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Lighting up our Neighborhood with our Christmas Decorations

Holly — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:25:39 +0000

Guest post written by Harry Smith

I guess that our house is the one in the neighborhood that takes the cake when it comes to Christmas lights. We’ve always loved putting them up as part of our decorations. So I don’t’ think that we’re going to stop doing it any time soon either. I do like a little bit of variety every now and then so we do something different with them every few years. Most of the time we have to buy new strings of light anyway every few years because they rarely last for more than one or two years.

This year it was one of those years when we have to replace a lot of lights anyway, so I went online to see if I could find some tips or inspiration. While I was doing that I saw some info on Arkansas Sears Home Improvement. After I looked through it a little bit, I decided to use them to use them to replace our roof in a few months.

I did get some really great ideas about how to decorate with our lights this year.

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Decorating Themes for The Holidays

Holly — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:48:53 +0000

How do you decorate for the holidays? Do you decorate with red and green? Maybe you like blue and white, or you’re someone who likes lots of colors and shiny things. Whichever you choose you want a theme, something that will tie everything together and make it one cohesive design. The following are a few ideas to help you keep your interior design and holiday decorating stylish and uniform.

Snowmen

Winter doesn’t just mean Christmas, New Year’s, Hanukkah and other holidays. Winter brings snow and snowmen; these are great decorating tools and themes to use in your home that will last throughout winter. Using colors like white, blue, silver, and purple will create an effect that can last all season long. You can even create your own snowmen using holiday ornaments or foam balls from the grass store. Decorate these however you would like using colors that you choose.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread is another great theme to use during the holiday season. Gingerbread warms up the cool tones of winter and allows you to bring in the warm colors that make your home feel like a home. You don’t have to stick with baking gingerbread and decorating your house with food. You can find great gingerbread ceramics in stores and online, these will create the same effect and bring in the same warmth as making it yourself. You can of course get crafty and make your own gingerbread decor in your own oven.

A Desert Holiday

When you think about the holidays, most people don’t think about the desert. But, if you know the true Christmas story you know that Jesus was born in the desert. So why not use camels, sand, palm trees and other desert items to create your holiday theme. Adding holiday lights, some Christmas Holly, and a few other traditional items, could help tie the desert theme to your Christmas decor.

Bright Colors

For some people Christmas is all about fun and whimsy. Using bright colors like blue, orange and lime green is starting to be a huge trend. You can make this work by only picking a few colors and not using every color of the rainbow. If you’re not sure what would work together look at flowers and choose those colors that are on the same flower. Green by the way goes with everything!

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Decorate your Home for the Holidays: Christmas

Holly — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:09:04 +0000

Christmas is that time of year where everyone is decorating, everyone is shopping, and everyone is picking up the same decorations. Because we all tend to strap at the same stores, many homes tend to look alike. That is why it’s always a great idea to try to be creative with what you buy, to find ways to buy different and interesting decorating items, and to create a space in your home that is unique and exclusive to your style.

I do this in various ways, some work while while others not so well. I’m a huge fan of catalog shopping for decorations, as many of you know I actually do catalog sales and home parties sales this is one of my jobs. While this gives me some interesting decoration ideas, everyone I know also wants to buy from my catalog so we tend to have the same items. Luckily I have found different ways to use these items along with items from stores to make something different and a lot more fun so that when my friends come to visit they don’t feel like they’re in their own home.

I love mixing and matching reusing items in you checking out yard sales drive sales and consignment shops for new ideas and items. Last month I showed you how to decorate for fall and Thanksgiving. I took many of these items and reuse them for my holiday decorating. I like items that can be changed out throughout the year easily as this makes decorating easier on you since it will take so much time to accomplish your goal. The example above is a vase that I have used in the summer, fall, and winter. The only thing that changes is what is in the vase. During the fall I had fall leaves and a candle. I changed those out to create a more Christmas like theme by adding decorative colorful ornaments and another candle with a holiday scent.

