Funky no sew, no time, no cost Christmas decor.

I wanted a white/natural Christmas this year, and not meaning the snow variety. I just desired to see more whites and rustic realism in the decorating, rather than flash. Without spending money. And not requiring a boatload of time. Yes indeed, I wanted it all and by golly, I went for it! I left all the neon Christmas colours in the decorating box and started picking and choosing my direction.

I've posted about my tree before. For the white garland, I ripped a white sheet in 6" strips, leaving the frayed edges exposed.

Ah... why not add MORE garland. They fill up a tree real fast and I love the lush look.

A simple unsewn piece of burlap for the skirt and we're done here. Perfect! Next!

How about a little funk for the fireplace mantel? A neighbor had just pruned his trees so I ran out to scoop up some branches. I'd think of something...

The branches were laid out first, with mini lights littering the mantel. I covered the lights with a ripped sheet and simply added the rest. The result is quite a nice 'safe' glow in the evenings. The mini lights stuffed inside the white box illuminate the underside of the star.

If I haven't scared you yet, please read on. With some caution of course...

This one is safe. (lol) My kitchen office has a simple poinsettia given to me by a friend.

The light fixture above is pretty reserved. The white is ripped sheets once again. Oops, forgot to clip those threads!

But it just wouldn't be quite right to not do SOMETHING slightly out of the norm. The ladder will be the Christmas card display.

I didn't want to put up the stockings that I had, so...

... the burlap sandbags (I kid you not. $1.50 each at the local hardware) will do quite nicely. They looked weird on the mantel so they can just hang from two island chairs this year. And look how much they can hold too!! :D

I just like stars. So I gutted the tree abit more and added them to the island light fixture. (that is yet to be connected)

Ok, we're now in the kitchen. Have you guessed this year's theme at all?!?

The center window has a piece of ladder I cut down to this size. Yup, had it on hand just this way. It's future use is for a towel bar in the en suite.

Even the Nesterized lamps got further Nesterized with some stars and rustic twine.

The window sills were sprinkled with fake snow and under each star sits a canning jar with a glowing tea light. Quite a pretty effect!

Moving to a bathroom window... a quick fix was simply an existing wreath placed on a galvanized vase. Instant wreath topiary!

Welcome once again to the white trash bedroom. The headboard gate as you can see wears a new treatment.

I desired an over sized wreath so I simply wound up an existing garland in order to create it. I would have loved it partially flocked with no decorations, however that would have entailed me to break my no spending rule, so I decorated it in the tones of the bedroom instead.

The 'elitist high end' candle holders received some snow to winterize them up. I cannot even tell you how much I adore jars on a windowsill for candles. Safe from pets and kiddos alike! The jars look amazing day and night.

The area behind the 'big honkin' TV was still bare, so in went the new funkalicious sticks! Instant winter forest.

Complete with the new snowflakes my son just brought home from school!

Still with me? The next one is rather humorous.

My son hung the snowflake on the light tree as I was doing this photo shoot.

Me ~ "Why did you hang that there?"

He ~ "I wanted to decorate too!"

That's my decoratin' boy!!

Off topic but also humorous, he also informs me he wants to start a Lego blog. Where on EARTH would he THINK of such a thing at 10 years old?!? (I think I need to start a few new guy hobbies maybe)

Upon cleaning up after today's photo shoot, I came across my fav little furry critter snuggled into my bed. Awww man... you KNOW what you have to do of course.

Psssst.....

It's snuggle time. And all it'll cost you is a little love.

Got your tree up? Link open until Christmas!

Christmas Decor Part 1 - The Tree HERE

~ This post is shared with ~

Sat Nite Special #9 brings you one 'tweet' giveaway!

Welcome to Sat Nite Special #9!

If you're new here, kick off your shoes and join in! The theme is always a *DIY themed  anything goes, so feel free to post your project, past or present that you're proud of so we can clap along with you!

Party starts at Fri night and ends Sunday 11pm, so you have all weekend to join!

I LOVE to highlight inspiring posts, so make sure you check after the party to see if your blog is in lights. I sneak in some features in my sidebar widget during the party too. :)

This weekend we have another giveaway!  Wanna see? No? Wait until after the party??? I'm totally only teasing. :)
A previous clue I gave you was 'tweet.' And you have indeed seen them around blogland before. And you will love this.

Photo from Nesting Place

EEEK. I know! CUTE! And  I couldn't be more pleased to introduce to you the maker of the birds,

My beautiful blog friend Denise from Living Life Creatively!

The birds are totally blogworld famous.  And now we get to be a part of this special magic!

