Holiday

These are a Few of My Favorite Christmas Things

December 5, 2018 by Katie Jones Leave a Comment

These are a few of my favorite things

Merry Christmas! There is so much to love about the season. How do you decide what you love enough to include in your décor and celebrations? Today I’m going to show you a few of my favorite Christmas things. Maybe you’ll be inspired to make them your favorite, too!

Poinsettia

One of my favorite Christmas things is the poinsettia plant. There’s just nothing else like those fabulous red leaves. Poinsettia has a long and interesting history. Did you know that it is native to South America? The color was extracted from the leaves to make beautiful textiles. The white sap of the plant is known as laytex. Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, fell in love with the plant. It’s from him the plant got its name, and he’s the reason we enjoy it all over today!

Going UP

Another of my favorite Christmas things is a banister decked out in garland. It’s just so pretty and festive! While we’re enjoying a little history lesson, I’ll tell you that Christmas garland originated in Europe, where they were first used to decorate Christmas trees.

Nutcracker

My very favorite Christmas thing is the nutcracker! I collect them, and every year it is so fun to try to find a new and original one. They were first produced and given in Germany. German folklore states they are given to bring good luck to a family and protect the home.

Hygge

Ever heard the word hyyge? It is a Danish and Norwegian word, pronounced “hue-guh.” It is used to denote that feeling of warmth and coziness that we want in our homes during the Christmas season. There’s no better way to bring hyyge into your surroundings than to light a bunch of candles, turn the lights down low, and heat some hot cocoa. Thus candles are one of my favorite Christmas things!

Christmas Books

It wouldn’t be Christmas without reading some classic Christmas stories with the children or grandchildren. Cuddling up with a copy of ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve is another favorite of mine.

Brown Paper Packages

“Brown paper packages tied up with string,” isn’t just a song lyric. It’s a charming and favorite way to wrap up those Christmas gifts you’ll be giving away. And I love a cute handmade tag!

That’s just a few of my favorite Christmas things. What are yours?

Here is another article about one of my favorite things https://fauxsho.org/10-dramatic-poinsettia-crafts/. Hard to go wrong with poinsettias.

DIY Holiday Centerpiece Ideas

November 28, 2018 by Katie Jones Leave a Comment

This holiday season, make your entertaining a little extra special with a DIY holiday centerpiece. Don’t let the words “DIY” or “centerpiece” scare you off. A DIY holiday centerpiece can be as simple or as involved as you want to make it. So no matter where you fall on that scale, there’s something on this list of DIY holiday centerpiece ideas for you. Take a look!

One pretty easy DIY holiday centerpiece idea is to make an evergreen base for a pillar candle. You can make this centerpiece with either natural or faux evergreen sprigs, and a real or battery-operated candle. You’ll need a circle of floral foam, some red berry picks, and silk roses. Starting at the base of the foam, insert evergreen sprigs evenly around the foam every couple of inches. Once you have a base, continue to fill in until your centerpiece is as full as you want it. If you use natural evergreen sprigs, soak the floral foam in water before using, and your DIY holiday centerpiece will last much longer. Find all the supplies for this project at Michaels!

If you want simple, try this DIY holiday centerpiece idea. You’ll need a trio of small mason jars, some Himalayan pink salt, jute or twine, wooden stars and tealight candles. This idea highlights the power threes in any of your décor ideas–an odd number of items always looks better than an even number.

This idea is more of a tablescape, but it can easily be adapted to cover less of the table. Just arrange antlers, evergreens, oranges and Clementines together down the center of the table. Add some clear glass votives for extra effect. Did you know you can buy natural-looking antler picks at Michaels?

Another easy DIY holiday centerpiece involves a simple gold charger, glass vase, ornament balls, faux snow and evergreen sprigs. I like the fact that once this is arranged, you can easily move it from place to place as the need arises. And it’s so inexpensive you can make more than one! Find gold chargers and everything else you need for this project at Dollar Tree.
If you’re into interesting color combinations for your Christmas décor, then something like this blue and white DIY holiday centerpiece might be for you. Start with a square vase. Add evergreen sprigs, white-tipped pinecones, blue & white ornaments and a white pillar candle. I love this!

