Christmas Decor - 3/5 - The Idea Room

My Shopping Trip to Pier 1

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 Imports. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been busy girl “deck’ing the halls” for the Holidays! Have you? In fact I finally put away the last few bins and stray Fall decor that had been littering the floor of my Living Room for days.

A few days earlier, I was given the opportunity to do a little bit of Shopping for some Holiday Decor at Pier 1! I know…tough job right? Ummm…TOUGH is right, tough trying to decide what NOT to get!

They had a lot of fun ideas that would be great for the holiday gifts you have on your lists this year. Here are just a few that caught my eye! Aren’t they fun? Perfect for a girl friend or kids!

I was surprised at just how many fun and inepensive holiday gifts and ideas Pier 1 had! I will definitely be heading back there to pick some up.

But this time, I was able to pick up some awesome Holiday decorations that fit in perfectly with my own tastes and I love how they look in my home. One of the things I purchased was this lovely silver Reindeer! I LOVE reindeer and have a few reindeer decorations already in my home, so he felt right at home.

I love a “white” Christmas and had to have this fake snow! I also got the snow and glitter covered pinecones and sticks there!

I love how festive and Christmasy they look! Don’t you? It was fun to bring a bit of Winter Wonderland in my home.

In keeping with the reindeer theme, I came home with this little gem…a gorgeous sequined reindeer throw pillow.

I loved the pop of color it brings into my largely neutral colored room! So fun and festive! Thanks Pier 1!

So head on over and check out some of their great deals and holiday gifts. Oh! And on your way there, pick up a toy or two, to bring to your store.
This year Pier 1 is doing Toys for Tots. And they are taking unwrapped toys, for donations. Or if you don’t have an unwrapped toy you can simply make a donation at the cash register! What a great cause to help support.

And, if you become a FB fan of Pier 1 during the month of December, for each fan they gain, Pier 1 will donate $1 to Toys for Tots.

★Amy

December 4, 2010 · Filed under: Christmas Decor, Product Reviews Tagged with

J.O.Y. Trees

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Guess who has been browsing the thrift store…

I had been wanting to put some little potted trees on my front porch and was searching for 3 pots that would fit with what I had in mind! I was so excited when I came across these beauties!! I got the matching pair for $1.50 and the popcorn jar was $1.00! Wahoo! I had wanted to get all three matching, but I feel pretty happy with what I was able to find.

So how to cover up the prints? I simply primed them with primer using a regular brush but was very careful to paint them smoothly without any drips, etc. After they had dried, I spray painted them with some white Krylon outdoor spray paint. By the way…Krylon is my favorite brand of spray paint!

Then I glued a ribbon around the middle of the pot, threw in some small evergreen trees. I found mine at Hobby Lobby. They were orginally $7.99 but were 50% off! Gotta Love That!!

What do you think? I am really happy with them. I might add a few little red or silver berries to them to spice them up a bit more! Have you been decorating your house for the Holidays? I just barely got all the bins and boxes put away…they have been out since the day after Thanksgiving :)! Feels good to have it done!

And thank you for all of you who have linked up your Christmas Projects and ideas…I am trying to get through all of them. You guys are doing some fun things!

★Amy

December 1, 2010 · Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Decor Tagged with

Snow Man Tutorial

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I made these cheery snowmen for Christmas gifts a few years ago and thought it would be fun to show you how to make some for yourself. I have also provided a free downloadable pattern here. You should be able to print it onto an 8.5 x 11 inch paper.

Simply take some white fleece or felt and cut out 2 of peices using the pattern provided.

Trace the face (eyes and X’s for the mouth) onto the front of your felt very lightly with a pencil. Then using all 6 strands of black embroidery floss, hand-stitch the eyes and X’s.

When you are finished, take your two peices of fabric and pin them so that the right sides are together. Start at the bottom and sew around the entire snowman except for a small opening along the bottom.

Turn the snowman inside out and fill him with stuffing. Do not fill him all the way full. Leave about 1.5 – 2 inches of room in the bottom.

Now take some beans, rice or split peas (not popular for eating at our house), and fill the bottom of your snowman. This will keep the snowman weighted down so he will stand upright.

Take a needle and thread and sew the bottom of the snowman together. I pulled all the ends into the center and sewed them together to seal up the hole. Tie off the ends of your thread. Your snowman should stand up on his own.

To make the hat, I took an old sweater that was in my pile for Goodwill and cut about 8 inches of the sleeve off.

I put the sweater on the snowman’s head and turned up the finished edge to make the brim of the hat. You might need to whipstitch around the base of the hat to keep it secured with needle and thread.

Then I took some material (the same material I will use later for the scarf or twine) and tied the top of the sweater off to make the top of the hat. You will have about 2-3 inches of sweater sticking up at the top. Then I simply took my scissors and cut the sleeve into strips down to the tied off portion. This allows the hat to have a fringed look on top.

Then I just cut a long strip (about 20 inches x 1 inch wide) of material to make the snowman a scarf. Simply tie your material around the bottom of your snowman to complete the scarf. Take a red crayon and add some color to your snowman’s cheeks.

For the nose, I have cut wood with my jigsaw and then painted it orange. You can also cut out a peice of cardboard and then glue some orange scrapbook paper to it to create the carrot nose. Glue the nose onto the snowman with E6000 glue. And that’s it!

You can make a family of snow people by changing the width and height of the pattern so they are different shapes and sizes. This project could also be done without a sewing machine for you non-sewers by simply handstitching everything.