Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Christmas Table Decor Ideas
Hey there! I worked on our table decor this morning and as usual, I kept it pretty simple.
For the table, I used vintage Christmas sheet music for placemats. Then placed my favorite white plates on top, along with my newest set of mini bread boards. On top of those, I added the gorgeous vintage silver that my hubby brought home to me. And simple white napkins complete the look.
I added some greenery into the hurricanes that were already on the table to add a little "festiveness",
is that a word?
is that a word?
I found this wonderful vintage dough trencher on Etsy last week and snatched it up to add to my collection. I filled it with gorgeous pomegranates. Simple, natural and pretty.
For above the pocket door, I simply went into the woods and clipped some greenery off some cypress and cedar trees and stapled it to the wall. Free.
I bought one of those inexpensive faux green wreaths and added burlap strips to it that I cut from some of our coffee sacks, then hung it from our built in corner cabinet that holds my collection of transferware. I also hung a glass berry garland from our light above the table.
For our buffet, I bought a mini Christmas tree and put it into a bushel basket wrapped with burlap and rope. Then brought out my special vintage wine decanter with etched glass wine goblets that my hubby bought for me for our anniversary one year.
To add some festiveness to the dining chairs, I tied strips of canvas to little berry wreaths that I made from glass berry garland, and hung them on the backs of the chairs.
And thats pretty much it. Nothing fancy, just simple and inexpensive, but still pretty, cozy and warm for the holidays. That in itself is beautiful to me.
Happy Decorating!
Come join us for a week of Holiday Decor link parties!
Come join us for a week of Holiday Decor link parties!
Sunday, February 23, 2014
THE 7 UP CHRISTMAS TREE
This year I put my Christmas tree in a vintage 7-UP crate. Our tree is a gorgeous faux blue spruce
4 ft tall tree. I bought it years ago from The Bay in downtown Vancouver.
Below left you can see the tree is just being set up and started to get decorated.
Below right all the lights are strung and the tree is all trimmed.
When your family is young and you have children running around the house Christmas is very much
about them. And this includes decorating for Christmas too. You trim the tree with the kids and each
ornament you put on the tree brings back memories of past holidays. Once the kids have moved out
and are setting up their own homes and their own trees its time to decorate for yourselves. For some
it is a very hard concept but just like anything in life you must teach yourselves to do.
Start out with the thought "I get to decorate the way I want"
And try to start early in the season so you have many days and nights to enjoy your hard work.
My house does not get Christmasified in a day, one area gets worked on each day over a week.
As each area starts to glitter with lights it spurs me on to want to do a little more somewhere else in our home.
Decorating for yourself to enjoy is just as important as decorating for your family to enjoy.
Monday, February 10, 2014
DIY Christmas Gift Round 2 Wooden Tray
I love big trays, but they can be hard to find and even harder at a price I want to pay. Thinking about it, I decided that it couldnt be too hard to make my own, so I decided to give it a try!
The thing that I really like about this project is there are a few ways to do it depending on the tools that you have. We used a chop saw, drill, screwdriver, screws, and wood glue, and wood but you could do it with with just wood glue and wood.
First we gathered supplies and cut our wood for a 2 x 14.5" tray.
Two pieces of 4 2.5" thin popular hobby board, 1 sheet or half sheet of 3/8" to 1/2" Plywood or MDF. Ace Hardware lets you buy half sheets or if they have a scrap in your size they could charge you as little as .50! We used plywood since that is what we had left over, but the key to this project going well is having everything straight (especially if you are gluing) MDF is much straighter than plywood. Also make sure to pick hobby boards that are straight. You will thank yourself later!
Two pieces of 4 2.5" thin popular hobby board (purchased at Home Depot) and a 3/8" to 1/2" base. The base was cut to 23" x 14", primed, painted and stenciled with a smaller version of my trellis stencil. The poplar boards sit flush with the base, and a frame is built around it.
The first poplar board was cut in half and then a 45 degree angle was cut with the chop saw on the edge. Then it was held up to the side of the board (as it would sit) and the other 45 was marked with a pencil and then cut, this was repeated for all four boards.
If you are using just wood glue. You can get all of your cuts done at Home Depot / Lowes / Ace etc. You would get 1. the base cut to size and 2. for the two side pieces get the hobby board cut to the width of of your base 3. for the front and back you will need to overlap the two side pieces so each front and back piece will be the long side of the tray base plus the thickness of the hobby board twice. Confused? hopefully the diagram underneath will make it a bit clearer.
Next we measured and drill holes for the screws to go through (note: since we used a screw driver by hand we also drilled through the base too lining up the holes. We used three small brass screws for the front and back and two for the side.
