Christmas trees around the world

I wondered what christmas trees all around the globe looked like and how different people decorated them, so I went on to search for pictures of these trees. CBS News.com had some great pictures in their photo gallery. They had pictures of christmas trees in the United Arab Emirates, the White House...and all the way to Tokyo and China. Take a look at these Christmas trees and see if you become inspired to decorate your own tree in any way!

The Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The White House in Washington

New York City

 Strasbourg, France 

 Prague, Czech Republic

Tokyo, Japan

Shanghai, China

Sydney, Australia

Brandenburg Gate at Berlin, Germany

Stockholm, Sweden

Christmas Decorating DIY ideas

If you want to decorate your home with something more than a wreath, here are more crafts work steps to follow to achieve chic and affordable holiday decorating.

Card Garlands

The season's first greeting cards, arriving weeks before the family tree goes up, are enough to stir most people's decorative impulses. This year, festoon mirrors with Lametta tinsel and use the sparkly wire to display your collection of cheerful tidings. Under the garlands, nestled in compotes, ribbon-lined candy pouches make sweet, simple party favors.
Steps to making Card Garlands

1. Lametta tinsel -- thin, flexible wire covered in shiny tufts -- is available at crafts stores or by mail order. Narrow ribbon and twine work, too; use metallic finishes for maximum shine. Drape several strands across a mirror; affix to back of frame with thumbtacks. Hang cards with 1-inch double-ring paper clips.2. Our pouches recycle 2- to 3-inch-wide ribbon scraps. Align ribbons; we paired sheers with solids so the treats would be visible. Trim ends with pinking shears, and stitch together lengthwise. Cinch one end of pouch with narrow ribbon or yarn, slip in mints, gumdrops, or peppermint sticks; tie other end.

Everlasting Garland

 Steps to making Everlasting Garland

1. Measure the length of your mantel, and multiply by 1 1/4; cut ribbon to that length.
2. Using a ruler and a pencil, mark ribbon at regular intervals. (We marked the ribbon every 6 inches for the larger garland.)
3. To create swags, mark a second ribbon at regular intervals, with spaces at least an inch greater than that of the first ribbon; leave several extra inches on ends. Make creases on second ribbon wherever marked.
4. Apply hot glue to top of first crease, and attach it to the first ribbon where marked, holding crease at a 45-degree angle across width of first ribbon; hold in place just until glue sets. Repeat. (For additional swags, repeat step 4 with more ribbon, and use hot glue to attach swags at creases.)
5. Trim ribbon ends at an angle.

Paper Evergreens

Step 1 For large Christmas trees, use an adjustable circle cutter to make 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-inch-diameter circles from green card stock (for small trees, omit the 6-inch circle).

Step 2 Fold each circle in half 4 times with a bone folder. While circles are folded, snip off the tip of each piece, forming a very small hole in center.

Step 3 Place smallest circle on the pointed end of a wooden skewer (we used 12-inch skewers), letting the tip poke through the hole in circle. With a hot-glue gun, dab underside of circle, where paper and skewer meet. Hold for 10 seconds to secure.

Step 4 Working 1 at a time from smallest circle to largest, slide remaining circles onto skewer; secure with glue.

Step 5 Insert bottom of skewer into a spool; remove, and cut skewer to desired height (we cut ours to 6, 9, and 10 inches), keeping in mind that only spool should be visible beneath standing tree. Return skewer to spool; secure with glue. Add a dot of glue to top of skewer, and attach a gold bead.

Have fun crafting!

via Martha Stewart

Next: More Like This

Cupcake frenzy! Holiday Christmas cupcakes edition

Once again, we are going to introduce our cupcake frenzy segment for all of you cupcake lovers to make! If you have been keeping up with our blog or have went back to October and read our previous cupcake frenzy posts, then you can see that we definitely have some very creative and easy ideas for you to make your holiday cupcakes. These fabulous ideas are not our own, but enjoy and hope you made the best cupcakes for your guests to try!

Jolly Santa Claus Cupcake

Cupcake

White and red icing

Mini marshmallow

Shredded coconut

Blue and pink gel icing

Red candy

1.        Frost the cupcake with a layer of white icing. Add the red frosting hat, curving it around the side of Santa's face, and a marshmallow pom-pom.

2.        Sprinkle on a ring of coconut to make Santa's beard and hair. Draw on his eyes and cheeks with gel icing, then top it all off with a red candy nose

Edible Ornaments Cupcake

Cupcakes

Colorful frosting

Red and green candy such as M&Ms

 Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

 Pretzels

1.        To make them, frost a batch of cooled cupcakes (baked from your favorite recipe) with colorful frosting.

2.        Decorate with festive icing and candies (we used red and green M&Ms Minis), then top each one with a miniature Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and a pretzel piece for an ornament hanger. Don't forget to save one for Santa.

Mistletoe Cupcakes

Cooled cupcakes (baked from your favorite recipe)

White icing

Grated coconut

Green gumdrops

Sugar, for sprinkling gumdrop leaves

Red candy for holly berries (M&Ms work well)

1.        Frost the cupcakes with snowy white icing and top with grated coconut.

2.        Then use a rolling pin to flatten green gumdrops on a piece of waxed paper sprinkled with sugar. Use an aspic cutter or butter knife to cut out holly leaf shapes.

3.        Arrange two or three leaves and a few red candy "berries" on top of each cupcake, pressing them into the frosting just enough to hold them in place.

