Country Living shared easy holiday snowflake craft projects that triggered the idea to deck your guest room. I never deck a bedroom but since your guest room is the private living quarter of your guests during their stay, why not add a winter touch to their decor?  The snowflake pillows are cute. Do not forget to add some shiny touches. The silver lampshade is a superb idea to achieve it.

Since your guests may be hungry when they arrive, leave on their room a coconut frosted cupcakes with its beaded snowflake topper. You simply need long and short clear beads and some wire to make your own topper.

+ photos: Country Living

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Hanging Holiday cards looks better than putting them on a shelf. It allow you to be more creative. You could install clothesline against the  wall, hang your cards on a handrail, transform a pot rack or use a paper chandelier.

Pottery Barn added to their catalog the Wakefield Chandelier. It is a three tiered iron chandelier with 35 clips. Although it comes with preprinted paper clips, I prefer it when people hang postcards and memorabilia that mean something to them.

+ Wakefield Chandelier $ 299 USD

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I will talk about how you can integrate Holiday decorations within your home decor. It is about created a sophisticated room. I like how the stylists on the above photo marry rustic elements to a traditional French style room. The mood is soothing but definitely festive. Except for the Christmas baubles, you could keep most of the items all winter.

Winter and Cottage Feel

The idea is to add a layer of festive decorations to your rooms. Adding vignettes here and there, achieve that goal. Since you do not wish to recreate the same look every Christmas, explore how you can rearrange the elements by removing and adding some pieces. Look at how you can display them differently.

With smaller urban homes and unit condos, many people do not have the space to keep tons of decorations that they use one month a year. Look at items that you can reuse instead. Simply replace the white and red candle on the twig lantern and enjoy it all summer at the cottage. The silver twig vase, I saw similar ones at William Ashley by the way, could be used any time you entertain to add sparkle to your dining room. I might keep one or two white deer statutes on a shelf after Christmas.

Build your Tabletop on What You Have

Take cues from the little black dress when designing your tabletop. The accessories you put on give personality to the little black dress. You can do the same with your tableware. Look at how you can use what you already have, add a plate or a bowl, make sure you get a little sparkle, use ornaments as your centerpieces and voilà, you create a festive tabletop!

Again, I am surprised that you can find those at Home Sense. I should shop there more often.

+ photos: Home Sense

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Styled photos in catalogues and magazines are often a source of inspiration. I never thought of hanging baubles on a deer horn. I do not know how it looks in the room. For certain, it looks stunning as a close-up picture.

I was not surprised by this out of the ordinary touch after I read that Pale and Interesting was founded by a couple who worked in the magazine, photography and design industries before launching their online store. Their keen eye results in a unique catalogue that teams old with new. I find it quite relaxing to browse their Web site.

Vintage Style Ornaments

The most stunning baubles I found so far are available at this small UK retailer. I see a pattern emerging from my coverage of Holiday decorations. Besides the knitted ornaments and the tweed animals that I bought earlier, the Christmas ornaments that captured most my imagination this year seem to be the vintage style baubles. I guess I feel romantic and cozy these days.

Simple Ways to Deck your Home

I also wish to point the fact that you do not need a big Christmas tree to deck your home for the Holidays. Setting a few vignettes across your home can look stunning. Put your attention on the entry way, the living room and the dining room. The idea is to create a cohesive look by integrating baubles and ornaments into your usual decor. Otherwise, your Holiday decorations may seem out of place.

You can add sprinkles simply by putting on the buffet table your silver footed trays and candlesticks. Then, gather a few baubles on a silver tray or inside a glass container. If you have a tall vase, get an assortment of baubles in a single color. Mix shiny with mat, small with big to add textures and movements to your display.

There are a few ideas that you can explore. I will show more over the coming weeks.

SOURCING:
+ Vintage Style Glass Baubles £6.95
+ Set of Five Antiqued Silver Baubles in a Bag £10.95
+ Set of Two Mercury Glass Tea Light Holders £3.95

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I typically wait for sales before buying my Christmas ornaments but I could not resist when I saw these Christmas ornaments. Their handmade character and winter cottage feel seduced me.

The handmade reindeer (top picture) that can stand of their own were the first to caught my eye. From that, I developed the rest of the design. I like how the knit collection looks against the tweed ornaments. They complement each other.

