wishing you the happiest holidays

Christmas arrives in just a few days,

with a New Year on the horizon...

as we wrap up 2023,

i want to express my deep gratitude for your visits, likes, and comments

on my seasonal home decor content across social media platforms,

as well as to the generous bloggers and home publications

who have featured my projects over the past year.

i love the creative community we have all built together,

and truly appreciate your support & encouragement. it means the world to me.

and i really LOVE it when you tell me that i inspired you to make something new!

i so enjoyed your happy responses to my 'terra cotta Christmas' themed posts,

and you can imagine my smile when i spied these items on the Terrain website:

apparently i wasn't the only one obsessed with terra cotta pots this holiday season!

i'd love to hear from you what your favorite homewardFOUND post was this year,

and what you hope to see from me in 2024...

some fun project images are already sent off for publication,

with ideas for new winter-into-spring decor projects percolating in my brain.

i'm currently enjoying the end of this year and the dawning of the new one

while embracing some quiet time and 'artist dates'

to refresh and refuel my creativity as i plan for 2024 projects + content.

i hope you find time to do the same - 

disconnect, rest, renew, and revive yourself

in whatever ways you need to.

wishing you the merriest of Christmases

and happiness in the new year!

creatively, deb

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terra cotta Christmas: a simply natural table

i'm gonna' be honest, i got stuck on this one.
just how do you incorporate terra cotta pots into a tablescape?

keep it simple.

as always, i used what i had on hand,
combined some varied colors and textures and elements,
and didn't try to do anything that YOU can't do in your home, too.

continue reading for a few easy ideas...

terra cotta Christmas: 2 nativity scenes

when i was thinking about ideas for a terra cotta pot nativity,

i looked online - and every rendition i saw was 'cute'. and painted.

not what i wanted, which is good -

it means what i've created is different than what other people have done!

(always my goal)

i wanted the same kind of simple, modern/contemporary style i've done before

that would coordinate with the other terra cotta decor elements i've made this year.

then i grabbed a traditional nativity scene

and shzooshed it up a bit with paint ;) 

continue reading to see how easy it is to transform something
into something ELSE ...

terra cotta Christmas: faux painted tree ornaments

while i'm having fun finding all kinds of ways
to use terra cotta flower pots in my theme this holiday season,
i needed to expand the scope... enter my favorite tool: PAINT!

i rounded up some unused ornaments from my stash
and transformed them using my faux terra cotta paint technique.
it's easy, cheap, and a great way to revive unused items!

continue reading for the details and some of my top tree decorating tips...

terra cotta Christmas: clay pot wreaths

we've all seen beautiful wreaths made from terra cotta pots,

filled with herbs or succulents or flowers - in springtime.
i wanted to create a wreath made of pots
that fit this year's terra cotta Christmas theme...
simple, subtle, natural. and 'wintery' in feel.

the result is two wreaths that include terra cotta pots - 

one is a wreath of greens embellished with 'bells' made from pots,

the other a wreath made entirely of pots.

(and when i did a Google search, i didn't see any that looked like mine!)

they represent two different styles that can be made in varied sizes

for a variety of uses in your holiday decor!

continue reading to see tutorials for two variations of holiday wreaths...

terra cotta Christmas: clay pot trees

it's tiiiiiime! (channeling Mariah Carey there...)

there's no waiting any longer to start sharing holiday decor content!

my muses love to yank my chain....

i HAD a plan for holiday content this year on the blog. yes i did.

and then... 

surfing through IG one night when i couldn't sleep,

a photo shared by one of my former employers and clients
came across my screen - and wouldn't you know it,

that one photo inspired a whole NEW idea and theme.  

this is the photo posted by Molbak's Garden Center near Seattle

to promote one of the themes of their holiday products this year.
(i used to be on the visual merchandising design team there,
and love keeping up with what they are doing now - it's amazing!)

those are turned wood trees on the mantel.

but that's not how i interpreted it... 

instead, i saw a forest of terra cotta trees made from pots!

that one photo inspired me to create decor
that was subdued, simple, natural, and elegant -

along the lines of something from Pottery Barn, Terrain, West Elm.

in the process, i've come up with different ways to use terra cotta pots
to embody a new theme for the holidays this year...

(and there's not a BIT of yellow in it! ;) ) 

...continue reading to see three styles of terra cotta trees!