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String Light Christmas Tree Decoration

string light treeI have seen many photos of string light trees made on living room walls this season. I think they are a thing on Pinterest. Definitely a trend, so I decided to create one in my living room, in front of our mural – feeling inspired! Hint: It was not hard at all.

Difficulty (1-5): 1  Time: 20 mins  Cost: $20

Here is what you need (my tree (above) is approximately 4 feet tall by 3 feet wide at the bottom)

Small Command Hooks
LED Starry String 20 ft Copper Wire Lights-Warm White
Blue tape

1) Start with marking your triangle shape with blue tape. This way you make sure you get the shape right without defacing your wall with pencil. 2) Start applying the command hooks from the top – before I continue this explanation, I have to say that I am a huge fan of command hooks!!! They are perfect to hang all decorations without ruining your wall. I did not want to ruin that mural we worked so hard to paint for the One Room Challenge, so these hooks were the perfect solution. I also hung these wreaths with them. I have also used them for garlands and paintings. I bought them in all sizes so it is a command hook love fest around here. 3) Depending on how long your LED string lights are, you can decide if to go wider or closer between lines. I didn’t want a super full tree – I went for a minimalist look-, so I decided to use a 20ft string. For a fuller look, get a 30ft LED string light or longer. Also, the copper wire lights are CUTE! Copper is the new IT metal, so if you want your tree to be trendy, get the copper instead of normal string lights which are not as elegant. 4) Work your way down the blue tape, adding command hooks as you peel off the tape.  5) Turn on the lights and cry with happiness:string light treestring light tree

Ok. Now that you read that easy and fun DIY that could transform your living room into a sophisticated one in seconds, let us look at what others have been doing around the web and where I got my inspiration from:

Cox and CoxBehind The Big Green Door A Pair & A Spare AMM  Motanu Home Decor IdeasTrendenser

Moma Le Blog

Some of these are pretty gorgeous, don’t you think?

About my tree,  I wish my photos would have come out better. I didn’t know how to take a good picture of the lights and the mural at the same time so this is the best I could do. In truth, I don’t think the photos do this cute little LED tree justice. Everybody that comes to my place comments on how cute it looks, so, once again, you will have to take my word for it. It is much nicer than what the photos show. string light tree

Hope you liked this one and, in case you haven’t seen how the rest of my home looks for Christmas, you can take a look here.

Thanks for stopping by!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you click and buy through them, I get a small comission. Thanks for supporting Jest Cafe. Creating this content is not cheap nor easy, but it is super fun. Thanks for reading. I mean it. 

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2016 Winter Eclectic Home Tour – Holiday Decor

Our Winter Eclectic Home Tour is here. This is the post where I finally show you how we have decorated our home for the Holidays (enter drum beats of excitement). Hope you get some good inspiration for your home with this post. Let me know if you do!

First, let me thank Jess from Domicile 37 for organizing this blog event- the biggest one of the season!!! If you are here from Insieme House, welcome! Hope you like my  blog and decide to come for a visit more often!

Before we get started, I wanted to remind you that this year my idea was to use a lot of greenery to decorate. I made garlands and wreaths that became the main component of my Holiday decorations (you will soon be witness #1 of this fact). I also added pine and cedar leaves here and there for a special touch. I am happy with how it came out- hope you agree.

Without further adieu, let’s take a look at the photos because I know that is the real reason you are all here. Sometimes I wonder how many readers take the time to read my hilarious posts completely. Maybe 20%? or less? Ok. here we go.

Let us start with photos of the entrance of our house, because I believe an entryway has to scream Happy Holidays as much as the interior of the house, don’t you agree?

Entrance
Hi, Mr. Golden Deer Head. I love you and that copper table you are sitting on. Oh, and that cedar? Just a touch so you can feel more at home (love emoji). Although, if you don’t like metals this would be a hate emoji. I bought most of my ornaments and decorations in previous years. The trick for me is to buy Christmas decorations the day after Christmas. This is when you get the best deals, plus, it is a real treat to open the Christmas decorations box a year later and find all the things you bought 12 months before and already forgot about. For example, that deer golden head from Target, which I am in love with now.
I created a fake tree arrangement with noble pine branches and decorated it with silver ornaments from Ikea. It gives the entrance a festive look, I think. That brass vase you might ask? That is a Flower Market score that is dear to my soul and happiness.That is me in that picture, in case you were wondering; the writer, photographer, and blogger aficionado that likes to spend her time beautifying her home instead of making dinner (or cleaning for that matter).

Living Room
winter-eclectic-home-tour-17Remember the DIY Holiday Garland post I did last week? Well, some of you complained about my garland being sad and lonely. Well, not anymore. Here she is with a deer, star, trees, ornaments, and flowers. Isn’t she a happy camper now? I like it a lot. Hope you do, too.I have been doing gold ring wreaths because  they are gorgeous and easy. This photo is an example, don’t you agree? This coming Monday I will be posting a tutorial on how to make different gold ring wreaths. I would recommend you coming back for that one because it will make your life a million times better. Remember those nice bookshelves that a lot of you liked from my last One Room Challenge? Well, my friend Yassi, the same one that styled the shelves for the ORC, came to style them again for this Holiday Home Tour. She added green, red, and Christmas decorations to achieve the perfect Holiday bookshelf. Also, we added that cedar garland that is SO cute, because this year is all about garlands and greens, like I mentioned 5 times on this post already, in case you were not taking me seriously.

