Hello
Readers…
We
hope that your Thanksgiving was as memorable and enjoyable as ours was. Time spent around family while enjoying some
deliciously prepared food is always good.
But, with Thanksgiving gone, it’s time to prepare for Christmas. If you thought Halloween was a big production
in the Cunningham household, wait until you see what Christmas is like in our
home!
This
year is our son’s turn to pick the colors of the decorations of the Christmas tree
and he did so, almost a month ago: Green, Red & Gold. I love the idea of letting the kids pick the
colors of the decorations, it allows them to be as involved in the process and
it builds their confidence in the “decision making” process as well.
If
you follow our Facebook Fan Page, than you already know that I started my DIY Christmas
decorations as far back as Halloween. My
good friend, Kara, is obsessed with Pinterest, and thanks to her, I have now
joined that club! I know, the HORROR right!!! J
Kara
found several projects but I fell in love with the idea of making my own
Christmas Tree to decorate my entryway. I
have always wanted one (or two) but every time I saw the tag price of $79+, my
wants became “no wants”… J I’m sure you can relate to the whole “for how
much??
Nope, it can stay right where it is!”
This
can be used for indoors or outdoors and you will not believe how inexpensive
and how easy are to make.
Materials
needed:
Wire
Round Tomato Cage…………...…… $2.58 Lowe’s;
Zip
Tie…………………………………………….. FREE- courtesy of Husband’s tool box;
Gold
Star……………………………………….... $1.00- Dollar Tree Store
17
Garland…………………………………...…. $17.00- Dollar Tree Store
White
Lights………………………………....… FREE- I used some of the lights I already owned
TOTAL SPENT: $20.58
My
entry way is not as large and open, so I only made one. I simply decorated my tree using gold/ivory
ribbon that I purchased at the Dollar General Store are well, increasing my
total spent to $23.58. Not bad at all if
you compare it to the high prices you see at the store.
I
used the 42” Galvanized Steel Wire Round Tomato Cage:
This
cage is not the tallest Lowe’s carries, there are several sizes you can choose
from (33” to 54”). If you cannot find
the sizes you need to decorate your porch, you may want to consider placing the
tomato cage on top of some nice heavy pots/planters. Pots not heavy enough? No biggie, simply add
dirt, sand or even rocks to make the pots/planters heavier. You can make your pots/planters unique by
adding a nice decorative ribbon around it.
Your options are limitless.
HELPFUL NOTE:
If you are using pots/planters follow
these steps first:
1. Make sure you add the
dirt/sand/rocks first
2. Place the tomato cage on
top;
3. If the tomato cage is too
wide for your pot, you can cut the bottom wire and squeeze the cage into your
pot.
STEP 1
Bringing
the ends together and secure them by using the Zip Tie. Make sure it is as
tight as possible.
STEP 2:
Carefully unfold the garland;
Note: Amount of garland needed depends on the size
of your tomato cage. I compared the
garland from the different Family Dollar, Dollar General and Dollar Tree
Stores. To my surprise, the best garland
I found was at the Dollar Tree Store! It’s
was undeniably firmer than the rest, which will give you the necessary
steadiness and fullness you are looking for.
Start wrapping the garland around the cage;
HELPFUL NOTE: It is
easier to start from BOTTOM TO TOP, although I started from the TOP, let me
explain why this was a problem for me:
1.
Every
time I wrapped the top kept coming lose;
2.
I
tried placing the star on the top hoping it would keep the garland in place but
it simply refused to stay in place.
3.
I
tried wrapping the garland around a bit tighter, but it kept coming lose at the
top. So I had to start over many, many
times…
Therefore, I highly suggest
you start at the bottom, trust me, I’m saving you time but most importantly
YOUR SANITY! J
Continue to wrap, wrap and continue to wrap the
garland until the entire cage is fully covered.
STEP 3:
Carefully add the lights;
I used two sets of white lights, each set
contained approximately 30 lights.
AND HERE IT IS!
Pretty neat!!
Overall this was a very easy project and can't forget the amount of money I saved!!
Thanks for ready and stay tuned for the next project!!!
