Home decorating has definitely been a challenge for me since I got married.  Before I got married it was always something my Mom or sisters did, and all I had to do was say “wow, that looks great!”  Having to decorate my own home, though, is a little different, because not only do I have to actually do all the work, I have to dream up what would look good on my walls and everywhere else in my house.

After a year and a few months of marriage, repainting basically the whole house, lots of google searches, plenty of conversations with my family, and several shopping trips, I feel like I’m finally getting to the point where my house is starting to look a home.  It’s a slow process, but it’s exciting to see it come together and feel warm and home-like.

I got a little late start with Christmas decorating since we were gone over Thanksgiving, so I wasn’t going to get a tree.  I decided to redecorate my mantle instead.  The problem came when I had so much fun decorating, that I just decided it’s Christmas and we need a tree after all!  So, we went to Home Depot, and bought a cute, little 24″ table tree and it’s now decorated and even has a few gifts under it.

Redecorating my mantle, I knew I wanted to do something with candles, because I just love candles.  I ended up Googling “DIY Christmas Decorations” and one of the posts I found was here, which I used as inspiration. [It's the 2nd craft on this post.]  I loved the idea of putting candles in glass containers and having them all on my mantle.  I also liked the mirror behind the candles, which went better with Christmas than the current Photo of Italy I had on my mantle.

I wrote a list of stuff I needed, and went out shopping.     Before hitting Hobby Lobby, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to run by the thrift store to see if maybe they would have some glass containers that would work.  As luck would have it, I managed to find some that were just perfect. :)   Hobby Lobby is always a fun store to visit, and I found a green swag and got it to put on the mantle.  I also got some red Christmas tree ornaments [which I figured I could put on the mantle to add some color to the green/white theme I was wanting].  Everything was coming together nicely, but I needed to find a mirror to make it complete.  I went to one last store, and managed to find the perfect mirror!

I came home, cleaned off my mantle, and put up this:

Not all the glass containers fit on the mantle, so I bought some Cranberries and Walnuts, and filled one of them up.  The original one I saw had kumquats in there, too, but I don’t know if they have kumquats around here, because I couldn’t find them in the store anywhere.

My coffee table has a pine cone arrangement, and some of the pretty Moroccan lanterns Anita had at her wedding.  I was so excited when she gave me two of them to put in my house.

And here’s my cute little Christmas tree.  Again, thanks to Anita for giving me the stars to hang on it.  And, the ribbon is actually left over from my wedding.  It’s nice to have  items we can use again.

This little bitty star ornament and the red poinsettias just make me happy.

I also got the coolest thing ever in the mail Saturday from my sister-in-law, Lyndsi.  She’s so creative and I LOVE this pillow she made for me!  It goes so perfectly in my living room, and really adds a spot of Christmas cheer on my couch.  Thanks, Lyndsi!

And, of course, Christmas isn’t Christmas without remembering the true reason.   I love this simple and elegant nativity set I received as a wedding gift.  I actually haven’t opened the entire set until now, [we were gone last Christmas], and I couldn’t believe how gorgeous it is.  Thanks, Janel & Brian!

Anyway, these are my attempts at decorating.  I’d love to hear or see what you’ve done for Christmas decorations!  You can email me at info (at) photographybysusie (dot) com, with pictures, or post a comment below.

Merry Christmas!

Susie