DIY Christmas 2012 with Sarah Ahiers

When Sarah sent me her post on Christmas decorating, I was floored by how beautiful her projects turned out with just a few simple pieces. Tres brilliant! She could get a job working at Macy's Display Team. Try these at home!


Sarah Ahiers does Centerpieces--with a little help from Yvie

Centerpieces. Yes centerpieces. If you have a dining room table (which I used to have but is now missing for various reasons (and now I'm saving up for a new one)) or if you have a pass through between your kitchen and another room (Which I DO have) then a centerpiece is a quick and easy way to add some holiday decorations.

The best thing is, they are super easy to make!

I have a terrarium I bought at a crate and barrel a few years ago.

I forgot to take a picture of it when it was empty, so instead you get a stock photo. BUT, this is the exact one I have, FWIW


I keep thinking about putting some houseplants in it, but I haven't yet. And now I've taken to using it for holiday decorations.

So, either gather random crafty stuff you have lying around (if you're one of those people who happen to keep random craft supplies around) or head out to your nearest craft store and get a nice selection of candles, baubles and fake plants and fruit.

Just a normal candle. Pick a color you like and match accordingly. Don't worry if they're scented or not.


Also, get some help.

Yvie says these fake pears are inspected by her and now safe to eat

What are these "baubles" you speak of?

These taste worse than the pears!

Time to throw in some gold and sparkly plants!


Don't be afraid to experiment. And don't be afraid to go asymmetrical. Two different sized candles often work better than two of the same size.

Then get crafty and arrange everything in your terrarium to your liking!


Voila! Holiday terrarium! I like to use a singular peice (in this case, a bird) to be the focal point, but don't be afraid to experiment and go crazy. Almost anything would look awesome!

Don't have a terrarium? No problem! Wine glasses work on much the same (albeit smaller) level! Just use some baubles, maybe a ribbon, and a candle and voila! You've got some holiday candle holders!


I'd use scented candles, here, because then you could light them and make the house smell nummo


You could also use a pretty silver serving plate, etc. And don't be afraid to try this for different holidays or seasons. I do much the same thing for Halloween, just with purple and black decorations and mini tombstones instead of birds.

So there you have it! Holiday decorations can be easy and cheap! I raided the Michael's Christmas bins for the majority of my decorations and they were all 60% off.

Sarah Ahiers blogs about writing and weird phenom MWF over at Sarah Ahiers Writes. She often procrastinates from writing or cleaning by crafting, hanging out with her dogs or partaking of general geekery.

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Don't forget, you can leave a comment on any previous DIY Christmas 2012 post for a chance to win the prize on that post. Who knows? You might get lucky.

Other DIY posts from:

Shelley Munro
Cathy Pegau
Gwen Gardner
There are more great posts to come. All contests end December 21, 2012.

Comments

The terrarium turned out great! (With help from Yvie of course.) You might have to keep it like that year round.
Anne Gallagher said…
Fantastic terrarium. I have one too so guess what I'm going to do with it!

Yay for Yvie helping. She's such a good dog.
Sarah Ahiers said…
Thanks so much for hosting me, Maria!!
Sarah Ahiers said…
Alex - Thanks! Yeah she likes to "help" with anything and everything

Mac - "precious" is a word for her... Also bitey and sassy come to mind

Anne - Yay!! Fire me a pic of it when you're done
I love Crate & Barrel stuff, but that store is frickin' expensive.
Sarah Ahiers said…
Michael - yeah it is. It was a special treat from me to me when i was visiting my sis in chicago
Mike Keyton said…
Good stuff, but I leave the decorating to my daughter - though I do fiddle with the Christmas tree in occasional bouts of alcoholic feng shui.

PS Love the dog
Sarah Ahiers said…
Mike - alcholic Feng Shui is possibly the best phrase i've heard all day. True Story
Angela Brown said…
Glad that all pieces for the decoration passed inspection :-)

Too cute!

And the end result is GORGEOUS!

I would not have thought to use a wine glass that way. Gives me some ideas to consider.

Thanks so much for the crafty ideas :-)
Sarah Ahiers said…
Angela - The best thing is you can find cheap wine glasses at the dollar store
Gwen Gardner said…
These are wonderful! Such great ideas. And with a helper like Yvie, you can't go wrong :)
Gwen Gardner said…
These are wonderful! Such great ideas. And with a helper like Yvie, you can't go wrong :)
Shelley Munro said…
Gorgeous! You and Yvie made it look so easy too.
Sarah Ahiers said…
Gwen - she certainly does enjoy "helping"

Shelley - Thanks! And it really is easy, even when you think none of your things will work together, surprisingly they almost always do
That wine class decoration looks so simple and yet so lovely.
Sarah Ahiers said…
It's great too because it's so easy and doesn't have to be expensive
Hannah said…
Aw, that's super cute!! Sarah, make one for me! You know where I live!
Anonymous said…
My FIL gave us a terrarium a few years ago and we've done absolutely nothing with it. LOVE this!