About Me

I have spent many years designing and creating Christmas Trees and displays. I would like to share with you what I have learned, and you are welcome to share you suggestions and ideas also. I hope you enjoy reading these blogs and hope they have helped you add enjoyment to your decorating endeavors. In an effort to make these posts as informative as possible, as I come across photos and information that would be best used in these posts, you may see them change from time to time. Please be patient, as this is always a work in progress. Thank you:-) Follow me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holidayknights/

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Boho Ornaments with Flair 


These pictures are of ornaments I have made in the last couple days. One is done using a fine thread that normally people use to make macrame jewelry. It took me about five hours to do this one. It's very fine and a little difficult to work with. Also, since I have only been doing this a short time I'm a little slower. Hopefully I'll pick up the pace eventually. I am having a fun time doing it because I find it relaxing. It's got the same effect as popping bubble wrap for me. 


The second ornament is made with a thicker thread, and larger beads. Because of this it is much easier to work with and I finished it in about one and a half hours. They don't seem to be as popular, but I think they would be great on a themed tree such as farm house Christmas tree or a garden Christmas tree. You could use a off white ribbon or a mix of ribbons Blue plaid would look great too! I added a little ribbon and  some glitter inside to glitz it up a little. Use lots of greenery and these types ornaments would look great. 


This last ornament was very popular. Again because of the thread it took me about five hours. I think it would be pretty with nothing inside, but it also looks great with sea foam netting. I also added some of the beads that are on the outside to the inside. Here are the videos showing it both ways.


 


I hope you enjoyed this blog and maybe look at some of the other blogs I have written. There is a lot of information to facilitate in Christmas decorating. Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

2022 Handmade ornaments!

So, I showed you a video of the tree I made for my daughter. Well, the ornaments on that tree were hand made by me. Talk about learning new things. I haven't blogged for a long time before this because I was very busy being a third grade teacher. I still am teaching, but when my daughter said she wanted a boho Christmas tree, well I started having some me time. During that time I researched what she meant by boho. LOL! Well, since then I have learned a lot. I watched youtube videos to find out how to macrame. Then I thought they were a little bland, so I started sprucing them up. This has all happened since after Christmas of 2021. You can find me on https://www.instagram.com/holidayknights/ to see all the ornaments I have made. These take a lot of time to make. I'm adding some pictures on today. For more visit me on instagram and you can see them all. The good as well as the not so good! As a teacher I have always thought it was great to learn something new everyday. It's really happening for me now. I'm glad I love making things so much!






I hope you like the pictures and thanks for reading!

Sunday, June 12, 2022

 Christmas Tree 2022


Finally finished my daughter's tree! I used some of the ornaments I made last year and more of what I made this year. She wanted a boho Christmas tree. I wasn't even sure of what that would be when I started. I searched  for boho and found a lot of stuff with macrame. I think I may have made a macrame pot holder when I was a teen (Years ago). I watched a lot of macrame tutorials on youtube. I wasn't completely satisfied because there were not that many varieties of ornaments and they looked very similar. That made me get busy and start creating. I started out making the ornaments with white string and wooden beads. Those are on a previous post. Today I will share a video of the finished tree. And then I will add pictures and videos of other ornaments I have made. I has been a learning experience. I actually really enjoy making them!


You can find me on instagram too: holidayknights

Hope you enjoy!

Friday, May 27, 2022

Christmas 2021 Ornaments


I decorated a tree for my daughter last Christmas. The tree was done in silver and red. I also wanted to make some ornaments that would be special for her. We also added on some Cherished Teddy ornaments that she had since she was little. This was a lot of fun for both of us. I wanted to share this before I went any further with the tree I am planning for her this year. I hope you enjoy.









And here are a few more including the Cherished Teddies.









Here are some pictures of the finished tree. I love the red and silver together. It really pops!



If you would like to see more of my work, I'm on instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/holidayknights/  

Hoping soon to have stuff to sell on etsy.com 

Thanks for reading!