I made this centerpiece with lots of cedar leaves and a candle. Just that.

Hallway
I dressed up this bookshelf on the hallway with Holiday gear. Again, a pine garland and some eucalyptus on the bottom give it a nice touch. The white candle holders are from IKEALiving Room – Part 2The Christmas tree ornaments have taken me years to collect.  The brass deers were a Rose Bowl find from a couple of months ago.

PS: Now that my kids are older (3 and 5), they play with decorations and destroy and average of 5 of them per season. Not cool, kids, not cool. In an effort to avoid more damage, I have decided to hang the delicate ornaments on top of the tree, out of reach, but these rascals always manage to get them anyway. The moral of this story is to not get attached to Holiday ornaments (or any material possessions) when children under 5 live under your roof. I hope you learn this lesson ASAP. It will save you from great heartache. winter-eclectic-home-tour-5winter-eclectic-home-tour-18 winter-eclectic-home-tour-21winter-eclectic-home-tour-10This tree made with copper string lights in front of the mural is pretty awesome. I wish I had a better photo of it, but I don’t, so you will have to take my word for it. It gives the room a nice touch.

Kitchenwinter-eclectic-home-tour-9My kitchen is colorful so I used these cute trees from Target to decorate and add even more color. Extra ornaments, couple of oil painting, and voila!winter-eclectic-home-tour-22winter-eclectic-home-tour-8Ok, here were are at the end of my Winter Eclectic Home Tour. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you come back again soon and don’t be shy about leaving comments. I LOVE reading them.

Now that you are done here, please, head over to The Gathered Home for the next and final stop of this amazing, incredible, and unique hop tour.
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Please Note: Links to Home Tour are not live until day of tour

Monday

Bright Green Door // Michelle Matangi Home // Sharon Williams // CAD Interiors // Domicile 37

Tuesday

Casa Watkins Living // Maggie Overby Studios // House Homemade // French & French Interiors // Style Mutt Home

Wednesday

Up To Date Interiors // The Striped House // Designing Vibes // Iris Nacole // Fearfully & Wonderfully Made // Blue i Style

Thursday

PMQ for Two // Maker of Home // Go Haus Go // Whimsical Blue Living // FOXY OXIE

Friday

This is Our Bliss // Monica Wants It // Insieme House // Jest Cafe // The Gathered Home

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How To Throw A Successful Wreath Making Party

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After our wreath making party last year, I decided to make it a Holiday tradition, so we were at it again this last weekend. 12 people came to the party. Friends brought food and drinks. I provided the greenery and materials for the wreaths. We drank, ate, and crafted for 5 hours. All in all, a wonderful day!

wreath-making-party-5wreath-making-party-3wreath-making-party5If you are reading this post because you are planning to throw a wreath making party, let me assure you, it is easy and FUN – No fear. Your friends will love it and you will be the super hostess hero.

What you will need for a party for 12 people:

Tools

Basic greenery

  • 2  big bundles or pine – I bought noble pine.
  • 1 big bundle of cedar
  • 1 big bundle of eucalyptus

Accents

  • 2 bunches of holly
  • 25 pine cones (not everybody will use them)
  • 2 bunches of eucalyptus flowers pods
  • 2 bunches of seeded eucalyptus

wreath-making-party-8 Hollywreath-making-party-9wreath-making-party6wreath-making-party-11

Basically, everybody had the option to use white, red, and/or brown accents, aside from the main greenery. You will need a person that knows how to do wreaths so she/he can teach the rest. In this case, I taught the workshop. I am a wreath expert by now!

For instructions to do wreaths, go here and here.
wreath-making-party-13
wreath-making-party-15 wreath-making-party-16 Last year, we used grapevine wreaths (18 and 24 inches). Grapevine wreaths are beautiful by themselves, so they are good if you are planning to partially cover it. If the idea is to cover the whole wreath with greenery, grapevine wreaths are NOT the way to go, because they are more expensive and you need more greenery to cover them (they are thick), that is why I decided to go with simple wire wreaths for this year’s party and the final results were better across the board.wreath-making-party-17 wreath-making-party-18 wreath-making-party-19 wreath-making-party-7wreath-making-party-20 wreath-making-party-21Here are the results. They all look pretty good, don’t you think?wreath-making-party-29 wreath-making-party-30 wreath-making-party1wreath-making-party-31 wreath-making-party-32 wreath-making-party-33 wreath-making-party-40wreath-making-party-34 wreath-making-party-35wreath-making-party-39wreath-making-party-25wreath-making-party2I didn’t have time to do a wreath until later because I was teaching the workshop, so I posed with the golden ring wreath I created the day before. BTW, tutorial for gold ring wreaths coming up on Monday!
wreath-making-party-38I love this group of friends.

