Welcome to my Christmas Home Tour!!! If you are visiting from Emily's blog WELCOME!
I am glad to have you. And I am excited to share my home with you today.
When Chris from Just A Girl approached me about participating in the Home Tour I was excited. In the past, all I have really done is decorate the tree and put up a few things here and there. I don't think about Christmas decor until it is time to decorate and by then (in the past) it was time to buy Christmas presents so I put my money towards gifts instead of decor. So in 13 years of marriage, this is the first time I have really decorated! I was on a tight budget and I made a lot of the things you will see. It took me longer than I would have liked but I am happy with the results. I want to thank Courtney from A Thoughtful Place for switching days on the tour with me. I was SO not ready on Tuesday!
I have been showing sneak peeks on instagram (if you don't follow me there you SHOULD :) ) and I have had many people ask where I have purchased items or materials for my decor so I will add links and info in the post to make it easier for you all.
Let's get started shall we?
I ADORE my little front porch. There is not a lot of room to add much but seeing as I like things simple, it suits me just fine.
The garland I have had for years, and the trees are from Wayfair. I ordered them awhile ago and I am in LOVE with how life like they are. I "planted" them in the red pots that normally go by the garage.
I made the chalkboard wreath.
When you walk in you step foot in the cozy family room. It is my heaven on earth :) Yellow is my favorite color. And this is where we spend a lot of our time.
I bought all the wrapping paper, ribbon and tags (except the yellow polka dot) from a place called Paper Source. I just found this place but many of you on instagram seemed well aware of it. The polka dot wrapping paper is from Zazzle.
I made a bunch of ornaments last year and made a few more this year. I love the bright yellow bulbs that add a little pop! And I tucked in some greenery to give the tree a little more life.
The tree at night....
I bought the NOEL pillow and the two solid gold pillows (on the couch) from Target. I made the snowflake pillow, the gold burlap pillow and the "O Holy Night" one.
I moved the card catalog I built to this side of the room. I am kind of in love with it here!
And of course you need some mistletoe! This is just extra greenery from what I tucked in the tree, but it works :)
This is my "reason for the season" room. Part of me wishes I had more places to put more nativities but the minimalist inside me is okay to have this one. At least for now.
The TV is hiding behind the chalkboard which is really just foam board spray painted with chalkboard paint. It is light weight and pops in and out easily.
I had a neat nativity project that I just didn't have time to complete so I am saving it for next year. After painting and sewing and decorating I just really wanted to put my feet up and drink some hot chocolate and look at the nativity I do have.... that I didn't have to make :)
I think it is safe to say this is the favorite room of not just me, but my kids as well :)
The office is around the corner from the family room. I had to clean it before I could decorate it. Lets just say it took a lot more time to clean than to decorate..... a lot longer!
I had never put decorations in here before so I was starting from scratch. I decided I had enough "stuff" that piled up in here so I only added a little bit.
I wish you could see the snowflake decals on the windows. It is my favorite part. I cut them out of clear contact paper with my Silhouette Machine. It looks like my window has frosted over with little snowflakes.
I strung some cheap plastic ornaments from Walmart on some twine to make a simple garland. I put the left over Christmas bulbs under my glass cloche.
I keep seeing people all over blogland using real greenery and I am jealous. I can't have a real tree or use greenery because it makes my mom so sick. And since we kind of like having her around, it is artificial for us. But Walmart had these little baby pine trees that had been dusted with silver flecks. I figured it could put it in my office and shut the door. I had to throw it in the cart, right? I mean, come on! I stuck it in a little bucket I had from Home Depot and called it good.
The tree on my desk I have had since I was a kid. It was the Christmas tree I put on my desk in my room growing up. And the sparkly deer was 60% off at Joann's which means he practically jumped into my cart by himself.
CONFESSION: The snowflake on the pillow which is on the chair (The chair I painted, remember?) it totally photoshoped on there! I had every intention of stenciling it on the pillow I made but I ran out of time. I will do it later but for the sake of this tour, it got slapped on digitally.
Across from the office is our tiny kitchen and dining room. It is really just an eat in kitchen but we like to sound all fancy and say they are two different rooms.
