Using Fillers in the Tree

When I use the term fillers, I mean just putting in a little something to give the tree pizzazz! It's not the main decoration, or even the flowers or ribbon. The pizzazz, as I call it, is the little sparkle, or little something all over the tree that covers up some of the green undecorated spaces in the tree. To much makes it look over done. To little doesn't give it that extra pizzazz. It's like when you decorate a cake. It's done, but suddenly you add sprinkles. It gives it a fresh new distinctive look. What's nice about using fillers, is that every year you can give your tree a new look while still using many of the same ornaments. Just change the filler. Usually, it's the least expensive item on the tree.

Some of the fillers I have used are: eucalyptus branches, angel's hair, any kind of sparly dried flowers (tiny flowers, large branch or pick), sprinkle snow, dried fern leaves, and even tinsel.

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, here are a few showing how I used fillers. I am also giving you tree descriptions in case you like the ideas. 

In this first tree I used gold Angel's hair as a filler. There are so many other colors on the tree already to anything but a solid neutral color would be disastrous. Gold is a neutral Christmas color. This Angel's hair brings sparkle and shimmer to the tree without detracting from the other items. This tree has a large assortment of Clothtique paper mache Angels. There are an assortment of gold ornaments. The ribbon was used to create a garland. It's a garland of loops. There are at least four colors of sheer shimmering ribbon used.

 

This tree has a filler of eucalyptus leaves. These are real and give off a wonderful ordor as you near the tree. This tree was named Golden Harvest. There are all kinds of ornaments that have something to do with the harevesting time of year. There are a variety of fruits, horn of plenty and many other assorted ornaments. There are a  lot of cherub heads and instruments mixed in with this theme. The tree topper is a simple Angel. The eucalyptus give it a feel of realness. Some of the fruit looks so real, you can just about taste them.

 

This was a tree, from one of the very first years of my decorating experience. It is a simple tree, and the focus is actually not on the tree but the display of Department 56 houses under the tree and on the wall.  It does demonstrate what I'm writing about very nicely. The poinsettias and birds on the trees were for sale. The sparkle branches are what caught everyone's attention. It offers a natural look with some added pizzazz. I also threw some sparkle sprinkle snow on and under the tree to add to the affect. Simple, woodsy and elegant.

With this tree, I added two fillers. One was a real dried fern leaf, and the other was silver Angel's hair to give it a shimmery look. If you pull the Angel's hair and make it as thin as you can it's very hard to actually see the Angel's hair. It just shimmers like the mornings first mist. In this tree it was necessary to use fillers that blended in because the colors in the ornaments and Santa figurines are pink and peach. It makes a beautiful combination. 

This tree was created with a tree just for him in mind. Everything on this tree is from the woods. It's what you might see if you go hunting or on a nature walk. There are mushroom picks, pine cones and an assortment of birds flutter through out the tree. There are an assortment of berry picks and pheasant feathers in the tree. Blue paper ribbon was used so there wouldn't be any sparkle to the tree. Two different colors of blue give it depth. The filler in this tree is wild grasses. It looks like very tall grass has been chopped down and placed in the tree. This gives it a wild look and feeling. I didn't want any touch of the feminine in this tree at all. Although it was to appeal to men, many women appreciated this tree because of it's natural appeal. It's rather like bringing the outside indoors.

Carry your Christmas Theme throughout the Room : Mantels Part 3

This final blog on mantels has one of my most favorite mantels. I love the color scheme for this particular mantel, tree, and wreath. First though, here is one with mauve, pink and burgundy. 

I used blue spruce garland stretched across the fireplace. Then I mixed in mauve roses and flower sprays with tiny white flowers with burgundy plums and green berries. Then I used a paisley ribbon with mauve, green, blue and purple plus a solid mauve ribbon to make a double bow and wove the ends in through the greenery. Check out the beauty of this antique fireplace mantel. 

Now this next series of pictures shows a tree, an up-close shot of the tree and then the matching mantel with matching wreath. The color combinations for this theme are absolutely stunning. The angels on the tree are from the Goebel Company in Europe. The colors worked in wonderfully with the tree. 

