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...

gingerbread theme Christmas tree

i have always enjoyed using what i have and mixing it up differently

to create new themes & looks each holiday season.

and while i don't have nearly as many bins of ornaments & elements as i once did

(over fifty JUST for Christmas! now it's about 10)

i still pull from my stash each year and then make / makeover some elements.

continuing the 'Gingerbread Holiday' theme this year,

 the tree in my studio is decorated with elements and materials on hand

to tell the story of a snowy gingerbread village.

keep reading to see how it all came together

and a few of my tree decorating tips...

rainbow colorized Christmas tree

i really think Joanna and Cleo of The Home Edit would LOVE this Christmas tree!
a brilliant white tree with bright color ornaments, arranged in rainbow ROYGBIVP order 
("it's a SYSTEM!" - if you know, you know)

a place for everything and everything in its place, right?!

okay, so, yesssss, i've been watching The Home Edit on Netflix. a LOT.
and yessssss, it has indeed had an influence on my Christmas decor this year.
i was also inspired by an Insta photo of a huge garland made of balloons...
that spurred the idea to create a 'garland' of colorful ornaments
that were arranged in color order.

continue reading to hear more about where those ornaments CAME from
and see how easy this approach to tree decorating is!

our 'CHOSEN' Christmas tree

Christmas Day is over...

and i hope you're kicking back in your pj's,
enjoying this delightful limbo between Christmas and New Year's Day.

(after all, who really knows what day it is?)

 as i indulge in as much laziness as i can muster,

i thought i'd share this year's Christmas tree decor - 

some elements i've had for years, others i made just for this theme.

it's.... different. not what most people would do.

(anyone out there surprised by this?!!)

the theme and elements fit into our tropically decorated home

and also speaks to our 'reason for the season'...

continue reading for more details...

holiday 2024: funky fabric Christmas tree!

while most of my holiday decorating this year
involves re-using a lot of elements i already have
along with a few new things i am making,
there ARE new store-bought things in the mix...

and one of them inspired a whimsical tree:

i picked up a few small flocked trees at Target for $3 each.
as they sat in my studio waiting for me to use them, 
i looked at that bright chartreuse green tree - and had a brainstorm.

i have a fuzzy chartreuse green microfiber blanket.
i have a few wire tomato cages. i put those two together.
and the result is a very... SEUSSICAL... tree.
which perfectly fits my 2024 theme,
O Christmas Tree 

continue reading and see what craziness i pulled off!

my top tree lighting tip...

this photo may be a bit of a surprise after my last post...
before we get to the merry & bright colorful decor,
i have a tree-lighting tip to share with you that is guaranteed to up the sparkle factor
on any tree you decorate!

continue reading to see what my no-fail tree lighting trick is...

diy paint chip ornaments

nestled in with the brightly colored ornaments in my rainbow garlanded tree
are these ornaments that i made using paint chips.

a note about using paint chips, if i may....

i sauntered in to my local paint store and asked for old paint chips - 

and they handed me an armload of fan decks! FREE!

(i nearly skipped out the door...)

i highly recommend making this effort to procure paint chips responsibly.
i emphatically discourage raiding paint chip displays in home improvement stores.
just to be clear.

making these ornaments is pretty simple - it's a scissors & paste kinda' craft project!

continue reading for the easy tutorial for all three styles of ornaments... 

creative Christmas tree skirts

i'm going to confess that i have never used a store-bought tree skirt

on any of my own Christmas trees. NEVER.

it's not that my trees go bare-legged, it's just that i use different things under them than most people:
vintage petticoats, silky satin formal skirts, my wedding dress!, rugs,
old wood crates, and more tablecloths than i can count. Oh, and a fuzzy blanket!.
i've even used.... wait for it... pine branches. simple, right?

this year's happy colorful theme called for some FUN under the tree,

and i've come up with two different ways to do that by repurposing other items.
one involves some crafting, and will work on any size tree.
the other is for a small tree,
and was so easy i could hardly believe i hadn't thought of it before.

i hope they both make you take a look at whatever tree skirt you've been using
and think twice... about maybe trying something different this year.
now, let's get creative!

continue reading for the easy diy tutorials...

a forest of Sweet Sweater Trees

grab a cuppa' something, friends, because this post is LONG!
i'm sharing three different types of sweater trees with you today...

each one easy as pie to make from simple everyday materials.
(hmmmmnnn... pie's not a bad idea, come to think of it...)

you'll see previous versions of the items i used
along with their fresh new look for this year's cozy theme.

got your tea? coffee? cocoa? wine? LOL...
continue reading to see all the details of this project!

sweater-wrapped + painted ornaments

handpainted ornaments are trending this year,

so i wanted to somehow incorporate that into my sweet sweater season theme...