ANOTHER CONFESSION: I hate glitter. I probably lost some followers with that one...... It is the tom boy in me I think. I don't think I have ever purchased anything with glitter or glitter itself. BUT, as I looked at the decor I did have, I realized it was not very "magical" in a kid kind of way. My boys have never complained about my simple, rustic and nature inspired way of decorating. They actually love it. But I just felt the need this year to jazz things up a bit. Kids are really just magpies in search of the next shiny thing, right? So I added some glitter elements (remember the glittery bulbs in the office and the glittery deer?)
Like I have mentioned before, these plates are Lenox French Perle and I got them to do the tablescape challenge for Wayfair last year. They are stunning!
Walmart had these glittered snowflakes in several colors. There were 20 per pack and I think they were $2 or $3 is all. I have some gold ones in the front room and then I bought green for in here. I added them to the table and then strung some up for a garland on the curtains. I also have glittery bulbs on the little tree in the corner. I bought shiny metallic ribbon in the same color. The ribbon was used to hang my Dollar Tree wreaths and is on the tree.
On the tree I have bulbs that I added vinyl lettering. I added words that mean Christmas to me like "service", "family", "music", etc.
I also had some tags left over that I had bought from Paper Source and I had extra silver vinyl snowflakes that I cut out for another project. I put the two together and had darling ornaments!
On the kitchen side, I was stumped as to what to do. I REALLY dislike having things on my counters other than maybe a couple things like my fruit bowl. So the thought of adding things to the counters made me hyperventilate. So I took the extra ribbon and "wrapped" the cupboard doors. Then I hung 2 more dollar store wreaths and more snowflake garland.
I should have taken a better picture of my sink so I had proof ALL the dishes were done for a minute.
I added pine cones and green beads ("berries") to the dollar store wreath.
Whew! I am exhausted. Here is a review of all I did.
*Cleaned my disgusting house
*Made a lot of Christmas decor
*Decorated (really decorated) for the first time in 13 years
*Used glitter! A little..... (baby steps people, baby steps)
*Took 900+ photos (Winter is a hard time to get good lighting indoors)
*edited a good chunk of those photos
*Stayed up waaaaaaay too late writing this post
So while I go snuggle my cute 3 year old and have some hot chocolate, you should hop on over to my blogging (and in real life) buddy Cassity's blog and see her home tour!
And here is the line up for the whole week. There is a whole lot of eye candy in this line up so sit back and enjoy!
Monday Just a Girl / Nesting Place / Hi, Sugarplum / Tatertots and Jello
Friday I Heart Organizing / My Blessed Life / Emily A. Clark / Remodelaholic
Everything is so pretty, Stacy! Happy Sleeping! ;)
It's absolutely gorgeous Stacy. Wanna do my house next? :) xo
Love your front door so so so much! Beauitful home tour!
Everything looks so festive and beautiful! You had me laughing about the office clean-up comments, and of course, your anti-glitter stance...but when the deer jumps in the cart, how can you say no? ha ha =) Merry Christmas!
Everything looks so good! Much more talented than me for decorating.
I love the colors you used in your kitchen and dining room. I would have never thought of that!
Stacy - your home is so beautiful!!! I love all of the little touches you did for the holidays. The green ribbon on your cabinet doors is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing it with us!
xoxo
Everything looks lovely! My favorite pic is the one of your living room with the nativity scene and the Christmas tree. :-)
I too have never "fully decorated" for Christmas, until this year! Last week I wasn't feeling in much of a festive mood yet (with 2 really sick kids all week, and I hadn't slept much in 3 days). But then the first of the Christmas home tours started popping up. At first I was discouraged (that my house could never look that good), but then I got inspiration from a blog offering free Christmas printables. It started a theme I could do for my living room! After lots of DIY projects this year (still completing the last few), my living room has never looked better! :-)
Stacy! I LOVE your decorations! I absolutely love what you did to the cabinets in your kitchen--what a fun way to add some decorations to the kitchen! Also, I'm obsessed with the gift wrap you used! I haven't decorated our house at all this year... my kiddo has been sick for a few weeks which has wiped me out, and we'll be at my parents for a good chunk of time so I figured we'll just wait til next year for decorations. After seeing your decorations I wish I had just done a little bit of decorating!
