Burlap, Blues and Bling

I'm just playing around a little with this theme for my Christmas tree. I don't know what the wire rack was originally. I looked at it once and thought it could be a rustic wreath so I added a burlap bow. I came across the candle ring while unpacking. I hung it on the wreath holder and there you have it a simple, pretty decoration for my craft room door.

LEVELS

Back when I thought we were going to live in an old single wide trailer temporarily, I had an idea for the narrow hallway wall. I started collecting these old levels. My idea was to mount them on the wall and use them as display shelves. L brackets or something to support them.
We never did live in that trailer but I still like the idea. Now to find the perfect wallspace.

Tree Themes

What's left of this year's tree. Red, white and green. I really liked this tree for the first one in our new house. I have been lazy in my theme choices. Well maybe not lazy, just practical. I have been using what I have on hand. I used to plan the theme a year ahead and pick things up all year for it. Pretty soon you end up with too much stuff so I have been trying to mix it up with what I have. I decided to choose something now for next Christmas and see what happens throughout the year. The next tree will be Burlap, Blues and Bling. I got some burlap garland and ribbon on my trip to Tri-cities (on sale of course) so I am off to a good start.

Nativity Tree 1998. I had a good collection of nativity sets and ornaments the kids had made in primary. I always save my cards from year to year and after awhile there are quite a few in any category. I punched holes in them and hung them on the tree, too. I repeated this tree the next year at the church display of nativities for the public to view during an open house.

Snowman Tree. When the kids were little they started skiing lessons up at Anthony Lake. They were always in the snow so it seemed like a fun tree to do for them. I bought some cute fabric that was full of snowmen. I ironed on some stiffener and cut out all the little guys and hung them on the tree. I had a few stuffed snowmen and a couple ornaments and that was it.

Part of my run on color scheme trees. This one of white, silver and green was especially good looking. Again I could use cookie cutters, and kitchen items plus the green balls and white birds and snowflakes. I like this one and could do it again.

Patriotic Tree 2005. With Brandon in Iraq I decided to do a red, white and blue tree. I painted some flags, bought some white stars and used anything of those colors I had to fill it up. I also used blue lights mixed in with the white. It was a beautiful tree and so was the one I did a couple years later when he was back on tour.

Old Fashioned Kitchen Tree 2000. I didn't have to buy anything for this tree. I used a lot of my cookie cutters, jello molds and pot holders. It was a cute non-christmasy tree.

This is the Victorian Tree. I even try to decorate the bottom of the tree and wrap the packages to match.

Victorian Tree 1999. I have so many small antiques and vintage things in the house it was easy to pull enough together to fill this tree. It was tall and thin and one of the prettiest trees I have done. It's really been a nice tradition.

Countdown

This is one of my favorite things. I look forward to each new day so I can open an envelope and hang a treasure on the board. I first saw a variation of this several years ago in a magazine. I made 6-8 that year for my bazaar and for family. Each one unique. I want to make more. Some have been 12 day countdowns and they are just as cute. This has become one of my special holiday traditions. Merry Christmas to me every morning for 24 days!!

Glitter

I haven't made anything using glitter since grade school. I did buy something last christmas similar to these. I love old postcards. I whipped up these cute glittered cards last night. I think I could do more for future sales.

Funnel Fun

Last year around holiday time I saw some really different trees in a couple of magazines. They were made out of funnels. I thought they were pretty cute so I started my quest to find some. A lot harder than you'd think and a little on the spendy side ($3-$6). I didn't find any as big as I wanted either. Who knew they were so rare...either that or everyone saw they same magazines and were on the lookout too.

Here are my completed trees and they fit right in with my other kitchen decor. Feel free to use this idea and happy hunting.

Inspiration

I went to some of my favorite stores to see what's new in the crafting world. I wanted some inspiration. Hobby Lobby, Craft Warehouse, Michaels, even Target, Shopko and Fred Meyer have nice holiday items and displays. I really like the lighted branches that are at all the craft stores now. I need some for next year so I will have to watch for them to be on sale. Here they are used in a floral display in this glass vase. Very elegant looking.