Welcome to Day 1 of the Fourth Annual 12 Days of Christmas Series!

We have teamed up with 50 plus bloggers to bring you a oodles of DIY Ideas and Recipes to make your holiday season merrier. There are 12 different posts in the series and we have spread them out over a four week period with three posts per week. Now is the time to subscribe!

GO HERE for the complete list of Dates and Topics plus a collection of most popular holiday ideas including ornaments, games, recipes and more from all 50 plus talented bloggers!

It’s Day 1 and we are sharing DIY Wreath Ideas!

DIY Lit Birch Wreath – Pottery Barn Dupe

For my DIY Wreath, I decided to do something totally different and out of my comfort zone, because I figured everyone would be expecting a traditional Christmas wreath. I saw this amazing looking lit birch wreath on Pottery Barn’s site.

Yeah, it was pretty but too expensive so I decided to recreate it myself.

And don’t forget you can always see a video tutorial of this project on my YouTube channel. 

I had this foam wreath from Dollar Tree in my craft stash…

I painted it with a tan acrylic paint I had on hand.

I decided to use some “faux” wood scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby, but since it was one-sided I had to paint the other side. And I just brushed on that tan acrylic paint along with some great and white. I just used long streaks and alternated the colors.

Below you can see what both sides looked like.

Okay so after the paint dried, I created a leaf template from poster board and I traced it on the paper and began to cut the small leaves. I used 3 sheets total for this 10 inch wreath…

After they were all cut, I used a hot glue stick (not hot of course) to create a curve on the leaves.

Then I began hot-gluing them to the wreath. I made sure to place both front and backs of the paper randomly and I also did not add any leaves on the back so that it would lay flat up against the wall.

This is what the wreath looked like after it had all the leaves on it.

Then since the original had glitter on it I mixed some gold and silver from my stash (gotta love that stash!) and added to it randomly as well.

I decided to also dry-brush some gold acrylic paint throughout it as well. The best brush to use for this is a fan brush.

Then finally, I sprayed it with some spray adhesive so that the glitter wouldn’t keep going everywhere.

I think I still have glitter on me 😂

And voila! I had my own “birch” wreath!

I added the same kind of fairy lights that I used for my farmhouse floral sconces and it works great!

Whatcha think? I know it’s different, but I am so glad I tried it! The original cost $129 and mine only cost $3.25! Can’t beat that.

If you liked it too, please pin and share with your friends!

I will see you guys Wednesday!

Scroll down for many more DIY Wreath Ideas for your holiday season!

Welcome to the third annual 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Stop by every day from December first through the twelfth for new ideas you can use to make your season brighter!

Meet Your Hosts

They have all been busy as Elves creating, decorating, cooking and crafting tons of new ideas for you to try this holiday season!

Shirley~Intelligent Domestications • Alli~An Alli Event • Michelle~Our Crafty Mom Marie~DIY Adulation • Erlene~My Pinterventures • Beverly~Across The Blvd.

Debra~Shoppe No. 5 • Victoria~Dazzle While Frazzled • Megan~C’mon Get Crafty Michelle~Michelle James Designs • Amanda~Domestically Creative

Deborah~Salvage Sister & Mister • Jeanie~Create & Babble • Sherry~Olives & Okra Jenny~Cookies Coffee & Crafts • Emily~Domestic Deadline • Bonbon~Farmhouse 40

Leanna~Of Faeries & Fauna • Kelly~North Country Nest • Lynne~My Family Thyme Pam Larmore~P.S. I Love You Crafts • Marie~The Inspiration Vault

Gail~Purple Hues and Me • Karen~Dragonfly and Lily Pads • Vanessa~DIY 180 Trisha~Blowing Away Out West • Kim~Everyday Parties •

Yami~The Latina Next Door • Lauren~Wonderfully Made • Valerie~Val Event Gal Terri~Christmas Tree Lane • Lorrin~Embrace The Perfect Mess

Dru~Polka Dot Poplars • Cyn~Creative Cynchronicity • Jeannee~Centsably Creative Tania~Little Vintage Cottage • Sam~Raggedy Bits • Kimberly~A Wonderful Thought

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links for your convenience. Please see full disclosure here.*

So today is the last day of our Blog Hop and we saved our Christmas trees for last. You should have already seen my Rustic Chic Christmas tree and my Simple Gold Christmas tree which I did for 2 other blog hops this season. Now for this post, I will be showing you my third and white christmas tree.

