Retro-fying Our First Christmas Tree

Do you want to know what one of the first things I got excited about after Mr. Converse Sneakers proposed to me was?  Our first Christmas tree.  I love Christmas time and I love traditions even more, so the thought of celebrating our first Christmas by putting up our first Christmas tree made me giddy.  I almost wish I was kidding.

Mr. CS doesn’t get quite  as enthused about most things like I do, especially Christmas trees, but he sat next to me patiently as I showed him tree after tree anyway because he’s a wonderful husband who wants me to be happy.  I showed him some of the photos of trees and ornaments I posted my love for last week, like these two:





He seemed to like the blue and really love the Shiny Brite ornaments (without all the pink, however).  This served as our inspiration for our own tree.  A retro-fied Christmas tree.  Here’s how it turned out:



We mostly stuck to silver and blue but mixed in some other colors with our cookie cutter ornaments and some reproduction Shiny Brite ornaments we got from TJ Maxx for $12.00/pack.  The blue and silver ornaments mostly came from Target, but some came from Craigslist and garage sales (so all for very cheap).  Our tree topper also came from Target, our garland from a garage sale, our lights from Target, and our tree skirt was DIY-ed by me (more on that next week).

Here’s a close up – you can see the different blue ornaments, the cookie cutter ornaments, the Shiny Brites, and the silver ornaments.



Let’s get a better look at that Shiny Brite ornament in the lower right corner – it’s my favorite:



Ahhhh – gorgeousness!  Mixed in with our purchased ornaments we have some more sentimental ones.  We try to buy an ornament whenever we go on vacation or do something out of the ordinary (we sometimes forget or aren’t able to buy one when they aren’t selling them).  Here’s on from when we went to the MN Renaissance Festival in 2009.  We have a couple from our honeymoon and one from a trip to Galena, IL a couple years ago. 



We also started a tradition of buying a new monumental ornament every year the reflects our year in some way.  Instead of buying a bride and groom ornament since we would have to go to a specialty store for that and we thought I was a little cheesy, we bought a silver “S” to symbolize our new shared last name.




For fun, we made a video of us decorating the tree.  I’m obviously much more knowledgeable about photography than I am about videos!  Sorry about the weird orientation of the video; I completely forgot about screen ratios and whatnot so I thought we could tilt the camera vertically and it would work out fine.  I promise our next videos will fill up the whole screen!

We absolutely love looking at our first tree!  I had to take a fun bokeh photo to show that it’s our first.




So that’s our first tree!  I may have gone a little ornament-crazy but we had way more where that came from.  All the colors and bright white lights make me so happy!

What does your tree look like?  Do you do anything different from year to year?

Linking up to: Honey We're Home, My 3 Boybarians, 2805, Common Ground, Hooked on Houses, Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive, 365, Michaela Noelle Designs, Nesting Place

DIY Christmas Cookie Cutter Ornaments

When planning for our Christmas tree, I really wanted to include something handmade on the tree.  When I saw this Martha Stewart ornament idea, I knew I had to go for it.  It involves scrapbook paper and Christmas cookie cutters, both of which are right up my alley.  Since Mr.  Converse Sneakers and I are both big foodies, cookie cutters feel right at home anywhere in our home, even on our Christmas tree.

I picked up two inexpensive sets of metal Christmas cookie cutters from Target and some Christmas-y scrapbook paper from Michaels.  We already had the thin white ribbon and tacky glue.  What a cheap project!



I strayed from the tutorial and started by tying the ribbon to the top of the cookie cutters first.  I knotted them once close to the cookie cutter and then again at the ends of the ribbon to create a big hole for them to be hung with.



As I tied the ribbon on each soon-to-be-ornament, I laid them out on the papers to make sure I would have about an even number of each ornament.  I tried to choose paper that would fit the cookie cutter shape.



After I had the ribbon an each cookie cutter, I traced them . . .



. . . and cut their shape out.