Color Combinations for Christmas Decor

November 21, 2018 by Katie Jones Leave a Comment

Maybe you want this year’s Christmas décor to look a little bit more understated? I wouldn’t blame you! Although brightly colored décor themes have their place, sometimes it is helpful to look at other color combinations for Christmas décor. There are some beautiful color combinations out there, ranging from pastel to bold. I’ve found a few of my favorites to share with you today. Get ready for some serious Christmas décor inspiration!

I absolutely adore the bold use of purple in this festive Christmas décor! I think if you’re a little afraid of using a non-traditional color combination, you should definitely pay attention to how this room is decorated. Notice that the predominant color of the fireplace and mantel décor is gold and silver. Purple is allowed to dominate the tree, and that way, it is not too overwhelming if you’re nervous about it. But I think this room looks amazing!

Another non-traditional color combination for Christmas décor is pink and cream. But I think you have to agree that the soft, calming effect of this Christmas décor choice is worth noting. It’s soft and muted, but the festive feel of the room doesn’t suffer in any way. I’m sure I could hang out in this spot on a snowy afternoon and thoroughly enjoy myself. So, how do you feel about it? Are you team pink?

Blue holds a special place in my Christmas memories! My grandmother always used blue for her Christmas décor, and I loved it from the first time I was old enough to notice. We never had blue decor at my house, so I had to enjoy my grandma’s. Now that I’m an adult, a blue and silver color combination has been on my tree many times. It’s definitely a favorite!

Silver and gold isn’t just in the classic Christmas song. It’s also a timeless Christmas décor color combination. You can’t miss how festive it always looks against the green of the evergreen tree, garland, and wreaths. Some might think it’s boring, but they’re wrong. Silver and gold will never go out of style!

Flock your tree and add red decorations. In fact, red and white is a great color combination to use for your Christmas décor. It looks fun and festive, and you’ll never go wrong by using it. In fact, does Santa leave more gifts if you use a lot of red? That’s a question worth thinking about!

Now that you have selected your colors, click here for ways to decorate with them https://fauxsho.org/spectacular-ways-to-decorate-for-the-holidays-from-the-dollar-store/

DIY Holiday Tablecloth Ideas

November 14, 2018 by Katie Jones Leave a Comment

Halloween/Thanksgiving

The holidays are right around the corner, and Thanksgiving planning is in full swing! Have you looked at the prices on table linens lately? If you haven’t, let’s just say they aren’t cheap. So before you go and try to buy a reasonably priced holiday tablecloth, check out the following DIY holiday tablecloth ideas. They won’t disappoint you or your guests, and they’ll probably save you some cash.

For a fun Halloween and Thanksgiving-appropriate tablecloth, visit your local fabric store or check out Fabric.com. Choose a fabric with a fall leaf pattern like the one pictured and sew your own tablecloth. I’ve done this, and 10 years later I still use that tablecloth every Thanksgiving! Before you buy, measure the table you want to cover so you’ll be sure to buy enough. For a round table, measure the diameter of the table, plus a 6″ drop for the sides. Add another 2″ for the hem. For a square or rectangular table, measure the area, plus a 6″ drop for all sides and a 2″ hem allowance. If you will need to sew panels together to cover the area of the table, allow another 1″ for seam allowances.

If you own plenty of white tablecloths, it isn’t hard to jazz them up for whatever holiday you’re celebrating. A smaller, colored round or square tablecloth is an easy way to dress up a plain white tablecloth. I love the look of this bright yellow tablecloth on a Thanksgiving table.

Don’t be afraid to choose an unexpected color of fabric for your DIY holiday tablecloth. A charcoal-colored tablecloth is so pretty paired up with wood slice coasters, evergreens, and pine cones. It’s a lovely DIY holiday tablecloth idea!

Winter: Christmas/NewYear’s

Decorate your own DIY holiday “tablecloth” by starting with a blank canvas of white paper. Lay the paper out on the table and then use stamps or Sharpies to decorate it. The best part about this idea is that it’s completely disposable and requires no laundering. And next year, you can do something completely different.