I gave my Christmas tree a couple years ago because it took too much floor place. I plan to simply hang the ornaments on branches. Or, I may get a table tree. I still have to design that part. I aim for an airy composition. My goal is to play on the less is more concept. We will see how it goes. You will get the surprise soon enough.

If you are interested I bought those at Teatro Verde. It is far from the cheapest store for your tree ornaments but they have a beautiful collection. I bought them because I was visiting Toronto and I was not sure if I would find those in Montreal.

SOURCING:
+ Knit ornament mitten, shirt, stocking $13.95 CAD
+ Assorted tweet ornaments owl, bird, reindeer $11.95 CAD

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The countdown to Christmas is a fun activity when you live with young kids. You have all November to craft your own. In fact, if you wish to get the advent house or the bucket advent calendar you have no other choice than making your own since they are out of stock at John Lewis. They may get more since you can leave your email but I would not count of that.

For the house, you could start with a paper or a wood house model. Get a good supply of card boards and foam core to add details to the house. Use paint, gift wrapping paper,and small ornaments to decorate every window. It could be a fun weekend project for the family.

The bucket pennants is easier to reproduce than the advent house. Sadly, I am not sure that you will save money by making your own. To make your own, shop for 25 small decorative buckets, look at scrapbooking items to craft the date tags, and find a festive large ribbon.

Feel free to send me pictures of your advent calenders. Do you follow the advent calendar custom? If you follow it, do you put a toy, a treat or an act/goal to your kids?

SOURCING:
+ Christmas Advent House £30
+ East of India Bucket Advent Calendar £25

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The way I decorate for Christmas has changed a lot over the years. The cool Christmas looks are miles away from what Christmas decorations were when I was a kid.

It is evident when we look at these pictures. In fact, the top picture constitutes a good example of the Comfort trend, one of the 4 Holiday decor trends for 2009. I love it!

Over the last few years, nature plays a big element in my Holiday decorations. This year, you could show that you care for the planet by getting decorations from 100% natural and recycled materials. A stylish collection is the one designed by David Stark for West Elm.

On my wish list are the Lupis twine trees and the sparkly decor wreath. The trees are available in a table version and a floor version. You do not need to add a lot to make an impact. See how adding a simple ribbon and a few Christmas baubles enhances the overall look.

MORE:
+ David Stark Natural Weave Tree 2 foot $24, 6 foot $99
+ David Stark Sparkly Décor Wreath $59

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We never have too many pumpkin carving stencils. These are perfect for a young family. The images should not scare young children. The skull could go with the spooky chic Halloween table I presented yesterday. Download them at HGTV Canada.

+ photos: HGTV.ca

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Every year, Christmasworld dedicated a section of their fair to 4 trends that represent customers’ desires according to style expert. The general theme for Christmas 2009-2010 is “Express your dreams”. It is declined in 4 decorating trends: Airy, Sweet, Comfort and Obsession. Each trend also represents a season. So feel free to be inspired by the Comfort decor theme to decorate at Thanksgiving.

Airy = Spring

Airy is characterized by lightness and transparency. It feels romantic in a modern way. Soft pastel colours, blurred motifs and fluid structures lure the observer into a fairylike fantasy world. Plenty of glass vases, baubles and crystal are a must.

The colour parameters are created by chalky pastels ranging from cream to pink and pale grey, all combined with lots of white. Transparent, translucent materials are as light as the colors.

Sweet = Summer

Sweet is the most feminine decor. It is unusual to see pink floral patterns at Christmas. Do not be afraid to use a multicolor palette. This decor feels fresh and girly with a hint of kitsch. The milky palette extends from sand, aqua and turquoise to violet, lime and slate grey. Materials include plastic, varnish and porcelain, tulle and satin ribbons. Surface are over-sugared, candied and glazed.

For me, this decor screams more bridal showers and tea parties than Christmas. For that reason, I am not sure about it as a good Christmas theme. On the other end, you will probably reuse most of decorative elements the rest of the year.

Comfort = Autumn

Comfort is an evolution of the birch bark, the deer and the natural theme that was popular on the last two years. Comfort plays with contrasts in textures, materials and styles. Make sure to include pieces made with natural materials. Feel free to oppose modern style objects with driftwood. A must are the touches of red or orange to enliven the decor.