On the cutter side, I went around each cookie cutter with tacky glue.



Then I carefully added the scrapbook paper (upside down so it would show through from the other side) and let them dry.



Look how cute they turned out:



And here’s my little gingerbread buddy on the tree:



Here’s a closeup of a silver glitter polka dot mitten as well:



Mr. CS and I both love these ornaments, both because they are extremely cute and because they were made with lots of love.

Making these was a great way to de-stress before one of my major teaching tests.  I hope I passed!

Are you doing any DIY projects for Christmas this year?

Linking to: Centsational Girl, House of Hepworths, Bower Power

Ten Tips for Celebrating Christmas on a Budget

There are all sorts of articles on the web about saving money on Christmas presents, which you can view by doing a quick Google search.  However, seeing as this is our first Christmas as a married couple (i.e. the first Christmas we actually bought decorations, are starting traditions, etc.), we had to figure out ways to do all sorts of Christmas celebrating on a tight budget.  If you are looking for some cheap ways to decorate, start traditions, and get into the Christmas spirit, look no further!

Here are my top ten tips for celebrating Christmas on a budget:

Tip #1: Start planning early.

I started planning our Christmas traditions, decorations, activities, etc. in September.  If this isn’t your first Christmas, you may not need to start that early, but by starting so early I was able to get some great prices on Christmas items before the season had started and was able to make some awesome decisions I would not have made if I were to plan during crunch time.  Now, I get to focus on the holiday, its meaning, and the happiness it brings me instead of getting all the details in order at the last minute.

Tip #2: Make your own decorations.

Although this is not always possible, I try my best to make any decoration I can if it will save us money.  Making things does not always save money, especially if you can buy them inexpensively at dollar stores or secondhand (which is the next tip), but making some bigger high-cost items can really save you some dough.  For example, to spruce up our tree, we made some incredibly inexpensive ornaments (which I will share with you next week) and a tree skirt.  Specialty ornaments can cost a fortune, and don’t even get me started on how expensive tree skirts have become.  Think outside the box when it comes to mantel and table décor, and see what you can come up with when it comes to making your holiday decorations.  They’ll be much more meaningful if you make them yourself!

Tip #3: Buy decorations secondhand.

By starting early and knowing what we could make ourselves and what we had to by, we knew what things to turn to thrift stores and Craigslist to buy.  A couple months before the holiday season, we spotted a nice Christmas tree on Craigslist for $15.  The lady was desparate to get rid of a ton of holiday décor and threw in a box of 50 ornaments, some snowflake photo holders, and tree lights for an extra $10.  Major money saved!  Buying secondhand sometimes affords you the luxuries of items you would never have been able to even come close to affording at retail prices.  Give it a try!

Tip #4: Use items you have on hand to spruce up your home for the holidays.

This takes some effort and creativity, but I’m sure somewhere in your home you have items just waiting to be repurposed for Christmas time.  We used pinecones to decorate in our hurricane vases for the fall, but they easily transition into holiday decorating as well.  We have Christmas books we could display as decorations.  Even things like Christmas cookie cutters, plaid scarves, wool blankets, and anything Christmas-colored can serve as a decoration if used in the right way.  I challenge you to look around for the random items you own just waiting to be turned into holiday decorations.

Tip #5: Shop around until you can’t shop around anymore to find the best price if you must buy new.

Over the years, I have saved big bucks by using this tip with everything, but it especially rings true during the holidays.  Every store I can think of has holiday items for sale, and they come at a premium.  Just because this time only happens once a year doesn’t mean you should have to shell out top dollar to get your home looking festive.  It will happen again next year and year after, too, so it’s not the last chance to stock up on any item.  This year, we shopped around like crazy online to find inexpensive holiday photo cards.  I could have made them and had them printed, but we ended up finding some on Walmart’s website that charged only $22 for 50 and that included the envelopes!  Most places sell them for over a dollar a piece, so we got a great deal.

