Seasonal & Holiday Decorating

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Published on December 5, 2012December 5, 2012 by Our Humble Abode19 Comments

If you’re getting ready to wrap up your holiday gifts (literally) and shopping, I’ve got a little something to share today.

Get a slightly glittered look without using glitter. You know what they say about glitter, right?

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays glitter tags:

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays hexagon tags:

If these new designs don’t tickle your fancy, try this assortment or last year’s woodland critter set.

But now I’m curious, do you wrap gifts in a theme? Or buy a variety of papers and go crazy?

I Love Geometry

Published on November 27, 2012November 27, 2012 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

On Sunday, we hauled the Christmas decorations out of storage and set up the tree. Not before discovering mouse poop in the box though. Boo to those creepy little critters. We all discussed ‘themes’, wondering what we should go with. Last year’s theme was Winter Wonderland, but I wanted something more colorful this time. After tossing out ideas, we settled on a geometry theme, spurred by a box of wooden blocks. Basically, simple shapes in fun colors.

Last year, my sister found plain wooden blocks in three sizes at a garage sale. She bought them thinking I could craft with them and the boys could build. Turns out, I really liked the way the blocks looked after a coat of paint. But cubes looked a little sharp, so I bought some plain wooden beads at Hobby Lobby and gave them a coat of paint, too.

Small eye hooks, also from Hobby Lobby, screwed in the blocks have a place to attach a hook.

And voila; simple, minimalist ornaments that only cost a few bucks.

To go along with the geometry theme, I bought two packs of silver bead garland from HoLo. You know, because every Christmas tree needs extra sparkle. I’m still planning and working on other geometric ornaments, too.

Do you make ornaments for the holidays? What themes have you used? Or perhaps you stick to a certain color palette?

Thanksgiving Setting

Published on November 19, 2012November 19, 2012 by Our Humble Abode54 Comments

For those of us living in the U.S., Thanksgiving is only three days away. We’re hosting friends from Minnesota and a few family members this year. I went back and forth trying to decide what style/color/type of decor I wanted. Last year we had a navy and gold theme, but I wanted something lighter and more rustic this time. So, I settled on a white, copper, and gray color scheme.

In addition to our every day white plates, glasses, and silverware, I added several DIY projects and a few thrift store finds.

Dollar store cylinder vases wrapped in white tissue paper, then dipped in copper acrylic paint add ambiance. Gold rimmed glasses, also from the dollar store can easily function as candle holders or vases. For added texture and color, pour in a little rice, dried corn, beans, or nuts.

By far my favorite part of this table setting are the log candle holders.

Free logs are the perfect rustic touch, and simple to make. Since cutting down the locust tree, we’ve had a pile of wood in the back yard. I dug out three of the smallest logs and cut them to various sizes. Some got a coat of copper paint, just to add a little more glitz.

Lined up on the table, they make a big impact. Each place setting is simple, consisting of a plain white dinner plate topped by a gold-rimmed crackle plate (from the thrift store). Cloth napkins I sewed from a geometric gray and cream fabric are neutral and can be used long after the holidays.

Super simple (and free!) napkin rings made from cut paper towel tubes, then painted copper.

We’re ready to go, just gotta make the food and wait for our guests. I suppose we should wait until Thursday for the food and guests.

Speaking of food, check back tomorrow for our meal plan. We’ve got the staples (turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole) but we’ve got a few new menu items this year. And I’m already salivating at the thought.

So tell me, do you have a theme for Thanksgiving? Or new items to add to your menu?

Leaf it Alone

Published on October 9, 2012October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode14 Comments

Sometimes I wish I planned ahead more and decorated for various holiday and seasons. Nothing that would look like I bought an entire aisle at Hobby Lobby, but more than the few areas I do decorate. Because so much is unfinished (or even started) in this house, my focus has been more on necessary projects, not decorating. And we’ve only got a few logical places for decor at the moment. I’ve already fall-ified the couch. Without a mantle, I use our entertainment center as a substitute. So, here’s our little dose of fall decor.

Well, that was round one. Touches of yellow, white, gold, and copper. I swapped a blue vase for the gold one on the left and replaced the paper behind our Whole Family Tree cut out. Previously, it had a teal backing, which you can see on the top right shelf at our first house.

While I liked the general selection, I wanted a little more. I found pressed leaves in my craft stash so I used light fishing line to make a simple garland.

Simple. I taped a few more leaves on fishing line then hung them from the ceiling to get the effect of falling leaves.

Other than the leaves, the left side stayed the same.

To add more metallic goodness, I spray painted the little bird to match the vase. And a pine cone. Because one can never have too much bling.

Other than the pillows and faux billy buttons, I think I’m done for the season. I’ve done a little Halloween decorating that I’ll share soon.

What are your favorite ways to spruce your home for the changing seasons? Do you go all out on decorating? Or just a few touches here and there? Got a favorite project? Share it with us!

Pillow Palooza

Published on October 4, 2012October 8, 2012 by Our Humble Abode24 Comments

Up until yesterday, we still had very summery weather. I’m a little late, but I’ve started decorating for fall. Usually I don’t go all out on seasonal decorating, but I like to switch up a few things. I started with new fall colored pillows for the couch. Thus, pillow palooza was born.

Red doesn’t often make an appearance in our house. However, I can’t get enough coral lately. Spurred by a towel I bought for the bathroom, I figured dark coral and gray could replace red nicely.

I happened to have half a yard of light gray duck cloth in my stash, so I cut it to an 18 inch square piece. Wanting a simple design, I taped off two-inch wide random stripes. Then I mixed up a batch of dark coral using apple red, orange, and a dose of pale pink. Painting went quickly, covering in one coat.

Peeling off the tape is such a fun moment. A few areas of bleed through, but nothing terrible. Definitely fun color.

For something even more fall-ish, I had the idea to add a leaf design to a pillow. Preferably, I would have used fabric for the leaves, but I had my heart set on metallic. Sadly, our little fabric stores don’t carry much in the good-looking metallic department. Again, I turned to craft paint, this time in a metallic copper finish. Freehand leaves appear to fall and settle at the bottom.

Later, I went back and added a few metallic gold leaves, too. Yellow is a great fall color, so I kept the fun Target pillow.

For the other side of the couch, I started dip dyed a piece of natural colored canvas in a tangerine dye bath. Just a simple dip and wiggling to get an ombre-ish pillow.

To incorporate orange, yellow, and gray to temper the bright colors, I had my heart set on a triangle pattern pillow. I cut a 7 inch equilateral triangle template from card stock, then traced it to scrap fabric left over from other projects.