This tree is smaller and was provided by Treetopia during my Christmas in July campaign. And since I have a second fire place in this house I thought I would go ahead and put this one up as well.

Since I had been working on several DIY farmhouse style ornaments this year, I thought I would decorate this tree with just my DIY ornaments. I did this Rae Dunn inspired one below along with a jute wrapped & mistletoe glass ornament.

I added these cute chalkboard and mini wood signs as well. You can see the video tutorial to make all of these here.

And created a topper with a couple of floral bushes and ribbon.

And I added burlap ribbon throughout the tree and then added burlap fabric around the bottom of the tree.

Here is how it looks at night.

I hope you like this super simple and white rustic Christmas tree.

Shop similar looks:

Be sure to visit our fellow 12 Days of Christmas Bloggers below for even more creative ornament ideas this holiday season!

Welcome to the third annual 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Stop by every day from December first through the twelfth for new ideas you can use to make your season brighter!

Meet Your Hosts

They have all been busy as Elves creating, decorating, cooking and crafting tons of new ideas for you to try this holiday season!

Shirley~Intelligent Domestications • Alli~An Alli Event • Michelle~Our Crafty Mom Marie~DIY Adulation • Erlene~My Pinterventures • Beverly~Across The Blvd.

Debra~Shoppe No. 5 • Victoria~Dazzle While Frazzled • Megan~C’mon Get Crafty Michelle~Michelle James Designs • Amanda~Domestically Creative

Deborah~Salvage Sister & Mister • Jeanie~Create & Babble • Sherry~Olives & Okra Jenny~Cookies Coffee & Crafts • Emily~Domestic Deadline • Bonbon~Farmhouse 40

Leanna~Of Faeries & Fauna • Kelly~North Country Nest • Lynne~My Family Thyme Pam Larmore~P.S. I Love You Crafts • Marie~The Inspiration Vault

Gail~Purple Hues and Me • Karen~Dragonfly and Lily Pads • Vanessa~DIY 180 Trisha~Blowing Away Out West • Kim~Everyday Parties •

Yami~The Latina Next Door • Lauren~Wonderfully Made • Valerie~Val Event Gal Terri~Christmas Tree Lane • Lorrin~Embrace The Perfect Mess

Dru~Polka Dot Poplars • Cyn~Creative Cynchronicity • Jeannee~Centsably Creative Tania~Little Vintage Cottage • Sam~Raggedy Bits • Kimberly~A Wonderful Thought

*Some of the links below are affiliate for your convenience. For full disclosure, please go here.*

It’s the 11th day of our blog hop and we are sharing our front porches. Honestly, I was a little scared about this post at first since I have never had one of those Instagram worthy front porches. Don’t get me wrong, we ALWAYS decorate outside, but to the tune of thousands of Christmas lights and the cords that go along with. 

For the longest time I wanted mini trees flanking the front door, but I had found them just too expensive. However, recently I have been going a lot to Big Lots in search of affordable home decor options since they have really stepped up their game and I came across these gorgeous pre-lit and potted mini trees for the outside.

They came 2 to a set and were only $40 total! WOW! I had to snag them.

My front door wreath is new as well. It was provided to me by Treetopia when I was part of their Design Council for Christmas easier this year. It’s simple and rustic and I absolutely love its neutral colors and go well with our great room Christmas tree.

I felt like I needed to add garland to the top so we added a few hooks and I put up 2 simple garlands from Micheal’s. I doubled them up to make them look more full. Each one only cost me $3 EACH and they are still on sale here. Another awesome deal!

I wanted to add lights to them but I didn’t know what to do about having a power cord hanging on one side.

So if you have any suggestions do tell! 

Can you see the snow in the reflection???

We had snow SUPER early this year and our kids loved it!

And that it basically all we did this year, but I am super happy because it looks more “adult”. Of course we still had the colorful cross and reindeer for the kids. And they do look adorable at night.

