Christmas

Tips for Taking Great DIY Christmas Card Photos

November 19, 2018 by Bre Leave a Comment

These days it’s almost unheard of to send a holiday card that is not a family photo, whatever your family consists of. Whether it’s a whole group of people, just you, or your best furry friend, the holidays are a time to re-connect and share a snapshot of you and/or your loved ones with others!

With the photography tools available to ALL of us these days, it’s so easy to take great looking photos for your holiday cards. To help, I’m giving you tips for taking great DIY Christmas Card Photos on your own, without hiring a professional photographer! (And guess what – these tips will work for ANY family photos you want to take in the future; not just holiday card photos!)

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DIY Holiday Card Photo Tip 1: Plan Ahead

Instead of snapping a picture of your family in front of whatever random background is in the location you’re at, spend 10 minutes planning ahead and the results will be worth it!

First up, plan the location of the photo. If you have time to go to a location with pretty scenery, you’ll instantly upgrade your holiday photo game. Whether it’s a hotel lobby with pretty Christmas trees or the woods with natural scenery, plopping your people in a scenic spot will help your photo tremendously.

Next, think about whether you want or need any “props” for your photos. If you’re going to the woods, for example, maybe you should bring a blanket for everyone to sit on. If you’re taking the photo in your living room, do you want to add in a cute holiday pillow to make the photo more festive? Take a look at this amazing Pinterest board for lots of great prop and pose ideas.

Finally, if possible, plan the outfits your family will be wearing in the photo to avoid clashing colors, graphic or “message” t-shirts, etc. You don’t want to look unnatural with overly matching looks, but coordinating colors goes a long way for a professional-looking photo.

DIY Christmas Card Photos Tip 2: Get Them Smiling

When it comes to taking a holiday photo of a group, you’re almost guaranteed to get someone who doesn’t want to cooperate – especially a child or a pet. Bring some treats along with you to help soften any attitude.

Another great tip to get a really natural look in photos is to say something that makes the people being photographed laugh. I often tell my kids that they can say a “bad” word they’re not allowed to say (before you jump on me in the comments, these “bad” words are things like “butt” and “fart.” Not really the bad words you might be thinking of.) This makes them crack up and I get awesome, natural faces in our photos instead of cheesy, faked smiles!

DIY Holiday Card Photo Tip 3: Technology is On Your Side

Thanks to smartphones, it is SO much easier to take a great holiday photo these days. These tiny devices can take such nice photos, especially if you know how to use some of the most basic features that are built right in!

Brush up on camera skills for your particular phone with a quick Google search. You’re bound to find tutorials that will teach you things about your phone’s camera that you didn’t know before, like how to brighten the image before even taking it and how to set the timer for a group shot.

Add-on accessories for smartphone cameras can also be very useful – especially when taking group photos that you want to be part of! I love my phone tripod and remote control, which lets me set up my phone as a camera anywhere and snap the photo wirelessly when we’re all in place. It makes taking family photos so much easier!

And if you’re going for super high-quality, pull out the trusty old camera to take even sharper images. Just make sure to minimize use of the built-in flash and use natural lighting instead. That always leads to a better image!

DIY Christmas Card Photos Tip 4: Edit, Edit, Edit!

Finally, the best thing you can do for your DIY holiday card photos is edit them before printing! The good news is that you don’t even need an expensive editing program to do it.

While I use Adobe Lightroom for editing my blog photos, there are awesome online programs that you can use, too! PicMonkey is my personal favorite.

If you don’t want to use an external editing program, use the editing tools built in on your phone or computer. You can’t edit as much, but something is better than nothing!

Use the editing tools to do things like crop the photo to a good proportion, brighten the photo, enhance the colors, smooth away stray hairs, etc. Simple fixes like that will make a world of difference in your pictures!

Now that you have all these great tips for taking a wonderful holiday card photo, get out there and do it. Then make sure to order your cards or print your photos to add into your cards.

Do you have any DIY holiday photo tips to share? Make sure to share them in the comments below!

-Bre

Three Inexpensive Dollar Tree Holiday Gift Ideas (& My Facebook Live Debut!}

December 15, 2017 by Bre 10 Comments

Earlier this year I made a goal to do a Facebook Live in 2017. (For those of you who don’t know what Facebook Live is, it’s a live broadcast on Facebook. I’m sure you could have figured that out, but I like to be helpful. ;-)). I kept putting it off because, well, the thought of showing my face and talking to people on Facebook made me want to vomit (hello . . . there are like a gajillion Facebook users worldwide)! It’s much easier to sit behind your computer screen and type.

Anyway, I waited until NOW to actually do it, but I’m proud to say that I DID IT and I shared three inexpensive Dollar Tree holiday gift ideas during my first Facebook Live!

These are all quick and easy gift ideas that are perfect for someone you need just a little something for – maybe your neighbors, the school bus driver, crossing guard, mail lady – you get the idea!

You know you’ve got a bunch of people on your list like that, so watch my video to learn how to make Gingerbread House Soaps, Mercury Glass Votives, and Hot Chocolate Tumblers!

In the end, doing Facebook Live wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and I will probably do it again! It was kind of a fun rush and I always like a challenge.

If you watch my video, let me know what you think! Also – please let me know if you have any ideas for future Facebook Lives! 🙂

Happy Holidays!

-Bre

A Classic Christmas Mantel

December 7, 2017 by Bre 12 Comments

I’m so happy to be back in the swing of things with a festive and classic Christmas mantel that I’m sharing today as part of the Decorate Your Mantel blog hop!

My friend Amy at My Life From Home has been hosting this hop for the last year or so, and I’ve loved participating. I missed the fall edition due to lack of preparedness, but now I’m ready to share my Christmas mantel!

