Christmas, DIY, Holidays

Holiday DIY: Pinecone Tree Ornaments

December 5, 2013

DIY Pinecone Ornament

diy

This year our holiday home decor is natural and rustic. In the past we’ve had lots of glittery, shiny ornaments and decorations for Christmas. 

This is our second first ‘official’ Christmas in our new house. We moved into our house one year ago this month. We received our keys on November 30th, 2012. I say it’s our second first ‘official’ Christmas because I was just finishing my short practicum, moving into our house in the beginning/middle of December and having Christmas all at the same time. It was a bit chaotic to say the least. 

Even though we did put up our fake little Christmas tree the week we moved in (It was a must), it wasn’t full on Christmas due to the unopened boxes, no furniture and complete craziness of unpacking and setting up.

This year, despite my being sick this past week, it feels like Christmas has arrived.

Our tree is up, somewhat decorated (still need another set of lights, decorations etc), there is garland on the stairs and a holiday wreath on the door.

The overall feel of our home decor is simple, natural and comfortable. We love to do a lot of  entertaining and want our guests to feel at home and relaxed when they visit. Adam and I both love a lot of unique wood furniture, rustic pieces and natural leather. I would say our colour scheme is white, natural wood tones, greens and grey. 

For Christmas I wanted our decor to feel natural too. Lots of wood ornaments and decor, whites and a touch of Christmas red. 

These little pinecone ornaments are incredibly easy to make and are a natural accent to any Christmas tree. 

DIY Pinecone Ornament

DIY Pinecone Tree Ornaments

You will need:

  • Hot Glue Gun
  • 10-15 Pinecones (find these at craft stores or dollar stores)
  • Christmas Ribbon (any style, I got mine at Michaels for about $2 a roll)
  • Scissors

Directions:

1. Place your glue-gun on a protected surface (I like to use a paper bag) and plug in to heat. 

diy pinecone decor

2. Cut your ribbon into 2-3 inch pieces, one for each pinecone. 

DIY Pinecone Ornament

3. When the glue gun is ready, place a drop of hot glue on one end of the ribbon (patterned side up) and fold the other end to meet it making a circle. Pinch together for a few seconds until set, and place aside to cool. 

4. Repeat with all the ribbons.

5. Once your ribbon is glued together in a loop, take one of the ribbons and place a drop of hot glue onto the bottom where the two ends meet (where you glued it the first time) and quickly stick to the bottom (flat surface) of the pinecone. Press gently for 10 seconds and set aside to cool completely. 

6. Repeat with all the ribbon loops and pinecones. Allow to fully cool and set before placing on the tree. 

DIY Pinecone Ornament

DIY Pinecone Ornament

Christmas, Holidays

Gift Guide: Camera Accessories

December 4, 2013

camera

Last year I bought my first DSLR camera just before Christmas. I had wanted a new camera for a long time. Both for my own personal use and for my blog. 

I bought the Canon Rebel T3i and I love it. 

Adam spoiled me with a 50mm lens and a Flash attachment (#4), and his sister bought me a very cute and comfortable padded cupcake pattern camera strap cover similar to the three above. They make it comfortable to wear and easy to spot your camera. 

As I continue to improve on my photography skills, there’s a few items I wouldn’t mind having this year. 

1. Top to Bottom:

SLR Digital Camera Strap Grey Starfish, SweetStrapExpress – Etsy (28.00)

DSLR Camera Strap Cover with Lens Pocket, Sewquiltmom – Etsy (17.52)

Padded Camera Strap Cover, forsheedesigns – Etsy (20.26)

2. Vista Explorer 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Tripod Bag (58.69)

3. CowboyStudio Photography/Video Studio Umbrella Continuous Lighting Kit (59.90)

4. Canon Speedlite 320EX Flash with Built-In LED (219.95)

5. Canon Remote Controller (22.95)

6. Canon EF 35mm f/2 Wide Angle Lens (289.00)

 

Christmas, Holidays

O Christmas Tree

December 3, 2013

our tree

This past weekend Adam and I began a new Christmas tradition that I hope we keep up each year.

We drove up to Squamish (which is a small town just before Whistler, BC) to pick out and cut down our very first ‘real’ Christmas tree with his sister, brother-in-law and our adorable niece. If you live in the Vancouver Lower Mainland area you can obtain a free tree permit online.

auntie aisha

Seriously how cute is this picture of Adam and our niece hunting for a tree.

uncle

The past 3 years we had a fake tree because our old condo building did not allow for real trees due to fire hazards.

Truthfully, I haven’t had a real Christmas tree in 9 years.

Picking out the Christmas tree was always a tradition my Dad and I did together. We would go down to the Boy Scout’s tree sale or the local garden nursery to pick out a tree. I’m not sure why but it seemed that it was always just the two of us as I got a little older. I didn’t mind. 

My Dad was a landscaper and loved being outdoors. I can only imagine that putting up the Christmas tree was one of his favourite things about Christmas.

We had some pretty epic Christmas trees in the past, including one so large we had to tie it to the roof with twine only to hear it fall over and smash onto the glass coffee table in the middle of the night. I remember a few Christmas trees falling over in our living room.

My favourite tree my Dad and I picked out was something of a Charlie Brown tree. It was tall with a few sparse branches. We both loved it, however my mom was not a fan. We brought it home and put it up proudly.  

After Dad passed away it was difficult to go out and get our tree without him. Instead we had this sad mini white fibre optic tree ever since, which my brother decided it needed to ‘spin faster’ one year and broke the base. Then Adam and I had our fake skinny apartment tree. 

And now – we have a real live, 9-foot tall huge Christmas tree that we picked out and cut down ourselves. Just a warning – trees in the forest seem smaller than they do in your house. The tree is gigantic, even after trimming the top, bottom and sides. 

Right now it stands bare in our living room with a few lights on it – unfortunately I have a painful ear infection, cough and cold that is keeping me from decorating every inch of our house in Christmas decor. 

I kind of like it this way though – I feel as if I’m sitting in a forest.

Maybe we need to have more plants in the house.

What is your Christmas tradition? Are you a fake tree person? Or the real deal? Do you like to chop down your own tree?