DIY Christmas Flowers

I started working in a flower shop three weeks ago. I decided to put my new skills to work by making our moms Christmas flower arrangements. (Hopefully neither of them read this post before I get the chance to hand deliver my creations.) I did not take any photos before my work was done. I’m sorry I was too busy creating and not thinking of blogging.

Besides, my boss probably would not be happy if I divulged all of the insider flower shop secrets I just learned. Instead of explaining how to arrange flowers, I will share a few tips on reducing the cost of DIY arrangements. Each of these arrangements cost me $5 each and I did not receive any sort of employee discount.

My first tip is to repurpose old containers. I patronized Goodwill. The green vase cost twenty five cents and I splurged on the stainless steel container by paying a whole dollar.

The flowers came from a local shop that often has unarranged flowers on special. You can also buy flowers like these from the grocery store. The greenery was free for the taking when we bought our Christmas tree. I also scavenged our yard for a variety of evergreen branches.

To save even more money on my DIY Christmas arrangements, I wired the pinecones myself. In addition, I used sparkly picks that I found for less than a quarter a piece last year at Michael’s.

Although the DIY Christmas arrangements did not cost much, I did make a huge mess across the kitchen floor. It took a considerable amount of time to put everything together and clean up the mess.  

I really hope one of my wonderful family members bought the handheld pruners that were on my wish list. (Just what every girl dreams of…) The giant limb loppers are awkward and the kitchen shears have been taking a beating.

One last tip, I bought the wet floral foam at Joann Fabric with my online 40% off coupon. The flower shop was out of inexpensive red flowers. I enjoy the fact that the arrangements have flowers that are not traditionally associated with the holidays, yet they still have a Christmassy feel.

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Christmas Card Holder

Each year I look forward to December and receiving Christmas cards. I love real mail delivered by the mail man. Moreover, I enjoy sending mail almost as much as discovering a hand written card in the mailbox.

Last year I made this Christmas card hanger that is strung up above the couch in the living room. I made the letters using old book pages, pipe cleaners and letters I printed from Picnik.

The Christmas cards are secured to the picture hanging wire with these tiny clothespins.

A large vase filled with Grandma’s vintage Christmas ornaments and some battery operated lights to add more cheer to the room.

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Christmas Cloche

I decked out this glass Christmas cloche last year with three sisal trees I found at Menards, some artificial snow, and a Scrabble message. Previously, the winter scene looked more festive because I had the base painted red.

This monochromatic Christmas cloche needed an extra dose of holiday cheer.

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In case you find yourself wondering where the cloche originated, I purchased a glass domed clock from Goodwill and removed the inner pieces.

{Martha Stewart’s Glittered Deer}

I saw Martha Stewart’s glittered deer floating around on Pinterest. I knew these glittery dollar store toys would be the perfect addition to my Christmas cloche. Much to my dismay, the Dollar Tree was out of small plastic woodland creatures.  

I ordered a gift from Photojojo. (If you have a camera lover to shop for, I recommend paying them a visit) Along with the purchased item, I received a plastic dinosaur in the mail. On the bill, it said “Rawr” $0.00. This little bit of whimsy made my day.

I gave Rawr a holiday makeover using glue, (Can you believe I don’t have the regular Elmer’s variety?) a paint brush, and fine Martha Stewart glitter.

First I used the paint brush to dose the dinosaur in glue. Any kind of glue will do.

Next I poured glitter over the wet glue. I had to do several touch ups with a bit of glue on the paint brush.

I also added some sparkly pipe cleaner pieces to make the sisal trees a little cheery.

It may be tacky, but my Christmas dinosaur makes me happy.

Overall, I am quite pleased with my Christmas cloche.

linked: skiptomylou, sumossweetstuff, thegirlcreative, dittledattle,

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Oh Christmas Tree

I am a big fan of Christmas and especially Christmas trees. I was going to show you all of our trees in this post, but alas a string of lights on our artificial tree burned out. Without further ado, I present to you the live tree.

