A MERRY REMIX
Pass up standard store-bought holiday trimmings in favor of one-of-a-kind decorations that can be quickly and easily recreated from everyday items.
Why settle for costly store-bought decorations when you can easily and inexpensively fashion your own? See our tips and ideas for creating Yuletide trimmings out of everyday items.
A Door to Adore
This beat-up old wood screen door could have wound up in the scrap heap, but Pennsylvania homeowner Doreen Cagno had other aspirations for this salvageable relic. An everresourceful decorator, she painted the door and replaced the ripped screen with a piece of plywood that she covered in chalkboard paint. Now, it’s a functional focal point upon which she can write seasonal sentiments throughout the year.
PHOTOGRAPHED AND STYLED BY GRIDLEY + GRAVES
Meaningful Messages
Put a personal touch on your holiday decor this year with easy, budgetfriendly homemade ornaments. Using a rubber stamp and ink, stamp designs onto wood slices. (You can cut pieces yourself from fallen tree limbs or buy precut examples from a crafts store.) After the ink is dry, simply screw an eye hook into the top of each slice, and tie on a piece of twine to serve as a hanger. Add them to gift bags and packages as extra adornments, string them onto a ribbon to create a garland for your mantel, or display them on your tree.
Dashing through the Snow
Gravy boats, whether silver, pewter or ceramic, rarely see the outside of the china cabinet. When celebration time rolls around, it’s a great opportunity to make them shine with style. Offer one new life as an elegant sleigh centerpiece. First, gather four scrolled wall hooks that resemble runners. Use hot glue to attach two hooks on each side of the gravy boat. Find a tray or plate with a matching patina and settle the sleigh in the center. Place a small piece of floral foam in the sleigh and add a red velvet marble bag packed with candy canes and miniature packages and toys. Surround the bag with additional mini packages and faux or fresh greens. Mound artificial snow on the tray, partially or fully covering the base of the gravy boat.
Chime for a Dime
Miniature aluminum molds are a staple in most country kitchens, and best of all, they are common and inexpensive finds at thrift stores and flea markets. Even if you come across well-used examples that appear to be past their cooking prime, don’t simply toss them back into the pile. Instead, transform them into silver bells that are perfect for hanging on a door or embellishing a wreath. Cecilia Lynne of My
Thrift Store Addiction stacked three molds to create a bell shape and then hot glued them together. When secured, she glued festive ribbon on top for hanging and a little jingle bell underneath as the finishing touch.