 

Look how the ribbon is held in the tree and with the use of poinsettia and berry picks. The color combination for this tree is a deep reddish burgundy, violet, green, copper, and gold.  Some dried flowers as well as silk were used in the tree. There are violet balls hanging in the tree that pulls the violet out of the ribbon and flowers. Some of the hanging icicles are a copper, violet mix. Here is a close up shot to identify the colors better. Check out how the poinsettias are holding the ribbon in place so naturally.

I used two ribbons. One is a flower ribbon, it kind of looks like the material used on furniture in Victorian homes long ago. The other is a beautiful green velvet ribbon which gives it a rich look.  The closest glass ball is a copper color with violet icing lines on the surface.  Next is the mantel and wreath. 

The wreath has one large bow in the center top of the wreath. Burgundy poinsettias, berry and gold leaves surround the bow and help tie the look to the tree and mantel. Gold and copper glass balls are clustered on either side holding the ribbon into the wreath similar to the way the flowers did on the tree. On the mantel you see two additional Goebel Angels on the mantel helping to tie it to the tree. More green berries are used across the mantel mixed in with the greenery. Lastly, you see more gold and copper glass ornaments on the mantel to bring some sparkle and shine. The tree has a lot of glass that adds sparkle and shine. What a combination of antique and modern look. This is one of my favorite displays from the Bed and Breakfast.

About my Signature Tree: The one at the top of every blog!

The tree shown at the top of every blog is my signature tree. It comes up every time someone looks at my blog. I would be remiss if I didn't talk about it a little. First of all, this is my absolute favorite of all the trees I have ever done (and there have been hundreds). This tree was the entrance tree one of the years I decorated. I personally think it was the best. Here is the tree again from another angle to give you the full entrance view. 

This view doesn't show the top of the tree, but it does show the entrance as you would see it if you were a customer walking into the store. The wall behind the tree has a variety of sheer panels hanging. I then took a panel of each sheer color and twisted it and draped it across the top to give it a curtain affect. I did the same thing around the entrance door and around the base of the tree. Around the entrance I hung some of the large and small clear glass balls to give it a complimentary look to the tree. In the tree itself, I placed Angels that had dresses and robes in the same type of fabrics and colors in the tree. I made a flower garland and wrapped it around the tree. In this flower garland, you will find leaf picks with coppery mauve tones, flower picks with purple, mauve, and white, and berry picks with burgundy, purple, and copper colors. There are 6 Angels in the tree. These Angels were about 18" in height and are made of porcelain.  They were over $200.00 each. I used an assortment of clear see through ornaments that give the tree a beautiful sparkling jewel toned look. There are also an assortment of sparkle glass balls in the tree with a blue/purple color to bring out some of the rich royal colors. Golds and Purple colors have always been associated with royalty. On the outer most part of the tree, I added lots and lots of icicles, and lastly gold shimmering Angels hair. This display took me about a week to do. I am not a professional curtain hanger, but I think I did a nice job. This was a ten foot full American Fir tree. Again, thank you for reading and if you try this tree, give yourself plenty of time to complete it. The final retail price on this tree was probably around $4000.00 easily the most expensive tree I have done to date.

Carry your Christmas Theme throughout the Room : Mantels Part 2

Well here I am back again with more mantels. I wanted you (the reader) to see the variety of different things you could do with mantels. By now I'm sure you guessed that you typically want a base of greenery to add your holiday decorations to. Again, make sure the greenery is secured to the mantel so if something like a person, child, or household animal gets a hold of it they can't pull it off. This first mantel is a bedroom in a Bed and Breakfast. Notice how a wreath to match is placed over the mantel and there's a flower basket that matches at the base of the mantel. 

For this room I used a small flower pick with white and mauve flowers with burgundy berries. In addition to these small flower picks, I placed some mauve berry sprays in the arrangements also. On the mantel I added a ribbon with mauve, pink and burgundy colors, and on the wreath there is a bow with the same ribbon. When you decorate arrangements just try to leave some of the natural greenery showing so it doesn't look over done. 

