Christmas at the Crystal Cottage

I'm trying out this name for our house. Is it silly to name your house? I think not. I see our house as a cottage for sure - quaint, dainty, and homey. And the "crystal" part I added because I realized that I am adding so much sparkle to this place! So we'll see if it sticks.

Decorating this year was a blast - and I only spent $4! We got our tree last year as a gift, and most of our nicer ornaments. I only spent money on upholstery piping to make the "Merry Christmas" sign on the mantel! More details on that to follow! Everything else is reused or repurposed in some way to bring some Christmas cheer!



For ornaments, we used mercury glass ones that were given to us last year, made by Anthropologie. I also scrounged up some lace and tied simple bows and hung those sporadically. I fell in love with the typed pages look and made pinwheel ornaments of my own design (Free and EASY). Then, I found my handmade crocheted coasters, figured they looked close enough to snowflakes, and stock them on there as well. I hung a few doilies as well (one of my go-to items for decorating). I am pleased with the result! I had a little roll of bridal tulle (usually these are like 2 dollars at the dollar store) and wound it around the tree as a garland! I am too cheap to buy a premade garland, so this worked perfectly and looks so pretty with the lights twinkling through.






This wreath has been through many tranformations. This year, I bustled tulle around the ouside, added a flower that I made awhile ago with crystals (yay), and set it on a little doily. Voila. I hung these votives with leftover lace and utilized my new little awning in the dining room that I created with corbels and an old shutter.



These trees were transformed from hideous glittery gunk-ville. I hot glued fabric I had from old curtains over top, then wound around trim from old projects. I love them, and I'm sure I will use them for years to come!!