There have been a couple years we didn't even do a tree for similar reasons. I hope everyone is healthy on Christmas and that you have safe travels! :)
I love how your home turned out! It is so so pretty!!! I love your wrapping paper too :) So fun!
When I was growing up, most glitter was made of metal. At Christmas one year, my mother got glitter in her eye and had to wear an eye patch for a few weeks (the holiday photos that year were quite humorous!) After that, my mother became a "glitter phobe" and my family has joked about glitter ever since.
Your decorations are lovely and cozy, just like your blog... hope you enjoyed your cocoa and have a Merry Christmas!
Love your decor Stacy! Like you, I am not a big fan of glitter (the shame!), but I do like it for Christmas in small doses. :)
Oh, I do love some glitter...but not too much, or it can get cra-Z!
Love all your fun touches and that polka dot paper!
Stacy! I just love the way you have decorated your home. There are so many wonderful ideas included but I think my favorite is one that is so simple - using ribbon to "wrap" the kitchen cabinet doors. When I think of the fact that you do all these incredible things while raising your family of boys I am continually amazed!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Aww you are so sweet. I don't get a lot of sleep :P
Merry Christmas to you too!
Wow this is incredible. I seriously have only put up our stockings and the rest of our Christmas decorations are in a box waiting to be unpacked but it's looking like that's not going to happen until next year. Beautiful home and beautiful job tying the decorations in with your color scheme of each room. Love it!
Where did you get the gold barn star ornaments on your Christmas Tree? It is a running joke that no one in my family can find plain gold stars - but there are plenty in pink, blue, or purple!
They didn't start out gold. They were green, red, and blue. I had to paint them!
I should have known :)
Your home is beautiful Stacy. I love your tree. Mine is very similar. :) Best wishes, Julie x
I LOVE your faux bois wrapping paper! My husband is such a traditionalist. He'd never go for it. *Sigh... I might find an excuse to buy it anyway! Thanks for giving us your source!
Oh wow... you'd never know you scrambled. Your home is so beautiful! And that front door... I want that front entry. Stunning! Loving your blues, especially with the reclaimed looking wood shelves in your office. Your tour rocked!
Looks great! I like the blue and green throughout. Hope you are able to have a restful weekend :)
This is the first time I've looked at your blog - thank Pinterest! - and I really enjoyed seeing your house via this Christmas tour. And I'm pretty much the same when it comes to glitter!! Although I do love your green snowflakes. :)
Very pretty Staci! I love the green & brown combo. And what a cute idea of wrapping your cabinets with ribbon. Love it all!
Absolutely gorgeous! I love how everything turned out! Can you come decorate mine?! ;)
It's beautiful, Stacy! Simple and yet totally full of Christmas love. I love glitter, by the way, but hate the mess. I just did a post on no mess ornaments and it is the bomb! Mop & Glo and glass ornaments. Who knew? http://martysmusings.net/2013/12/no-mess-handmade-glitter-ornaments.html I hope your holidays are blessed!
I am seriously in love with your house. I'm moving in. :P Just kidding! Great decorating, and a beautifully color-schemed house in general!! I will have to keep all your color choices in mind for when I have a place I'm allowed to paint.
Have a blessed Christmas!!
Everything looks beautiful! You did a great job. Maybe next year I will actually jump in one one of these house tours -- I am so not motivated this year! My house looks like it was ransacked by thieves and we didn't even put up our nice big tree this year! You've inspired me to do a little cleaning so the decorations we actually DO have can be seen!
SO pretty Stacy! Your front porch is simply charming and I am head over heals for your gift wrap selection! OH, and fab work on those DIY candle holders! You are a rockstar! <3 Hope you are feeling better!
xoxo!
Your home looks beautiful! I love all the little touches you did. They are very charming. It's hard to say which was my favorite room - they all looked so nice!
Your decorations are just stunning. They aren't even my colors and I love them! I think the best decorations are the ones that are handmade. Love the ribbon wrapped doors and the snowflake ornaments! Have a very Merry Christmas!
Wow, your home is SO beautiful! Such creative ideas, love the color choices, and how you have everything set up! So festive and I bet it is so much fun to live in :)!
Hi there! I absolutely love your home and ideas! Can you tell me how you hung your wreaths over the curtains? I have been wanting to do this but can't seem to think of how. :)