Tip #6: Collect Christmas items throughout the year when they are discounted.

I keep my eyes peeled all year for Christmas items.  I’ve scoured some great deals on Christmas books and random decorations.  I used to sigh as I passed the Christmas books at the bookstore during this time of year because they are never on sale and I cannot afford to stock up on $20+ books when I want to save for presents.  By buying them throughout the year, we have started our own little library for little money out of pocket.  Just make sure you are looking at what’s around you!

Tip #7: Find inexpensive activities to do in your area.

Christmas time can be full of incredibly expensive or hilariously inexpensive activities for you to do depending on where you are looking.  Taking a trip to drive around and look at the lights will cost you just gas money.  In Minneapolis, we sometimes go to the local weekly Hollidazzle parade to get into the holiday mood.  Just going to the grocery store and hearing the bells ring is something fun we love to do at this time of year.  Sure, going to a Christmas play or concert, taking a snowy carriage ride through the city, or taking a winter vacation can be fun, but they all come at a hefty price.  We stick to small things that don’t cost us a lot and save the big things for really special occasions.

Tip #8: Celebrate your own way.

Stores, commercials, friends, and family members may persuade you to celebrate Christmas a certain way, however there are no rules for celebrating the right way.  I find this time of year is a great time to get creative and do things my way.  We don’t do traditional colors or decorations if they don’t fit with what we like, which many times they don’t.  We also don’t have stockings yet (no mantel and no small presents for each other to put in them anyway) and we don’t bake a lot of cookies because we don’t need the extra calories.  We don’t let anyone tell us what we have to do or can’t do to celebrate the right way.

Tip #9: Do your normal, everyday activities with the spirit of Christmas.

Sometimes the everyday, normal activities lose out on the spotlight during this time of year.  To keep every day feeling festive, why not do your normal activities in the spirit of Christmas.  For example, your weekly spaghetti can be Christmas spaghetti – maybe with a little more fresh green spice on top or plated in the shape of a Christmas tree.  Replace your daily reading with Christmas books or Bible reading to get in the spirit.  This time of year goes by fast – look for all the moments you can to focus on the reason for the season!

Tip #10: Find happiness in the littlest details.

I find that when I have less, I appreciate more.  If you can’t afford all the decorations you want or don’t have time to make all the food and baked goods that you dream of making, try to focus on the little bits you can do.  Take time to look at your tree, or any decorations you have big or small, and think of how lucky you are to have them.  Find happiness in what you do have – family, friends, your health, etc. – and forget about what you don’t have because chances are, you have a lot more than you need.

What are your tips for celebrating Christmas on a budget?

Photo Sources: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Linking up to:

A Free Blue Christmas Tablescape

My love of all things blue, especially around Christmas time continues with a blue Christmas tablescape.  What’s even better than the blues that I love is that everything included in this tablescape was free, meaning I shopped around our home for anything I could find that would make a simple yet beautiful holiday tablescape.  When I did buy these items, I believe only two item were bought at full price – keep reading to find out what they are and where I got everything else.

Here is what I came up with:





Items used:

• White tablecloth (Target – full price)
• Ruffled Pier 1 placemats (garage sale)
• Black napkins (wedding gift)
• Frosted silverware (wedding gift)
• Dinner plates (hand-me-downs from my parents)
• White bread plates (wedding gift)
• Blue glitter snowflake photo holders (Craigslist)
• Silver tray (estate sale)
• Blue pedestal bowl (garage sale – my most beloved and versatile item)
• Blue mason jar (estate sale)
• Candle (Target – full price)
• Scottie salt and pepper shakers (funky décor store – on clearance)
• Dried yellow billy balls flowers (leftover from our wedding)
• Scarf (had for years – probably a gift)
• Silver ornaments (Craigslist)

I love shopping our own home for items to repurpose!  We don’t have a lot of stuff, especially for decorating tables, but I think I did a good job coming up with a simple, vibrant, happy Christmas tablescape.  Let’s look at more photos!



