A Simple and Inexpensive Christmas

 

Hey friends!

Even though I am knee-deep into a kitchen renovation, I am feeling the need to talk about Christmas.

Since I cannot decorate for Christmas around my home, I thought I could do a little on my blog.

This year, like many of you, I am focusing on a Simple and Inexpensive Christmas.

I want my Christmas gifts, décor, and recipes to be simple.

And inexpensive!

So throughout the next two weeks, I will be sharing some simple and inexpensive ideas with you.

I also have some very special guest posters lined up to share with us, and you are going to love them!

 

To start us off, I thought I would post a little project that I did for a guest post about a month ago.

I really do love this project. 

It took me less than an hour to make and cost less than $4.00!

(I didn’t have to purchase all the supplies because I had some of them leftover from previous projects.)

 

First of all, I bought this wooden plaque for 50 cents from Hobby Lobby.

 

Then I spray painted the plaque with some Krylon Satin Dover White that I had left over from another project.  You could use any off white paint you may have at home.

 

 

Then I hammered in some bronze upholstery tacks that I bought from Lowe’s for $1.30.  I  used less than two boxes.

Nailing in the tacks takes some practice.  I had to draw a thin pencil line down the middle of the plaque to help me keep my lines straight.

The tacks are not perfectly lined up, but good enough.

 

I left a space at the bottom of the tree for my red ribbon.

Then I used my StazOn Ink (that I already had) and stamped “Blessings” at the bottom of the plaque.

I got the “Blessings” stamp a few weeks ago in the dollar bins at Michael’s.

 

 

Next, I hot glued some jute string to the top of the plaque so I could hang it on a wall or tree, and I hot glued my red ribbon on.

I loved the way it turned out, but it looked a little too “new” to me.  I love the look of old, vintage types of decorations.

So I used my sanding sponge and sanded down the edges of the plaque.

But since the plaque was pine, you couldn’t really see where I sanded it, and it didn’t have that vintage look I was after.

So I used some Valspar Mocha glaze (that I have had for about two years!), and applied it to the sanded edges with a Q-tip and wiped it off with a paper towel.

 

It made the plaque look soooo much better!

 

That’s it!

I took it outside and hung it on a tree because the weather was gorgeous in KY that day!

 

I love my sweet little plaque!

It is such a great reminder of all the blessings that Christmas holds.

 

 

They have smaller plaques at Hobby Lobby if you would like to make a similar smaller ornament, or use it for a gift tag.  I thought you could even do a monogram plaque as a gift!

 

I want to say a special thank you to Kristin for creating a cute little button for me!

 

Didn’t she do a great job?

She has a website called Kristin’s Veranda.

On it, you will find links to her blog, her online store, her healthy recipes, and her community page.

Check it out!