This next mantel is one of my favorites. There are two ribbons in the bow used. A solid green velvet ribbon and a paisley ribbon with the colors of pink, peach, purple, and green. A smaller french ribbon was added in last and it was a two toned ribbon. The ribbon just kept changing from green to peach, then green to peach over and over again. A beautiful flower pick with pink and peach flowers is used in the arrangement. To add some sparkle I used pink, peach, and gold glass balls.

These Bed and Breakfast have beautiful fireplaces too. The one in the photo above is black marble. This next mantle is quite simple. There isn't much to it but the colors off set each other and make a nice presentation.

I used blue spruce greenery on this mantle because it looked beautiful with the wallpaper in the room. Then a simple arrangement of burgundy roses are arranged across the mantle with a larger cluster of them in the center. A large bow was made out of a gold sheer ribbon and then the tail of the ribbon trailed down the sides. Some gold berry picks are placed amongst the roses. This is quite contrasting, and look at the fireplace. It's absolutely stunning. The brass plate at the bottom grate perfectly sets off the gold color in the arrangement.

This next mantle is about a simple as you can get. The fireplace was set off in an unusual place in the room and didn't get a lot of activity in that area. It has a simple but elegant look. The ribbon has blue, teal, burgundy and a copper color in it. A very large bow was made and placed in the middle of the mantel. There are some copper flower picks arranged around it and it's all on a bed of greenery. A matching flower basket is placed on the floor next to the fireplace.

The fireplaces in these Bed and Breakfasts are stunning. Each room has it's own fireplace. Stay tuned for one more article on mantles.

Decorating Stairways and Newell Posts.

Because I was decorating for a business, when I decorated the staircases, I had to make sure there was 1-2 foot open space on the banister. For safety reasons this is always best. 

I used 9 foot green garland. Could be blue spruce like my first picture, or American Fir short and long needle. What ever kind you like. When the stairs have horizontal spindles you'll need to wind the greenery through every fourth spindle. Loop the greenery over the top and skip three spindles to wrap again. This way the greenery loops always have the same distance between them. I don't as a rule use lit garland here. Again for safety sake. You wouldn't want anyone to trip on the cords.

I keep the decorations here pretty simple. I usually place a bow at the top of the loop or on the banister rail. I use berries and flowers along with the ribbon. Typically I match the ribbon and flowers to the closest Christmas tree. 

This picture shows blue spruce short needle garland. I used a metallic pink ribbon. The berries and flowers are mixed pink, mauve and burgundy. The newell post is the same with a larger bow and the flowers hanging like a swag.

On this banister and staircase I used American fir short needled. I did not swag, or create large hanging droops. I kept it very tight. This is an extremely wide staircase and the banisters needed to not catch on luggage as it went up the stairs. This time I used ribbon only. I used three types of ribbon to make the bow. I used a number 40 paisley ribbon for the bottom and two thinner ribbons called french ribbon. The colors were blue, purple, green and a little mauve. This is simple but elegant.

If you like you could loop in beaded garland and even hang bulbs from the stair rail. I just recommend that it isn't used as much, or you may have broken ornaments. In one of the homes I visited the folks used the largest elf (see: Putting collectables in the tree) sliding down the rail backwards like some kids/adults like to do and had a couple more hanging off their chandelier on the stairway landing. I loved it!

Carry your Christmas Theme throughout the Room : Mantels

Another way to carry Christmas through out a room is to decorate mantels and various pieces for furniture.  This blog will address mantels. Typically, I start with a 9 foot piece of garland. I light it with one string of 50 lights. I choose either clear lights which go with anything or colored lights depending on the color scheme. One of my favorite colored light sets is a set with clear pink lights, frosted cream, and clear white lights on one string. If you shop around you can find all kinds of light sets, some very traditional and some are quite outrageous. Here are some different mantels I decorated. Most of the time they carried through the theme I had on the tree in the same room. Some though were mantels in a Bed and Breakfast and there was no tree in the bedroom suites. This was a way to bring Christmas into the guest bedrooms. 

