OK, I can’t be the only one who’s been pinning Christmas craft and decor ideas since, oh… April… right? My pinboards runneth over with DIY Christmas decorations and inspiration. Growing up, my folks always had pretty, classic wreaths on our windows, so I envisioned the same. I used poinsettias in combination with bows, garland, and wreaths. We mounted them to the windows frames with cup hooks… the ribbons are just decorative. 

And we even decorated the non-functional lamp post at the end of the walkway. He looks like he’s wearing a Christmas suit and bow tie… hah!

We definitely underestimated the cost and work involved in decorating our home for the first time. But we stuck to the essentials and are looking (and feeling) very much in the Christmas spirit!

On to the crafts… there are only so many hours in the month of December, so I picked a few of my favorites to start with. We’ll see how many more I can knock out before the big day comes!

Left to right… twig + ornament + frame, paper cone + fabric “trees,” glitter deer silhouette, deer & moose from Hancock Fabrics (I cheated on buying those, but they were… wait for it… 80% OFF! I paid $2.40 for both.)

Here are some close-ups:

That’s a dollar store frame, dollar store ornament (2 for $1), twigs from the yard, craft glue (like Elmer’s), and a strip of scrap plaid fabric.

My current favorites are next…..

I made these three “trees” with poster board, hot glue, and scrap fabric. The green is strips of felt cut into a sort of wide fringe. The cream is painter’s drop cloth twisted into cord. The red is pleated plaid cotton I had left over from repairing a few quilt squares for my mom. (Hey mom!) Here is a tutorial for creating the cones from poster board. I skipped the tutorial and just used good ol’ trial and error until I got it right by cutting the approximate shapes and rolling, trimming, glueing, taping, stapling, and trimming some more.

And by the way, what in the WORLD did we do before hot glue?! Definitely my most favorite craft essential.

Last but not least, my sweet, glittery deer silhouette. This idea has been out there for a while but I was so excited to make my own!

He is comprised of: an old painting from Sips and Strokes with painter’s dropcloth stapled over the top, craft glue (like Elmer’s), and gold glitter. Easy peasy!

As you can see, I had to pin all his extremities down so I could trace the outline.

Then used glue, a paint brush, and glitter to fill him all in.

He’s so awesome… Adam wants to keep him up year ’round! We’ll see how it goes. He is pretty fabulous, after all!

Merry Christmas and happy decorating!