A popular DIY holiday tablecloth idea is to use wrapping paper for either the tablecloth or as a table runner over a white tablecloth. Choose an appealing design and then let that design inspire the rest of your holiday tablescape. Once again, it’s disposable and you can do something else next year!

Have fun with your DIY holiday tablecloth. Let us know what you come up with!

For more holiday DIY ideas, check out some of our other articles:

https://fauxsho.org/diy-holiday-centerpiece-ideas/

https://fauxsho.org/holiday-blues-dont-get-sad-get-plaid-buffalo-plaid/

Burlap Sack Christmas Gift Ideas

October 3, 2018 by Katie Jones Leave a Comment

Now that we’ve gotten plaid instead of sad for Christmas, let’s add a little more rustic charm to your holiday season. The perfect way to add more rustic charm to your Christmas is with burlap sack Christmas gift ideas! Burlap adds its own rustic charm to anything. Take a look at these ways in which you can use burlap sack Christmas gift ideas this year.

Make your cash gifts infinitely more appealing by “wrapping” the money inside burlap sacks. Add a drawstring closure if you like, or dress it up just like the picture. It reminds me of Santa’s sack!

Use large burlap sacks {such as potato sacks} to present large gifts. This is especially helpful for gifts that are oddly shaped, too big for a traditional gift bag, or difficult to wrap. Burlap is forgiving and will take any embellishment you choose to add to it. Tags, ribbons, pinecones, and stencils are all fabulous ideas! For the kids, tie on some red, green and silver jingle bells to adorn the burlap gift wrap.

Make your burlap gift sacks look even more rustic by adding cute little patches like these. Another idea is to embroider or cross stitch right on your sacks. This can be done with the gift recipient’s name, or any other design you can come up with. The options for embellishing burlap sacks are only limited to your imagination.

Burlap sack Christmas gift ideas make great gifts for the neighbors. A burlap sack is a charming way to package treats for the neighbors! Fill your sacks with freshly baked cookies, caramel corn, or even red and green Hershey’s kisses. Tie with a festive Buffalo plaid ribbon and you’re done. Add a small twig of pine for that extra touch.

Sew up some burlap sacks that are tall enough to hold a bottle of sparkling cider. This is a burlap sack Christmas gift idea you can give to the hostesses of all the holiday parties you attend.

Have fun with these burlap sack Christmas gift ideas!

Holiday Blues? Don’t Get Sad, Get Plaid–Buffalo Plaid!

September 26, 2018 by Katie Jones Leave a Comment

Put a fresh spin on things this year with buffalo plaid for the holidays! If you’re getting a little bored and blue with your old holiday decorations, it’s the perfect time to do it. Buffalo plaid for the holidays is anything but boring and blue! Check out the ways you can bring buffalo plaid into your celebrations.

If you’re not sure about using buffalo plaid in your holiday decorating, there’s nothing wrong with starting small. Try pairing it up a little buffalo plaid ribbon and wrapping paper with some rustic elements such as jute, pinecones and candles. I think this is an amazingly warm and cozy look. What could be more perfect for cold winter nights?

Get an old wood pallet or some reclaimed boards, or even a rustic shutter to decorate your front porch. All you need to do to really make it pop is add a moose in buffalo plaid for the holidays. Do you have a Cricut machine? Then making a moose in a buffalo plaid print couldn’t get any easier! Cut, peel and stick, and you’re done!

You can also use that Cricut machine to craft an adorable Merry Christmas banner out of assorted buffalo plaid prints. You could dress up your mantel with this, or even a wall, doorway, or window. I love it because it’s rustic and festive without being cutesy!

One of the fun ways to incorporate buffalo plaid for the holidays is to buy up all the buffalo plaid wrapping paper you can find. It just looks so great under the tree! And you don’t have to be completely buffalo plaid–get a coordinating paper like these red and black stags to go with it.

Buffalo plaid for the holidays has to include pajamas! Aren’t they just so adorable? Etsy has a variety of buffalo plaid pajamas for the entire family. Check it out before they’re gone!