It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas…
Have you ever heard the phrase, “champagne tastes on a beer budget?” Well, that pretty much sums me up in a nutshell. Whether its materials for my classroom, clothes, or holiday home decor, I always gravitate to the most expensive things!
Sigh… #TeacherSalaryProblems
This year will be the first Christmas in our new home (yay!). When we unpacked the decorations, I realized I had exactly what I needed to decorate our last home-I could throw that together in 2 hours flat- but I had no idea how I was going to translate those same adornments to my new home.
So I hopped in the car, headed down to Pier 1, and bought all new decorations to fulfill my dreams of a blue and silver Winter Wonderland…
Yeah Right!! I make a teacher’s salary remember!? I had to make what I had work in our new place, and I decided that I would only allow myself to spend $20 on anything new. So where I actually headed out to was…
The Dollar Tree!
Don’t judge me- I knew with a little creativity I could make some pretty nice looking decorations. I often joke that I am creative, but not artsy. Well, I had to channel any creativity and artistic ability I had to find some supplies and create my Winter Wonderland, all for less than $20.
And I did it! Here is what I started with:
The Dollar Tree actually has some pretty good stuff these days, and that red sign didn’t need any changes at all, I simply hung it up on my door!
So let’s get to the rest:
Lanterns
These lovely black lanterns were a gift from my sister in law, and you can find them everywhere (Home Depot, Walmart, Michael’s, etc). I used the Christmas ornaments I bought from Dollar Tree to fill the tops of the Lanterns, then tied the silver and white bells to the tops of them. Looks so pretty with the (flameless) candle flickering!
Glitter Votives!
I purchased 4 glass containers of varying sizes, then glittered them up! I dug around my house and found the glitter I used to make my wedding shoes, some glitter glue and painter’s tape, and voila! Beautiful, sparkly votive candle holders!
Framed Gift Bags
This is probably my favorite project because of how incredibly simple it is! I purchased 2 gift bags from Dollar Tree, as well as 2 black frames.. (If you already have an empty frame, you’re a step ahead!) All you have to do is cut the face off of the bag, mat with burlap ribbon, and frame! The mat could be any extra material you have, ribbon, or pretty paper. Be creative!
Another use for the GLITTER…
If you cant’t tell, I am all about some sparkles for the holidays! (or anytime…) I saw a cute idea on Pinterest and tried my hand at it. (I still need to clean up the edges on the one in the picture above. ) We already had some canvases from Michael’s (about $8 each), so I used red paint we already had from a house project to paint one. Then, I printed a stencil from the internet, cut it out with an xacto knife, and used the same glue/glitter combo from the votives to make a festive wall hanging!
Want your house to smell like Christmas? Here’s a great idea!
I hope that these ideas have inspired you to use what you have at home- and perhaps what you get from a bargain store- to create some lovely holiday decor!
Happy Decorating!
Gimme some feedback!