Christmas Spirit

I absolutely love decorating for the holidays! I wish there was more I could do in our little apartment but I've made due with what we have. I'll start with our awkward entrance ledge that I first mentioned here, and the decorated for fall here.

I already had the red candles which is always a good thing when you're trying to be thrifty. A few empty wine bottles and coffee filters later and I had some extra decor for the season.

My favorite part of the shelf though has to be my subway-inspired art that I made. I created a jpg of the sayings, fonts and colors I wanted, had it sent to Costco to print as an 11x14 (for under $3) and stopped by Dollar Tree for a cheap frame. I was just looking for one the right size with the plan to paint it but it just so happened that it was red so I left it alone.

A quick skim through the holiday fabrics at Joann Fabrics and this little beauty was on clearance. Bought it, sewed it, stuffed it and we now have a festive holiday pillow that coordinates with the classic colors of our decor. I also have enough fabric left to make Ollie a matching scarf like the one I made him for fall.

Yet again another cheap transformation for the frame over our couch. Ollie helped me collect some pine cones on our walk one afternoon and with a little ribbon and a lot of hot glue, it's really starting to feel like Christmas around here. I love the idea of the pine cones because I wasn't really feeling the traditional wreath look (which I do usually enjoy.)

Last but not least, the tree.

We had this tree last year but only had silver ornaments on it thanks to a giant box of random ornaments from Ikea. I wasn't sure what other colors I wanted our home to have until this year. I love when people make their tree unique with purples, blues, etc but I wanted to keep it traditional.

Plus I don't think I could part with this tree skirt. My grandma handmade it and it's been on her tree, my family's tree and now my tree for many decades. So red ornaments it was. The best part about all of the ornaments on the tree: they're either plastic or shatterproof. Perfect for a home with a puppy who's never seen a Christmas tree before :-)

Now a few close-ups of note worthy ornaments.

If you don't know who this little guy is, his name is Opus. He's one of the main characters for the Bloom County comic strip from the 80's. Why is he on my tree, you ask? He was my dad's all-time favorite comic character and was a staple collectors item in my house as a kid. Sweatshirts, stuffed animals, ornaments and all. He holds a special place in my heart.

Yes this bird is creepy, I'll be the first to admit it. I honestly can't say I know where these birds (yes they're are multiple) came from or how my family got them but the moral of the story is that we have way too many of them. They're weird, but they're traditional for my family. It wouldn't be a true Christmas tree without one of them and my mom was nice enough to give force upon J and I one for our tree. Plus I heard somewhere that it's lucky to have a bird on your tree? Maybe?

Some side knowledge is required for this one. Before J and I got Ollie, my family has had a Golden Retriever since I was 11. Because we're all dog lovers it was natural for us to get a Golden ornament for Christmas one year. However, Basil (my family's dog) looks nothing like this. He's red-colored with long, not fluffy, hair and has a much skinnier build. This ornament does happen to look exactly like Ollie. So my mom was kind enough to bring it with her for Thanksgiving.

I love our festive apartment. It looks and even smells (thanks to our Glade Apple Cinnamon plug-in) like Christmas.

Happy Holidays everyone!