 of the Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour. It has been such fun to partner with my 8 fellow bloggers to bring you lots of holiday inspiration.

If you’re coming over from Love Your Abode thanks for stopping in and if you’re one of my regular readers, thanks for your continued love and support! Did you see all the amazing details in Yuni’s decor this week?! WOW, I didn’t think she could top last week but she sure did.

This week on the tour we’re focusing on our entertaining spaces and how we celebrate the season. Entertaining is such a joy and this year will be extra special since my brother now lives in Atlanta and my mom is coming for Christmas.

When I think of holiday entertaining I think of family dinners at a beautiful table so I got a jump on things and set my table for a Merry & Bright Christmas dinner. Playing off the color theme from my Christmas tree decor, I created a classic red & white tablescape with a few fun touches.

***One of the special touches to my table are these DIY placemats I made featuring a Merry & Bright printable art piece from Christina’s Etsy shop, My Love Note Designs ! I’ll be sharing the how-to and more details on the placemats tomorrow so stay tuned.

I wanted a lush looking centerpiece so I used a greenery candleholder in the center of the table. To dress it up, I added mini ornaments and decorative ornament sprays.

And to add layers to the table, I used three different linen pieces—a white tablecloth, a wide red and white stripe runner (made from simple cotton fabric) and a solid red runner from HomeGoods.

I hung a wreath on the mirror and added the metal Noel sign in the middle. I made the bow from ribbon I picked up at Michaels.

I layered each place setting starting with the DIY placemat, a red charger and white china. The Merry Christmas plates are from HomeGoods.

My vintage gold silverware and brass candleholders add a touch of metallic shine to the table. The holly leaf candleholders were a flea market find–one of my favorites ever!

These cute red and white check bags came from the dollar spot at Target and I’ll be filling them with small gifts/treats for everyone at the table. (p.s. I added the rhinestone M sticker to personalize it)

So the console table on the back wall wouldn’t feel left out, I created a beautiful flower arrangement using a mix of fresh and faux flowers and greenery. More on how I made the arrangement later in the week.

Another special touch at the table are the chair cones I tied to the back of each chair. I’ve had these metal cones for years and this year I filled them with a cedar spray, a piece of garland and mini ornaments.

Entertaining at our house also involves a cocktail bar so I added a few holiday touches to our gold bar cart.

The Merry & Bright wall plaque is from Kirklands. I saw it online and had to pull some strings to get my hands on one. I added the cedar sprays, bow and ornament clusters to make it just a bit more Merry & Bright.

And because no holiday is complete without hot chocolate, I snapped this last night as I was addressing my DIY Christmas cards.

Here’s another glimpse of my tree. I made a few changes to it since last week and replaced the chalkboard I had over the table with this mirror I had stashed in the garage. I just love this entire vignette.

And you see that cart next to the table with wrapping paper in it? I’ll be sharing that little project on Saturday. So fun and easy!

I hope you’re enjoying the Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour. The fun doesn’t stop here…the next stop is OMG Lifestyle Blog. You’re going to love what Elaine has to share this week and if you missed her decor from last week, you can check it out here.

And you definitely want to check out all the other bloggers on the tour…

Confetti Style (yours truly)

OMG Lifestyle

Design Asylum Blog

Refresh Restyle

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

I’ll be back next Wednesday, with part 3 and the tour finale. We’ve got more holiday decor to share and I’ll be doing a wrap up of my Merry & Bright Holiday Home!

You can see part 1 of my tour here.

The Easiest DIY Christmas Cards Ever!

December 8, 2015

So remember when I told you weeks ago that I was going to make my Christmas cards? Well, I didn’t tell you a fib.

When I lived in Seattle I always made my Christmas cards by hand. One year I made cards out of 3-dimensional ornaments and another year I made my cards inside metal tins which served as the envelope. Back then I started working on my cards months in advance of Christmas and spent lots of time making sure every detail was unique and special.

Fast forward to today. Yes, I still love to make my cards by hand but I never seem to have time or energy on my side. So when it came to my Christmas cards this year, I used my creativity to come up with a super easy and simple card design that took less than 10 minutes to create.

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Holiday Gift Guide–Holiday Hostess Gifts Under $25

December 5, 2015

It’s party season and when it comes to hostess gifts, I’m always challenging myself to take something other than a bottle of wine. My requirements for a hostess gifts are something that is practical, useful and something that will bring joy and that the host! These hostess gift ideas check all the boxes and even better, all of them are under $25.00!