I love finding new ways to use old holiday decorations! My mom was getting rid of this little piece of “Country Christmas” and I snatched it out of her donation bin.
With a little spray paint and some new decorations I whipped this baby into a “brand” spankin’ new tree for MK Design World Headquarters.
Now that’s what I call branding!
Do you decorate your office? I’d love to see how you use your company logo to enhance your holiday decor.
I’m a sucker for countdowns anytime of year, but especially THIS time of year! Now this isn’t the Best of MK Design 2011 (um…blog idea….yes please!) but, here are the TOP FIVE decorations that I love in my own home this year.
5. Mirror, Mirror, on the Table
For my dining room tablescape, I love the look of mirrors under flowers or candles. I purchased these for about $5 a few years back and have certainly gotten a ton of use out of them. I may change the colors and the scene, but I always love the dimension it adds!
4. What’s Old is New Again
While shopping a thrift store after being completely inspired from Mr. Goodwill Hunting (Thanks Nate Berkus) I came across this beautiful oval vanity mirror dressing table tray. My mom has one of these, and of course, rush in childhood memories of a little girl sampling all her scents and searching through trinket boxes of treasure….I digress! Let’s just say for $2.95 I had to have it. And just when you think you can’t dress up a candelabra, throw it on this vintage tray with some glass ornaments, some fresh sprigs of holly, and it’s even fancier! (Full Disclosure: I have 2 young boys. They are 4 & 7 and, as amazing as they are, they are two young boys. I know I probably should have lit the candles for the photo…but I’m real…and in real life that would NEVER happen. Open flame behind a couch spells disaster in the making, just sayin’. Back to the countdown! )
3. Brimfield Find
Vintage boxes were all over Brimfield last fall, and when I saw this one, I knew EXACTLY were I was putting it. The only problem was, September was SO FAR away from December (OK, it’s really not, but try buying a fabulous new pair of shoes and not wearing them for two months…ya with me!?) Anyhoo, Brimfield was a highlight of my year, so clearly it just HAD to be included!
2. Let It Snow
I am all about the indoor blizzard! Seriously, that fake snow stuff isn’t just for a big mall store trees. Pick up a bag and I’m guessing you’ll have a hard time putting it down. It adds such a beautiful layer to your Christmas Tree and, quite frankly, it’s super fun to apply. I like to call it “Hucking Handfulls”! Even the biggest Grinch’s heart will grow three sizes while throwing handfuls of snow onto their tree. Oh, and don’t worry too much about the mess, I like to think that the snow looks prettier than the pine needles that inevitably drop.
Here we are at my number one favorite decoration this year…DRUM ROLL PLEASE…
1. Pretty Little Lanterns
I bought almost 50 mason jars and filled them with epsom salt then added votives and lined the stonewall along walkway to my front door. They look so purtty as the epsom salt snow glistens with the twinkle of the candles. Such an easy and inexpensive way to add just a little more sparkle to your holiday!
What are your favorite decorations this year? Post pictures to my facebook page…I’d love to see what festive things you are up to!
I am aways looking for new ways to spruce up one of our many Christmas trees. In the basement we have a Disney themed tree (with, you guessed it, Tinkerbell at the top) This is, by far, the tree my kids enjoy decorating the most! They get free reign to decorate it however they want (which usually means that all the ornaments are clustered to one section close to the bottom, but not this year, my 7 year old finally figured it out and undecorated behind my 4 year old) and when they are done, I come in and add some decorative ribbon around the tree. This year I discovered a fabulous new trick with the help of Sarah from Ace Hardware in Acton – RUFFLED RIBBON!
It’s such a simple way to spruce up your tree and add another dimension to your decorating. Start by unraveling an entire roll of wired ribbon and find the center point. (My sister-in-law’s dog Tia was clearly a huge help!)
Holding the wire on one side of the ribbon begin pushing the ribbon along the wire toward the center point.
As you move along, the ribbon will become tighter to push in, so you will need to go toward the center point and start pulling it out until you reach the desired size of your ruffle. Once you have reached the center point, start on the outside edge of the same side and work your way back (pushing and puling) to the center until you have created a full ruffle along the entire length of ribbon.
As you get closer to the end you may find yourself lost in a sea of ruffles. I found it easier to judge the look of my ruffle by tying one end to a doorknob at this point.
You’ll be left with a whole lotta wire at the ends of your ribbon…I just made a little knot and snipped off the rest. Once it is complete, start from the top and wrap it around your whole tree!
I’d love to see new ways you might be sprucing up your tree this year! Please share some of your photos while you are having fun Decking the Halls!
