Cute Little Cottage Christmas Tree

Oh Christmas Tree...

Oh Christmas Tree...

Here is our Christmas Tree.

To be totally honest, while I love the way my tree turned out,

I was a little sad this year about this little guy.

Don't get me wrong this tree will do just fine and by no means am I ungreatful.

It's just....

Travis & I have had a tradition each year that we've been in our home.

 We normally head on out to a local tree farm on the day after Thanksgiving.

and cut down a fresh tree.  A big ol 9 foot pleasantly plump classic tree!

Well.....needless to say that tradition didn't happen this year:(

Our home is still.......on the market to be sold as some of you know.

So, we didn't know if having a real tree on our new carpet was such a great idea.

And, I really didn't want to move my big wooden table and try to find another place

for it in our home right now, nor did I want to store it.

That is when I came up with this idea.

Why not by a fairly small artificial tree and set it on top of the table?

So, that's just what I did.
We have 10 foot ceilings so even though the tree is still 6.5 ft tall it looks pretty small in the room.

I didn't invest a lot of money into a large artifical tree because frankly,

I want to go back to our old tradition someday.

(And I totally miss that fresh Christmas Tree smell when I walk in the door every night!)

I wrapped a few votives in ribbon and placed them at the

base of the treeto add some ambiance at night. 

And, I told you..I am all about red ribbon this year.

I added small touches in each room to help tie our overall look together.

It was really simple and inexpensive and I think it helped add that festive cottage touch

I was looking for this holiday season!

My ornaments I have collected over the last few years.

Most are from Dwellings. 

A few of the wooden snowflakes are from Target last year.

I also added some gingham ribbon bows to the tree.

I think this poor little guy is starting to feel a little lonely.

It's time a started wrapping presents to put under the tree!

Stop back tomorrow.

I will be posting our Holiday Tour of our Home!

Carrie

also linking up

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Frugal Friday

Whipper Berry

Funky Junk Interiors

Between Naps on the Porch

Savvy Southern Style

Naturally Simple DIY Garland

I posted earlier about our holiday gallery wall.

I thought I would show you just how simple it was to make the garland.

Our gallery wall needed just that little touch of holiday.

So I tried to figure out a quick and simple solution and came up with

a naturally simple jute garland with wooden ornaments with sprigs of fresh greens.

All of which I already had left over.

What you need to get started.

Supplies

Jute String

(You could use plain white string or a thin ribbon even a thin piece of fabric.)

Wooden Snowflake Ornaments

( I choose wooden snowflakes because it coordinated with my natural holiday decor,

but you could use silver balls or any ornament really.)

Fresh Green Stems

(I love the fresh greens, but again you could mix it up and a little sparkle by using any glittered stem.)

Steps

1. Cut a piece of the jute string long enough for the space you will be hanging it.

Remember to allow for a little extra to get the swag in your garland.

2. Tie on your first snowflake.

3.  Leave about 10-12 inches and apply your stem.

4. Repeat these steps until you filled your garland.

I didn't want mine to be perfectly symetrical so I mixed it up a little.

Here I tied the green sprig then added a snowflake ornament.

You can add pieces directly on the long jute swag to add more interest if you want.

I also did not hang the garland on the wall perfectly symetrical.

I liked that it added that slight touch of whimsy.

Which for me is what the holidays are all about.....spreading cheer.

What do you think of the garland?

I would love to know if you try making this yourself.  Let me know if you do.

To see more of our holiday gallery wall go here.

And don't forget to stop by on Friday for our
{Home for the Holidays}
Link Party

grab a button

Carrie

also linking up to
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
Funky Junk Interiors
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Shabby Nest
Funky Junk

Holiday ~ Gallery Wall

Here is our simple naturally festive gallery wall for the holidays.

Our gallery wall is in the living room of our home. 

It is one of the first things you see upon entering our house.

So, I wanted the wall to reflect some of our holiday look

 throughout the rest of the other areas.

I made a simple jute garland using some wooden ornaments and fresh greens.

I wanted to add a little holiday touch to my gallery wall without changing all the photos.

I didn't even have to rehang anything.

I added my jute & wooden snowflake garland with fresh greens.

All of these natural elements you will see carried out in our decor elsewhere in the home.

It was so simple and quick to make.

To see our quick tutorial on our naturally simple holiday garland go here.

This birch tree is one of my favorite holiday decor pieces.

I got it at Dwellings a couple years ago.

You will see that I have also incorporated natural birch in other rooms too.

I added a simple red hydrangea stem for a pop of red which also

coordinates with our holiday decor throughout the house.



What do you think?

Have you dressed up your gallery wall for the holidays?

I would love to hear about it.

Hope you area all having a great weekend & getting lots of shopping done!

Carrie

linking up to
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Shabby Nest
Chic on a Shoestring
Whipper Berry
Remodelaholic
The 36th Avenue

{Home for the Holidays} Link Party & Features

Hey All!

Welcome to

{Home for the Holidays}

With The Corson Cottage

I just want to thank all of our party participants and visitors for all of your support

for our first party last Friday!  We had a great turn out for our first link party ever!

We had some wonderfully talented projects link up!

Here are a few features that just warmed my heart with holiday happiness!

Annie from Lovely Things made this stunning advent calendar.

WOW Annie!  This is honestly one of my favorite projects I have seen so far this season!

Stop by Annie's blog to see her simple elegant style.  She is a fabulous photographer too.

