French Wing Back

I've got the tree up, the gifts bought, and the plans made.  Christmas is fast approaching and my little darlings are so excited.  I asked my 5 year old "What is Christmas?"  And she said "Lights!"

I love that her first response wasn't "presents!"  But then we discussed what we believe to be true about what Christmas really means and why we celebrate it.

My Christmas present to myself, was to get this chair completed before the big day.  It's been an ongoing project for whenever I had free time.  So you can guess that it's taken me....awhile.  For those of you who don't know I've got 3 kids 5 and under.

I'd been wanting one of these French wing backs for awhile now.  And I came across this one for $10, so into the car she went.

I ran out of trim for the back, so I used some left over nail head trim from this bench.

This has been only my second attempt at making a cushion cover.  I'm self taught, so let's just say thank God I wasn't born a perfectionist.
I may not be posting for the next couple of weeks, so I hope you all have a

HAPPY HOLIDAY!

Classic, budget friendly Christmas decor.

Every year I spend next to nothing on my Christmas decorations.  In order to do this well, I keep a few tips in mind.

Tip #1: Shop at thrift stores.
You can score some pretty decent Christmas decor at the thrift store.  Around Christmas time go to your local thrift store, and you'll see what I mean. People seem to get new decor and give away their old stuff.  I got this pre-lit garland for $2.

Tip #2-  Use natural resources.
  Look around your neighborhood or local forests, depending on what part of the country you live in you can find some evergreen trees and snip some branches for free. I also brought in some pine cones from my back yard.
I used clippings from a large evergreen to make my staircase garland.  The boxwood wreath was $10 from Trader Joe's

Tip #3- Invest in a few key pieces and use them every year.
I've had this grapevine wreath for 3 years now.  I use it for my fall wreath and Christmas wreath.  Just change out the leaves and greenery every year.  This wreath was made with my clippings. 

Tip #4- Keep it simple.
I don't over do my decor. Setting it up is fun, but taking it down can be a pain.  I can just toss all the greenery in the trash or compost heap and stash the garland and wreath parts on the attic.  Takes me about 15 min.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!