Monday, December 19, 2022

Watercolor Painted Gift Tags

Well, after almost three years, hubby and caught covid. We are vaccine folks (and if you aren't, carry on 😊) and we had not gotten our second boosters, darn it! We weren't very sick at all, but I did lose about 8 days of Christmas season prep. Even though we weren't very sick, we quarantined and stayed home until testing negative so that we wouldn't spread anything. 

I was bored out of my gourd. I didn't do any of my holiday baking, didn't want to get anyone sick. I didn't have many of my gifts yet to wrap, but did decided to spend one afternoon watercolor painting gift tags so I would be ready when I did test negative (which I have now!)
Watercolor Painted Gift Tags
I am sharing just some of the tags that I painted. I cut watercolor paper into 3"x 4.5" pieces and then painted away. I am a self-taught watercolorist and they certainly aren't perfect.
Watercolor Painted Gift Tags
But, I had fun painting them and I was able to create something I needed with items I had. I trimmed them up when the were dry and double stick taped them to cardstock with and added jute string. There is lots of space on the back for the to/ from and a personal note. Here are a few close-ups.
Watercolor Painted Gift Tags

Watercolor Painted Gift Tags

Watercolor Painted Gift Tags

Watercolor Painted Gift Tags

Watercolor Painted Gift Tags
Hubby claimed the cabin tag for his gift.
Watercolor Painted Gift Tags
Now to finish my shopping!

Friday, December 16, 2022

A Walk Down Christmas Memory Lane

Today I decided to walk down memory lane of past Christmas blog posts. I've come a long way, baby! I thought you might enjoy seeing how my decorating and picture taking skills have changed over the years.

Before I share, I do want to say I do not want to offend anyone. If you use the same decor every year, that is great! I like to change mine frequently, I love to decorate and make things, and I love to update and freshen things up. Also, I am sharing trends that were popular certain years. If you are still decorating with a trend that was popular eight years ago and you still love it, yay!! You absolutely don't have to follow trends. Plus, certain styles are classics and will always be in fashion. 

Apparently I didn't share pictures of my tree every year, but I will share a picture or two starting in 2008.

2008
I had a lot of aqua and light blue in my decor so I decorated with blues and white and browns. My Cricut must have been a new toy because I had lots of Christmas decor with vinyl cut-outs on it, such as this mirror. These little trees were before the resurgence of bottle brush trees. 
Christmas Past
2009
 I made white stockings from thrift store sweaters. I was still decorating with blues and dark red and white snowflakes.
Christmas Past
2010
I didn't post much Christmas decor this year, but I made this garland with scrapbook paper in the colors I used. That was a lot of circle punching!
Christmas Past
I used a lot of blue and silver in 2010.
Christmas Past
2011
This year I decorated with red and a lot of rustic and vintage finds.
Christmas Past
I included more natural items like pinecones. 
Christmas Past
2012
I decorated with an all white Christmas theme. I made this tree skirt from a white wool blanket from the thrift store.
Christmas Past
Farmhouse style was becoming popular--all white, burlap, chippy paint were very popular.
Christmas Past
2013
Farmhouse is in full swing as Chip and Joanna have emerged on the national scene. I also started stenciling everything I could! Banners were definitely a big hit this year too!
Christmas Past
Hot cocoa stations also were gaining in popularity in 2013.
Christmas Past
2014
This year I decided I was over white and wanted lots of color--red, turquoise, and bright green. I made these patchwork stockings from thrift store clothes. I made a tree skirt to match.
Christmas Past
I made all kinds of wood stars like this red one. I would call my style colorful farmhouse.
Christmas Past
2015
This was our first Christmas in our old schoolhouse. It was fun to decorate a new space. my style was more woodland and I primarily decorated with tan and red and white.
Christmas Past
I used more natural items, more of a woodsy and lodge look. Think foxes and moose and owls. Red and black buffalo check started becoming popular in 2015 too.
Christmas Past
2016
Signs, signs, signs were a sign that it was 2016. Signs telling us about Christmas tree farms, and being naughty or nice, reindeer names (I haven't hung a single sign this Christmas). We stenciled them, hand-painted them, bought them. BIG letters were also a hit.
Christmas Past
We put our sayings and signs on everything, including pillows.
Christmas Past
I made the red stockings with a piece of red boiled wool from the thrift store. I added farmhouse style cuffs to them. Lots of red and white and snowflakes for me.
Christmas Past
2017
I was still using lots of red and white, not so much tan because I had gone from browns to greys by now. I made lots of items with reclaimed wood. 
Christmas Past
I made paper chains from old book pages to decorate a craft show booth and used them in my home after the show. A red tonka truck with a bottle brush tree in the back was on trend. There were plenty of signs picturing old trucks with trees this year too.
Christmas Past
2018
Bottle brush trees had to be added to everything and with reproduction trees, it was easy. 
Christmas Past
Battery operated fairy lights became readily available. I started using more green in my decor. I also continued to add to my snowflake collection.
Christmas Past
2019
I was still making lots of signs, but fewer word signs and more easy art type. Picture ledges were hot and I hung my stockings from mine.
Christmas Past
I also painted my first painting using only wood scraps as my paintbrushes. Although I am not using it this year, and my family made fun of it (I told them it is a cross between a caribou and reindeer), I still like it and still have it.
Christmas Past
2020
Covid Christmas in a new home in a new state. I was all about the white and green, foraged and found decor, and boho--tassels, macrame, baskets!
Christmas Past
Surprise! I made new stockings again from thrift store finds.
Christmas Past
2021
Last year we were back in Montana in our schoolhouse. I decorated with much of the same decor I had used in Idaho. I used as many snowflakes as I could find.
Christmas Past
Little wooden houses were very popular last year and I made a whole village.
Christmas Past
This repurposed leather tool belt was a popular post last year.
Christmas Past
2022
This year, the white is gone and has been replaced with golds and yellows and browns.
Christmas Past
Texture and velvet and mushrooms, yes, shrooms, are popular for the tree.
Christmas Past
I am using more natural tones, antique gold and brass, and focusing on layers and textures.
Christmas Past
I hope you have enjoyed this review of Christmas past on the blog. It's been fun for me to see how my style has changed and how some things haven't changed. I still create most of my decor, I use thrift store and garage sale finds, and I enjoy decorating for Christmas. Of course, the most important decoration at the holidays is the people we gather around our trees and tables and that is something that will never change for me.