Comfort is the only trend that is sure to appeal to both genders. I guess that it will be theme used by Boyd Ferguson (re: modern rustic kitchen).

Obsession = Winter

This is by far the most glamourous decor for Christmas. I see Obsession as the next wave of the Hollywood Glamour theme. You mix metallic colors. Quartz pink and mauve lighten up mahogany, aubergine, violet and gold. I am impress with the lilac against the silver and gold. It might be something I try this year. You will need to look for curved lines, ornate objects, luxurious materials and fabrics like velvet and silk to reproduce the Obsession look.

MORE:
+ via Christmasworld

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Cutting and building a paper model is a great activity that you can do with the kids. There are a lot of free patterns on the Web. You may wish to stop first at a printer for a better printing job on cardboard. Keep an extra copy in case you ruin a piece while building your haunted house paper model.

You can stop at assembling the model. But you will get a bigger Wow factor if you do a few extra steps. Look at the impressive carving job of Ray Keim. He added moss to key places on did his Skoolhouse. For the piece de resistance, Ray carved several Potka Pods as decorative pumpkins. You do not have to carve them. Simply, putting a few Potka Pods will elevate the results. You could also deposit on the floor small pieces of hay and hang spider webs.

Ray Keim produced many paper models. His latest addition is the Bates House Paper Model. Visit Haunted Dimensions for downloading the kits and getting inspirations on how Ray and other people have decorated their paper models.

Cute but simpler

Another model that I like is the Haunted Church with cemetery by Paper Models. This one is for sale. They give you the choice of downloading their model or opting for a printed kit that they will ship to you. The Printed Kit is available in 3 dimensions.

WHERE TO GET IT:
+ The Skoolhouse Paper Model Kit by Ray Keim
+ Haunted House Paper Model $9.95 – $24.95

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Martha Stewart have joined Flor, the maker of the coolest tile rug system, for Halloween. Arachnophobia is a spider Web pattern available in two colors. Opt for the more sophisticated Raven and Ash color. Having 9 tiles of spider web feels a little redundant. You will achieve better results if you match solid and patterned tiles to create your own unique design.

For example, I decided to box in Arachnophobia with Skully, another festive Halloween pattern. I used Toy Poodle in Woof Woof Walnut for the two sides. If you are lucky, you may hand up with some tiles that you could put somewhere in my house the rest of the year.

Do not worry to be creative With the Design your Flor tool. You can get unexpected surprising results. The tool is not just test your design, it also speeds the ordering process. The configurator keeps track of your tile requirements with a ready to use Add to Cart function.

If you do not feel creative, you can always buy them in ready to use kits. If you have a boy living at home, they will appreciate the Funny Bones rug kit in their play room or bedroom. Know that you can order pre-cut quarter tile border tiles.

SOURCING:
+ Arachnophobia Raven/Ash Tile $15.99 USD
+ Skully Black and White Tile $13.99
+ Toy Poddle Tile $13.99
+ Funny Bones rug kit $129.99 USD
+ Velvet Rope Tilee $13.99 – I used the pewter and the red
+ thanks to @iancapstick for tweeting me this idea

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Carving pumpkins is great but we do not all have the talent of making complex design. And if you have young kids at home, they will prefer simpler images.

What you need our a few printable carving templates and stencils. You do not have to carve the pumpkins, you can simply paint a silhouette or do both.Then, you create a vignette to give life to your theme.

I selected on Better Homes and Gardens 4 pumpkin decorating projects that anyone could do it without passing all day on the project. These cute pumpkins will not give nightmares to young kids. If you put your painted pumpkins outside, apply a varnish to protect the painted silhouette from the outdoor elements.

+ The Haunted Mansion pumpkin was realized by chiseling the windows of the painted mansion. Then, they added a moon behind. Get the haunted mansion template.

+ This is the happiest pumpkin. This interpretation of the cat pumpkin is girlie. Add a bow and ears to your drawing. Print first the Feline Stencil.

+ The creepy crow is a classic. Tufts of garden moss or ornamental grass help keep the pumpkin stable inside the birdbath. You can punch the eye of the black crow stencil.

+ I like the simplicity of the Spooky Spider Stencil with its luminous web. The lines of the web are carved just deep enough to let the glow of the candle shine through the pumpkin walls. pumpkin photo

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