Centerpiece

I just wanted to share the Christmas centerpiece I made.  I decided to put it on my kitchen table.  It's casual and rustic.

This is the enhanced version.  I uploaded it to instagram.  I started off with an old wooden box/crate that I bought at the local antique mall a few years ago.  When we bought our tree, we had them trim off the bottom branches and we kept them.  Since the boughs were pretty wide, I took a pair of pliers and snipped off the "arms" (for lack of a better word) from the main branch.  Once I had cut enough, I simply layered them in the sections.  After I decided it was fluffy enough, I tossed in the pine cones. 
Now, let me tell you: it is very hard to find pine cones up here in the Fox Valley of Wisconsin!  The silver ones I've had for about 5 years.  I collected them when my husband and I were living in Georgia.  It makes sense: pine trees abound in the south.  All I had to do was walk out the back door of our townhome and pick them up.  They needed a Christmas-y flair so I spray painted them a metallic silver.  Back then, I was averse to gold lol.  (Since then, it has been growing on me). The red pinecones do have some glitter on them, and those I bought at Robinson Floral two years ago when we bought our tree.  If I want pinecones, I have to BUY them!  How crazy!  But, up here, you just can't get them for free outside.
The centerpiece needed more glimmer, sparkle, and shine so I threw in some smaller glass ball ornaments.  In keeping with the color scheme, I chose silver and red.  And I love that the red has a pink-y, maroon-ish color to it, so the red is not matchy-matchy.
I have added two artificial candy canes to it since I took this picture.  I want to add one of those velvet red bows to the front, but the one I have is too big of a scale, so I eighty-sixed it.
I normally only use that rustic wooden box/crate for fall when it's on the front porch filled with mini pumpkins and gourds.  I also wanted to nestle in some small mason jars (with a tea light in each one) like I had seen on Pinterest, but there just wasn't enough room.  And I still love how this turned out!

This is how I normally do this arrangement, but wanted to do something a little different.  It's normally on the coffee table, but I can't seem to ever keep the coffee table tidy, hahaha.

This picture is from 2010.  I thought I had a more recent picture, but alas, I guess not.  As you can see, I usually use a long shallow wooden oval platter with fake greenery and silver pinecones sprinkled with silver acorns.  Other years, I've nestled faux magnolia leaves underneath the pine sprays.  Here is my inspiration for this piece: Low Glow Centerpiece.  I couldn't find silk magnolia leaves at the Hobby Lobby in south Georgia, so I bought the pine boughs and used those instead.

Hope this sparks your creative neuron and you can create a beautiful Christmas centerpiece!

Christmas Star!

Yesterday, I finished up a Christmas project that I've been keeping in my back pocket.  Hubby and I were at Home Depot on Sunday picking up galvanized tub for our porch tree, and I went ahead and grabbed 5 yardsticks and red spray paint (Colonial Red to be exact.  A little darker, a little bit more country/rustic).  What am I making, you ask?  Well, I'll tell ya!  A yardstick star!  Or, a Christmas Star, as my husband appropriately called it at the register.  And I LOVE the name!  He can be so creative some times!  Here's the star, and below, I'll show you how I made it.

 

Ta da!!!!  I chose red because it's a great color for Christmas, but also for summer.  I could leave it out all summer, or move it the back patio or my Happy Hour Lounge.  I chose white wire string lights, but you could certainly buy the green.  Personally, I like how the white "pops" against the red.  And I chose white lights since it's a star, and stars are white up in the dark, dark sky.

Now, before I show you the steps, I want to show you my very first piece of inspiration for this project.  I was browsing the craft fair side of Oktoberfest back in 2012 when I first saw a lighted star.

Immediately, I was drawn to this, but didn't want to pay the price, which was probably $25, $35.  I told myself I could make one for a hell of a lot less.  So I snapped a pic for reference so I wouldn't forget.  And I can't tell what wood they used for the frame.  I used yardsticks, which are double sided.  Maybe these are yardsticks, too, and are just a bit older with the markings on the back side.  This person chose to do red lights, it looks like; but any color will work.

Now this was my very first piece of inspiration, but I've also seen this star on Pinterest, and on the blog I visited, Little Bit Funky, she used yardsticks!!!!  Seriously???  Genius!!!  So that's what I decided to do.

Step 1: Lay the yardsticks out on a flat surface (a table works a lot better than the floor) and assemble into a star shape.

 

Step 2: Glue all the points together and use a clamp (this was hubby's recommendation.  And boy!, was he right!)  A little dab will do ya.

Step 3: It's a good idea to add glue to the inside joints (and clamp down) since there isn't much to help it keep its shape.  Once again, my husband was using his noggin :)

 

Step 4: Once the glue was dry, it was time to spray paint.  I ended up using three coats.  I was going back and forth about priming first or not, and ended up not doing.  My spray paint had primer in it, so that made my decision.  Maybe I should've primed it first to hide the letters and markings a bit more.  The words and markings are stamped into the yardsticks, so you can still them when you look closely.

3 coats later

 

Step 5: Wrap with lights!  We did staple the wire to the frame in a couple of spots.

And you're all done!  Easy, huh?

 

These are the lights I picked up.  Originally I was looking for 50 counts, and Home Depot did not have the 50 count white wire, so we went to check Fleet Farm.  Hubby convinced me to get the 100 count since he said, "Fifty won't go as far as you think."  And, of course, he was right!  And the 100 count was $2 cheaper!