Simple Christmas Tour

Hello, hello! 'Tis the season for Christmas decorated home tours, and while it's been really fun to see how other friends have decorated their homes for the holiday season, I wasn't planning to share my own home until yesterday afternoon! We've enjoyed getting our Christmas decorations out as a family and setting up our tree and lights, but it's kind of been something I just wanted to enjoy with my family this year. It's easy to feel pulled in a lot of different directions during the holidays, and with our plates full of other really good things, this was one that I was planning to shed. I confided my conflict to Cate who wisely advised that if it doesn't bring me joy, then don't worry about it. And at that, I decided to whip up this post!

I don't share a lot about life behind the scenes of StyleMutt Home, (not as much, anyways). But it's moving forward at Polar Express speeds, (just like anyone's). The way I decorate our home is every bit a reflection of that passage of time, our growing children, myself. Our home has always been an extension of the character of our family and my personal development as a creative individual. The reason I enjoy documenting our home is the same reason I journal - to be able to look back and see growth and movement. So, despite the simplicity, it warms my heart to share our Christmas 2017 home with you, friends!

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Notice the angel on the far left, with her nose in the air and arms crossed. No candle, baked good, seashell or wreath like the others....she's my favorite. Hah!!

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Oh my goodness, I hope I can still remember in years to come how funny it was trying to figure out a layout this year! We are right smack in the middle of a sofa debacle that is a story for another day, but we figured things out by using only the chaise part of a massive sofa / chaise combo.

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Our kitchen has seen A LOT of action lately now that we're in full swing holiday party season. Yup, lots of mediocre baking going on in here. If you like quantity over quality, I'm you're gal! Lol! Between the kids' classrooms and their various activities, it's been one party after another!

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Shire's bedroom is pure Christmas magic to me. I find myself in here without any reason to be; it's just a happy place. The bedspread was from my grandparents' old lake house, and the mini tree is on loan from my sister. I love that Shire's room is a compilation of special memories, people and places.

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Our bedroom is the last stop because the boys room is just done being photographed. It's a charming hot mess and I love it because I birthed them, but their door is officially closed to the public. :)  I enjoyed adding a tiny bit to our own bedroom, though, to make it special for the holidays! The bunch of boxwood was just the kind of small festive nod I was looking for for our room. It suits the simplicity of the space well and because there's not a lot going on, I feel like you really see it, you know? I often tell clients, the less there is, the more you see.

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The only other impactful addition to the room is the kilim rug  covered bench at the end of the bed! Both the rug and the bench were found on a neighbors curb on trash day, so I brought both pieces home and turned them into one!

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Well that's it! Thank you so very much for taking the time to come by. I hope you enjoy these days until Christmas and have peace about what is on your own plate. A bit of advice - no one else will really notice what you don't get done. As I walked into yet another children's holiday party last night for my son's cubscout pack, I placed my 4 dozen brownies on  table full of other various treats and thought to myself, no one would have noticed if I didn't bring these. Here's to shedding the excess so we can focus on the priorities.

Merry Christmas and God bless!

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Paper Feather Wreath {Holiday DIY No. 2}

Mmmmmm. The weekend is here and it's already tastin' sweet, friends. If you're up for a little holiday DIY project, I've got a goodie for ya! What I love about today's DIY is that it's not screaming 'Christmas!!!' It's a piece you could easily leave out year round! But since it's a wreath, we're tossin' it into the Holiday bucket.

 
 

First things first - I absolutely cannot take credit for this project. I saw it months ago when the ever clever Melaine shared it on her My Sweet Savannah blog! The moment I saw this project I knew it would be one of the first things I made for this year's holiday season.

Let's get started! First, you need to print about 7 copies of this page on cardstock. I did this from home on FedEx online - placed my order for 8 x 11 size prints, and then picked it up, (I only used 7 sheets, but I would advise getting 10 just in case). This will cost less than $10.

 
 

Now for the fun part! You're going to cut out each feather. After cutting the feathers from the page, you'll add small cuts to each feather to give them a bit more dimension and authenticity. 

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Okay, bare with me here. This next part I did not take a picture of. As per usual, I worked on this little ditty while racing cars with one child, braiding Ana and Elsa's hair with another, and coaxing my third to keep his socks on and stop hiding them under the couch cushions...it's a beautiful kind of chaos, indeed. Back to our project! You're going to need a wreath frame at this point! Cardboard will do the trick. I just used a mixing bowl turned upside down to trace a large circle on a piece of cardboard, cut it out with a box cutter, then traced a smaller circle on the inside, and carved that one out.

Once you've got your wreath frame, just grab a glue stick and go to town! There's really no rhyme or reason to sticking your feathers on. I found it easier to start with the big blue guy first, then surrounding him with the smaller plumes, working my way around the frame one section at a time.

 
 

That's it! Not too difficult, eh?!

Rather BUY than DIY? We've got you covered.
This wreath from Anthropologie hits all the right notes of festive, elegant, and whimsical. (And if you follow the link, you'll see they staged it in one picture with white pom-pom garland, which I shared a tutorial for last week! Anthropologie and I are so in sync with each other....)

Don't forget to share your holiday decorating ideas and projects by posting your photos to our Facebook wall or tag #stylemuttholiday on Instagram!

Thank you all for stopping by and have a beautiful weekend!

This project is linked to RemodelAholic, where you can find dozens more Holiday DIYs!