Christmas Series Part Two | 5 Christmas DIY’s for Decorating on a Budget

Christmas is my favorite time of the year, so it is a shame that I don’t have the money to buy every festive and beautiful decoration I see! I am just getting on my feet financially, so spending loads of money on Christmas decorations is not in the budget! Over the past few months I have come across some great DIY Christmas crafts that will help me save money but still allow me to get in the holiday spirit. I hope you find them useful, and fun!

First and foremost, I fell in love with this idea the instant I saw it. It is cost friendly, east to do, and you end up with a whimsical Christmas decoration that will get you in the spirit every night when you turn it on. Personally, I think this decoration can stay up all year. :) All you have to do is buy a box of Christmas lights, and a canvas of any size. Poke the Christmas lights through the canvas, designing it any way you’d like, and turn the lights on!

A new trend this year is to hang Christmas ornaments around your house… in front of your windows and fireplaces, or in an archway. An easy and soft touch to hanging your ornaments is to hang them with a pretty tulle or ribbon of your choice. Keep it simple by using a variety of silver ornaments, and a sheer white/silver tulle, like you see in the photograph. Using muted colors such as silver and gold make the hangings look classy and not cheesy.

This is a great idea for inspiration, using mason jars as t-lite candle holders, then decorating with some festive pine cones, ribbon, and needles from your tree. Adding a touch of fabric (such as lace) is a great idea, too. Instead of trying to emulate this idea exactly, use it as inspiration, and dig through your own ribbons and decoration, so your mason jar candles will be personal to you.

If you are bored with your traditional tree skirt, then this is a great idea for you! I am OBSESSED with this idea of using sheepskin rugs as your tree skirt! A normally gaudy looking accessory, a sheepskin rug is warm and cozy, perfect for snuggling up under the tree at Christmas time. It also gives the tree and your room a whimsical winter wonderland vibe. I am obsessed. Enough said.

Lastly, here is yet another amazing idea if you are looking to spruce up your tree. Since ornaments can get pretty spendy these days, making my own sounds like a great alternative, especially when they look this pretty. Simply buy clear dollar store ornaments, and decoupage them with beautiful book or newspaper clippings (with mod podge of course). Glaze over the outside with clear spray paint, and coat with glitter. These would also be a great gift idea, specifically for the readers in your life.

I find new, amazing crafts each and every day, so keep your eyes out for more DIY decorating ideas from A Molly Production. Have a happy holiday season & don’t forget to click the images to see their crafty creators.

My Crafty To-Do List

Trying to keep up with all the fun, crafty projects I find these days is impossible, especially now that I am on Pinterest, constantly finding new diy’s and blogs! My crafty to-do list grows larger and larger each day, and I am dying to accomplish all of these fun ideas. I have compiled my favorites to share with you. I am not going to reinvent the wheel by repeating the step-by-step processes for these projects, but instead, will give you a quick run through, and if you are interested, click the photos to be redirected to Pinterest, where you can see links to details & their creators! I am the type of crafter who uses these ideas as a reference, not necessarily following them step-by-step, rather, using them as inspiration as I gander through craft stores for similar materials. It’s fun to see how they turn out when you put your own spin on them! Hopefully browsing these crafty and creative finds will inspire you in some way, too.

1

This first project is a cost friendly & fun idea for wall decor, and will bling up any room! All it takes to complete this sparkly wall art is some wooden letters spelling out your desired word, glue, silver spray paint & silver coins. The step-by-step is pretty self-explanatory… start painting and gluing on those coins! :) Can’t wait to try.

2

Make your own framed art with this free printable of the “9 Be’s” by Gordon B. Hinckley. This is a great project to take inspiration from, and create your own spin-off! If you are a designer, or have any knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign, you can whip up your own printable design to frame. Find or create a quote, layout your type in a unique way, print, then frame. It beats spending $50.00 for a framed quote from a store!

3

Burlap is very in style right now, and can be used for all kinds of projects. This framed earring holder is a great use for burlap, and would be a great DIY gift. Click the photo to find the tutorial, or improvise by finding a nice frame, painting the frame to your liking, and securing the burlap behind it! I am so excited to try this, not to use as an earring holder, but to use as a mini bulletin board where my boyfriend, Jason and I can pin notes to each other! To make it work, I plan on cutting some cork board to place behind the burlap, so the pins have something to securely stick in to.

4

I cannot wait to try this: framed card/photo wreath. For this one, I couldn’t find a step-by-step tutorial from the source, but if you are brave, try improvising. Not only does this look great as wall decor, but would be perfect for organizing your favorite christmas cards, invitations, or photos.

5

This is an easy DIY I can’t wait to try! Dollar store bangles + old sweaters = sweater bangles! Cut up your old sweaters, and paste to the bangles, with the seams on the inside. These are so cute for winter, and you can mix and match different styles and sizes… after all, layering is “in”! :)

6

An antique door knob tie back for curtains. A self-explanitory DIY. You might have to search high and low for your perfect old,vintage doorknob, but once you hit the jackpot, replace your curtain pull backs with your vintage door handles. This is such an adorable idea for the shabby chic lovers. I am keeping my eyes out for the perfect doorknobs.

7

Follow the link for this easy peasy diy tutorial to create these tiny envelopes. In a nutshell, buy a plain white envelope of your desired size, soak to loosen the glue, then lay flat. This serves as your envelope template! Find gorgeous paper of your liking, trace it to size using your template, cut out, then fold and glue! Check out Ruth Bleakley’s page to find out how she came across the idea to do this, it is pretty funny!

8

I am obsessed with these chocolate ice cream bowls! I have a feeling it won’t go as smoothly for me as it looks in this tutorial, but I can’t wait to give it a whirl. Blow up balloons, dip them in melted chocolate, let them dry, then pop. Then they are ready to be filled with ice cream! The most adorable idea ever. The only downside, I am scared of popping balloons!!

9

This is quite possibly, my favorite idea on my crafty to-do list. Click the photo for the full tutorial. In short, she buys dollar store cheap, plain white vases, then she covers with lace (using mod podge and spray paint). The outcome is stunning. It is an expensive look for a small cost.

10

This is probably the cheapest craft idea on my list today, and such a unique concept! Who knew you could have beautiful hanging flower balls by using a wiffle ball for the center, and hot gluing flowers into the holes! Very creative and original.

So, that concludes part one of My Crafty To-Do list! I would love to hear if you have tried, or are going to try any of these ideas. Stay tuned for Part Two, which will feature another ten crafts from my to-do list. Or, you can check out my Pinterest board: All Things Crafty & Creative – http://pinterest.com/mollymahar/all-things- crafty-creative/ for additional fun ideas!