by using a soft yellow cable knit sweater as my inspiration,

i was able to replicate the tones and pattern onto plain white ornaments

and create decor that is unique to my own style.

along with those, i wrapped a few ornaments with sweater fabrics,

finding a way to put actual sweater pieces into the mix.

continue reading for the easy how-to's!

rainbow colorized wreath

switching up my holiday decor themes each year is a lot of fun,
and it doesn't cost a lot to make a change...

this white wreath was just $6 at a local thrift shop four years ago,
and i've reworked it with colorful ornaments to match my colorful tree.

most of those ornaments i already had,
a few i grabbed at thrift shops and Dollar Tree to fill out my color palette.
( all told, i spent less than ten dollars on this)
attaching them to the wreath was a quick undertaking,
and the impact is uplifting - indoors or out!

continue reading for a few wreath decorating tips...

re-purposed 'ornament' doorhanger

another of my previous diy decor projects got a quick makeover with paint,
turning it into a cute door hanger that resembles an ornament for the holidays!

i love re-using what i already have on hand,
giving it a fresh look for each season when i can.
it saves money, and storage space, and time spent shopping -
honestly, i'd rather be painting and crafting!!!

continue reading for an easy how-to...

diy paint chip trees

my most popular idea shared here last Christmas was

my faux wood trees, made from wood-print scrapbook paper. 

i could never have anticipated the response to them (thank you!!!!)

since this year my theme is all about color and creativity and paint chips,

i created this new version as a fun and easy addition to the decor...

continue reading for details plus another version!

Target fringe tree makeover

i don't let what's available at stores limit my decorating plans.

i just take what they provide and then add to it or rework it to make it fit MY style!

this little tree is a perfect example of that...

lots of people have the original version of this in their Christmas decor this year,

but none of theirs look like this!

some white paint and a few scraps of paint chips gave it a total makeover.

continue reading to see the before and after!

sweater-wrapped gifts

when i choose a theme, my mind runs rampant with ideas

to incorporate that theme in every possible part of my decor.

case in point: the presents shown above.

it's not enough for me to deck the halls and mantels and doors and tree

in my preferred colors and materials...

i have to make the gift wrap match, too! LOL

this year i found three different ways to incorporate sweaters into my gift wrapping,

to coordinate with my Sweet Sweater Season theme...

continue reading for more inspo & info!

rainbow painted Target trees!

i'm really having fun this year making current trends my own.
my DIYs fit my style, my color palette, and my budget
but give me all the fun and impact of what's hot this season...

case in point: the current Target Tree Trend.
every account on Insta is showing them.
people are ransacking their local Tarjay store Bullseye's Playground racks to get them.
along with bottle brush trees, these things are a must-have this holiday.
when i first saw them online, i knew EXACTLY what i would do to them if i could find them.

well, i found some. and then, i made them fit my style - with paint, of course.
in a rainbow array of color - of course.
in patterns that replicate paint chips because... it's a theme.

keep reading to see more of them, and what i did with 'em!

holiday 2024: mini Christmas tree farm!

a contributing factor to this year's theme,

O CHRISTMAS TREE 

was finding three gorgeous flocked trees at Target.

then i found two white ceramic trees for a buck each at a thrift shop.

all i had to do was add in a few trees i already had -

and give a few of them a makeover -

as well as make a few new trees,

and my mantel turned into a mini Christmas tree farm! 

continue reading for a few really fast tree tutorials...

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!

sweater-wrapped vases

on a cold rainy fall day waaaaaay back in 2007,

i visited designer Danny Seo's blog...

and when i saw a photograph of something Danny had created, i was smitten.

the guy took old sweater sleeves and put them on clear glass vases!

i jumped up and grabbed an ivory cashmere sweater of mine

that had recently become to small for me to wear.

(i did not become too big to wear the sweater - that's my story and i'm stickin' to it!)

i cut the sleeves off of the sweater, popped them into some clear vases

then added candles and bare branches to them...

the result was a cozy grouping that warmed up my dining table.

(when i added some small pumpkins to the grouping and looked at them side by side,

 i thought up the very first Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins!)

i've made a few different versions of sweater-wrapped vases over the years,

and this year i had fun combining a few ideas.

continue reading to see how vases and ornaments and sweaters are a perfect match...

a tipsy tiki totem pole

you may have seen the sign that says 'Tipsy Tiki Bar' in my last post...

that's connected to another recent 'restyle' of an old project.

a week before the tiki bar came into being, Mom had an idea for something else in our backyard.

she shared her idea with me, and i liked the fact that it was basically a way to re-use items

from our Happy HULA-days theme last Christmas.

i started noodling the 'how' of the project... and remembered a favorite feature at Disneyland.

yup. there's something there that my grandpa Ward helped to build in 1963

that we enjoy to this day, and that inspired this project!

continue reading to see how i re-used our Christmas decor!