Denise doesn't sell the birds. She makes them because she just loves to. (maybe you ought to etsy them, Denise!!) And she's offering a lucky recipient a lovely bird for those that enter SNS #9 this weekend.

I asked Denise to tell us a little about why she makes them. She says,

"When I was a little girl, evenings were spent sitting on the porch swing with my grandmother, playing cards and waiting for the ice cream man to come by. All the other neighbors could be found on their porches as well. It was what we did in the city. It was how we *did* community.

That was a long time ago. These days, we *do* community quite differently. Even though I still live in *the city* and actually have an appropriate porch for sitting, I rarely connect with folks that way. My community can be found right here in blog world. It's where I go for fellowship, inspiration, encouragement, and even accountability. Sheesh, I wouldn't accomplish hardly anything if I didn't have people like Donna giving me a deadline. *grin*

That said, I receive so much from my friends through blogging, it's nice to be able to give something back. If one of my birds can bring a smile to someone's face, then it will have the same effect on mine. The fact that somebody would actually want something that I made--all by myself--is amazing in itself."

I was pretty excited to accept Denise's kind offer because I adore these little soft creatures! Thanks so much Denise!

AND, she has a full blown tutorial on how to make these sweet things! I'll be giving you that link in a moment.

First, a little more on Denise. Not only does she know her bird stuff, she's also quite the decorator and crafter.

You may remember this box that she brought over to SNS. I love how she morphed it to resemble a drawer with a purpose! Cute!

Have you seen her decoupaged staircase? Cool idea!

I 'bout died when I saw her bird tassel!!! I LOVE this! Tutorial here too.

She's clever too. Love the muffin tin storage for her dresser!!

How about decking out a lovely white pumpkin into something even lovelier?

One of my all time fav ideas of Denise's is when she decorated this interior door with artwork. LOVE it!

You can plainly see this gal is uber talented. Make sure you take your time and browse around her blog. Thanks again Denise!

How to win a bird:

1. Post your DIY project.

2. Visit Denise's tutorial post HERE and after you enjoy all the wonderful info,  scroll down to the VERY LAST BIRD PIC. Choose one of the three colours in that picture you'd like to have if you won. (sorry, the map one will not be available for grabs)

3. Come back here to the comments and...

- let me know what # your DIY project was from the listing
- your colour choice for the bird if you won
- your email if it's not on your profile nor blog

(this way will allow you to enter as many DIY's as you wish, while keeping entries one per person)

The winner will be chosen through the comments by random draw. The first one that is chosen that offers all the #3 criteria  will win!


Rules to link up:

1. Please link up your intended DIY post, NOT your blog. (post, then click on title of your post, cut and paste that url)

2. Please put a link in your post that leads back to the party so others can see what's up! (scroll button on sidebar if you wish)

3. Blog name and description when you link up. ie: Funky Junk Interiors - how to make rust rustier (don't laugh.. that would be a great post and I know how too!)

*4. This party is geared for *DIY type projects we can all attempt to make ourselves. Items for sale may be linked up IF your entry is posted on your blog and in tutorial style (unless making the item is self explanatory).

Did your link up disappear? No prob! Please reread the rules and try again!

Good luck and happy inspiration to all!

"Myyyy Christmas Treee..." (link yours up too!)

I'm totally into whites this year. Desiring a more neutral feel for the Christmas tree, I packed all the coloured rah rah away and sat there and stared at a full box of decorations and a bare tree, stumped.

I had landed a bagful of these wonderful icicles at a local thrift for $1, so that was a great start. Aren't they cool?!?

As well as 4 of these over sized ornaments with what appears to be ice stuck to them. Very unusual!

Laying all the neutral decorations out, I tore some sheets up, leaving the edges frayed. For garland.

Tip: For the ripped garland, I ripped 6" thick strips for a scrumptious look. Narrower appeared 'wimpy' once on the tree.

For the most part, it was looking pretty! But the next morning spelled out the nasty truth. It was lacking spark.

Tip: If you aren't sure of something, walk away from it. Go back to it at a later time to see if it still has the right impact. I do the same with graphics work and the time lapse NEVER lies. A break gives your artistic idea a rest and allows you to reset. You will see what you've done with fresh eyes the next day.

Filler up! More more more stuff was jammed on. Still neutral, but it was starting to work. I hit the pine cones with white spray paint to simulate newly fallen snow on them. I filled up clear glass ornaments with fake snow (idea from Shanty 2 Chic, thanks girls!). The tags are from an office supply store which I bought in bulk. Cheap!

