TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE!

TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE!

1. Use a child's Christmas pop-up book as a centerpiece. Just open the book up to a desirable picture and place the open book in the center of your table.

2. Hang a large December wall calendar on your wall. Count down the days to Christmas by gluing a brightly-colored bow on each passing day.

3. Tie five or six cinnamon sticks into a bundle using red ribbon. Create a bunch of these bundles and display them in a bowl or on a plate. Or, tuck bundles into nooks and crannies on shelves and table. They add a nice scent to your room.

4. Pull out your old toy trains. Run the track around the perimeter of the Christmas tree.

5. Paint the inside of a glass white to simulate milk. Display the glass along with a plate full of cookies and a hand-written Santa's wish list. It looks great if you take a bite or two out of one cookies.

6. For easy Christmas tableware, tie red, green, or gold ribbons to the stems of wine glasses or the handles of cutlery.

7. Cut pictures from Christmas cards and Christmas wrap for christmas decorations. Decoupage the pictures to the inside of a serving tray. Be sure to cover the entire surface of the tray. Once all the pictures are in place, cover the entire inside surface of the tray with one or two more layers of decoupage medium.
8. To make a decorative cookie plate, glue cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to the edges of a large plate.

9. Screw small hooks into the ceiling and hang indoor Christmas lights from them.

10. Print your favorite cookie recipe on Christmas stationary (or print it on a white piece of paper and have it photo copied onto Christmas stationary). Roll each recipe up like a scroll. Tie the scroll with ribbon. Place the scrolls in a basked by your front door so you can give them to departing guests. You could also bake up a batch of cookies. Wrap each cookie separately in plastic wrap and attach one cookie to each scroll with ribbon (string the ribbon through a hole in the plastic wrap).

TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE & HOLIDAY VELVET CAKE BALLS!

TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE

1. Add a few drops of food coloring to white glue. Put the glue into a squeeze bottle or icing piping bag. Draw simple Christmas star outlines on waxed paper. Pipe glue onto the paper, following your drawn outlines. Dry. Peel glue ornaments off of the waxed paper and hang in windows with thread or ribbon.

2. Place some fun ornaments on pedestals. Glass candlesticks are just right to hold your vibrant ornaments. Simply turn ornaments upside down and hold in place with a little tacky clay if needed.

3. Cut pictures out of old Christmas cards and create a collage by gluing them onto a piece of poster board. You can frame the poster board if you like or simply hang it on the wall.

4. Paint fruit such as apples and pears with egg white and roll in gold sparkles. Air dry on a rack and display in a basket along with nuts.

5. Twist garland or popcorn strings around railings or banisters and secure here nd there with tape.

6. Using a glue gun, glue candy canes, side-by-side (standing on end with their hooks at the top) to the outside of a terra cotta pot. Tie a red ribbon around the pot. Place a small poinsettia inside the pot or fill the pot with wrapped candy.

7. Tape a doily to the outside of a glass canister or clean glass mayonnaise jar. Spray the outside of the container with artificial snow. Dry. Remove the doily. Fill the container with cookies, candy, ornaments, etc.

8. Use scraps of Christmas print fabric to create quick sachets. Place two pieces of fabric right sides together. Pin a paper pattern of a Christmas shape to the fabric (use our basic patterns). Cut the shape out of both layers of fabric. Stitch the fabric layers together all along the edge, leaving a one inch gap. Turn the sachet right side out. Fill the sachet with potpourri. Hand stitch the gap closed. Place your sachets in a basket by the front door so you can hand them to departing guests (meanwhile, they'll fill your entryway with wonderful scent).

9. Remove your favorite pictures from their frames. Wrap the frames with Christmas wrap and replace the pictures.

10. Make a gingerbread house. They make wonderful centerpieces or Christmas decorations for any table top.

HOLIDAY VELVET CAKE BALLS

Crumbled white cake is combined with cream cheese frosting and tinted red and green. The mixture is formed into balls and dipped in melted dark and white chocolate


INGREDIENTS:

1 box white cake mix
1 16 oz. can cream cheese frosting
Red and green food coloring
1 package dark chocolate bark
1 package white chocolate bark

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare and bake cake mix in a 13x9-inch pan. After cake is cooled completely in pan, cut in half. Remove cake and crumble each half into 2 medium mixing bowls. Add HALF of the cream cheese frosting to each bowl; mix thoroughly. Add red food coloring to one bowl, and green to other bowl, until desired color is achieved. Using hands, roll mixture into balls the size of a quarter; lay on cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Cover and chill well. Melt the dark chocolate in microwave according to directions on package. Using 2 spoons, roll half of the balls in melted chocolate; place balls on waxed paper until firm. Set remaining melted dark chocolate aside. Melt white chocolate and repeat process with remaining balls. Set aside remainder of melted white chocolate. Once chocolate coating has set on the balls, return the bowl of remaining white chocolate to microwave to melt again to drizzling consistency. Drizzle white chocolate over dark chocolate balls. Repeat the process, melting the remaining dark chocolate to drizzle over white chocolate balls. Let cool until set, then transfer to candy cups and refrigerate.
Recipe from Better Recipes

TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE, ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES & ROYAL ICING!

TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE

I posted ten easy ideas Sunday, and will be posting more easy ideas for Christmas Decor. Be sure to keep checking for them!

1 Sew scraps of Christmas print fabric into a patchwork tablecloth. Simply cut your fabric into square pieces and stitch together. Hem the entire cloth. Sew ribbon the edges, if you like. Make smaller cloths to cover end tables, night tables, TV trays, shelving, etc.

2 Cover an end table or a shelf with white paper. Arrange cut evergreen boughs on to cover the table top. Place tall tapered candles in glass candleholders here and there on the table top. Before lighting candles, be sure that the greenery is not close enough to catch fire.

3 Use pliers to bend coat hangers into a simple wire-frame tree shape. Wrap a string of outdoor Christmas light around the frame, attaching with electrical tape or duct tape. Stick the decoration in a flower bed or on your front lawn.

4 Hang mistletoe everywhere. Use false or fresh mistletoe. This is classic Christmas decorations.

5. Wrap your doors in Christmas wrapping paper and attach large bows make from fabric or purchased at your local craft store.

6 String a ribbon from one end of a wall to another. Attach the ribbon to the wall (at each corner) with thumbtacks. Clip Christmas cards to the ribbon with clothes pins. If the ribbon is too long, the weight of the cards will pull it off the wall, so tack it here and there with more thumbtacks.

7 Make basic sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies. Before baking, make a hole toward the top of each cookie using a straw. Bake and cool. String a ribbon through each cookie and hang them on your Christmas tree.

8 Purchase a large glass plate. Paint the underside of the plate with gold craft paint. Dry. Place the plate on a table and fill with several white or off-white pillar candles of varying sizes.

9 String popcorn, cranberries, cereal, beads, etc. and hang the garlands everywhere.

10 Make some old-fashioned tree decorations. Wrap nuts with aluminum foil; use a needle and thread to stitch a thread through the foil for hanging. Glue ribbon to pine cones for hanging. String popcorn streamers. Make paper chains. Cut snowflakes from white paper.

ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES

Whenever you make these cookies for someone, be sure to bring along several copies of the recipe! You will be asked for it, I promise. These are the cookies used in the cookie wreath that I posted on Sunday.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely. Frost with Royal Icing.

ROYAL ICING

INGREDIENTS:

3 ounces pasteurized egg whites
4 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS:

In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy duty storage bag and pipe as desired. If using storage bag, clip corner. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days

TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE!

TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE

I posted ten easy ideas yesterday, and will be posting more easy ideas for Christmas Decor. Be sure to keep checking for them!

1. Fill a small glass bowl or decorative Christmas bowl with small cones and display on end tables, shelves, buffet tables, etc.

2. For quick ornaments, hang Christmas cookie cutters with ribbon. Hang them on your tree or in a window so other people can enjoy your Christmas decorations.

3. Create a cookie wreath centerpiece for your table. Just arrange Christmas cookies in a wreath shape right on the table cloth. No need to attach them to anything 'cause everyone will want to nibble at them. If you like, place a pillar candle on a small plate in the center of the wreath.

4. Decorate plain red, white, green or gold candles with 3-dimensional fabric paint. Draw stars, bells, angels, snowmen, etc. If you make a mistake, let the paint dry and peal it off, then start again.

5. Pile a collection of Christmas books on a side table.

6. Purchase an inexpensive mail box. Spray paint it red or green. Use craft paints to add simple Christmas shapes or attach store-bought ornaments with a hot glue gun (make sure your ornaments will be able to stand up to the elements).


7. If you have a large, bare outside wall, try this simple idea. Cut a Christmas silhouette from a piece of plywood (a silhouette of Santa, a snowman, etc works well). Using screws, attach your silhouette to a short post that you can drive into the ground. You'll want the silhouette to stand right at ground level several feet away from the wall. Position a spot light on the other side of the silhouette so that it will shine on the silhouette and project a large shadow on the wall. A silhouette of Joseph leading Mary who is sitting on a donkey is beautiful.

8. Wrap indoor Christmas lights around a railing or banister. Secure periodically with tape. Be careful to tape down the electrical cord so that no one trips over it.

9. Add color to a room with vases of red and white flowers. Use roses, carnations, mums, daisies, etc. Or, float the flowers in large crystal or glass bowls.

10. Wrap an assortment of medium to large sized boxes with Christmas wrap. Attach ribbons and/or bows. Pile the boxes in a corner from floor to ceiling