I hope to eventually get a nice bench to add to the front porch (left side) so hopefully next year I can add even more decor. And I may even add some greenery to the sconces on either side of the door as well.

Either way, it definitely has been a great start to Christmas at our new home.

Shop similar products:

Be sure to visit our fellow 12 Days of Christmas Bloggers below for even more creative ornament ideas this holiday season!

Welcome to the third annual 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Stop by every day from December first through the twelfth for new ideas you can use to make your season brighter!

Meet Your Hosts

They have all been busy as Elves creating, decorating, cooking and crafting tons of new ideas for you to try this holiday season!

Shirley~Intelligent Domestications • Alli~An Alli Event • Michelle~Our Crafty Mom Marie~DIY Adulation • Erlene~My Pinterventures • Beverly~Across The Blvd.

Debra~Shoppe No. 5 • Victoria~Dazzle While Frazzled • Megan~C’mon Get Crafty Michelle~Michelle James Designs • Amanda~Domestically Creative

Deborah~Salvage Sister & Mister • Jeanie~Create & Babble • Sherry~Olives & Okra Jenny~Cookies Coffee & Crafts • Emily~Domestic Deadline • Bonbon~Farmhouse 40

Leanna~Of Faeries & Fauna • Kelly~North Country Nest • Lynne~My Family Thyme Pam Larmore~P.S. I Love You Crafts • Marie~The Inspiration Vault

Gail~Purple Hues and Me • Karen~Dragonfly and Lily Pads • Vanessa~DIY 180 Trisha~Blowing Away Out West • Kim~Everyday Parties •

Yami~The Latina Next Door • Lauren~Wonderfully Made • Valerie~Val Event Gal Terri~Christmas Tree Lane • Lorrin~Embrace The Perfect Mess

Dru~Polka Dot Poplars • Cyn~Creative Cynchronicity • Jeannee~Centsably Creative Tania~Little Vintage Cottage • Sam~Raggedy Bits • Kimberly~A Wonderful Thought

Hello again! Are you hanging in there with all this Christmas inspiration coming your way? Today is another fun day because we are talking holiday games!

My game is one that can actually be played at baby showers and wedding showers etc… and it is ALWAYS a big hit! Even the men get involved, mostly because they think they can do better, but they can’t! NOPE!

My mother introduced this game to me and we have played it with friends ever since. So if you are up for something a little different check out my version of a fun Christmas Party Game!

My daughter and I also made a video and we had a blast! To watch it go here or scroll further down! 

What you need:

• Large bowl
• Uncooked rice (4-5 cups or more depending on the size of the bowl)
• Tiny safety pins (Size 00)
• Bandana or blindfold
• Timer or stopwatch

 I like to use a large glass bowl, but you can use what you have on hand.

You want a handful of the smallest safety pins, size 00 (the ones pictured below are still too big, but it’s what I could find since our move… yes, we are still unpacking, UGH!)

I typically add double this amount of pins.

So what you do is blindfold the player, set your timer to 30 seconds and see who can get the most pins out of the rice!

The winner gets a Christmas gift/surprise. And if you have a tie, then you go to sudden death where you have them go again (separately) and this time find as many in 20 seconds… and so on…

The rice is still salvageable. If you don’t wash your rice with warm water before you cook it, you should be. Regardless of whether or not we play this game, I always wash my rice, plus the heat from the cooking kills any bacteria – just be sure to remove the pins first! 😉

And that is basically all there is to it! Easy peasy, for a whole lot of fun! You won’t believe how competitive everyone will get! It’s hilarious!

Our video:

Be sure to visit our fellow 12 Days of Christmas Bloggers below for even more creative ornament ideas this holiday season!

Welcome To Our First Annual Christmas Tree Decor Blog Hop!!

We have 52 talented bloggers joining up to share their decorated Christmas Trees with you! So grab a cup of your favorite beverage, settle in and get comfortable because you are going to love the beautiful Christmas Tree Decor shared today!

*some of the links below are affiliate links, for my full disclosure please go here*

Let’s Meet The Hosts!