You of course may choose to add something else to a vase such as Evergreen, fake snow, snowmen, or any other type of winter or holiday related item. You can get ideas not only from the Internet, magazines, and craft shows but from your friends, family and neighbors. Had you already decorated for the holidays is so feel free to share your pictures and images by sending them to me and I will post them during the coming weeks.

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10 Items 10 Ways: Decorate for Thanksgiving

Holly — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:57:44 +0000

I have a few items I keep to decorate with. I have added a few and taken away a few over the years, but I have found that there are many ways to arrange the same few items that create a great effect and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on decorations. I have taken these few items and arranged them in different ways to inspire you. Disclosure: Many of these items come from Celebrating Home. I am an independent consultant for Celebrating Home.

10 Great Ways to Decorate For Fall: Using Just 10 Items

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Oneida Culinaria Dinnerware Review

Holly — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:09:18 +0000

When it comes to a great holiday table you want dishes that will help you show off as well as last thought the dinner. Many times people pull out the fine china and find that a few of their plates are broken by the end of the meal. That is why I was excited to check out the Oneida Culinaria Dinnerware. It not only comes in a variety of colors but is very durable and has a 3-year chip warranty. The dishes are beautiful and would complement any holiday table.

Another reason I would recommend this dinnerware is that it’s an Oneida brand and Oneida is known for their quality and customer service. Also when you buy tableware that is this durable you can use it year around and not worry about wear and tear on your plates.

My personal suggestion would be to mix and match the colors and create a beautiful and colorful table for the holidays or any day. The colors I would recommend would be the chili and A La Mode or the blue sage and A La Mode. Both would make a very festive table.

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5 DIY Holiday Decoration Ideas

Holly — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:30:11 +0000

A Guest Post By: Gunter Jameson

One of the best ways to get into the holiday spirit is to decorate. It’s often tempting to be drawn towards the sales of the Christmas season, when really, all you need to create beautiful and fun holiday decorations is a little bit of creativity. There’s nothing more jolly than a pretty wreath or a simple jingle bell garland. Here are some do-it-yourself holiday decoration ideas to get your creative juices flowing and to get you excited for this holiday season!

1. Homemade Wreaths: There are several ways to create homemade wreaths. It’s easiest to go to a craft store and get a circular foam base. From there, you can wrap it in raffia, in fabric, or even chunky textured scarves. Another fun way to create a rustic-looking wreath is by gathering (or buying) a bundle of sticks. You can arrange the sticks in a circle and glue the sticks together with hot glue. You can tie or weave ribbons throughout your homemade stick wreath for an added touch of holiday cheer.

2. Hang Ornaments from the Ceiling: This unexpected and whimsical twist on holiday decor is fun for an entryway or foyer, or in an open floor plan between kitchen and dining room. For thi idea, you just need several ornaments. Simply, tie fishing line or thread to each individual ornament and then pin the strands to the ceiling. You’ll have a festive and pretty decoration that can immediately brighten up any room.

3. Jingle Bell Garland: Jingle bells are a symbol of the season. Why not include a homemade garland of jingle bells to use to trim the tree? All you need for this easy project is craft wire and a bunch of large jingle bells. First, decide where you want your garland to go, so you can measure out how much wire you’ll need. Your wire should be a foot longer than the space you measured. First, string a bell onto the wire and twist the bell once so that it won’t slide down the wire. Once you’ve strung all the bells on, you have a fun holiday decoration! You can also alternate between jinglebells and ornaments to make your garland unique.

4. Holiday Platters: One of the easiest and fun ways to celebrate the season is by making traditional holiday treats. But, what better way to share your treats than by making holiday platters? These platters can be used as cake stands or as a nice display for holiday treats or hors d’oeuvers. All you’ll need is a plate and a candlestick holder, and epoxy from a hardware store. Carefully glue the top of the candlestick holder to the bottom of the plate. It’s best to let the glue set and dry overnight, but once it’s dry, you have a beautiful homemade display for sharing yummy treats all year round.

