get it together for Christmas sake!

neil and i are hosting the family Christmas at our house this year.  that means a few things...1. i now HAVE to clean the house 2. we don't have to leave the house all day (woop woop) 3. the house must be decorated wonderfully.  ok, now i can totally do all of those things with no problem.  my house definitely could use a good cleaning.  i LOVE not leaving the comfort of my own home on Christmas day.  and, i have a crap-load of decorations that have accumulated over the past 10 years.  i mainly got some hand-me downs from my mom, since she has a bit of a problem when it comes to buying decorations ev-er-ree year.  some i got as gifts thanks to $150 worth of gift certificates to the rushville pharmacy (yep, for those of youses that don't know bout that there pharmacy, not only can you pick up hemorrhoid cream but you can also get fine stemware, collectible keepsakes, or seasonal decor).  i have also bought a few things at kohls when they have been on sale. 

december rolls around and it's time to put up the decorations.  i was SO organized last year when it came to taking decorations down.  i put them in plastic crates and labeled them according to what room the decorations went in.  this year will be easy right?  right!  unfortunately, this is the first year that it finally donned on me that NONE of my decorations "go" with each other.  it really seems like a hodge podge of holiday throw-up.  at least i have a common theme for the Christmas tree...red and green.  but now that we inherited a fake tree for our basement, i need to get a new theme for the family room tree and the room in general.  since the room has creams, browns and blues, i decided to stick with it and try to keep it simple.  kind of a natural look. 

the first thing to tackle was the mantle.  i obsess over pottery barn catalogs all year, but especially at Christmas time.  i LOVE how they decorate their mantles.  gorgeous garlands, ornaments, candles, and mirrors.  sigh...i don't have the luxury of going all out with mine.  my mantles main focus is the freaking tv that towers over it.  truth be told i like having it there other than Christmastime.  so, back to the mantle.  i bought nothing new just use a little spray paint on some stars that i had from the girls birthday.  i am hoping to make some apothecary jars to put on the right side with some snow and ornaments in them instead of the snow globe and willow couple.  here's a pic.  just ignore espn.  i do...

i made a decoration too.  i spent a total of 10 bucks.  i had the burlap, spray paint, sandpaper, jute, and jingle bells on hand.  i got the candlesticks, circle plaques, acrylic paint, decorative nails, and finials at hobby lobby all 50% off, (ok, not the paint or nails but they were 99 cents each).  i went to home depot and asked for 2x6 scrap wood cut down to 3 8" pieces.  FREE!!  a little bit of time and work and waa-laa!

want to make some of your own?  click HERE to get the instructions!

i also made a center piece for my kitchen table.  LOVE it.  i only bought ornaments from the dollar store 2 for $1, 3 mason jars from hobby lobby at 50% off for $3, and a milk jug from goodwill for $2.  not bad for $6.

i googled for ideas on how to display Christmas cards.  always love to get them and always want to set them out.  but, A. i'm not paying for a metal display and B. i'm really not into taping them to my doors or door frames.  thanks to googling and to people that blog, here is the cheap but cute idea for displaying them.

yep, ONE card so far.  glad to see i'm not the only procrastinator.

ok, last thing.  through blogging i came across this adorable idea for a Christmas countdown.  can't remember where though, so sorry i can't link you up.  but it was easy.  all you need is a frame (i used an 8 x 10), 1 sheet of Christmas scrapbook paper, vinyl stickers, chalkboard paint (i used spray paint but you can use the other kinds), and shelf liner.  i cut a circle in the shelf liner then stuck the other part on the glass to use as a stencil.  paint the circle, let dry, then use the stickers to spell out "days until Christmas".  cut the paper down to the size of your frame and waa-laa!!  adorable and fun.

happy crafting!!