Christmas decorations

[DD]

Ok, all you little crafty, creative people..I need suggestions, ideas.

I want to change/enhance my Christmas decorating this year. The problem is, I don't want to spend a flat fortune on ornaments, etc. I have a tree in every room--but two main ones. I usually do a "theme" on each big tree...red and white, silver and white, multi-color, etc. One year, I had a huge "pear tree" and made a partridge for a topper. I'm not sure I'm that ambitious this year, but I would like some suggestions on hand made ornaments, etc. Help!

 

[DuneLaker]

Can't help much on the theme, but got an email from a friend suggesting we all change to new LED lights. Target flier touts 88% energy saving, cool to touch.

 

[InletBchDweller]

you go DD!

One year I was sick of the dollar store ornaments so I cut out paper snowflakes. I bought a book and made copies on a copy machine. After hours and hours of cutting I punched a hole, decorated some with irradescent (sp?) glitter. It was beautiful, to me and Mr. IBD (who knew better than to say they weren't )

To this day I still use them on one of our trees. It reminds me that you dont have to have fancy bought ornaments, just ones that come from the heart.

DD, I tried to find the book online and can't. I will see if I can locate it somewhere. It is probably in the attic with my teaching materials. :roll:

 

[SHELLY]

I don't know if I mentioned this before but I'll post it anyway.

Our first year of marriage (a few decades ago) during our "salad" days, we had just enough money to buy a real tree, but nothing to buy decorations. I went to the tree lot and picked out a cheap little tree and gave it to the "tree lot guy" to tie up. After he tied up the tree, he took a saw and sawed off the bottom 1/2" or so of the trunk--so the tree could suck up water. Scattered on the ground were several of these 1/2" round pieces of tree trunks of varying sizes. I asked if I could have these pieces and he said, "Sure, they're just trash, you can take them all."

After we set up the tree, we sanded down the cut side of the tree trunk pieces and drilled a hole through the top of each one. We then collected up the Christmas cards we had received, cut out the pictures and glued them on the trunk pieces and brushed on a clear coat of varnish. We strung pieces of colored ribbons through the holes and hung our "25 Trash Ornaments" on the tree.

We received several positive comments from our friends about the pretty and unusual ornaments--only one recognized their Christmas card.

After Christmas was over, we tossed the tree with the "ornaments" attached into the trash. In the years that followed, we bought more and more beautiful ornaments from all our travels around the world--but every year as we decorate our tree, we reminisce about our "first tree" and those special "trash" ornaments--and every year we wished that we had kept just one.

 

[DD]

Can't help much on the theme, but got an email from a friend suggesting we all change to new LED lights. Target flier touts 88% energy saving, cool to touch.

Definitely food for thought. I don't want to throw all the old ones out, but will replace as they crap out.

you go DD!

One year I was sick of the dollar store ornaments so I cut out paper snowflakes. I bought a book and made copies on a copy machine. After hours and hours of cutting I punched a hole, decorated some with irradescent (sp?) glitter. It was beautiful, to me and Mr. IBD (who knew better than to say they weren't )

To this day I still use them on one of our trees. It reminds me that you dont have to have fancy bought ornaments, just ones that come from the heart.

DD, I tried to find the book online and can't. I will see if I can locate it somewhere. It is probably in the attic with my teaching materials. :roll:

Thanks, honey. I bet your snowflake tree was beautiful! I'm not sure I have that much patience! LOL!

I don't know if I mentioned this before but I'll post it anyway.

Our first year of marriage (a few decades ago) during our "salad" days, we had just enough money to buy a real tree, but nothing to buy decorations. I went to the tree lot and picked out a cheap little tree and gave it to the "tree lot guy" to tie up. After he tied up the tree, he took a saw and sawed off the bottom 1/2" or so of the trunk--so the tree could suck up water. Scattered on the ground were several of these 1/2" round pieces of tree trunks of varying sizes. I asked if I could have these pieces and he said, "Sure, they're just trash, you can take them all."

After we set up the tree, we sanded down the cut side of the tree trunk pieces and drilled a hole through the top of each one. We then collected up the Christmas cards we had received, cut out the pictures and glued them on the trunk pieces and brushed on a clear coat of varnish. We strung pieces of colored ribbons through the holes and hung our "25 Trash Ornaments" on the tree.

We received several positive comments from our friends about the pretty and unusual ornaments--only one recognized their Christmas card.

