I KNOW OK.
This post is as much for me to refer back to next November as it is to share how I decorated our tree this year because a lot of people have asked me. It was way different than what I've done in previous years and I was pretty proud of its originality. I'd like to take credit for all of this creativity, but if I'm being honest I copied some stuff from my mother-in-law, some stuff from my sister-in-law...added hot pink, and ended up with this.
This year I was most excited about putting this tree together because I'd been thinking about it all year (I know, I'm the worst). I'd been busy hunting for and collecting antique ornaments (with the help of some birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, sales from last year, finding a BUNCH at our old farm, letting my parents pick up a couple boxes when they were in the Amanas last fall, getting some from from my G'ma Phyllis, and buying a few here and there) all year and I was super excited to see if this tree would turn out as amazing as I hoped.
It did. Until the day I took it down two weeks, ago I was totally in love with it. I don't think I'll ever go back to decorating our big tree the way I used to (all silver and red).
The week before Thanksgiving I went to Hobby Lobby during a ribbon sale and picked up a couple rolls of gold glitter ribbon, a spool of pink glittery tulle, and six rolls of lace (three fat, three skinny). I was actually hunting for beads but DANG those can get expensive when you need four to six strings. I waited until after Christmas and found some at Jo-Ann's for 90% off...perfect for adding to the tree next year. :)
I started by fluffing the tree and adding nine strings of 100 lights. I've read that the general rule is 100 lights per foot...so I'd recommend doing AT LEAST that. But if you're like me, you like the lights on the heavier side so the lamps you don't have room for in the living room and are hidden in the basement during Christmastime aren't missed. ;)
After I had the lights evenly dispersed and strung on the tree from the inside out...I started with the tulle. A spool of this stuff was like $2 but it added SO MUCH. When I was buying it I seriously wondered if I'd lost my mind...pink tulle on a Christmas tree...I was worried it would look as cheap as it actually is.
Nope! It was subtle enough that it blended in and just added a different texture to the tree...it pulled out all the PINK in the different ornaments and I was super happy with how it turned out.
Next up was the lace. You can see in the above picture the two different kinds I used. Who puts lace on a tree? My sister-in-law is the first person I've seen do this and I always liked how it looked with the lights...it's also an easy way to add a vintage touch to the tree without breaking the bank (buying lace in 'ribbon' form at Hobby Lobby is WAY cheaper and was the perfect solution for me).
After the lace, everyone in the house who was 'helping' me was starting to get tired. I marched onward. Yes it was Thanksgiving night and yes we had just hosted family all day BUT I WANTED TO DECORATE.
The next element I added to the tree was the gold glitter ribbon you can see in the picture below. I'm not a big fan of obnoxious yellow-y gold...I prefer the more subtle silver/rose/gold color that is out there if you hunt long enough. I let the ribbon stay curly and laid it in between the branches, going the opposite way I'd laid the lace and tulle.
Above is a picture of how I went back and forth with the tulle, lace, ribbon, and beads. The gold beads were the last 'garland' piece to be added to the tree and that's when it really came alive. Beads add SO MUCH to trees...I would highly recommend. The way the light bounces off their sparkle and reflects with the ornaments once those are added...they're probably worth what they cost. I just prefer to find sales so they don't cost $14.99 PER STRAND. Yikes. I inherited these from Josh's mom when she was pairing down her Christmas stuff years ago and I'd never had a good use for them until this year!
After the beads were on, I was done with the first part of the tree. And good news...it only took me four hours! I actually don't know how long it took...it was midnight at this point I'm pretty sure.
With the variety of ornaments that I had planned for this tree, I still wanted to give it a cohesive feel. I found some really pretty (and affordable) white glittery icicles at Hobby Lobby and started evenly dispersing those all over the tree. You have to look closely to see them, but I really like how they looked. They were the perfect ornament to hang deeper in the tree so I could add more dimension without wasting the antique ornaments on the less visible part of the tree.
When we bought our acreage a couple years ago, I ended up with TONS of plain, older ornaments (not necessarily 'antique, but they work great). We found them on the tippy top shelf in the BATHROOM closet of all places. Which is kind of where the idea to switch to all old stuff started...that and I LOVE that my mother-in-law has always decorated with antique ornaments and we have tons of fun collecting them when we go antique shopping. Also...PINK suddenly becomes an appropriate Christmas color...my favorite part!
So from the acreage clean-out, I inherited about a million plain gold and silver balls. Those were the next thing I added...again evenly dispersing them all over the tree to get a 'base' before I went crazy adding the prettiest ornaments. After I finished with the gold balls, I stepped back and thought to myself...I could probably call this 'done' and no one would even know the difference it's already so pretty! But I kept going anyway. :)
I went on adding the other plain balls I had from the farm...trying to keep the colors spread out evenly...red, blue, purple, and green tend to stand out pretty heavily, so I wanted to make sure those colors didn't take over. After I felt like I had enough of those, it was time to add my antique collection to the tree.
I had plans to still use my big red ribbon for the topper but HATED the way it looked once I added it. It totally ruined the vintage theme of the tree that I'd worked so hard to achieve. I dug through the stuff I was thinking about donating because I hadn't used it in a few years, found this gold star (in the color I require) and it ended up looking perfect. It's on the small side, but I didn't really mind.
After all that, I spent the next few nights in front of the TV 'rolling Hymnals'...now you probably really think I've lost my mind. If you look closely in all the pictures of the tree, I used the rolled Hymnals to fill in the holes and make the tree appear fuller. The paper was a nice old yellowed color and I didn't stop with the tree...I ended up sticking these rolls in every garland all over the house (along with berries and lights) and it really made my garlands come to life.
I stuck in a few of my favorite old post cards, added a cream cable knit skirt and my childhood nativity to the bottom of the tree and...it was finally finished! Next year I won't be in as much of a rush to get everything up because we aren't hosting Thanksgiving...so I plan to start early and enjoy the process a little bit more...but that is everything you never wanted to know about how I decorated our Christmas tree this year. :)
If you missed the Christmas tour of the whole house, here it is.
MmB
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