Feeling the Christmas spirit

I must say there is something where after you've had that delicious Thanksgiving dinner, that good old fashioned Christmas spirit feeling comes in full force. I started my decorating on the outdoors first. I have three urns outside that I already knew what I was going to do with them. I envisioned them filled with various fresh greens that offered their beauty through their different textures and scents. Here are the end results

 

 

 I mixed some weather-proof red berry garland to give them a subtle pop of color. Usually you can tell when you squeeze the berry, if they are soft to the touch when you squeeze them then I wouldn't recommend them for the outdoors. I would assume that if you live in a warmer climate, where you do not experience freezing temperatures then you can dis-regard this tip.

 

 

 

I love having some kind of cascading effect in my plantings on the base. I always wondered how I can obtain that look in the winter months when everything that cascades would freeze. I was so glad to be able to do this with my winter greens.

 

 

 I purchased a wreath for half off at Hobby Lobby that I was okay with, but knew that I could definitely spruce things up a bit in it with extra greens to add fullness and texture, and of course some burlap ribbon intertwined with some sparkly thin ribbon to add some glisten when the lights hit it.

 

 I purchased these vintage looking ice skates from where I work and wasn't sure if I should incorporate them into the wreath. I put them up to it, and fell in love, it added a little touch of character to the wreath. What do you think?

 

 

I hung the fresh cedar greens around the entryway and added lights to give a welcoming holiday feel even before guests walk through the doors. I also added cinnamon scented pinecones into the wreath and urn arrangement.

 

 

 

I definitely completed my outdoor decorating just in time. North Dakota is definitely going to be experiencing some chilly temps and nasty weather in the next few days. Highs is the negatives! Yikes!

I really hope you found some inspiration and got some holiday cheer from this post. I love decorating for the holidays, and there is nothing more satisfying than being able to show some of my hard work to others. Right now I'm getting to completing my Christmas tree inside, and will begin a post on that.

 

Big Hugs,

Melissa :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overdue

Okay, it has been way too long of a hiatus for me from my blogging activity, and I truly need to apologize. So much has been happening, I moved from a small little town to Bismarck, where things have been crazy busy since then. I began working full time interior designing, and my husband just began his own business, and my sweet little girl is growing up too quickly. It's been pretty difficult moving from Connecticut to North Dakota away from family and friends, but it has probably been one of the best decisions my husband and I made for our family. I have been busy decorating Christmas, my favorite:), and the weather has been getting pretty cold here. Here are just a tid bits of some decorating I did.

 

 

 

 

 I took pieces of artificial white pine and cascaded it on each end of this buffet with ornament garland to make the ornaments look as if they're floating.

 

 

 

 

 

 The entire look was supposed to be fun and whimsical, with bright festive colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sparkles and little elves here and there add to the charm and unpredictability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have I mentioned I love decorating for Christmas. It only comes once a year and I feel is the only way we can warm things up during those long, cold winter days. Right now I am working on my outdoor urns with fresh greens and cannot wait to complete them and show you all what I came up with.

 

 

Melissa XOXOXO