After Christmas was over, we tossed the tree with the "ornaments" attached into the trash. In the years that followed, we bought more and more beautiful ornaments from all our travels around the world--but every year as we decorate our tree, we reminisce about our "first tree" and those special "trash" ornaments--and every year we wished that we had kept just one.

Shelly, I LOVE this story!! I bet those trash ornaments were too cute. At the nursing home, we're getting new wood trim on our walls and I've been scooping up all the scraps for some future project. Mr. DD loves when I do this. :roll:

 

[Beach Runner]

I have terrible luck with Christmas lights. I used to keep them in the attic, but half of them would go bad every year, which I attributed to them being stored in temperature extremes. So in 2006 I bought all new lights and stored them in an air conditioned space. When I got ready to decorate last Christmas, half of them were bad. I had even wrapped them in special Christmas light holders so they wouldn't be all tangled up.

Any ideas on making lights last more than one season? Do you think the LED lights will last longer.

Also, I want to change the lights on the balcony at the beach house. Any trendy suggestions for outdoor lights that aren't expensive?

Thanks.

 

[DD]

BR--I have the same luck. I just buy lots of new ones every year. I'm interested in LED ones though.
I've noticed every time I start to talk about doing lights outside, everyone always changes the subject. :roll: Poor Sunkist will probably end up being my assistant again this year. I don't plan to do too much outside..I don't have the energy any more.
Anyhoo, today I bought some $1 giant wooden snowflakes. I'm gonna paint and glitter them for the biggest tree. So it looks like it might be a white theme tree. I've got lots of white ornaments already. I thought about spraying some pine cones white too. Thoughts, suggestions?

 

[Allifunn]

Shelly's story reminds me of mine and Mike's first tree...we were in RocKhill SC living together...we went into the woods and cut down a tiny pine tree with a steak knife. We put it in the living room and I made aluminum foil balls to hang on it...I think we also strung cranberries and popcorn together to make a garland....maybe this was the begining of the end???
It is, really, a good memory.

I plan on making lots and lots of organic ornaments this year.... found objects, so to speak! Treasures

 

[Mango]

We bought this light tester a few years ago and it works like a charm. This one os for mini lights, but they have them for the larger lights. Well worth the investment. I don't think we paid more than $20 for ours. Ace Hardware has them. They also have inexpensive laser testers, but I haven't used them, just the gun. These guns have multiple applications- like using on it anyone who gives you grief during the holidays and grinches.

http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?DID=10&Product_ID=2392

New patented technology brings you an easy-to-use system for detecting and repairing those miniature light sets that cause you so much grief each year. A built-in continuity detector, with audible tone, helps locate the source of the power interruption. Plug light set into Repair Gun and squeeze the trigger to send a pulse through the defective light set. This fixes the circuit, allowing the current to flow.

DD, I've always loved trees with lots of ribbons and bows, especially red, since it shows up so nicely on green. I usually make my own. Our first tree was like that and we still talk about it.

 

[DD]

Shelly's story reminds me of mine and Mike's first tree...we were in RocKhill SC living together...we went into the woods and cut down a tiny pine tree with a steak knife. We put it in the living room and I made aluminum foil balls to hang on it...I think we also strung cranberries and popcorn together to make a garland....maybe this was the begining of the end???
It is, really, a good memory.

I plan on making lots and lots of organic ornaments this year.... found objects, so to speak! Treasures

I want to see your found object treasure ornaments!

We bought this light tester a few years ago and it works like a charm. This one os for mini lights, but they have them for the larger lights. Well worth the investment. I don't think we paid more than $20 for ours. Ace Hardware has them. They also have inexpensive laser testers, but I haven't used them, just the gun. These guns have multiple applications- like using on it anyone who gives you grief during the holidays and grinches.

http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?DID=10&Product_ID=2392

New patented technology brings you an easy-to-use system for detecting and repairing those miniature light sets that cause you so much grief each year. A built-in continuity detector, with audible tone, helps locate the source of the power interruption. Plug light set into Repair Gun and squeeze the trigger to send a pulse through the defective light set. This fixes the circuit, allowing the current to flow.

DD, I've always loved trees with lots of ribbons and bows, especially red, since it shows up so nicely on green. I usually make my own. Our first tree was like that and we still talk about it.

Hmmmmm.....maybe I should do the other big tree red. I have red lights. I think I did red a couple of years ago. I forget from year to year. Hail, Sunkist had to remind me that I already bought a replacement tree last year for the one I threw out the year before that!