I wanted to share with you my Christmas holiday decorating idea using blue velvet ribbon!  Now, hear me out before you say “eewww”, but it really turned out beautiful!

Early this summer, I was asked to decorate one of the homes on the Candlelight Tour.   The home belongs to Daren and Andrea Chamblee.  It is a stunning older home located near downtown Murfreesboro.  They are proud new owners, and couldn’t be more happy to add their name to the list of homes to tour this year.

The Chamblee’s wanted me to focus on the main tree in the grand foyer,  along with the staircase, two mantels, and a tree that will sit on the front porch.  When designing a tree for Christmas, I always start with the ribbon first.  The foyer has the most beautiful woodwork, and the staircase is stunning.  The woodwork has a deep brown rich color and is the highlight of the foyer.   I decided to use navy blue velvet ribbon with gold backing.  I have never used blue in any Christmas design, but I thought this color would look elegant in the foyer. 

Several hours were spent designing and coming up with ideas that fit the aesthetic of the home.  This is a really fun part of my job.  Next, is ordering the Christmas decor, checking and double checking my list.

Decorating Day

Last Saturday, my daughter-in-law and I packed up my vehicle, grabbed a cup of coffee, and headed out to go decorate.  One of my stipulations on “Decorating Day” is that the clients have to leave while we work.  First of all, it helps us work at a pretty fast pace uninterrupted, and second, it is a complete joy to surprise them!

It took Alice and me four hours to get everything completed.  And, that wasn’t including the four hours I spent the day before making a front door wreath, a dining room centerpiece, mailbox swag, and making all the Christmas tree bows ahead of time.

For the main tree, I added a gold ribbon along with the blue velvet.  Beautiful large gold ornaments were added next.  Then I added white magnolias with glittered edges.  Next, gold leafy stems were gently placed on the outer branches, and the very last touch was adding glass water droplet ornaments.  I placed a beautiful white velvet tree skirt around the tree.   We stepped back with glitter covered faces and sighed. 

Onto the flocked porch tree!  The three ribbons used in the porch tree was;  a wide white ribbon, a birch ribbon, and a platinum ribbon.  The only ornaments added to this tree were snowy white birds.  The wreath on the front door had the same ribbon, along with the mailbox swag. 

Christmas Holiday Decorating Idea for the Bannister

After we completed the two mantels and hung the stairwell garland, we began the task of glitter containment clean up.  Tons of trips were made to the car carrying empty boxes.  Vacuuming was done in the nick of time before the Chamblee’s pulled in the driveway.  We opened the front door and witnessed their excitement to see their home decorated for the holidays.  Alice and I drug ourselves to the car, with a happy feeling of accomplishment.  Until we realized we still needed to unload the plethora of boxes and trash.   Have a wonderful week! 

My daughter, Sarah and I came up with a few Thanksgiving table setting ideas this year.  We love coming up with beautiful table setting ideas.  We wanted to show you how you can decorate your Thanksgiving table beautifully and inexpensively!

Natural Thanksgiving Table Setting Ideas

Sarah and I really wanted our Thanksgiving decorations to have a natural and very earthy feel to them.  So, we also included this style in our table setting ideas.  We started with using craft paper for our Thanksgiving table runner.  We drew a design on the end of the runner with a black permanent marker.  This would be a great time to included little children.  They can draw their own designs, or you can have them write what they are thankful for.

Next, we added a galvanized charger. We had a lot of brown tones in the design, so using the galvanized charger helped to bring a reflective element to the table.   Next, we placed a unique wood plate on top.  The wood plate and galvanized charger were a perfect marriage.

Instead of a napkin, we used a dish towel from the Hearth and Home collection.  The yellow and teal colors in the dish towel are beautiful! We placed a gray bowl on top of the dish towel, and then set a large faux acorn inside.  The texture and design of the acorn completed this place setting.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece Idea

Now, let’s chat about the Thanksgiving Centerpiece.  This may look difficult, but I promise it was easy!  For the center of the table, we used a galvanized cake plate.  On top, we placed a speckled faux white pumpkin.

Creating the Centerpiece Garland

  To create the garland, we used Magnolia picks!  Easy!

To make this faux garland, start with your Magnolia stems at the base of the cake stand, and lay each pick on top of each other making sure to hide the stems.  Place more picks around the base of the cake stand, and then layer out, thinning the picks as you go.

This was such an easy and inexpensive Thanksgiving table setting idea! It has a very natural and cozy look.  I love this look so much that I am keeping my table set all through the fall season!

For more Fall Decorating Ideas – Click Photo Below.