Here is one of the other fabulous features. 

Heather from The Lovely Cupboard linked up her Metallic Mantel.

Her art work is really one of kind!  What a terrifically creative idea.

Stop by Heather's blog I love how she incorporates traditional looks with modern touches.

Thanks for stopping by the party!

Party Rules:

1. You must be a follower of {The Corson Cottage},

if not please be so kind as to become one!  The more the merrier!

2. Link up your holiday related posts! 

 Home, Decor, DIY,Craft, Inspiration, Recipe it's all good.

3. Link back to the party and visit other party guests!

That's it!  What are you waiting for???

Get your party on!

Ribbon Christmas Tree ~ Being Featured

~ Feature Project ~

Remember our Ribbon Christmas Tree Art I made last week?

Well Kim from Savvy Southern Style has been so kind

to feature it at her Wow Us Wednesday Party tonight!

Thanks so much for the feature Kim! 

So head on over and check it out and see what all her party guests are up to this week.

Dining Hutch ~ my alternative mantel

Unfortunately I do not have a festive holiday mantel to share with you all.

I know everyone is partying with mantels this week:(

But I do have this hutch in my dining room that I freshen up for the holidays.

~ Naturally cottage chic if I do say so myself ~

On the top I added a pop of red with these festive poinsettias.

Tip ~ Instead of buying one large poinsetta that could cost $25-$50

I purchased 2 smaller ones that were $5 each they filled in my galvanized bucket perfectly.

I always try to coordinate my dining hutch with my dining table decor.

You can see more of my dining room for the holidays here and here.

I used fresh greens on the hutch and on my dining table to pull the look together in the room.

 I thought these greenery sprigs were organically fresh & simple.

Here I used some artificial berry filler with greenery sprigs.

I also used arificial snow filler and added just a single pinecone to finish the container.

I really love to mix natural elements in all of my decor for any season.

I think that is my favorite part of my holiday decor this year.

You will see fresh simple natural elements with pops of red in nearly every room.

For me it is important to make sure that the overall vibe

of my home has a cohesive feel from room to room both at the Holidays and everyday.

Be sure to come back & check out more of our

{Home for the Holidays} at The Corson Cottage

So here are the holiday parties I am joining!

I'll be heading over to Rhoda's on Wednesday.

And Ten June on Tuesday

~ Don't forget ~

You are all invited to party here every Friday in December!!!

Come join us for our {Home for the Holidays} Link Party.

Happy Holidays!

Carrie
also linking up to
Thrifty Decor Chick
Home Stories A to Z
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saved by Suzy
Remodelaholic
French Country Cottage
Funky Junk Interiors

Holiday Dining Table Decor ~ Part 2

Welcome {Home for the Holidays} with The Corson Cottage.

As I said before, I will be partying with these amazing bloggers the next two weeks.

If you haven't read Part 1 of our Holiday Dining Table Decor

you can check that out here.

I got a little photo happy out of control.

Here is our Holiday Dining Tablescape.

To be able to set the table, I removed one of the lanterns that sit on the table everyday.

It made a little more room to ensure that guests will be comfortable.

Okay so, if you are a Corson Cottage reader you know how I feel about burlap.

Casual.Simple.Cheap.Natural.Elegant.

 I added burlap squares instead of chargers or placemats.

Saved some $ on the ol budget, because I always keep a stash of burlap handy.

I love to use classic white dishes year round.

We have a casual lifestyle, so for us they are perfect.

You can make them work for any season just by making a few simple changes.
They are very versatile you can dress them up a little or keep it simple just the way I like it.

I picked up the plaid napkins at Target for $3.19 for a package of 2 and I needed 3 packs.
I'm really loving the plaid trend that is everywhere lately.
For me it was a perfect Cottage Christmas classic touch.
And it reminded me of home, my Mom always had a red & green paid table cloth for the holidays.

I also tied a simple piece of jute instead of using napkin rings, again saving money.

As you can see I placed my table setting for 6.

When we do have guests it's usually a full house.

I thought this is a great look for a holiday brunch, lunch, or dinner.

Here I thought I would show you just how simple it can be to change it up a little.

This look is just a bit more quick & simple.

Perhaps you need two coordinating looks because you'll be hosting guests for more than one meal.

Or if you do not need an entire table setting & you're just having a couple guests this works well too.

I switched out my centerpiece for a bowl of fresh Red Delicious apples with a few green sprigs.

I already had this bowl premade and it was sitting on a small

table that sits on our back porch right off the kitchen.

So it was an easy peasy swap. 

I just moved my lanterns to the floor behind the dining table.

I thought this was a great way of mixing it up & being efficient.

 I don't have to worry about making a new centerpiece on the day of hosting guests.

There you have it.

This is our Holiday Dining at The Corson's for 2011.

I'm partying with my all time favorite blogger today!

So head on over and check out Layla at The Lettered Cottage.

If you still haven't checked out Part 1 of our dining post you can still see it here.

Oh Yeah!

Don't forget to come back to The Corson Cottage to see the rest of our Holiday Decor 2011.

&

You are invited to party with us every Friday in December!!!

We will be warming your hearts for the holidays at our

{Home for the Holidays} link party.

Come join us!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

Carrie & Travis
also linking up
Home Stories A to Z
Thrifty Decor Chick
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Between Naps on the Porch
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic
Funky Junk Interiors
It's Overflowing
The 36th Avenue