christmas home tour | 2014

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Betcha thought I wasn’t going to get around to posting a Christmas home tour did ‘ya?  Well, honestly, I didn’t think I was either!
This is our first Christmas in our new house, and I am so excited for our family to spend it together here!  And since it is my first time decorating this house, I decided to cut myself some slack.  Decorating a different house can be really tough the first year.  Things you have used in previous homes might not work as well in the new place or maybe you’ve changed your style.  
When I was pulling out my boxes from the attic I realized I really don’t have a lot of “Christmas decorations”.  I’ve got our tree, wreaths, garland, stockings, ornaments for the tree, and that’s really it.  Every year I think I NEED more decorations when in reality it doesn’t take a lot of themed decorations to make a home feel Christmasy.  Grabbing some greenery from our yard and sticking it throughout the house made a huge dent in what I thought I was lacking.  It was free and I love the natural feel it gave our house this year.
Enough chat, come on in!
The swag was an easy DIY.  You can find out  more about it by clicking here.
I left the entry simple.  You don’t need too much fuss in this area since it’s a drop zone for guests.  The stairway has some lit garland and that’s it.  I’d love to find a nativity for the entry table some day, but will wait until I find the right one.

I made some large origami stars using wrapping paper and plain printer paper for the archway leading to the living area.  I used this tutorial on how to fold them.  Sam loves coming down the stairs and seeing them in the morning.  Stahs mommy!  Stahs!!!
Ok so not that this has anything to do with Christmas decor, but I finally got my light hung up in the breakfast nook!  Woohoo!!!
I did the same thing as last year by stringing an advent calendar across our standing mirror.  You can see last year’s here.  Again, I was late and so I just ended up putting up 12 instead of 25.  Maybe next year??  The envelopes were a free printable found at The Painted Hive.  She used them to make a really cute hanging advent that I was planning on making, but me and time are on the fritz lately 😉

I decided to use my DIY paper garland (click here for tutorial) from last year and threw my two sheepskins under the tree as a skirt.  I LOVE how it looks like a blanket of snow beneath the tree.  Oh how I miss you snow!!!  The tree topper is a lantern I’ve had since I first moved out of my parent’s house.  It has never had a home until this year when I stuffed it with a strand of lights and stuck in on the top of the tree.  Looks like all that hoarding can pay off!  
Oh, and a tip for hanging ornaments when you have a little one around that likes to “inspect” them.  If you have a fake tree forego using ornament hooks and just slide the metal or fabric loop of your ornament over the branch and bend the branch back over the ornament’s loop to keep it from being knocked or pulled off. 

I love using pine cones as Christmas decor.  You can get them for free right off the ground and put them anywhere.  The ones in the glass box have Epsom salt poured over them to look like snow.
I hot glued this one to ribbon.
And used several throughout the mantle.

I kept a lot of things the same on the coffee table.  I added the wood slide for texture and in the glass lantern I traded out my usual stones and candle for a tree, more Epsom salt and a spray painted fox.

Our master has just one hint of Christmas with this DIY live wreath.

You can find my tutorial for it by clicking here.

That’s it folks!
I’ll be back later this week to share some of the fun decor I tossed together for the kids’ rooms.  If you follow on Instagram you may have already seen some peeks at Izzy’s room!
What kind of Christmas decorators are you?  Do you deck all the halls or stick a little bit here and a little bit there?  I always wanted to be a deck the hall gal, but I’m too much of a procrastinator.

Comments

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  1. Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door Avatar

    Hooray! You did it and you did it well sister! Love those stars, well and pretty much everything. Cheers!

  2. Cassie @ Primitive & Proper Avatar

    your home is amazing, shelley! just perfect and so you! i love your mantle the most but love it all!

  3. Calypso In The Country Avatar

    Beautiful! I love the mantel and the advent calender!
    Shelley

  4. Lisa @ Shine Your Light Avatar

    So so pretty Shelley! I love your gorgeous tree and the stahs! Your new home is beautiful, enjoy your first Christmas there!

  5. Mindy Avatar

    I think it's super pretty. The fresh greens, stars, and paper snowflake present are my faves. And with fewer decorations, unlike me, you won't be putting it all away for two weeks. :/

  6. Freckles Chick Avatar

    Holiday fricking cheer done beautifully, S!! I'm a huge fan of Epsom salts used as faux snow. When the Mr comes back from snowboarding longing for a soak in the tub with those salts, he gets all "What happened to my salts?!" I'm all "That'll teach you to go have fun without us!"

    I MUST copy you next year on the winter scene in a lantern! Actually, I must copy your whole house in general. Happy Holidays to you & yours, my friend!

    xoxo

  7. Julie Reinwald Avatar

    Your home and every detail is beautiful. That tree is stunning, and I really like the swag on your door. Happy Holidays!

  8. Allison @ House of Hepworths Avatar

    Would you mind sharing where you bought the breakfast nook light?

Meet Shelley

Hi, I’m Shelley! My belief is that with a little creativity and elbow grease, you can make your home look like a million bucks without spending it.

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