And here's what I ended up doing. Adding SOME colour. The colours gravitated to dusty deep reds, gold, burlap, and whites. Lots of neutral with a dash of colour that didn't blind you.

Heavy on the garland please! I found the burlap garland at Michael's for $6 a roll. White is the ripped sheets, and the ribbon another Michael's find a few years back. I only had pieces so I wrapped it around the tree as if it wound and wound forever and hid the edges into the boughs. And if I had all different ribbons, that would be even cooler!

Throwing  in some meaningful decor was a must and happened to go with my theme. These two sweet Micky and Minnie ornaments simulate my son and I that we indeed got from Disneyland a couple years ago. Wooden carved sweet memories!

The tree skirt is nothing elaborate. Rumpled up burlap to resemble a burlap sack covering the roots as  if you purchased your tree in root ball form. I've just used a white sheet for years to resemble snow. But you know... it's a burlap kinda year and all. And made sense here.

Top Secret Tips!

#1. Look for glass angel hair. You can't find it anywhere these days but if you do, stock up! Pull at it in very small tufts (carefully! or it cuts your fingers) and spread them around on the tree branches and especially over top lights. The angel hair catches the light  and creates an amazing glowy effect.  (keep it high if you have pets or toddlers - this is real glass)

#2. Light tip - when you put them on your tree, TWIST the string into each and every bough on each and every branch. If you twist it tight against the branches, you will NOT see wires. They totally disappear. I've been doing this for years and all you see is greenery and lights. Rarely do others go to the same amount of painstaking work, but if you do, you'll be glad you did!  Now you'll never view lights strung on a tree the same ever again. You're welcome. :)

The result is a very full and price efficient tree that for the most part, was very neutral but still held enough colour for interest and warmth. My tree is indeed a fake but bought many years ago and constantly fool those that glance at it. I was totally on the fake bandwagon when they first came out and snatched up the most realistic (and expensive one at the time) out there. I'm so glad I did!

How did your tree turn out? Something you love about it? Wish you did differently? If you care to share, go ahead, make your post and add your link for fun! I'd love to see. :) I'll leave this linky open until Christmas, so feel free to revisit it at any time!

Wanna funky little button? Here ya go!

(scroll button on right sidebar widget.. it won't play nice here)

Christmas decor - Part 2 HERE

~ Make sure you visit these other fine holiday link parties! I just have. ~

Link for Hooked on Houses HERE

Link for The Inspired Room HERE

Thrifty Decor Chic

SNS #8 highlights and a winner!

Wow! SNS reached 95 posts, thanks to all your wonderful entries! Here is a VERY SMALL sampling to enjoy once again...

I have ALWAYS wanted to know how stamping metal was done. Infarrantly Creative provides a great tutorial! This is soooo sweet! And I'm totally going to look for a metal stamp.

What a FIND! This is a vintage spice rack and it's gorgeous! How lucky is Snowman Hill?!?

You've seen the ornament wreaths, but have you seen the ornament garland?!? Cheap Chic Home gives shows you how. Very lux!

Have you always wanted to paint a mural but just didn't quite know how? Everyday Kings makes it EASY! Check it out! Isn't this gorgeous?

I am SO IN LOVE with this one! An authentic picket becomes a coat rack, by Jentility.

STUNNING tablescape pieces by Fern Creek Cottage. Each and every one is a must have! Look at the layering with the plate! (drool)

I hope you were also glancing at the sidebar widgets during the weekend. I like to highlight a few posts and change them out each day.

OK, and now for a winner! The qualified entries were thrown together and my son drew...

 Julia of The Feitner Adventure! Congrats Julia!!

Julia's DIY entry was this adorable snowman cupcake design. Yummm and cool at the same time! Very sweet entry, Julia, and thanks for being a part of the party! And this is what she won.

Julia is the fortunate recipient of these incredible fractal art cards...

 

created by Jaz Creations artist Christine Vaznis!

“What a great experience it was to sponsor a giveaway on your site, Donna! Thank you so much! Being new to the blog world it was a great way to expose readers to my artwork! I loved reading which pieces were your readers favorites! I will use this information when creating new pieces and also for future giveaways! I also made my first Etsy sale during your Saturday Night Special! I loved working with you and look forward to working with you again soon!”

 ~ Christine ~

What a sweetie, hey?

Julia's fav pick of the fractal art was "Frosted." Mine too! So snowy!

Thanks for your sponsorship of your creative artwork Christine, and Julia, your cards will be in the mail shortly!

Thanks again for a wonderful party and make sure you come back...

... for another party filled weekend. WITH another sweet giveaway... wana hint what it is?

'tweet!'

It's a cutie so don't miss it! :)