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Tag: Holiday decorating

Cozy Adirondack Christmas Porch

Christmas is officially less than 2 weeks away.  It’s crazy how the season is passing us by so quickly.  Are you ready?

So I’ve got another surprise for you today…  Yes, another secret!

Since I shared a tour of the inside of my home last week, it’s time to take you outdoors… to my newly decorated Cozy Christmas Adirondack Porch.

Welcome…

I’m usually so focused on decorating the interior for the Holidays, that the porch often gets little thought and sadly neglected – are you like that?  Well not this year!

On a way-too-cold-to-be-outside day a few weeks ago, myself and the troops (a.k.a The Mister and the kids) ventured outdoors to decorate.  After a few hours, way too many decorating edits, broken bulbs (and they were brand spank-in new), and a couple of trips to Lowes, I was finally satisified with the result of this year’s cozy adirondack-style front porch. And I have to say, it’s our best yet.

Thankfully I can say that I live in the adirondacks, so having a front porch with a rustic, natural aesthetic is so apropos.  (my interior doesn’t really reflect the same look, but that’s okay).

I didn’t start off the porch with a specific idea in mind, but as the family and I started decorating, it all came together (over many cold hours) to create a cozy outdoor haven.  We began the transformation by removing some of the porch furniture that we have out for the summer.  We left the pretty lutyens bench though, draped a blanket over the back, and added a few pillows – it was the beginning of the adirondack porch.

In front of the bench, I positioned a round table (which is actually an electrical cable spool that I found on the side of the road) and added some festive elements including “dressed-up” mason jars, a lantern, and some pine and berry sprigs.

I said to the Mister that afternoon, “Let’s get some hot chocolate, cuddle under the blanket, and enjoy our newly decorated porch”.  Well we all ended up being too chilly and unfortunately ‘sitting and enjoying’ hasn’t happened yet, but it sure looks so inviting.

Would you stop over and have a cup of-something with me?

On the other side of the porch, I created a small festive vignette.  I stacked two large slices of cut logs and topped them with a poinsettia and a small pile of pinecones. As a larger and taller anchor, I brought in the potted boxwood (which sits throughout the year next to the garage), two lanterns filled with a large candle, and another poinsettia.  The varying heights and sizes of the elements, plus the differing textures, in the vignette, create an interesting composition.

Behind the poinsettia and pinecone vignette, I wanted even more height and added a leftover piece of pallet scrap, which I added a quick coat of white paint to and wrapped with twine.   A super simple 3 minute project!

Of course, we needed some greenery on the porch and I surely didn’t fail in that department.

On either side of the front door are two small (3′ high) faux trees decorated with petite ornaments and twine for garland.  Plus we added more greenery on the columns with a garland mix of pine and cedar.

The last element that we added to the front porch are the hanging ornaments.  This was the last addition and definitely my favorite!

The overall porch…

And alittle more ornament action…

And of course donned on my front door is my whimsical winter wreath that I made a few years ago.  Still a favorite.

Thanks so much for taking a tour of my newly decorated cozy adirondack front porch.  The porch and/or entryway of a home sets the tone for what’s to come inside.  Whether you have a simple wreath on your door or you go all out with lights, festive decorations always bring happy cheers and smiles.

Pallet Christmas Countdown

Christmas is a comin’!

In less than 10 days, we’ll be counting down the 25 days till the arrival of Christmas.  To make the countdown a bit more fun and bearable, since for every child (and maybe a few adults) thinks the 25 days leading to the special day are SO LONG, I created a Countdown Calendar in the shape of a tree using my favorite material, pallets and a few other leftover scraps of wood.  Check it out…

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, www.sasinteriors.net

Isn’t it so colorful?  The ornaments truly make it come alive.

When Lowe’s challenged the Creative Team to come up with something for the Holidays, I was so excited to create something unique and perfect to celebrate the coming holiday.  Last year, my December project was a creation for holding cards and this year, I wanted to create something just as dynamic.  When thinking about a project, I realized we didn’t have a countdown calendar, so that’s what this years project would be.

The project started out by taking 10 steps outside to the garage.  Yup, this creation was put together using only materials I already had on hand.  This is what I gathered…

  • Pallet and wood scraps – the more dented and imperfect, the better
  • Nails (3/4″ – 1″ deep)
  • Number stencil
  • Black Sharpie
  • Hammer
  • Circular Saw
  • (25) Colorful ornaments

1. I first started out by looking through my wood scrap pile and leftover pallet scraps.  I collected a bunch of pieces all in different colors and sizes.  The more imperfect the better.

Then I took some time and put a drawing together to figure out how many rows of wood would be needed and how the 25 ornaments would sit on the “tree”.  In the end, 7 tiers worked best and 2 of the rows have 4 nails, creating the 25 spots.

A little math is needed, but it wasn’t tough…

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

2. Now that the hardest part was over (a little mathematical equations), I laid out the pieces of wood to determine what looked nice next to each other and then the widths of each tier.

On the backs, I then labeled each row.

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, www.sasinteriors.net

3. Then using a circular saw, I cut each piece to form the “tree” shape. Once that was complete, I added a scrap piece of wood to the backs of the pieces to attach them together.

Hammer, hammer, hammer using 3-4/” – 1″ nails.

