HOLIDAY SWAG WITH GARDEN CLIPPINGS

Before I start this post, I want to wish all my readers a Happy Holiday and a wonderful New Year.
Now my last post of 2019.  Boy did this year fly by!

Every holiday I create wreaths with  fresh greenery.  

You can see how I make my own almost free holiday wreaths here.

If you haven't noticed, I've been having a hard time getting motivated to decorate for the holidays.  I decided to not have a Christmas tree.  Now I'm going to tell you that I'm not making holiday wreaths.  That's because I discovered that you can make a swag much faster than a wreath.

I added a swag to a wall sconce in my foyer.  Here it is unadorned.  Of course I moved it to the stair landing when I changed up the space.

WALL SCONCE IN MY FOYER

It was so easy and fast to create.  I used some evergreen clippings as a base.  Did you know that you can get free clippings when you get your fresh tree?   I then layered a long magnolia branch over the clippings.  I used green floral wire to join the greenery and then tied it to the sconce with the same ribbon I used for my stairway garland.  I also wove a rhinestone garland through the swag.

Here it is on the landing.

WALL SCONCE WITH GARLAND

I like the way the demijohn repeats the green color.

DEMIJOHN WITH ORNAMENT

I added an ornament to the demijohn too.

DEMIJOHN WITH ORNAMENT

To see last year's Kate Spade inspired tree, go here.

MY KATE SPADE INSPIRED TREE

STYLING MY BAR CART FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Yes, you can outfit your bar cart for the holidays. 

One of the perks of having the store is that I get to keep some of the items I sell. This gorgeous tiered bar cart on wheels is one of those purchases that I'm not only selling but also keeping one for myself.

 It's hammered metal and the trays are clover shaped.

I added magnolia clippings and the rhinestone garland and ribbon that I  used on my stairway.

LEOPARD ICE BUCKET, GLASSES, AND SHAKER

The leopard shaker is from the store.  The bourbon recipe book was a gift from my sister.

LEOPARD SHAKER AND OUR DRINK RECIPE BOOK

LEOPARD SHAKER AND HOLIDAY TREE

The leopard glasses are from Home Goods.

LEOPARD GLASSES

The ice bucket is vintage.

VINTAGE ICE BUCKET

One of the glasses holds some bamboo stirrers.

BAMBOO STIRRERS AND RHINESTONE GARLAND

The ceramic trees are also from the store.  When the holiday is over they hold my bracelets.
An ornament takes the place of my bracelets for the holiday.

HOLIDAY CERAMIC TREES WITH ORNAMENT

Love this unicorn bottle opener.

UNICORN BOTTLE OPENER

On the bottom shelf is one of my fur throws.  I love to add fur when I can.

FUR THROW FOR LAYERING

I layered a leopard tray over the fur.  It holds a few of our liquor bottles.  The brass shot glass was a gift.  It's made from a brass shell cartridge.

LEOPARD TRAY AND LIQUOR BOTTLES

Love the race horse stopper.

JOCKEY AND RACE HORSE STOPPER

If you don't have a bar cart to style, no worries.  Check out another post I wrote about alternatives to use in place of a bar cart here.  

I've also written about how I styled a chrome and glass bar cart here.


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A STROLL THRU LIFE

FAKING FAUX

If you've been following along you know that I can't bring myself to use faux holiday decor.  So, I was in a real predicament when I decided I didn't want to have a live Christmas tree this year.  I went back and forth about buying/not buying a faux tree.  I couldn't do it.

My new mantra is:   "all you need is a garland".  That's the route I took.
No tree for us this year. I was just going to create a garland that made the tree unnecessary.

 My intention was to create a garland from greenery from our yard.  I revised it a bit and decided that I would use a faux garland as the base and would add garden clippings.  I know I'm cheating.

Here's what the faux garland looked like. It was from Frontgate so it was substantial.  Here it is on the railing before I got started on it.

FAUX GARLAND

I know you're thinking that it doesn't look bad.
 It doesn't, but I really wanted to add some live greenery.

CLOSE UP OF FAUX GARLAND

I decided to create the natural garland with magnolia and cedar.  

 I gathered the clippings and got started.  Here's the result.

If you ever try to do this, I would recommend using a faux garland as a base.  It was easy to add the greenery by just twisting the faux wire stems around the magnolia and cedar.  

Did you notice that I swapped out my Santos for the Angel Santos?  I also added ribbon, a garland and some ornaments.  I treated the garland like a Christmas tree I guess.

ANGEL SANTOS

 Now my favorite part--the close-ups.

 

I added some greenery, ribbon, and a rhinestone garland to the wall sconce too.

Sneaky peek of the demijohn through stairwell.

DEMIJOHN THROUGH STAIR RAILS

Would you use a garland instead of a tree?

To see last year's Kate Spade inspired tree, go here.

KATE SPADE INSPIRED TREE

DISCO BALL LOVE

Several years ago I became obsessed with having a disco ball.  Of course mine would never be suspended from the ceiling.  I don't even like to dance.

 I guess I made my point about wanting a sparkly sphere.  My Christmas present that year was a disco ball.  Never a person to only have one of anything, I acquired several in different sizes.  You probably are wondering where I put them if I didn't suspend them.  Mine just rolled into a room and took up residence where they stopped.   They created a natural grouping in my living room.

SPARKLING DISCO BALLS IN MY LIVING ROOM

Every sunny morning I'm greeted by their reflections on my living room ceiling.

EARLY MORNING REFLECTIONS IN MY LIVING ROOM

The sparkle only lasts for a short time, then it's gone until the next sunny morning.

CEILING SPARKLE

I do put them to work for the holidays.  I placed one on the bench on my front porch.

DISCO BALL HOLIDAY DECOR ON MY BAMBOO BENCH

I think my favorite Christmas tree is this one.  I used the disco balls as a tree skirt.  If you look closely you'll see that I happened to have some large silver spheres in the mix.  You'll also see me and my camera mirrored in multiples.

DISCO BALL TREE SKIRT

Another Christmas I mixed the disco balls with some magnolia leaves and Hermes scarf boxes in front of my fireplace.

MAGNOLIA AND DISCO BALLS IN FRONT OF MY FIREPLACE

Do you like decor that sparkles even if it isn't a holiday?

If you want to see the full post for the holiday decor referenced, just click on the image or the highlighted words to be directed to the post.  

THE LAST WEEKEND OF FALL

I know Fall isn't over yet.  For me though, this weekend before Thanksgiving is the last weekend of Fall.  I know that many of us have already moved on to the next holiday.  I like to hold on to all that Fall represents just a little longer.   I'm sharing some Fall vignettes from the store, then I guess I will move on with everyone else to Christmas.  Goodbye warm colors and earth tones.

Wishing all my readers a wonderful family-filled Thanksgiving.

Do you think that Fall is too short and Christmas comes too soon?