Thursday, December 15, 2022

More of My Holiday Home 2022

Today, I am sharing more of my holiday home decor. I have a ton of pictures and I am going to try and keep descriptions to a minimum (maybe?). Let's start with my stockings.
Hanging Stockings
Please keep reading and LOOKING to see more.

Monday, December 12, 2022

Warm Golden Christmas Tree

Today, I am sharing more details on my tree and the ornaments that I showed you last week.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
I am not using all of my white Christmas decorations, and I had a load of snowflake ornaments. So, that meant I had to come up with some new ornaments that were in keeping with my golden, wood, green, and some dark red theme. I wanted brass or antique gold, natural, organic, earthy. Keeping that in my mind, I headed to the thrift stores.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
I have been using white wood bead garland for the past several years. I made new beaded garland strings with light, dark, and gold beads cut from thrift store, beaded seat covers. I colored the gold ones in a plastic bag with a few squirts of Antique Gold Rub-n-Buff. This was my first layer on the tree. 
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
I used gold, satin ribbon pinched in the middle with a piece of floral wire next. I would have liked to have used gold velvet ribbon, but there was none to be found in my town. I probably should have used one more spool of ribbon, but I only bought one. I was going to add gold tinsel, but decided against it since it is a choking hazard and we will have our 20 month old grandson here for Christmas. I pulled out what ornaments I had that would fit with this year's theme--antique gold pinecones, real pinecones, some dark red bottle brush wreaths, and some glittery gold and glass geodesic ornaments. Then, I set out to make or thrift the rest.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
I found vintage, solid brass, 12 Days of Christmas ornaments in their original box made by the International Silver Co. To modernize them a bit and give them an updated look, I add a gold craft ring to them. I found 25 of these at the thrift store for $3. 
12 Days of Christmas Ornament
I wrapped the gold string the ornaments were hanging from around the metal ring and held it in place with a dot of hot glue, I then tied on a piece of green velvet ribbon and another natural colored ribbon with jute, that I also used to hang the ornament.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
I found a bag of decorative, wood fruit at the thrift store. I added an screw eye and a ribbon to hang them. For $3 I got eight ornaments. I didn't use the banana or the wood pea pods, but mostly the spherical fruit, a few pointy ones.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
I wanted mushroom ornaments on my tree. I learned from Michael at Inspired by Charm that mushrooms on a Christmas tree symbolize good fortune. I like that, but also their organic nature and I love hunting mushrooms. I decided to make some.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
I started with Styrofoam balls and bells from the thrift store. Whenever I need a craft supply, I will always look for it at thrift store or two before buying new. I cut most of the balls in half, but some I cut more at the two-thirds point to create a more puffball type mushroom and then a flatter mushroom.
Easy DIY Mushroom ornaments
I used an old sweater of mine that was in the giveaway pile for most of the mushrooms. I also used a piece of gold, felted wool from the craft store. I cut a circle, sewed a running stitch along the edge with embroidery floss, and then pulled it tight around the Styrofoam piece, leaving room for a stem.
Easy DIY Mushroom ornaments
I used four different colored threads and tie French knots on the mushroom caps. I also tied a floss hanger for the ornament. A wood branch from the yard was inserted and hot glued to the mushroom cap. I made a dozen mushroom ornaments.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
Other ornaments include thrifted clear ornaments that I twirled paint on the inside and used gold leaf on the outside.
DIY Ornaments
I painted some thrift store ornaments yellow, and light and dark green. I then dusted a mixture of cocoa powder and plaster on the wet paint. When they were dry, I dabbed on some Antique Gold Rub-n-Buff.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
I found a bag of brass cherubs and other brass figurines for $3 at the thrift store. I tried to hot glue a ribbon to their heads, but it wouldn't hold it. So, I hung up the poor cherubs by their necks with floral wire. You can only see the wire close up, but it cracks me up.
Vinatage Brass Cherub Figurines
The final layer to my warm, glowing tree was to add gold berry picks to the branches. I got these at Target, 50 picks for $5.
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
As I said on Friday, I think this is my favorite tree ever. We have plenty of white and cold outside, so I love having the warm, golden colors inside. Think layers when decorating your tree and keep key words in the back of your mind while thrifting. 
Warm Golden Christmas Tree
A garage sale silver star got the Rub-n-Buff treatment to top the tree. A few other random thrifted ornaments--brown, glass balls, bronze colored deer, and my tree is complete.