I corralled some of my favorite things on the little silver tray to add some glitz and glam and to reflect that beautiful blue I adore.  Seriously, I love my blue pedestal bowl more and more each time I see it, which is every single day.  I would buy ten of them if I could and use them everywhere!  I love how it looks piled high with shiny silver ornaments.





I designed the whole tablescape around these blue snowflake card holders.  I thought they would make the cutest little name card holders for a Christmas table.  I think I was right!  I love that they bring in a different shade of blue.  In case you are wondering, San is my hubby’s name, AKA Mr. Converse Sneakers because that’s just much more fun to write in every post!



I have been in love with Scotties ever since my parents welcomed one into their home when I was in high school, about 7 years ago.  His name is Stewart Wallace and he is the cutest dog I’ve ever seen.  I could not pass up these Scottie salt and paper shakers (yes, Scotties can be white as well – Westies are groomed differently) when I saw them a few years ago in a funky décor shop on clearance.  I joke with Mr. Converse Sneakers (see way more fun than saying “my husband”) that Westies steal the spotlight in commercials and other media outlets most of the year, but Scotties make their comeback every Christmas.  I see them everywhere this time of year, on pajamas, art, commercials, logos, ornaments, stockings, tree skirts, movies, and so much more, so I had to include them in my funky little tablescape.



We don’t have a full table set of nice dishes, so I mixed and matched using our everyday ceramic tan dinner plates and our Corelle bread plates that have a little blue and green heart/flower design around the edge.  I thought white on white looked a little boring anyway, so the tan plate was perfect!



It’s hard to see in the photos, but I draped a semi-transparent beige sparkly scarf down the middle of the table as a runner to add to the layers of brown and tan found in the dinner plates and ruffled placemats.  I went with black napkins since the only other color we have is orange, and I thought it could tie in with the black Scottie pepper shaker.

When I visited my parents over Thanksgiving, my mom gave me the dried billy balls flowers left over from our wedding.  I was heartbroken when we threw the rest of the flowers away, so I am beyond ecstatic to have these little remnants to keep forever.  I couldn’t help but include them in this tablescape because I can never get enough of little yellow bursts of happiness, even for Christmas!  I kept them in a blue mason jar to keep with the blue theme.

So, would you let me treat you to a Christmas feast at our cozy little Christmas table?  I’d probably serve some homemade mac and cheese to bring more yellow into the tablescape – oh wait, it’s kind of weird to match dinner to your table isn’t it?  Well I’d whip you up something cozy, hearty, and wonderful and then we could play some games!  Whaddya say?

Are you decorating your table for Christmas?  What does it look like?

Linking up to: No Minimalist Here, Michaela Noelle Designs

Buying Christmas Photo Cards on the Cheap

I absolutely love receiving Christmas cards in the mail!  I’m not sure everyone loves reading about what others have been up to, but I sure do!  I especially love the photo cards that come in all sorts of shapes, designs, colors, and styles.  I have never sent one myself, so I was probably a little too excited to send one with my new hubby this year.  We knew we wanted a colorful photo card that held many photos (since we have a hard time choosing just one or two from our wedding and engagement photos), and we wanted it to feel a little retro since we are both drawn to all things retro.

I tell ya, there are tons of amazing design and print shops out there that sell high-end, creatively-designed photo cards for not too much money.  Here are some of our favorites on the good ole world wide web:

Shutterfly

Tiny Prints

Pear Tree Greetings

SnapFish

The Stationery Studio

Minted

However, we are extremely frugal people.  At $1-$2 per card, we would have ended up spending $50-$100 just on 50 photo cards – that sometimes doesn’t include envelopes and never includes stamps.  That price was just way too high for our budget.  I mean, I am a girl who buys a huge amount of high-end clothes from Goodwill for $50; I’m not about to fork out a ton of dough on a yearly card.  I’m not bashing any of the prices any company sells their cards at – they are usually worth it.  However, we are all about getting the best deal we can.  I’m sure one year we will want to splurge on the cards, but this is not our year for crazy Christmas spending.