Michelle | Our Crafty Mom | Allison | Upright and Caffeinated

Angela | Simply Beautiful By Angela

Angie | Knick of Time | Annie | All Things Big and Small

Brittany | Our Home Made Easy | Chloe | Celebrate and Decorate

Cindy | County Road 407 | Colleen | Life on Kaydeross Creek

Denise | My Thrifty House | Eileen | Sand Dollar Lane

Erlene | My Pinterventures 

Jaclyn | The Dotted Nest | Jeannee | Centsably Creative

Vicki | 2 Bees In A Pod |Jennifer | Oh Fiddle Dee Dee

Jessica | Designers Sweet Spot | Jolene | Create Pray Love

 Kim | Day to Day Adventures

Kim | Made In A Day | Kristie | Teadoddles

Leanna | Faeries and Fauna | Lorelai | Life With Lorelai

Lynn | Lynn’s Everyday Ideas | Maria | Simple Nature Decor

Marie | The Inspiration Vault | Mary | The Boondocks Blog

Meegan | What Meegan Makes | Meg | Green With Decor

Melissa | Welcome To The Woods | Donna | Modern On Monticello

Morgan | Charleston Crafted | Nancy | Slightly Coastal

Nicole | Madness and Method | Pam | P.S. I Love You Crafts

Sam | Raggedy Bits | Sharon | Little Bits Of Everything

Shirley | Intelligent Domestications | Stephanie | Abbotts At Home

Wanda | From House To Home

Yami | The Latina Next Door | Jenn | Loveland Lodge

Christene | Keys To Inspiration | Libbie | A Life Unfolding

Jaclyn | One Thousand Oaks | Jennifer | 2 Bees In A Pod | Sarah | The Project Pile

Hey friends! I have been so busy decorating the house this year and it seems like there are just too many Christmas trees! LOL! I have joined another lovely blog hop to share my second tree, since I already shared my Rustic Chic Treetopia tree we have in our great room.

As you know, we are in our “new to us” home and my budget is a little tight so I have kept our trees pretty simple and hopefully plan on getting more “fillers” during the “after” Christmas sales this year… you know I love a sale!

So, for this tree I decided to use some of my old ornaments from last year, but since those colors were kinda outdated, I chose to stick with just the gold ornaments. The tree sits in my front office towards the front of the house since it has a gorgeous bay window. But let me be frank! I have NEVER considered myself to be a great tree decorator.

Nope!

Mediocre at best… I look at everyone else’s and ask my tree, “why can’t you look like that?!”

Yes, we have had that conversation and just like my kids, my tree ignores me. Ha! 

So far, we haven’t done much in this room except paint and change out the curtain hardware. This will be my first time sharing, but this is what the walls looked like before!

😱 I know right!?!?!

They were hideous and they had to go. I ended up painting them Pure White by Sherwin Williams since I had left over paint from my kitchen project in my last home… I hadn’t had white walls since I lived in a rental with my parents… LOL!

But it totally transformed the room and at least now I can display my tree!

The window treatments I got from Homegoods and the bamboo blinds are the Home Decorators Collection Driftwood Flat-Weave Roman Driftwood shades from Home Depot. They have that grey wood tone, were super easy to order and were delivered quickly.

Measuring was a breeze and the fit like a glove! They look AMAZING and were super affordable.

The perfect shades for a beachy farmhouse look. 😍

We are still trying to figure out how to install the middle one since there literally is no place to attach it (but that post is for another day 😉).

Anyways,  some of the ornaments I used were these DIY ornaments I made out of Easter eggs last year! They have held up pretty well.

And I actually tried tucking in my ribbon differently… it’s apparent I need practice.

And my ornaments are ALL plastic… at least until my kids get older. LOL!

The skirt is simple and gold and with a fur trim which I like. It’s simple and classy and goes well with the “front” of the house since my formal dining room sits to the opposite side. So I am happy with it!

A Simple Gold Christmas Tree in the Annual Christmas Tree Decor Blog Hop –

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Related: DIY Christmas Decor Using Dollar tree items

I hope to beef it up some next year, but thank you for visiting and don’t forget to check out the others below and subscribe to my blog (to the right or down below) to stay updated with all the projects I am doing to my home.

Now let’s check out the rest of the beautiful Christmas Trees!