December | 2014 | This Old Colonial Home

As if this time of year isn’t busy enough with all the decorating, shopping, wrapping, baking … I decided to throw a few Christmas crafts into the mix as well. I just can’t help myself!

It kind of all started when I saw this cute sign at Marshalls.I love its rustic vibe, but I didn’t love its $25 price tag. So I figured maybe I can make something similar.

I ended up using this framed mirror that I had lying around.I didn’t want to keep the hooks, so I took them off and filled the holes with spackle. Wood filler would also do the job.While I waited for that to dry, I covered the mirror in a brown paper bag and then some burlap. Once the spackle was set, I lightly sanded the entire frame. Then it was time to spray paint!It only took 2 or 3 quick coats. After it was dry, I reinserted the now burlap backing.Then I simply used a snowflake stencil that I picked up at Party City for 99 cents. I used white paint I already had on hand and bought a foam pouncer from Michaels for around $2.50. Now granted my sign is a lot smaller than the one at Marshalls, but for less than $5 I’m pretty happy with it!

Eventually I would like to add some wording along the bottom, like ‘Let it Snow,’ but for now it still brings some holiday cheer to our living room.In addition to the sign, I also made some fun, Origami stars using festive scrapbook paper.I’ve only done Origami a few times and the last time was probably when I was in 6th grade! But this video tutorial I found through Pinterest was really easy to follow! If I can do it, so can you!

And last, but not least — I couldn’t resist making some more no sew throw pillows! I followed the same method as my placemat pillows, but this time I used kitchen towels. The red one was actually plain, but I stenciled on a big snowflake!It’s another easy and inexpensive way to add some more Christmas cheer around the house!

If you want to keep up with more of my Christmas decor, please be sure to follow me on Instagram at @oldcolonialhome and check out the hashtag #oldcolonialhomechristmas 🙂

Merry Christmas, my friends!

Last Christmas I gave you my heart and the very next day you gave it away … wait, that’s a Christmas song stuck in my head. 🙂 What I meant to type was … last Christmas, I scored some pretty awesome discounted decorations at Hobby Lobby, and I have been waiting a whole year to use them!If you’ve been following this little blog for awhile then you may recall that I managed to get 5 plain wreaths, bows, and ribbon for less than $25! I was super excited! What am I going to do with all of those wreaths you ask? Well, we have a traditional center-hall colonial house — so it’s only fitting that we put them in each of the front windows! Like this:

Inspiration from Pinterest

I absolutely love this look. It’s so classic. Plus, the house looks festive throughout the day, not just at night when the lights come on.

Luckily this decoration task turned out to be easier than I thought it would. All I had to do was attach the bows to the wreaths using the twist ties they come with.Then I just looped ribbon through the wreath and put each one out the top portion of our windows. I simply closed the window on the ribbon and tied a knot on the inside. The hardest part was making all the wreaths even, but all it took was a few little tweaks here and there. And that’s it!

Now we have (in my biased opinion) a stunning, Christmas card-esque house. I just want to stand outside and stare at it!As for the rest of the decorations, the wreath on the front door is also from Hobby Lobby. What I love about it is that it’s not just Christmasy and it can stay out all winter long!We also added our antique sled that I picked from someone’s curbside trash last year. And I repurposed my metal bucket again, this time to hold some wood, tree branches, and pine cones.New this year is the little gold tree on our front steps. This was also a trash pick. (I think I have a problem!) I added the red ribbon to tie it in better with the rest of the décor.Along with some lights and candles in the window, that’s all it took to make the outside of our home ready for the holidays. And here’s how it looks all lit up at night.The camera never quite does it justice. Christmas lights are so magical don’t you think? What are some of your favorite outdoor decorations?