My most favorite project of the year wasn’t even one of my projects.  This was made for me by my husband.  You can see the original post here.

      My next favorite project was painting the living room, not because it was fun like the other projects below but because all the effort was worth it in the end.  For before and after click here.

      Redoing this thrift store chair was fun and indulgent because it was just for me.  You can read more here.

      This bathroom is for guests and for the kids so I wanted something that was stylish and fun.  Also, I had to redo this room with just paint and accessories since a gut-job isn’t in the budget just yet.

      This little entryway redo was fun and practical.  It is especially appreciated now since it is winter and all the hooks and bins are in use all day long.  Tomorrow, I want to share a few more of my favorites from 2011.  Happy New Year!

      I wanted to share this simple tutorial with you because it was so easy and has so many decorating possibilities.

      All you need for this project is 1. yarn, 2. a form (I used a large styrofoam cone), 3. glue, and 4. heavy spray starch.  I left the plastic wrap on my form because my first step was to soak the yarn in slightly watered down glue.  After soaking the yarn, I wrung out most of the glue back into the bowl.  I then just wrapped the yarn this way and that around my form.

      When the form was covered to my liking, I left it to dry overnight.  The next morning I used my heavy spray starch to completely cover the string (while it was still on the form).  I let that dry overnight.  Give the yarn one more good coating of the spray starch and let that dry overnight.  The last step is to carefully remove the dried yarn from the form.

      I am thinking about making some snowmen for my winter mantel with this method.  I also think hearts for Valentines Day would be cute.  There are just so many possibilities.  If you do make something with this method please share some pictures with me.  I would love to see what you come up with.

 Bless this Mess!

 Here is a little prettier picture.

      Our Christmas breakfast table is almost the same as our Christmas Eve dinner table.  It is more simple and more playful.  Some of the salad plates were bought at Walmart years ago and some were given to me a Christmas gift.

 I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! 

      Every year on Christmas Eve, our family hosts a prime rib dinner.  It’s the one time each year we get all fancy. 

      I usually use these Christmas dishes.  I bought these at Walmart eight years ago.  I have some other Christmas dishes I will feature tomorrow when I set my Christmas breakfast table.

      I have added a few things this year.  I was lucky enough to find these Mikasa, crystal, candlestick holders at my local thrift store for only two dollars each.  I bought the cream-colored napkins at Home Goods this summer.  They are so wonderfully versatile, I use them all the time.  I made the tree used as the centerpiece.

      Remember the Christmas project I wanted to create but was having a lot of trouble getting it to turn out the way I wanted?  Well, this is not it.  I tried and tried to get that to work but it would not.  My husband came up with a great idea that would work today.  Too late to try this year but maybe next year.  Anyway, back to this tree.  It is a bit like my original idea but uses much lass negative space.  This is a yarn Christmas tree.  I will share a tutorial with you soon.

      And last but not least I used some pillow cases and tulle to “fancy-up” our dining room chairs.  I had our little ones at the table so I wanted a “fancy” that was worry free and cheap.  I wanted to spend money on presents not the table!   Merry Christmas!

      I had a few ideas for Christmas decorating I wanted to bring to life but, I don’t have the money or the space to do something like this in real life.  So of course, I hopped on over to Olioboard.  Hop on over yourself.  Right now there are a ton of Christmas decorating boards to check out or create one yourself.  Happy decorating and Happy Holidays!