Kitchen Christmas Refresh

It’s that time of year, the most WONDERFUL time of the year! I know some people wait to decorate for Christmas, but I like to get it over with early and enjoy it for a couple of months. Last year I felt like everything got a little too cluttered/cramped around here so I am trying to keep it simple this go around.

I really am feeling the green/white color scheme this year, so you will mostly see that style from me. I started in the kitchen, because that seemed the easiest!

I picked this dough bowl up extremely cheap on a local Facebook site, and it has been sitting in my kitchen ever since. This season I added some faux greens and an amazing candle from my friends over at Antique Candle Co. (I am not an affiliate, I just really like their stuff!). This candle scent is ‘Tree Farm’ which works perfect for giving that real tree smell to a home.

Now on to the sink area, and I struggled with what to put in the ‘window’. Originally, I wanted a wreath, but opted for the copper bells for the sake of simplicity.

It just wouldn’t be the Christmas season without home baked goodies in the company of friends and family. Both of us have close friends we consider family, thus our annual celebration ‘friendsmas’.

Lastly, a simple wreath over the range hood ties it all together! Here are a few additional photos that I took…

Dough bowl close up!

Hopefully my early decorating has provided some inspiration for your own home, feel free to tag me in your photos so I can take a peek! For now I am back to managing the fort, it’s Friday night and that means (most) tasks can wait until the weekend!

Cheers!

-Rachael

My (No-Cost) Holiday Front Porch!

Last week I wrapped up my decorating for the year by completing my front porch, and it was a challenge! If you follow me on Instagram (@aps_design) you already know that I posted the whole process on stories that day, attempting to do the entire porch with items I already had at home, no purchases!

This was a personal challenge I came up with because I know I have a ton of items at home that I should be creative with and use for decorating, but I usually forget to do that and just purchase what I need instead. But, in the spirit of budget friendly, I went with a no-cost front porch this year! Now I will admit, I have a large collection of random items that helped make this task possible, but I did have to get creative in using them and some of these methods could inspire you as well!

Lets get to it!

I worked on the right side of the porch first, collecting items and putting them in a wagon that I found in my garage. I had made some ‘presents’ out of blocks of wood earlier this season and decided they would go well together in the wagon. The crock that is also in the wagon could probably use some greenery but in the spirit of not buying anything for this porch decor, it remains empty.

The large rusted milk jug is a staple piece for my front steps, so it always stays out there in some capacity. This season I gave it some height by positioning it on top of an overturned wooden apple box.

I piled the wood slices up in front of the wagon to add more of a woodsy/rustic/tree farm feel to the picture.

The left side of my porch was a bit more challenging, as I did not have any Christmas lights on green wire, but in the evening hours when the tree is lit it’s not as noticeable. I simply put the tree in an old wash bin and stacked some wood slices in front of it.

During my scavenger hunt in the garage, I found this beautiful vintage sled and half barn door that I had previously forgotten about. I grabbed a little greenery and tied it to the sled. Ideally, I would find some old ice skates to pair with the sled, if I wasn’t doing a no-cost challenge!

Here’s the final look!

Again, I would have done things a little bit differently if I wasn’t doing this little personal challenge of not purchasing anything for the front porch, but this did force me to look through things I already had and be creative in using them. I hope this can provide some inspiration with your own budget friendly decorating! Merry Christmas!

Wrap It Up! An Easy Christmas Wrapping Guide

Hey friends! It’s officially December! the purchased gifts have started rolling in from all those black Friday sales and they are just waiting to be wrapped!

How do you tackle this final stage?

Maybe you are a seasoned professional and have the picture perfect gifts under the tree….?

or

Maybe you put everything in a gift bag 10 minutes before they are exchanged…?

OR

Maybe you wish to have some cute & matching wrapped gifts but don't know where to start and also don't want to tack on a bunch of expense making it happen…?

Well, I am here today to give you some simple and inexpensive solutions to this gift wrapping dilemma…

Just follow these easy steps!

1. Choose at least two different papers that coordinate well together. I always go with a simple brown paper and then add in something else with a little color. This year I accented with red, which i normally stay away from during holiday decorating but i gave it a shot! I really like lined paper, as it helps eliminate waste. These are from the hearth and hand collection at target.

2. I like to use a stamp to address the gifts, either with first initial or full name, this cuts down on tag costs and also looks a bit more ‘homemade’. If you prefer tags, these on the right are some cute and inexpensive choices from the target dollar spot.

3. Next, select your gift toppers. This year i gathered up some wooden stickers from the target dollar spot (pictured below) and faux greenery. .

4. Assembly! I went through my craft bin and grabbed a couple different styles of twine, and a mini bell ornament (displayed on the red package).

That’s it! I really like how handmade these packages look with no fancy bows or glittery ribbon, but that is just my style. your style might look different and that’s ok, this post is just meant to be a guide.

Also, the total amount spent on wrapping materials this year is around $14, which will cover dozens of gifts. Budget friendly and cute!

My Entryway Sawhorse Table

Hi Friends! I’m slowly getting my home ready to go for Christmas, and I love decorating this fun sawhorse table in my entryway each and every season. My husband made it several years ago, and it continues to be a focal point in our home. I thought I would share what I did with it this year so you can get some ideas or inspiration for your own home!

I had these random steel buckets from a thrift store, a DIY Christmas garland that I made, and some jingle bells and other random items that I wanted to incorporate.

I love this old spool and jingle bells!

DIY Fabric Garland, click for instructions!

Here is how it all turned out, I love all of the different textures (metal, fabric, etc) along with the black and white and plaid holiday colors. Can you tell I am loving buffalo check this year??

