"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 link parties! I just have. ~

Link for Hooked on Houses HERE

Link for The Inspired Room HERE

Thrifty Decor Chic