This mantel has a beautiful gold edged mirror above it. The mirror is large enough and sturdy enough to support an arrangement of it's own. For this mantel and swag, a green American fir 9 foot evergreen garland was used. On the mantel it was stretched across and the ends brought back into the front giving it a much thicker look. Lights were laces through the garland (try to hide any wires). Velvet two tone roses were used, along with berries, fern and other small floral fillers. Seven candles sticks were set on the mantel with candles that were a burgundy color to match the roses. Burgundy glass balls that matched those hung on the tree were placed around the candles. For the swag on the mirror. The greenery was attached at both ends and draped low in the middle. Two angels that matched those in the tree were placed on each side. The roses and florals were then placed in between the angels. As you can guess, this arrangement matched the Christmas tree placed in the room.  

  

This mantel has a very simple "Traditional" look. A piece of garland is laid over the top of the mantel. Then a grape vine wreath is taken apart, opened up, and placed standing in the middle. Small pieces are laid through the rest going to either side. Eucalyptus and raffia, as well as a plaid ribbon is placed through the garland stretching out across the mantel. Red Berries and Red Birds are the last items to go into the arrangement. It's quite simple and brought the same Christmas theme as the tree to another part of the room. I will show the matching tree in up coming blogs. 

This mantel is quite old and as you can see at one time it had a mirror between the bottom shelf and the top shelf. The mirror had been broken and then removed. We covered a board with a piece of black material so that any thing placed on the bottom shelf would show up. The colors in this theme are gold and silver. On the top shelf a miniature two foot tree was placed and decorated. One large bow and an assortment of little bows in gold and silver are placed all over the tree. A piece of garland extends across the top and the same bows and ornaments adorn the garland also. The tree that matches is seen on the left. On the right a piece of garland extends down the side of the mantel to the floor. A Gold and Silver bare tree sits in front. Lastly, a two foot paper mache goose sits on the bottom shelf of the mantel to complete the look.  This had a "Traditional" look with the colors of gold and silver. It's traditional and elegant.

I have other mantels to show, so be sure to watch for upcoming blogs about more mantels. Again, thanks for reading.

Carry your Christmas Theme throughout the Room

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year, and most people love to decorate more in their house than just the Christmas tree. One way of doing this is to create matching wreaths and hang them on the wall above a fire place or in place of a picture that was there. (Just put the picture behind the sofa that's against the wall. It will be fine for the month that you hang a wreath in it's place.)

Most people have some ribbon and flowers and a few ornaments left over after they finish the tree. If you don't, try buying just a little extra the next time you shop for Christmas decorations. Use these extras to create a wreath that matches your tree. If you wove the ribbon through the tree but didn't make bows, you can do that to a wreath. You can also switch and make bows, it will still look like it belongs because your using the same ribbon. Add in some of the flowers and ornaments. It carries the theme into other areas of the room. If your using large items in the wreath, make sure you tie them in so they will stay put. I have put large collectables in wreaths has well as trees. Some of the following photos will explain perhaps better than my writing. 

 

I know I showed this picture before, but it's perfect to show what I mean about the wreath matching your tree. The wreath was extremely simple to do but looks very sophisticated. I used more of the gold lame material to create a fan shape where I would have placed a bow and then wove the material through the wreath. I had one large Angel plaque left and tied it into the wreath. Notice the bead garland...it also matches what I did with the beads in the tree. I used one string of each kind of bead garland to swag it into the wreath to match the tree. There is nothing else on this wreath, it's a very simple but sophisticated design.

 

The tree on the left is the one that matches the wreath in this picture. Again, it's very simple and carries the theme throughout the room. I used matching ribbon woven through the wreath with one bow. I then tied in a large collectable Santa into the center of the wreath. The tree has the same type of Santas in the tree with matching ribbon, bows and some Santa icicles. This tree was called "Santa's Delight". The Santas used were Clothtique Santas.

This tree and the following wreath are a perfect match. The same paper mache Santa is used in each. Everything else in this wreath is dried flowers and a few silk flowers. I also added in pine cones and eucalyptus leaves. The tree has the same flowers and outdoorsy look. I recreated this tree for LTV Steel Co. (no longer in business) and the tree won the premiere award in the Annual Angel's for Easter Seals Parade of Christmas trees.

This tree is very out doors looking, and brick was laid under the tree, along with a picket fence and large rocks (Look for an upcoming blog about what to place under the tree).