2014 Christmas Tree

2014 Christmas Tree

Well it's been a while, a year in fact since I have been here to blog.  Let me start by saying that I miss writing about Christmas. But since it only comes once a year, I'll have to be happy with it for now. Next year I hope to do more.

I like to change the look of my Christmas tree every year...but I don't like to spend a lot of money doing it. So far I average around $25 every year to give it a new look. I don't change the ornaments, because those are special and I put them up year after year. The basics on the tree is what I change. This year instead of just showing pictures of what the tree looks like, I have decided to go through the process of decorating this tree step by step. 

To begin, I set up the tree (pre-lit) in the area where I want it. This year because I wanted a different look, I went and bought about 2 sets of green mini light sets. I added about 200 green lights to the inside of my tree. I just wind them up and down through the middle of the tree. This helps to add depth to the tree.

 

After I have added the colored lights, next I put in some colored bulbs. Other years I have added glass bulbs. I find that older glass bulbs start to lose their color, and they don't look as good the following years. I found some plastic bulbs in assorted colors a few years back and they have stayed nice. They are what I use now. 

These still look great even after 5 years of use. Well I add these bulb ornaments throughout the inside of the tree. Along with the green lights, having these on the inside added a lot of depth to the tree. After all the lights and bulbs you want to use are distributed throughout the tree, I was now ready to put on some time of garland. I like the sparkle of bead garland in a tree. I also wanted to whole color scheme of my tree to change. I know that Poly Mesh material has become very popular for people to use in wreaths. I decided to use it in my tree this year. Walmarts had them for $4.77 for a roll. I think that's a great price. I bought a couple of rolls. I liked the green and white striped poly mesh. I twisted the mesh as I unrolled it. Then I added bead garland which I twisted around the mesh. I wrapped this through the tree from the top to the bottom. I used the left overs for a tree skirt.

I used two green and one iridescent bead garland strings. I found them at Sear's black Friday sale. They were priced at $2.99 and they were marked at 50% off.  I found more at Walmarts after Christmas sale. They were $1.99 marked at 50% off. Needless to say, I bought quite a few in different colors. These bead garland were 18 feet in length. I will be doing another blog about bead garlands and how to use them. Look for it along with videos. After the garland was put into the tree came the next part of creating a different look. I like to put large items in the tree and throughout the tree to give it a theme. This year I used 18" diameter snowflakes. I found these amongst a bunch of stuff that was donated to the teacher at the school where I teach. I pulled about 23 of these snowflakes from the pile of stuff. One of the other teachers asked what I was going to do with all those snowflakes. Put them in my tree of course!

 

These are the assorted snowflakes that I used in the tree. I put 10-12 of these snowflakes into the tree. The lights of the tree made them glimmer and shine. I added some acrylic frosted reindeer to the tree using the snowflakes as a back drop. This gave the tree a woodsy look.

After I placed these snowflakes around the tree and on the tree top. I added my usual ornaments that I use every year. After the glass ornaments, I put the special ornaments that mean something to the family. These are ornaments my daughter made when she was young. Special ornaments that were given as gifts, and picture ornaments that have pictures of people close to us.

These are the same ornaments that have gone on my tree for 15+ years. Everyone should have ornaments that are special for their tree. They are memories and keepsakes.  Finally, the last thing I put on the tree was tiny snowflakes. I put about 3+ dozen mini snowflake ornaments all over the tree. They were less than $3 for a box of 12 at Walmarts. I bought probably about 5 dozen, because I will use more of them throughout the house in other displays. 

These snowflakes put the final touch on the tree. I call them fillers. (Read my other blog about fillers.) These tiny snowflakes had glitter on them that just set the whole tree alight! I think this tree turned out to be my husbands favorite tree. Here are a couple of pictures. One during the day and one at night. This new look cost about $25 and I had a tree with a whole new look.

               Day Time                                                                            Night Time

This is my blog about my 2014 Christmas Tree. Hope you enjoyed it.

2013 Christmas Tree

Sometime you might feel like, "Gosh, I hate the tree ornaments I have...they're the same old ones I've been putting up for years." Well, at least I feel that way. I used to decorate 20 to 30 trees a year. Now I only have time to do one (my own). I started teaching a few years ago and that takes up most of my time. I love teaching, but every now and then I feel like doing something creative with arts and crafts. So I put a lot into decorating at Christmas. After I'm finished remodeling the house, I'll be able to do more. So, here are pictures of my 2013 Christmas. I didn't throw out the old ornaments and get new...who can afford that. I did change the theme a little bit. If you were to look at the last three years of Christmas trees, you would see that I kept the same colors but changed the look by changing just a few items on the tree. If you keep this in mind and shop after Christmas when items are marked down you can get a new looking tree for just a few dollars. Make sure you buy enough to decorate other items with the same theme. It makes your house have a classy rich look during the holiday season.

 

I bought red poinsettia flowers at Walmarts after Christmas in 2012. They came in a bunch and they were $5.00 each. Each bunch had six large beautiful flowers. I used wire cutters so cut the bunches apart. As I made a garland with bows out of ribbon to put on the tree, I added poinsettia at the same time. Some are around the bows and there are also some single poinsettias throughout the tree. This changed the look enough on the tree that I felt like I was putting up a different tree. 

At the top of the tree I put three large bows. In and around the bows I put three or four poinsettias. The bow at the front has a very long tail, so I loosely swagged it down and went right into another bow. This is the garland I used to go around the tree. I also bought some new balls. They were red with a matte finish. Some of the older gold balls I placed close to the bows so that they brought out the gold edge on the ribbon.

These two pictures show how the bow garland looks as you put it on the tree. I didn't go around the tree so much as I swagged the ribbon and went from top to bottom. Make sure you have at least three ribbons going down your tree.

I didn't do this but, the tree would look pretty if you added red berries, or gold berries. Just add them in any were around the poinsettias. Some dried flowers that painted gold would look great as a filler.








I added the poinsettias to other places where I put decorations. Here is a hutch where I point Christmas decorations to carry the theme into the dining room. It doesn't have to be a hutch it can be any type or piece of furniture.

I used single poinsettias to go across the greenery in back which helps to give depth. I arranged the Santa and other items in front.

 

I found poinsettia flower candle rings. I bought three. I put two of them in the light as you come in the front door. Cut the ring in one place. Gently place it around the pole holding the light. I will just rest around the lights. Make sure non of the flowers touch the lights. They might melt if touching the hot light bulbs.

Well, this is what I had time to do for Christmas 2013. For 2014 I may go back and use Candy canes, or perhaps something brand new. If you the public have any ideas, let me know. Take care and see you around Christmas. Urbanchristmas