My Saw Horse Entryway Table

Repurposing old items is one of my favorite decorating hacks! These hooks that hold up the lanterns on either side of the table are from an old carriage house/barn that had to be torn down due to storm damage. Just think of all of the horse and carriage equipment that hung on these hooks for decades, now they are continuing their work in my home! (I’m a history nerd, I know!)

Well that is all I have for you for now, stay tuned for the rest of my décor in my personal home as I get it completed!

XO,

Rachael

PS. I put together a simple (budget friendly!) guide to adding buffalo check to your home’s décor, and if you are stumped or need ideas feel free to check it out by clicking here!

(Note: The above link contains affiliate links and you can read my full disclosure here)

Coffee, Tree Trimming, and Christmas Decorating

Hi! Can you believe next week is already Thanksgiving? I still cannot wrap my brain around it. Either way, Christmas decorating is in full swing at my house and while I’m not quite ready to share what I have done so far, I did help a dear friend decorate her home yesterday over some much needed Starbucks, and wanted to quickly share what we did in case some of you are planning on whipping out your holiday items on Thursday night.

You all know I love everything budget friendly, and holiday decorating is no exception. While I do often buy a small item here or there, I reserve most of my décor shopping for after the holiday (or season) to take advantage of those steep discounts. As a result, I often forget what I have from the year before when it’s time to dig it all out of storage again, and this is why I prefer to get all decorations spread out in one place before beginning to place them throughout my home. I often reuse items in a new way than the year prior, or simply put them in a different room to give the illusion of ‘new’, without going over budget.

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Ok, lets get to it!

Having an infant on the move, my friend wanted to utilize some higher spaces in her home to place décor that her baby could not get into. She had two shelves on either side of her fireplace/tv area that she wanted to fill, and we also needed to figure out something for her tree to make it somewhat baby friendly.

We tackled the shelving first, and to do so we needed to paint a few mason jars white to go along with her Christmas theme this year. If you need a DIY tutorial on how we did it, click here.

Next, we needed to figure out how to keep the little one out of the Christmas tree. To do this, we used a smaller, 'planter’ style tree that would normally be used on a front porch or as an accent tree. I trimmed most of the red ‘berries’ off of it, since red wasn't really in the color scheme this year. We snagged a $3 tree skirt from the Target dollar spot, an old metal tub that I had laying around, and got to work!

The tree base looked a bit ‘empty’ in the large wash bin by itself, so we gathered up other items (ornaments, stocking holders, random things) and filled the wash bin until the base of the tree was no longer visible.

We placed the whole thing on top of an end table, out of reach of little hands.

We finished the look with a metal Christmas tree sign, which was another Target dollar spot deal.

The dollar spot is on point this season!

We had a great time decorating while catching up and spending some time with each other, after all, that's what this season is all about!

Here are some pictures of our finished products! Happy decorating!

1st Annual Budget Friendly Holiday Farmhouse Decor Guide

*Note: This post uses affiliate links, click here to see my full disclosure.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and that means all things plaid, burlap, and little red truck inspired!

It’s November, and at this house the Christmas décor has started to creep out of the basement. I haven’t dug deep into it yet, I have just been going through things and seeing which lighted items no longer work or need new batteries and so on. However, I did bust out the red paint, and if you missed my DIY Christmas Lantern craft you can find it HERE.

If you are an overachiever and have everything decorated and the cookies out for Santa, (can you believe I already received a Christmas card?) then this post is probably not for you!

HOWEVER, if you are like me and want to get started decorating but also want to keep things easy and budget friendly, then you will want to grab some coffee and a notepad (or pin this post for later)!

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I love amazon for many reasons, but most of all for their vast assortment of affordable farmhouse and vintage décor! Here are my top picks under $25 for this year (and these make great gifts too!)

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Pillows are so easy to decorate with, and these covers are not only affordable, but they are super easy to store since they lay flat and don’t have the bulk of whole pillows. Added bonus, the black and white buffalo check can be used for fall too!*

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I love using ornaments as a package topper, or just giving them as gifts themselves! Here are a few cute examples.*

PS. If you are stressing about gift wrapping already, have no worries I will be posting a simple and cute how-to guide soon!

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Next, lets talk table décor!

Arguably the focal point of your holiday decorating, aside from your tree of course, your table décor should flow with the rest of your house but on a more subtle scale. I have always been a fan of the ‘less is more’ phrase for the table, as there is nothing more annoying then having to move decorations so that guests can see each other when seated.

Personally, I just have a simple runner with a short tray (its actually an old metal chicken feeder) that I put down the center of the table and I fill it with different items for each holiday/season. For the holiday season (fall and winter) I use a simple black and white buffalo check runner.

Ok, enough chatter, let’s get to the good stuff.*

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Finally, the finishing touches. These are items that don't necessarily go with a particular collection in your home, but pop up now and then on a bathroom counter or laundry room floor or anywhere you like to add a little touch of Christmas. Personally, I like to purchase a couple of these ‘random’ items a year, that way I can build my Christmas décor and also stay on budget!

I have put together several of my favorite items below, and remember everything in this post is under $25!*

Note: If you are looking for an easy guide to chalk painting these unfinished candlesticks, check out my tutorial here

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Ok, you might be thinking where are the Christmas trees? Garland? Wreaths?

Well it turns out I have expensive taste in those items, but I will link a few of my favorites below for those of you looking to splurge on an item or two.

*Remember, these are affiliate links, and you can read my full disclosure here.

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I hope this post was able to inspire you to start thinking about your holiday decorating, and dont forget to sign up for our mailing list so you are notified when my budget friendly gift wrapping (like a pro!) tutorial is posted!

See you soon!

xo,

Rachael