Hope you're all in the Christmas Spirit as much as we are! I know, I know... it's not even Thanksgiving yet! Lets be honest though, if you haven't decorated your home for Christmas yet, we all know that you're dying to!
This blog has absolutely NOTHING to do with Photography, but EVERYTHING to do about Christmas decorating! Kathryn and I have a fun little contest we do every year for our own amusement and that's the 'Lance and Kathryn's Pick of the Prettiest Facebook Christmas Tree'. We don't announce the winner, it's all in fun, and you can enter by using the hashtag #ShingTreeContest14.
OK! Here we go! Decorating your TREE! We stick to the traditional red/green and add some fun black and white stripes and polka dots to make it a bit more youthful and fun! Regardless of color, these rules apply for all trees!
Always apply Mesh and Ribbons first then ornaments and trinkets!
I'm writing this today to talk about the best ways to decorate your christmas tree... how to do it properly, and how to get the most 'look' out of what you already have! So... there's thing called DecoMesh and its EVERYWHERE during the Holiday's and EVERYONE and their dog is using it... If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's that wide shinny see-through ribbon thats on wreaths, trees, mantles, etc. DecoMesh can bring a ton of color and interest to your tree and it can fill those annoying holes you can't get rid of when your fluffing you tree! If you don't already use it, you should try it out! It can be just a bit difficult to work with, so I suggest cutting it into 5 foot strips and using it that way! Its much easier to handle when its not on its big ole roll! However, giving it the allusion that its one big continuous piece is always good!
Maintaing the overall shape of your tree is very important to keep in mind while putting on your DecoMesh. Tuck it deep into the tree so the mesh is not hanging out or flopping off your tree! A nice tight design is always best! Some people like to swirl their mesh around there tree, and thats fine! I prefer more of an 'argyle' design... it's less 'put together' and covers more of your tree! Heres a few pictures of our tree to help you see what I'm talking about:
Notice how nothing 'sticks out' any further than anything else - maintaining tree shape! We use three different ribbons (including the mesh) on our tree and those must always always be applied first! Don't be afraid to mix and match patterns and textures! The more the merrier so long at its all cohesive! Stripes, polka-dots, solids, squares, soft, scratchy, you name it - I use it!
I will go ahead and address the size of ornaments used on trees. For a more 'sophisticated tree' a range of ornament sizes is almost necessary! Our living room tree (the one in the pictures shown) is our more 'sophisticated whimsical tree'. We have another tree with all our memory ornaments and it's a little less than fancy.
Imagine this tree without any big ornaments. Imagine this tree with nothing but baseball sized ornaments hanging all over it! It would look a hot mess - even if it was done correctly! The big ornaments are used to create depth within your tree! NEVER EVER hang a big ornament on an outer tree limb! WHY?! ...you ask? Big ornaments should be sunk deep into the tree... it will pull your eye into the tree and cause lots and lots of interest! Same with the signs I made for our tree (See pictures above: Peace of Earth | See picture below: Reindeer) they should all be sunken deep into the tree. 1. Because it will secure the sign so it doesn't move. 2. So your ribbons can 'dance' over and around it. 3. Because it would look silly with a big ole piece of wood (or ornament) carelessly hanging off your tree. Everything must look like it was placed with a purpose!
*We also add the big clear bulbed lights to our tree just to add a fun whimsical aspect! You can see the lights in the image above.**
Picture Below: Kathryn found three sizes of light-up presents. They're supposed to be an outdoor lawn decoration, but hey - why not shove it into your tree?! There are three sizes - small, medium, and large. Smaller sized decor goes at the top of your tree, and the larger times go at the bottom of your tree... this keeps your weight and balance on point!
Same concept was used with our DIY Wooden Signs. There are 4 total in the tree - a small one that says JOY, a medium that says HOPE, a little bit bigger REINDEER and a large PEACE ON EARTH. If you look hard enough you'll see them!
Below is the Lawn Decoration in our tree! Super cute, right?
Picture Below: Here is a larger side shot of our tree. You can see how the shape has been maintained, big decorations are sunk deep into the tree, the little ornaments are gently dangling and the ribbons are dancing all around!
Ok and everyone's biggest christmas struggle - a tree topper. Most people think it takes a ton of product to make a tree topper fabulous.. well sometimes less it more. I personally am not a fan of the tree topper that is more glorious than the tree itself. I can easily design a beyond fab tree topper, but for my home I stick to what I prefer! I wouldn't say I like to keep it super simple, but I feel like knowing when to stop is always best... All we've got in the top of our tree is two snowflakes and three christmas picks! It's not a lot at all, but we think it keeps it nice and simple to contrast with the rather 'full' tree bottom!
Let's talk about ways to dress your home up with what you already have. Our house takes on a total transformation around Christmas and we LOVE that. Im talking: Everything normal comes down and there dis something Christmassy to replace it! I love walking in the door and feeling like I'm in a magazine for the Holiday's! So the picture below was two pieces of wood that Kathryn's dad had laying around in his shop. I snatched them up and made these glitter-stag! If you've got a crafty hand and can do stuff like this, its a great way to keep your decoration budget in check! Each reindeer hanging is 35x25 so by no means are they small and they make the perfect accent above the couch! A little bit of painters tape and glitter goes a long way!
**I will admit that free-handning those Stag was not an easy feat... I was ready to karate chop the wood and be done with it! So worth it though!**
Ok, ok. So this peacock is a favorite of mine. It was Kathryn's Grandmaw's and I asked her Grandmaw one day if I could have it and she took it off her wall and gave it to me! Blew my mind! I wasn't expecting her to just give it to me so quickly! It was gold with a bit of green/blue brushed on it. We opted to paint it white. We use it year round, but with a little bit of red ribbon around it's neck, its a perfect pop of Christmas color!
And our puppy Holeigh (Pronounced Holly) because she was a Christmas present to me about 6 years ago. She has nothing to do with decor. She does make things extra cozy!. Haha!
I will be doing at least one more blog about Christmas Decor. Next, fireplace mantles.
*Deep Breath*
We decided that this would be a fun way to inspire you to make your Christmas better than ever this year! It's such a great time to transform your home into what you consider 'Christmas'. There are a few more DIY projects that I am working on and will be sharing those in the 'Fireplace Mantle' blog once they are finished, so be watching! I can't wait to show you a picture of the WHOLE living room so you can catch the flow of things!
Let's not forget the REAL reason for the Christmas Season!
Happy Friday! GO DECORATE!
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