So, we started looking elsewhere.  Vistaprint is a great place for finding amazing prices on printable items.  However, we are usually a little disappointed with their selection.  Perhaps we just have a different style than most of the styles they carry.  We also looked at discount retail stores like Target and Walmart.  That’s where we hit the jackpot!  Although we weren’t crazy-in-love with most of the designs at either store, we did find one that was extremely appealing to us on the Walmart site.  Check out this beauty (no that’s not us – that’s the generic photo from the website):



We loved the red and blue (it is red and blue in person not an orange as the photo above suggests) and the ability to mix and match a bunch of photos.  It even has a little rectangle in the bottom right corner for a personalized message.  The best part?  The price – they are only 40 cents a piece, meaning for 50, they only cost $20!  Score!  Also, since we live near a few Walmarts we could have them shipped to the store for free.  I was a little impatient, so I paid a couple more bucks to have them printed in the one hour photo, but they do ship to the store for free if you are willing to wait a couple days.

Here it is in all of its glory:



Ah!  So beautiful!  We would’ve loved to have used photos from one whole yearly photo shoot, but since we’ve had so many photos taken in the past year and a half (wedding and engagement), we chose to stick with those photos for our card this year and spice it up with our first yearly photo session next year.  Most of our wedding guests haven’t seen our wedding photos either, so this will be a nice little treat if they were interested in seeing them.  Mr. Converse Sneakers thinks we are vain for plastering our photos all over the card (he says the same thing about our gallery wall), but I think it’s sweet!  I love receiving them from other people and looking at their photos.  I hope other people feel the same way so I’m not left looking incredibly vain!  I’m so vain…I probly thing this card is about me…


Just for fun, here’s another angle:



I think I will keep one of each every year to look back on.  I love looking back on our save-the-dates, programs, and wedding invitations, so I’m sure I’ll love looking back on Christmas cards every year.  I can’t wait to show them to our future kiddos as well.  Maybe I’ll think of something fun to do with them as they pile up over the years.

As for sending a letter with the cards, we don’t really know what we would say.  I like reading Christmas letters, but they usually come from people with children.  I think ours would say something like, “Hey!  We got married this year!  It was really fun!  Merry Christmas!” which is a little boring and probably a little too perky, but perky should be my middle name.  So, you can see why we aren’t sending a letter.  We’re hoping the colorful, great bang for not a lot of buck cards will be enough to send to our loved ones.

Do you send cards out during this time of year?  Do you accompany a card with a letter?  Do you write something sweet to each family individually?  I’m highly interested in what you all do when it comes to Christmas cards!  Keep me posted in the comments.

Note: I am not affiliated in any way with any of the companies mentioned in this post.  I simply like to spread good cheer about companies who have products I like and ones that help me score a great deal!  Enjoy!


Linking up to: 36th Avenue

Turquoise Tree-Inspired Living Room Mood Board

Do you ever wonder, “What if I had the money to completely transform my _____ room?”  I love dreaming of how I would decorate a room differently because it helps me to better determine my design style (which I have yet to figure out because I like so many things).  Every Christmas I find myself wondering how a tree can be decorated to match a certain room I see on a blog or in a magazine.  Christmas is such a fun time to play up décor and try something new.  To mix my want of designing a tree to match a room and completely scheming up a brand new room, I have made a mood board.

I picked a Christmas tree from the Christmas tree inspiration post I shared earlier this week:



I am as madly in love with this tree as someone could be with a tree, but am not too fond of the room.  I’m not a huge fan of super-traditional spaces and overly matchy rooms.  I love the turquoise, but it’s a bit too much in this room.  I loved the dog, however, so he/she stayed.  She looks like a Norma to me.  Anyway, I have wondered what this tree would look like in a different room, so I designed a whole room to fit the tree, not to match it completely but a room that the tree would naturally fit in.