The hole was then counter sunk for the screw head to sit it. We used a drill bit the same size as the screw head and lightly drilled enough that the head would sit flush.
We applied wood glue around the outside for added strength (this would be your only step if you werent using screws) If you are only gluing, hold it until the glue holds (about a minute) and then secure the corners and around the bottom/sides with masking/painters tape until completely dry.
We purchased tiny brass screws (flat head) so they would blend in. We used the screw driver since they were so small. Please ignore my paint filled hands. I am known for getting paint all over myself when I work on projects. The other day I was checking out at the grocery store and the cashier asked if I had been painting, I said yes and embarrassingly explained myself. When I got to the car I noticed a big paint mark on my face, yeah it was pretty embarrassing!
anyways back to the project ...
a thin layer of clear wax was applied with a cloth to seal and protect it.
and after attaching the screws on all four sides that was it!
I found this amazing hand made recycled glass vase at Marshalls for only $5. I love the subtle blue and the imperfectness of the shape.
I cut a smaller version of my trellis stencil and painted it with the same color as the credenza Sherwin Williams Glimmer. You could also use fabric and spray adhesive (like I did for the original tray I made for the credenza)
Read More..
The thing that I really like about this project is there are a few ways to do it depending on the tools that you have. We used a chop saw, drill, screwdriver, screws, and wood glue, and wood but you could do it with with just wood glue and wood.
First we gathered supplies and cut our wood for a 2 x 14.5" tray.
Two pieces of 4 2.5" thin popular hobby board, 1 sheet or half sheet of 3/8" to 1/2" Plywood or MDF. Ace Hardware lets you buy half sheets or if they have a scrap in your size they could charge you as little as .50! We used plywood since that is what we had left over, but the key to this project going well is having everything straight (especially if you are gluing) MDF is much straighter than plywood. Also make sure to pick hobby boards that are straight. You will thank yourself later!
Two pieces of 4 2.5" thin popular hobby board (purchased at Home Depot) and a 3/8" to 1/2" base. The base was cut to 23" x 14", primed, painted and stenciled with a smaller version of my trellis stencil. The poplar boards sit flush with the base, and a frame is built around it.
The first poplar board was cut in half and then a 45 degree angle was cut with the chop saw on the edge. Then it was held up to the side of the board (as it would sit) and the other 45 was marked with a pencil and then cut, this was repeated for all four boards.
If you are using just wood glue. You can get all of your cuts done at Home Depot / Lowes / Ace etc. You would get 1. the base cut to size and 2. for the two side pieces get the hobby board cut to the width of of your base 3. for the front and back you will need to overlap the two side pieces so each front and back piece will be the long side of the tray base plus the thickness of the hobby board twice. Confused? hopefully the diagram underneath will make it a bit clearer.
Essentially it is just building a frame around the outside. If using a chop saw/miter bix, the 45s will meet on each corner. If using another saw or getting the pieces pre-cut, the front pieces will overlap the side pieces.
The hole was then counter sunk for the screw head to sit it. We used a drill bit the same size as the screw head and lightly drilled enough that the head would sit flush.
We applied wood glue around the outside for added strength (this would be your only step if you werent using screws) If you are only gluing, hold it until the glue holds (about a minute) and then secure the corners and around the bottom/sides with masking/painters tape until completely dry.
We purchased tiny brass screws (flat head) so they would blend in. We used the screw driver since they were so small. Please ignore my paint filled hands. I am known for getting paint all over myself when I work on projects. The other day I was checking out at the grocery store and the cashier asked if I had been painting, I said yes and embarrassingly explained myself. When I got to the car I noticed a big paint mark on my face, yeah it was pretty embarrassing!
anyways back to the project ...
a thin layer of clear wax was applied with a cloth to seal and protect it.
and after attaching the screws on all four sides that was it!
I found this amazing hand made recycled glass vase at Marshalls for only $5. I love the subtle blue and the imperfectness of the shape.
I cut a smaller version of my trellis stencil and painted it with the same color as the credenza Sherwin Williams Glimmer. You could also use fabric and spray adhesive (like I did for the original tray I made for the credenza)
Price Breakdown:
4 x 2.5" poplar hobby board ~$3.50 x2
3/8" - 1/2" MDF depending on how much you buy whole sheet ~$15, half sheet ~$7.50, left over piece .50 to 2.00 (Ace Hardware will sell half sheets or left over pieces for less)
Total time invested: about and 1 hour or 2 (depending if you are stenciling, which takes about 30 minutes)
This project could easily be under $10! Trays this size easily run $50, so pretty good!
Trays are such versatile pieces that they make great gifts! and of course great presents for yourself too!
Let me know if you make this, Id love to know how it turned out :)
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