5. DIY Wrapping Paper: Giving the perfect gift is always fun, but wrapping presents is an art in of itself. Wrapping beautiful presents to display under the tree is a great way to add holiday spirit to the room. There are several ways to wrap presents, including adding bows and ribbons. But, creating homemade wrapping paper and decorating it with paint, ribbons, and glitter is a refreshing break from all the store-bought gift wrap. Besides, decorating homemade wrapping paper is a fun activity for kids and adults. All you need is a roll of either butcher paper or craft paper and supplies to decorate the paper. It’s easy and fun!

Gunter Jameson writes about several topics including travel, minimalism and University of Phoenix Programs.

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Design For Groups

Holly — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 11:27:37 +0000

Even if you only have a three people in your home, you are sure to sometimes have a large group that will show up, it may be planned, but it may be unexpected. This is why it’s very important to plan your homes layout so that you can have a large group if needed. There are some very simple ways to do this:

Buy a table that expands and make sure you have room for everyone to sit when it is expanded.
Buy ottomans that can be used as both seating and storage
Have a small collection of fold out chairs
If you have an outdoor area add a table or chairs to help guide guest out when the weather permits it.
Don’t fill your home with un-needed stuff, keep it organized and clean so guest don’t knock things over.

It’s very simple to keep a home that is ready for lots of guest. With summer fast approaching and many events being planned already having these things in place will help take some of the worry out of the big day.

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7 Tips To Help Set Your Holiday Table

Holly — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:14:37 +0000

I promised I would write up this post and though I am later then I planned I think you will find that my 7 tips helpful.

1. Classic is not boaring, it’s classic. If you love the read and green colors of christmas use them.

2. Contrasting colors are a great way to add drama to a table. Use White and blue to make a cool statement

3. Plants are your friend, freash plants are great, but don’t forget to keep them fresh so that you don’t have a fire.

4. Use candels at each setting to make your guest feel warm and cozy. Use led candels for kids.

5. Don’t worry about folding napkins, roll them up and use christmas hairties or ribbion to hold them in place.

6. Skip the pointsettas, use evergreen or even fake gifts as a centerpiece

7. Get the kids involved. Christmas is a children’s holiday after all, who better to help you pick out the table decor.

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Holiday Decorating Made Easy Part I

Holly — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:07:26 +0000

Decorating for the holidays is a long hard task for many people, but there are some great ways to make holiday decorating very easy.

The first is to decide your color scheme. Are you a traditional red and green decorator or do you love the idea of blue and silver? If your not sure, I have a small list of some great color combination’s for christmas that go beyond these 2 popular themes.

Maroon and silver
White and purple
Blue, teal and cream
Black and white

Almost anything works for christmas decorating it’s that time of year where festive colors are in and we feel so much better about everything. Now once you decide on the colors you need to decide if your going to use real or synthetic materials for trees, wreaths and swags. If you decide to use real I would suggest making sure you are ready to take care of it. The last thing you want is a huge fire hazard.

The next step is to decide what rooms you are going to decorate. Many people only do one or two rooms, others do every room in the house. My suggestion is if you have to spend more then $200 a year decorateing your home it’s too much. Now if you have no decorations $200 is not that bad, but after that inital buying spree keep it to about $100 or less. Decor looks best when it’s simple. Use that $100 to buy new led lights if you don’t already have them and update to new colors, this could also be part of your “real plants” budget. Other then that many decorations you already have are fine.

Lights are the next step and really it’s pretty simple. Use lighting with synthetic garlands to create a warm look you can use over and over. Use candles on the christmas eve and christmas day or whenever your family gets together, to create a warm cozy and scented look that will make everyone feel wonderful and loving the holidays.

Well that’s it for part I, The next section will deal with table decor!

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Inspiration For Your Thanksgiving Table

Holly — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:15:24 +0000

Thanksgiving is this Thursday as I’m sure most of you know. I hope you have an idea of what you are going to serve, but do you know what your table decor is going to look like? If you don’t and you need some help I hope these items will give you some inspiration for your holiday table. You can buy all of these items on Amazon if you want to get them too.

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