This tree is decked in red, gold, and clear glass ornaments. I purchased most of them after Christmas for a fraction of the original price. However, there are a few ornaments that have sentimental meaning. I enjoy buying locally made goods like this glass blown ornament. I splurged on this beauty while exploring Nashville, Indiana with my good friend Amanda.

Hyggeligt is a word in the Danish language that can describe a warm cozy atmosphere. That is exactly how I feel about this tree in our living room. I will show you our other tree once I can hunt down an extra strand of lights.

Flat Stanley and I picking out our Frasier Fir.

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Christmas Mantel

I do not have a theme for our Christmas decorations. If it is inexpensive and I like it, it works for me. The Christmas mantel is a mix of Goodwill transformations and post holiday bargains. I told you about the wreath here.

The piece of garland was a basic cheapy from Old Time Pottery. I added my own strand of lights. Then I went to town throwing in glittery picks, pinecones, and bulbs that no longer fit on the tree. (I have way more ornaments than a 27 year old should) Last year I also tucked in some live evergreen pieces. My philosophy on garland is that the more stuff I bury in there; the better it is going to look.

The stocking hangers have childhood Christmas photos of us. I found the hangers at Target. I usually hold off buying any clearance at Target until it goes 75-90% off.

The candle sticks were found at Goodwill and they were spray painted to match.

I have a soft spot for gnomes, but this guy is even dearer to my heart. He reminds me of a Yule Nisse. I learned about Nisse from AK, my favorite Dane. Nisses are mythical creatures of Danish folklore that watch over farms, good fortune and children at night. They are also known to cause mischief. Some day our children may have a Nisse on the shelf instead of an Elf on the Shelf,

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Christmas Wreath

{me and my dad on the farm}

When I was growing up, my parents sold Christmas trees with my aunt and uncle on the farm. I have very fond memories of passing out candy canes, roasting pine cones with my grandpa and signing "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" with my cousin. The smell of fresh pine needles still stirs up a certain childhood nostalgia.

Lucky for me, Aunt Lorraine has not forgotten all of her wreath making, garland crafting ways. She is a lady of many talents. She brought me this lovely wreath of fresh evergreen boughs on Thanksgiving.

I set out to adorn the wreath using supplies I already had on hand. The ribbon and the shatter proof ornaments were purchased on clearance last season. I scored the glittery twigs for five cents a piece at Michael's last year.

I used floral wire to attach the ornaments. I also added a few pine cones. (If your ornaments keep losing their tops, you can use hot glue to keep them in place.) The glittery picks were simply tucked into the greenery. I didn't bother gluing or wiring them into place.

To Make a Bow:

1. Wind the fabric several times around a piece of cardboard. The cardboard should be the same length as the desired width of the bow.

2. Gently pull the ribbon off of the cardboard and secure the middle with wire.

3. Fluff the bow so it looks nice and pretty.

4. Finally, use an additional length of ribbon to tie around the center of the bow to make tails.

Here is the finished product. I am happy with how it turned out. I will show you the rest of our Christmas fireplace sometime next week.

One last thing... if you are like my husband and you are wondering how I got the wreath to hang on the fireplace, I used one of the brick clips pictured above. I found it at Menard's with the Christmas lights and it works like a charm.

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Thanksgiving Recap

On Thanksgiving we had two turkeys, tons of food, fourteen visiting family members and lots of holiday cheer at our house. My cousin Rachael baked the above turkey and Josh fried the other. This was my 28th Thanksgiving and I still haven't made a turkey : )

My second apple pie was even better. This time I added some powdered sugar to the crust and tapioca and vanilla to the filling.

My sister made the cute pilgrim hat cookies. She found the inspiration here.

This was our Thanksgiving table to seat sixteen! I made the Give Thanks vases using jars and puffy paint. I found the idea here. The 'I am grateful cards' were free printables from Pick Your Plum. Martha and my abundance of apples inspired the place cards.

Our 2011 turkey.

I framed vintage Thanksgiving postcards I found online.

I made this banner last year using Picnik and old book pages.