Christmas Crafts (For Less of Course)

This is my first official post about Christmas. I realized, in order to make my house the wonderland I hope it to be, I'd better get a jump on some of these fabulous ideas I'm having. Mind you, many of them come from seeing great things on favorite sites, e.g., Pottery Barn, Ballards, Wisteria.

Now, sadly, the amazing camera I'd like to journal these Christmas-crafting projects with, is, alas, a Christmas present. So, I will do my utmost to take decent pictures and ask you be kind and bear with me until December 26th.

And now to the inspirations.

This is post one. I'm sure there will be two or three more. This hopefully will give you not only some great ideas yourself, but also save you some time scouring the sites.

I'm not going to tackle them all, though I imagine myself with limitless funds and time to accomplish them, winning the laud of hundreds...

Ahem. Back to reality...Alright, here we go. Ladies, prepare to get crafting!

burlap tree skirt

Okay, now aren't these the most wonderful Christmas items? I'm sure after seeing them, your mind is whirring with, "Oh, I could make that by..." Yay! Christmas ideas.

(Oh, and by the way, if you're wondering why I haven't been posting my own crafts, I've been refinishing my two sets of stairs and upstairs hallway with Husband. This two-day project, which I allotted four days for--because, well, you know how projects go--has actually morphed into a project of epic proportions of which there is seemingly no hope. Argh!!! I'll give you a sneak peak here soon, and then follow up with what actually happens once I figure it out myself!) :D Wish me luck!

xoxo

♥ My Room ♥

I'm pleased to say I've finally finished off the majority of my room. A room. Just for me. I'm not a designer with tons of money, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. (I have realized in this process, however, that I really need a better camera. Everything looks pretty cute, but when I take a picture--not so much. So please put on your cuteness glasses and try to see past the bad photography. xoxo)

Before

The terrible shots from when we first moved in:

The vertical blinds!!! Ahhh!

We painted all the woodwork work white, including some shuttered doors you see later.
I turned the closet you see in the back ground into a scrap-booking station, but that's another post in itself, so hang tight and I'll get it photographed soon. It's pretty rad.

After

I painted the walls "milk-glass pink" by Martha Stewart at Home Depot. I wanted a pink room, but one that was really light to when the light came in the windows it would give a faint glow. A bit dawn-like. 

Station

Here is my "stuff" station. Notes, tools, pens, letter opener... Also, there's a hanger for for things that need to be organized.

 

I found the chalkboard as a metal memo board, but painted it with chalkboard paint so it could double as a place for notes too. Then, took a $1 black frame and added some cork to make a little pin board.
The tray serves as a place to coral the necessary utensils and keep things from looking cluttered. Since I'm a writer, I picked one that has letters on it, which look like they've been stamped on. A somewhat hidden element that makes me happy.

I made the burlap skirt using a tension rod, and then hand sewing little plastic crystals to the end for a rustic-chic look. (You can find them in the wedding section at Michael's. They come in boxes to scatter about, but they already have holes in them for sewing. Great, right?)

 See more after the jump!