Houzz Holiday Idea Book

If you have not found the Houzz website yet, you are missing out...especially if you are remodeling or building a new home.  I love searching their website for ideas and it gets better!  If you sign up on their website, you can save all those wonderful pictures and create your own idea book!  No more searching the web for that picture you saw that one time!  Sound familiar? 

Below you will find their latest post about Holiday Decorating.  I thought I would share it with you just in case you were looking for something to do in your spare time before Christmas. ;) LOL!!!

50 Photos of Amazing Holiday Decorations

Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»

Find Home Improvement Professionals- For Example:

Boston Architect · New York Interior Designer · Seattle Contractor · New York Landscaping ·

My Tomato Cage Christmas Tree

Here is my version of the tomato cage Christmas tree.  I used cedar garland purchased at Home Depot.  I filled in with magnolia leaves that I borrowed from my good friend Beth!  Enjoy!

Christmas Gift Wrapping Party

Would you like to have a Girls Night Out and still get something accomplished on your Christmas "To-Do List"?  I have the perfect solution for you!  Invite a few friends over for a Christmas gift wrapping party!

 Here are a few ideas to get you started.  First, set up a gift wrapping station.  I have used glass vases and canisters to to store gift wrapping paper, ribbons, raffia, pens and shredded paper.  Your guests can pick and choose different combinations to wrap their gifts for family and friends.

There are many ways to make a bow to attach to your gift, but I will share how I do it.  First, I make a loop and gather the ribbon in between my thumb and forefinger.

Then I make a second loop and gather the ribbon again in between my thumb and forefinger.

 I continue to make loops and gather the ribbon in the center.  I like to twist the ribbon before a make a new loop.

 I continue to make loops until the bow is the size I would like it to be.  I like to have an odd number of loops on each side of the bow.  Next, you will need to take a pipe cleaner or piece of raffia to secure the bow in the center.  You can see I am using raffia to secure my bow.

I wrap the raffia around the bow a couple of times and then tie it in a knot.  I like to leave the end of the raffia long because I will then tie the bow to the present.

I will now attach the bow to the present by looping the raffia around the ribbon and tie it in a knot.

You can see that I have attached the bow to the gift and that I have left the raffia ends long.

Next I have made another bow, but this time I use red raffia.  Once I have made the red bow, I place it on top of the green bow.  I use the green raffia to attach to red bow to the larger green bow.  Then I gather red shredded paper in the center and secure it with the green raffia.

All that is left to do is to attach a gift card.  You can see that I used labels from Office Max for my gift cards.  They are cheap and a box contains around 500 labels.  I have been using the same box for a few years. 

I found these 3D stickers at Michael's for 40% off.  I used some of the on my gift labels and to adorn some of the presents.

Most of the gift wrapping paper I have used has either come from Hobby Lobby or from Nashville Wraps.  I ordered all of the Wraphia ribbon, floral ribbon and shredded paper from Nashville Wraps.  I love that company!  I usually receive my order within two days of placing my order!  The large ric rac ribbon that you see on some of the packages came from May Arts.

There you have it!  Now you can host your own gift wrapping party!  If you don't have time this year, put it on your to-do list for next year!

Thanks for stopping by!
Our Southern Nest

PS-  I would like to say "Thank You" to Kari over at UCreate Parties!  She most graciously shared my post with her readers.  I have mentioned her before and if you haven't visited her blogs you are missing out!

Christmas Wreath DIY

I found yet another video from Mr. P. Allen Smith.  In this video he adds fresh greenery to a fake wreath and the end result is beautiful.  It left me saying, "Why didn't I think of that".  Again, thank yo Mr. P. Allen Smith!!!!

Our Southern Nest

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree

I have one more video I found from Mr. P. Allen Smith.  I did this a couple of years ago on our front porch and I think I will do it again this year.

Thank you Mr. Smith!

Stocking Door Hanging

I found this video on YouTube this morning.  I think it is adorable and thought you might enjoy watching!

Decorating Update

I made a great deal of progress today.  I thought I would share a few things with you today.  It is still a work in progress but here's what I have done so far...

First up is the dining room.  I plan to use candles, ornaments and cranberries in the little vases, but right now they each hold an ornament.

 I am not finished with the banister yet.  Ha! Every time I start to decorate the banister I am reminded of the "Designing Women" episode where Julia gets her head stuck in "The Abbott Banister"! 

 I usually display my Christmas cards along the garland.  I will post more pictures once I get more cards.  Have you sent your cards yet?  I haven't!

 The sea grass container below was purchased at TJ Maxx.  It is by TAG and it was meant to be used as a tabletop Christmas tree.  I purchased three of them and I am using them on our stairwell posts.  They cost $5.00 each and I filled them with fresh greenery from Home Depot.  I already had the ornaments and red glitter floral stems.  I made the whole arrangement for under $10.

I finally finished the tree!  You can't see it, but my tree is in a huge galvanize tub.  I never can find a tree skirt I like and this seems to work.

I got this idea from my next door neighbor who just happens to be a florist.  Lucky me!  The vases are filled with cranberries, limes and FREE tree trimmings from Home Depot.  (Just ask the guys loading the trees where they keep the clippings.  They will tell you to take as much as you like.)  I layered the greenery, limes and cranberries, and then I filled it with water. 

The vases are from TJ Maxx and I am obsessed with them. I have more glass vases in all sizes than I care to admit, and I use them all the time. If they are not being used for decorating, I will use them in my pantry to keep things organized. I also use them on my front porch as candle holders. The best thing of all is that they are CHEAP!!!! You can get a huge vase for under $20. The larger one below was $7.99, the medium size was $3.99, and the smaller one was $3.99.

The smaller vases are filled with jelly beans and peppermints.  The downside to filling the vases with candy is that the little ones (and their dad) have a hard time keeping their hands off my vase filler.

Lucy has nothing to do with our Christmas decorations.  Owen decided to put the Elvis glasses on her and take her picture.  I promised him I would share it with all of you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Our Southern Nest



Holiday Decorating Inspiration

Yesterday, I was searching the web for some Christmas decorating ideas.  I am still having a hard time getting motivated this year for some reason.  I thought I would share some pictures I have saved in my "next year" file.  Enjoy!

Southern Living

Southern Living
PS-Santa, I want the doggie in the window.



Southern Living



Southern Living

Southern Living

Southern Living

Southern Living

Southern Living

Southern Living

EAB Designs

Southern Living

Southern Living

Better Homes and Gardens

You probably noticed that most of the photo came from Southern Living.  If you go to their website, they have all of their decorating ideas organized into different categories for your convenience.  Please click here to view the countless photos.

Merry Christmas!
Our Southern Nest