Yes, let’s take out our good china and put it to good use for a fabulous Christmas Eve Dinner. These are just some of my ideas. However, I am sure that you will use your artistic skills and the result will be AMAZING!

Today’s projects:  Tart Dish Center Piece, Old Votive Candle Holder and Porch Hanging Baskets. ​

​I have this tart dish for a long time and almost never use it. I also found a small empty flower pot that I had in my garden stuff area and I decided to repurpose them.  After I cleaned the flower pot well, I turned it upside down and used it as the base of the center piece. I finally added some holiday apples to the tart dish and placed it on top of the flower pot. Done!

I had this Candle Holder at home for a while. My daughter said she didn’t want it anymore. So, I decided to repurpose, transforming it from a votive candle to a holiday center piece. Just add fresh fruits and you are done.

Final project: Porch Baskets
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​Finally, if you still have hanging baskets in your homes that are done for the season, please don’t throw them away, instead, purchase a $3.00 silk poinsettia bush at Walmart and a bow and tuck them in the basket soil. There, that’s your front porch repurposed project. Remember, you do not have to follow any rules here. If you prefer to use a color that may not be a traditional holiday color, go ahead and use it.
 
Next week I am staring my “Ready to Feed Family and Friends” series. Most of you are traveling to spend the holidays with families and many of you will be hosting those traveling families in your homes. Therefore, my “Ready to Feed Family and Friends” series will be a hodgepodge of table settings for the X-mas dinner; surprisingly simple lunch ideas; and “thinking outside of the box” dinner recipes that you are probably not thinking of making at this point, smile.

This is another easy to make project. Get moving, decorate your homes now. Besides the holiday picks that I purchase at 50% off regular price and a sleigh that I had in my craft room, I can accurately say that the total cost of this arrangement was $4.00. You can use any container that looks festive at home.
These are the materials needed:
1 container (I used a sleight)
4 holidays picks ($1.00ea @ Michael’s @ 50% off)
5 pinecones (free in your backyards)
A branch of any glossy leaves you may have in the backyard plus a couple of dry leave twigs.
 
Follow my slide show for instructions. Again, just start by laying your branches in layers, one on top of the other. Insert your picks in the container as shown, no need to glue anything.
You are done in 10 minutes. Have fun making it!

This is another easy to make project to decorate your homes for the holidays and it is affordable too. All you need totals $10.50 and it looks amazing.
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These are the materials needed:
1 green wreath 18” ($2.50 @ Walmart)
4 holidays picks ($1.00ea @ Michael’s @ 50% off)
4 golden icy picks ($1.00ea @ Michael’s@ 50% off)
 
Follow my slide show for instructions. There is nothing out of the ordinary to do. Just insert your picks in the wreath and secure them in the back with your hands. No need to glue anything.
Have fun making it!

Hanging Bow plus a Bonus, a Table Top Assortment of Things you have at Home

This is so easy to make.

Materials
3 large pinecones from your backyard
3 Christmas ornaments (you have tons of them at home)
1 yard of gold ribbon to make 3 small bows
1 holiday bow + ½ yard of same color ribbon to cut 3 pieces to attach to the bow
(You can make the bow if you know how to, or purchase it at your local craft store)
Glue gun or glue
 
Directions
Cut 3 pieces of ribbon 9”, 14” and 19” (to attach to the bow)
Attach one end of your ribbons to the back of the bow with the glue gun
Attach the pinecones to your 3 ribbons (covering the small hole the cones have in the middle with glue, attach the end of the ribbon and allow it to dry.
Add the small bows in front with glue and then, and the ornaments in the middle.
You are done! Hang it in a wall, or in a window, or in your front door.  
 
BONUS: Table Top Assortment of Things you have at Home
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Hey, look around your home. Do you have candles? Lose ornaments? Christmas picks? Anything that you can find to put together your own holiday montage. I found some of my stuff and threw it together. Not bad though, smile.