Most of them sent me photos of their wreaths hanging from their front doors or mantels – that made me happy.

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to come back this Friday for the Winter Eclectic home tour where me and other bloggers show you how we decorated our homes for the Holidays. wreath-party-pin-copy

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How To Decorate For The Holidays With Greenery

One of the most beautiful and cheapest ways of decorating a house for the Holidays is with greenery.  A garland here, a wreath there, and your home becomes Holiday perfect in no time. What I like about doing my own decorations with greens is that it gives my house a personal touch while keeping it elegant. Greenery is tasteful, just like nature, in case you were wondering.

This week I am participating in a “Winter Eclectic Home Tour” with another 25 bloggers. Each week day, five of us show the Internet world how we decorate our homes for the Holidays (Jess from Domicile37 is organizing it. Thanks, Jess! Go to her site if you want to take a look at the beginning of the tour). To prepare for my reveal this Friday, I got inspiration from simple decorations that use pine, cedar, or eucalyptus to embellish a home.

There are so many ways you can use greenery to decorate a house! Let’s take a look at this images from around the web to get your DIY brain going. And don’t forget to come back to read this Friday’s post if you want to see how our small home looks during the Holidays. I am excited to share this with you.

jest-cafe-how-to-decorate-with-greenery-for-the-holidays

Park And Oak

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Studio McGee

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Rural Girl

Fotograf: Lina Östling +46 70 405 42 07 mail@linaostling.se www.linaostling.se Stylist: Mari Strenghielm Nord Jul-Mode-jobb 2015 för bilagan Äntligen jul

Glitter Inc.

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The Every Girl

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The Peak Of Trés Chic

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The Little Hermitage

jestcafe-com-how-to-decorate-with-greenery-for-the-holidays

Stories

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Park And Oak

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Apartment Therapy

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Fiskars

Kinfolk Natural Home and Holiday Decor, Studio Choo with Another Feather

American Towns

Thanks for stopping by!

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Colorful Calaveras – Another Cute Halloween DIY

halloween-wreath-22

Here is another Halloween DIY project we did last week. I have been trying to find decorations inspired by the Día de los Muertos, so adding calaveras was a MUST.  I came out with the idea of painting these calaveras for the front yard.

They were easy to do, but you have to wait for the paint to dry to be able to paint the details, and that takes a little bit of time. The trick to paint these calaveras is to make both sides of the face kind of symmetrical (doesn’t have to be perfect). To do this, you need to measure and mark all your face details with pencil before starting to paint. That part was a little time consuming.

Here are the instructions on how to make these beautiful calaveras. The look SOOOOO pretty in the front yard.

COLORFUL CALAVERAS

Difficulty (1-5): 3 Time: At least 1/2 day because you need to wait for paint to dry Cost: $15 per calavera

Materials:

  • Plywood panels- I bought 2’ x 3’
  • Small Roller, if you have one. Otherwise, a brush will do.
  • Black latex paint – sample size.
  • Color latex paint – whatever color you want for your calavera.
  • Small brush, to paint the black lines for the calavera.
  • Measuring tape
  • Pencil

calaveras-4

STEP 1

Have your kids help painting the whole panel black with the roller. It is no necessary to paint the whole panel black, but kids love doing it and why not giving them a little bit of love.

If you don’t have kids, or want to do this project all by yourself (totally understandable. Been there, done that.) Just go to Step 2 and, after outlining your calavera, fill up the empty spaces with black paint and your brush.

IMPORTANT TIP: Paint the back of your panel, too, otherwise the wood will start to warp.

halloween-wreath-5STEP 2

Outline the calavera with a pencil. It is important that the right and left sides of the calavera are somehow symmetrical. Mark your main points so you know where to draw the lines. Here is a photo of the main points I marked. I made sure they were at a similar distance from the sides, bottom, and top. Paint the calavera.
calavera-1STEP 3

Draw the features of your calavera with your pencil. To do this, you need careful measuring to achieve that symmetry calaveras need. Take a look:

calaveras-3 For the teeth, for example, I marked how wide (2 inches) and long (3 inches) each tooth had to be. I made sure the line in the middle was straight and then draw the rest of lines with a pencil. It looked like this:
calaveras For the eyes, I just marked a middle point and then eight points 4 inches away from that middle point at different sides. Then I made lines between these points and made a big circle. I used these eight points as reference to create the outside petals for the eyes in the orange calavera.

See here:calaveras-5 Step 4

Paint the black lines with your thin brush and black paint. It is easier than it sounds. If you go slowly and with patient, it is not difficult to achieve. You will need 2 coats of black paint for the details. Wait until it dries.

Here are more photos and thanks for stopping by.

Also, a post about a ghost family for your front yard, a ghost wall decoration, and how to make a Halloween wreath.

calaveras-22calaveras-17 calaveras-16 halloween-wreath-15 calaveras-14

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