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, www.sasinteriors.net

I added a few more pieces of scraps (old paint sticks, to be specific) to the back.  This looks kinda messy, but hey, who’s lookin’ at the back???

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, www.sasinteriors.net

No more looking at the back.  Let’s turn it over to the front where it’s prettier looking.

Now to the nails + the numbers.

4.  By eye (no more math needed), I marked the locations for the 25 ornaments.  Then I added a nail at each location leaving about 1/2″ exposed for the ornament to hang.

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, www.sasinteriors.net

5. Once the nails were in, it was time for the numbers.  Using stencils I had from a previous Martha Stewart project, I outlined the numbers with a black sharpie.  Again, the more imperfect the better.

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, www.sasinteriors.net

Once the numbers were done, the project was complete.  And here’s the result…

Plain + Decorated.

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

I love how it came out…

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

It’s so colorful and brings such whimsy to our holiday home decor.

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

The kids love it too and they can’t wait for the 1st of December to arrive to start adding an ornament each day.  While we wait, the ornaments that all came from this years Lowe’s collection, sit in the brass light turned container.

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

I hope you enjoyed my latest creation as much as I.  It was fairly easy to make, and I loved that I was able to create it using materials I already had.  How much better does it get?!  The anticipation and excitement leading to Christmas day can be a bit challenging, but hopefully my countdown calendar makes it a tiny bit more fun.

Christmas Countdown Calendar using pallets and scraps of leftover wood.  Created by @Jenna_Burger, WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

To gather even more unique, fun, and creative ideas for your indoor and outdoor Winter spaces, I would definitely suggest downloading the Lowe’s Creative Ideas app on your iphone and/or ipad.  I’m always checking out the FREE app for great seasonal + do-it-yourself inspiration. And even better, this Pallet Christmas Countdown creation will be featured in the upcoming Winter guide – how cool, right?!

Lowes Creative Team Member

Also consider following Lowe’s on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram as well.

 Disclosure: I am part of the Lowe’s Creative Team and was provided with a Lowe’s gift card to purchase items for my project.  I was also compensated for my time to use the products.  No one told me what to create, what to buy, how to use the product, or what to write.  All opinions are 100% mine!

Easiest + Fastest + Cheapest Tree Skirt EVER

Monday Morning Confession: I already started decorating for Christmas.  It might seem early for some, but I have a few surprises up my sleeve that I wanted to prep early for this year.  While many of my daily favorites get tucked away for the next 6 weeks, the holiday decor is once again making it’s debut for another year.  As some ‘old’ traditional elements remain, there are many new projects and vignettes that I’ll be sharing over the coming weeks.  One in particular is my new tree skirt.  Definitely the easiest + fastest + cheapest tree skirt you ever did see…

Easiest, Fastest, + Cheapest Christmas Tree Skirt.  Use 1.5 yd of fabric and wrap around tree.  Follow easy instructions by @Jenna_Burger of WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

For the last few years I’ve wanted a new tree skirt.  I had grand plans of making something beautiful and chic, but honestly it just never happened.  And anyway, is something pretty + most likely expensive, even worth it?  I’ve found over the years that the tree skirt ends up getting thrown around either from the kids or the cats, and then once the presents are added, you don’t even see it.  Well this is in my house anyway. maybe it’s different in your casa…

So after living with no tree skirt for a few days once the tree was up, I thought let me test out this pretty black and white striped fabric.  I threw it under the tree and loved it’s whimsical, non-perfect, simple look.  Plus it cost me nothing. So here we go… The black and white striped fabric I had on-hand was 1 yard, but I would recommend using 1.5 yards or even 2 yards for a fuller look. I placed the fabric in front of the tree.

Easiest, Fastest, + Cheapest Christmas Tree Skirt.  Use 1.5 yd of fabric and wrap around tree.  Follow easy instructions by @Jenna_Burger of WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

Then took the two top corners and wrapped them around the  bottom of the tree so they meet in the back.

Easiest, Fastest, + Cheapest Christmas Tree Skirt.  Use 1.5 yd of fabric and wrap around tree.  Follow easy instructions by @Jenna_Burger of WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

Easiest, Fastest, + Cheapest Christmas Tree Skirt.  Use 1.5 yd of fabric and wrap around tree.  Follow easy instructions by @Jenna_Burger of WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

Lastly, I tucked the bottom corners and all the loose edges underneath.

Easiest, Fastest, + Cheapest Christmas Tree Skirt.  Use 1.5 yd of fabric and wrap around tree.  Follow easy instructions by @Jenna_Burger of WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

Literally, this took all of 30 seconds and it was done.

Easiest, Fastest, + Cheapest Christmas Tree Skirt.  Use 1.5 yd of fabric and wrap around tree.  Follow easy instructions by @Jenna_Burger of WWW.JENNABURGER.COM

By the end of the day, the tree skirt is all dishuffled anyway, so within seconds it looks good again.  There really is no right or wrong to this tree skirt, which makes it perfect for me!

And the best part is, it cost nothing and the fabric can be used for something else after the Holidays.  Next year, I may want a totally different pattern and I won’t be married to something store-bought or a creation that took hours. I hope you enjoyed my 30 second tree skirt creation.  Sometimes the easiest things are the best!

Be sure to check back next Monday when I’ll be partnering with a few Blogging friends who will all be sharing super simple holiday projects for our Christmas in a Minute series.  Cheers to a festive season. xo