That's all for now folks! I am off to make my own Christmas cupcakes! Enjoy! Part 2 of Christmas Holiday Cupcake frenzy will be up very soon!

Gift wrapping ideas for Christmas

Tis the season to be giving! We don't like wrapping our gifts in the conventional way. We like it unique and different to switch it up for this year's Christmas! Here we provide you some great ideas for this year's Christmas gift wrapping.

 

Recycle holiday cards as labels for presents. With a pencil, kids can draw (or stencil) the recipient's initial onto a card, and cut it out. Punch a hole in the letter, and tie to gift with yarn or ribbon.

 

Gift tags are all the sweeter when they happen to be crisp cookies. To make them, cut gingerbread dough into shapes or letters, punch with a small hole for threading with cord, and bake. The cookies can be eaten while the unwrapping takes place, or hung on a tree as ornaments.

Who doesn't love tinsel? Here's another way to use it: Twist wired tinsel into six-pointed stars. Cut three pieces of tinsel, two of equal length and one a little longer. Twist equal pieces together at centers, and wrap third piece onto the two twisted pieces, forming a star. Bend end of longer piece into a hook, and attach the star from the ribbon on a gift. Or hang as an ornament on a tree.

via Martha Stewart

A Red and White Christmas Day!

Christmas would be very classy if you do it with just the colors red and white. Look at these pictures of clean and well decorated rooms that can inspire you to do the same. Enjoy!

Wreath DIY for Christmas!

If you haven't yet decorated for Christmas, we have found some very chic DIY ideas that you can work with right away! Follow the steps and you will end up with a gorgeous wreath that no one else has at home. I think these wreaths look even better than store bought ones! Happy wreathing!

Present Wreath

Unwrap a new wreath idea this year. Cover small containers, such as old jewelry boxes, with weatherproof paper, which will hold up outdoors, unlike wrapping paper; seal with all-weather tape. Add decorative bands in contrasting colors, if desired, and tie with ribbon. Attach to a flat wooden wreath form (ours is 18 inches) using a hot-glue gun. Affix a satin bow.

Paper-Doily Wreath

 A delicate-looking wreath that creates the magical effect of candles flickering in the snow is easy to make and surprisingly sturdy.

Step 1 Working on a covered surface, lay a 24-inch wreath form inside a 30-inch one. Attach them with 24-gauge wire at 6 to 8 evenly spaced points.

Step 2 In a ventilated area, coat combined wreath form with white spray paint. Let dry.

Step 3 Wrap wreath form with a 20-foot strand of white holiday lights (test lights beforehand), leaving the plug end unwrapped (as much as is needed to plug in).

Step 4 With scissors, widen the center-hole slits slightly in paper bouquet holders (we used 10 8.8-inch ones, 20 6.4-inch ones, 20 4.8-inch ones, and 50 3.2-inch ones). Poke a finger through center hole of each bouquet holder (from front to back) to create openings large enough to accommodate a lightbulb.

Step 5 Beginning with largest ones, place bouquet holders evenly around wreath, slipping a light through each hole so that bulb bases, not bulbs, rest against paper. (From time to time, hang wreath, and step back to ensure that the arrangement is balanced and attractive.)

Step 6 Add remaining bouquet holders in descending size order. Use smallest bouquet holders to cover centers of larger ones and to fill in any gaps. Hang near an outlet. Unplug when unattended.

Ribbon-Poinsettia Wreath

Next: More Like This

Satin ribbon provides a wide range of shades with which to form these beautiful facsimiles. Their hardiness makes them a delightful choice for a fine (and everlasting) indoor wreath.

Step 1 Cut three lengths of wide satin ribbon diagonally to form equal-sided diamonds. Pinch each diamond at the center, and pin to hold it. Hold all three together, staggering them to form the six-leafed blossom, then fix together by looping 26-gauge wire twisted at the back; using wire cutters, remove excess wire at the twist. Cut the stems from four store-bought stamens and attach them to the front of blossom with craft glue.

Step 2 Use green ribbon, about half as wide as the first, for the decorative leaves. Cut two lengths about three times as long as they are wide. With the back side up, fold half the ribbon over so it forms an L shape. Fold the other half of the L over the first so it covers the previous fold. Cinch the bottom of the resulting house shape and hold it with a pin.

Step 3 Shave the edges off of a 19-inch Styrofoam wreath form to give it a rounded profile. Wrap the form with satin ribbon, securing the loose ends with straight pins. Affix ribbon poinsettias and leaves to the wreath with large straight pins (which will be hidden within the folds) held firm with subtly applied hot glue.

via Martha Stewart

For the holidays

Christmas is just around the corner! We have provided you with some great ideas for decorating for the holidays, stylishly. Enjoy!

Wooden Stocking forms are the new, stylish way to sport your Christmas stockings.

 

Brighten a room with colorful bulbs. Even unplugged lights shine when gathered in a glass apothecary jar. For a container that truly glistens, top it off with a dusting of artificial snow.

 

Arrange branches in a vase for an easy, elegant tabletop "tree." This one is adorned with chandelier prisms and gold-painted walnuts.

 

Give cabinets a festive feel fast. We recommend dressing up kitchen cupboards with patterned wrapping paper (don't worry — it's a cinch to remove after the New Year). Just cut the paper to fit glass cabinet doors, as well as the back wall space between shelves, and use double-sided tape to affix.