Sunday, May 1, 2022

Boho/Macrame Christmas

Here is a video of the ornaments I have been making for my daughter's Christmas tree 2022. She likes macrame and boho look, so I'm putting that together in a natural looking tree for her. I will be using white, silver/grey along with natural looking ornaments. They will have macrame and use natural looking beads and ornaments. I can't wait to get started putting it together. I watched tutorials on how to macrame, so these might not be the finest! I think they will look good on the tree through. 



I have been making all kinds of ornaments using different kinds of thread. I put them in a video on instagram and they were well received! I want people to know they can have these types of decorations up all year. They look great with indoor plants!


This one was also quite popular!


Well, I hope you enjoyed this blog. Stay tuned for more to come.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Making boho ornaments for a Christmas tree.

 It has been a while since I posted. I have been teaching and that takes a lot of time. I have started a hobby though which I want to share. I have started to do macrame and have started to cover clear glass Christmas ball ornaments. Here are a few I have made. I really find it enjoyable and relaxing so I think I will try to make time to do this occasionally. I have never done this before so I feel quite proud of what I have done so far. I know there are many people better, but I think the idea is a little unique. I will try to add more as I go. Thanks for reading and looking!






Here is a couple that I made for fun and can be used any time of the year! Hope you enjoy!




 

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Using Bead Garland in Your Tree

There are many ways to use bead garland in your tree. I wrote a blog about it, and now I'm writing another blog about it with video's. A picture is worth a thousand words, but video is even better. First, here is a link to view some of my Christmas trees. Notice how almost all of them have bead garland. Bead garland just adds to your tree. It adds color, shine, and elegance. Here's the link to my Flickr channel: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/63808310@N08/  Take a look at these and then read this blog: )

There are many ways to put garland in your tree. One way is to twist it. You can use a single color or several colors of beads to do this. You can make thick ropes of garland or thin ropes. I show it several ways in the following short clips.

 

In this clip, I used bead garland that is 18 feet long. I found the half way point, used that as one end and started twisting there. This is a very thick rope garland. I used two gold, two silver, and two iridescent strings.

 



For this garland, I only used two green and two iridescent strings. The rope garland is much smaller but still very elegant.


In this last twist video, I used red and green garland. I made a thicker rope. When you use garland to make a thick rope, you should tie it to sturdier branches in your tree. The sturdier branches can support the weight of the heavy bead garland.

Another way to use bead garland is to braid it. Yes, just like you would braid a girl's hair. Choose your colors and braid. Again you can make it thin or thick. To make a braid thicker just increase the number of bead strands you use.


 The first thing you do is find a place to secure your strand. I find the knob on a chair works, when you can't find a person to hold the end. In this video, I used four strings of red and two strings of green. This makes a thicker braid. You can use any color combination you wish. I used 6 strings so that each strand would have two strings. Braid the garland until you run out of bead garland, then you can use wire to tie it closed at the end. 


This video is part of the first clip. It just shows the braid more finished and close up.

These next two clips are showing how to make a Swag. Think about how a lady might wear several gold chains around her neck. She wants them to be slightly different in length so that each chain may be seen. Well you can do the same thing on a tree. I don't like to put the "swags" on the tree so that it looks like a cake. I go a little crazy with the "swag". I may tie one end and have a long swoop with a short swag. Do this all over the tree and it looks elegant. Remember, don't tie the "swag" off, swoop it, and tie off again on the same level, tie it off on different levels of the tree. By levels I mean tree layers. The tree has all it's branches put on in layers, except the very top of the tree. 



These next video clips are very easy and pretty self explanatory if you watch the video.


This first video is "tying the knot". If you use "tie the knot" and "swagging" at the same time...your tree will look absolutely elegant.


This next video clip shows how to add a string of lights to your bead garland. You might want to use white strings if you add to gold, silver, and white. I didn't have any on hand so you can see the strings. Or use the green strings, but use green and red beads. Anyway, I think you know what I mean. 

This last video is how to combine bead necklaces to make a garland with a "knot". Putting these on the tree with a swag would be very nice. So if you bought a ton of bead necklaces and don't know what to do with them...watch this.


Well, that's all I have for now. Maybe this next Christmas I can show you how to put these on the tree. Till then...Happy New Year!