Here’s what I came up with (say hi to Norma):



I admit, my eyes get a bit of sensory overload when they look at that image, but after staring at it for a few seconds, little hearts appear in my pupils because I love it oh so very much!  I really love rooms that have some daring splashes of color but balance neutrals as well.  Keep reading to see why I chose every piece and find the links to each item.

1. I couldn’t help but pull in this Michelle Armas painting.  Even Mr. Converse Sneakers likes it and that’s saying a lot since we rarely agree on anything design-related.  He gave this room an “8” by the way.  Not bad!  We both love the abstract splotches of bright colors that make us happy when we look at the painting.  Over time, the room could pull in many other colors since the painting offers so many.  Also, it could act as a conversation piece – just tell guests that the painting is called “Zombie Jeeves” and they’ll be staring quizically at it all night while you steel extra helpings of stuffing.

2. There’s not much to say about this media console.  It’s cute, it’s white, it has beadboard, and it’s quaint.  When I was originally dreaming up this room, I imagined the tree being in a coastal cottage room, but I strayed from that.  The console definitely still gives off that vibe but fits in the room.

3. Oh, the rug.  Oh, how I love this rug.  I’ve discovered over the years that gray is one of my favorite neutral colors (along with white).  If I had to pick a favorite shade of gray, the gray of this rug would be the winner.  I love the kind of bohemian pattern that is a play on both traditional and contemporary geometric patterns.  It’s a winner in my can’t-decide-if-I’m-a-modern-or-traditional-decorator heart.

4. I couldn’t help but imagine what Mr. CS would want in this room, and since he is a huge fan of orange, I thought, “What the heck,” and threw the ottoman in the mix.  I love the sherbet tone of orange and of course am totally won over by the tufting and it’s mini footprint.  I also like how it compliments without matching completely with the yellow ikat pillow.

5. When I use a neutral color to ground a room, I like to layer different shades of it around the room to add interest and keep the neutrals from becoming boring.  When I spotted this chair, I knew it would blend in nicely with the room because of its darker gray color and the straight lines that would balance out the curves of the other upholstered pieces.

6. I just love little round side tables!  I don’t know what it is about them, but they always look so nice next to a chair.  I like how it looks next to the straight-lined chair and isn’t begging for clutter to be placed on its small top.

7. I had a hard time picking a lamp.  Should it be crystal, colorful, nickel , oil-rubbed bronze, etc.?  So many choices!  So, I just picked a small, simple one that would blend in since there are already enough colors and patterns in the room.

8. I chose this coffee table because of its deep wood tone and its many drawers.  I like chunky wood pieces of furniture and thought this would help balance the otherwise light-and-bright room.  Plus, it would add some storage!

9. This sofa made and appearance on my wishlist yesterday and is back once more (just like the painting).  I picked the sofa first before anything else because I knew it would look great with the tree.  It’s a little bit traditional, a little bit modern.  It’s both masculine and feminine.  And, get this, it can be both formal and casual.  It’s the perfect sofa, if you ask me.  Love, love, LOVE!

10. I picked the turquoise and yellow ikat pillows to bring in some more color and to help the tree fit in a little more.  I wasn’t a huge fan of ikat when it first made its appearance, but I have been drooling over the almost polka-dot ikat since I saw it.  I had to add the yellow version because I love how it looks with the turquoise, gray, and dark pink.  Funny, all of those colors were in our wedding!

11. I initially picked out neutral tan curtains because I imagined the walls being painted a light blue, but since this is a mood board and not a real room, there are no walls, so I brought in more blue with these fun trellis curtains.  I’m a little scared when it comes to layering patterns, but I think I did an okay job this time!

Too bad this isn’t a real room, because I love it!  I may have found my style.  What would you call this style?  I may have to come up with my own name.

If your Christmas tree sprouted a brand new room to match, what would it look like?