This post contains affiliate links. To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

So come on in and let me show you around!

I’ve always gravitated toward a more classic Christmas style, filled with reds and greens and your typical Christmas icons, like Santas and Christmas trees. What can I say? I’m old school.

My mantels in the past have reflected that (like this one, and this one), but I think that this year’s Christmas mantel is my favorite because it’s classic, simple, and fun all at the same time!

My new favorite textured stoneware pitcher is pulling decor duty for this mantel, serving as a nice vase for my faux greenery. I like how the iced greenery coordinates with the glittery garland on the mantel!

And I’m so happy that I found a spot for my cute porcelain snow houses that I got at Target in Bullseye’s Playground (they should really rename that section “Breighanne’s Playground!”). Target doesn’t have those little houses anymore, but you can find some adorable ones here!

I propped those little houses up on the bottom side of my wood planter box to give them some height over the garland. They’re happy to be nestled in close to my cute Santa art print. This art print might not be everyone’s favorite (like my husband), but I couldn’t resist this vintage-looking Santa!

I moved the stockings to the bookcases this year (hey – all the song says is that they need to be hung “by the chimney with care.” I think this qualifies), and still need to add family photos to the photo stocking holders! Ooops.

So there you have it – my classic Christmas mantel . I hope you enjoyed seeing how I made the classic look work for me!

Upcycled Tile Christmas Ornaments

December 6, 2017 by Bre 4 Comments

Use leftover tile or tile samples to make beautiful Christmas ornaments – I’ll show you how!

You know the old saying “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade?” Well I’ve got a new twist on that for you and it goes like this: “when your neighbor hands you leftover tile samples, make Christmas ornaments.”

Over the summer, my neighbor brought me many different marble tile samples that he didn’t need anymore, because he and his wife figured I’d find some use for them. (I think they’ve seen enough of my weekend projects in the garage to know that I never turn down good materials!

(Let’s be honest – I never turn down any materials – good or bad.))

So anyway, the tile samples sat in various places in my house since that time, just collecting dust, until this past Sunday.

My seven-year-old daughter was having a tough day and was sulking in her bedroom. I had had enough of that doom and gloom, so I snatched her out of there and told her we were making a craft project together.

I had nothing planned, but when I spotted those tile samples on my desk, I knew we needed to turn them into ornaments. And I’m going to show you how we did it.

Supplies Needed for Repurposed Tile Ornaments

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Small tiles (sheets of mosaic tiles work great)
Rubber stamps – letter rubber stamps and Christmas rubber stamps
Multi-surface acrylic paint
Small artist paint brushes
Ribbon
Multi-surface craft glue
Scissors
Stiffened felt

Instructions for Upcycled Tile Christmas Ornaments

We gathered multi-surface acrylic paints in various colors (primarily metallics, glitters, and pink (yes, pink. She’s seven, after all.), and Christmas-themed and letter rubber stamps, and we set off to work!

We applied thin layers of paint to the rubber stamps and gently pressed them onto the tiles, fixing mistakes as we went along (trust me, there were lots of those!).

She worked on making ornaments for her friends, while I played along.

After a while, my five-year-old son also got in on the action and he mass-produced about 29 of these things in an hour (they are all lime green).

I Think You’ll Also Like This Christmas Craft

DIY Marbled Ornaments

My daughter and I preferred to work more slowly and thoughtfully, and once all of our creations dried, we turned our tiles into actual ornaments.

We used multi-surface glue to attach pretty ribbon to the backs of the ornaments.

Once that glue had set a bit, we cut pieces of stiffened felt and glued those over the ribbon. This made the ribbon a little sturdier, which is great for ornaments that are on the heavier side.

We let them dry overnight, just to be sure the glue was really holding everything together, and then our ornaments were finished!

They turned out so much cuter than I expected!

My daughter’s tile ornaments are so sweet, but I didn’t take pictures of them because she put all of her friends’ names on them and I didn’t think I should put those on the Internet.

So . . . you’re stuck with my generic Christmas sayings.

In the end, a day that started out very rough turned out to be a wonderful one that I won’t soon forget. We made more than ornaments on Sunday – we made wonderful memories together.

That sounds cheesy, but this project helped remind me how important it is to really be there for our kids when they need a little extra attention. AND it also reminded me how important is to never throw anything away – HA!

If you agree, or if you just think this is a fun project, please make sure to “pin” this project to help others find it! You can pick up tile samples just like the ones we used, or less expensive ceramic versions, at any home improvement store, so replicating this project is very easy!

Colorful Merry & Bright Free Printables for Christmas

November 30, 2017 by Bre 2 Comments

Yesterday I had so much fun sharing my daughter’s bedroom all decorated for Christmas in a way that’s outside of my normal decor comfort zone. Sparkles, sequins, and glitter – oh my! I firmly believe it’s great to mix things up now and again, so her Christmas bedroom was the perfect reason to do that!

For her Christmas bedroom, I created a set of three “Merry & Bright” prints to temporarily take the place of her regular artwork over the bed.

And because I think they turned out really cute (and were such an inexpensive way to bring some Christmas cheer to the space), I’m sharing a version of them with you! I’ve minimized them into a single print so you can use it in one frame, and I’ve added a traditional red and green color scheme for those who aren’t crazy about the rainbow colored one!

Just print the PDF file at your local print shop on 8.5 x 11 paper and trim to fit an 8×10 frame, OR print the .jpg file at the photo printer at 8×10 size. I printed the ones in my daughter’s room at Costco’s photo shop, and I have to say that I wasn’t thrilled about how the colors came out. So . . . you might be better off printing at Kinko’s, for example.

Please understand that these printables are for your personal use only! They are not to be re-sold or used commercially. Thank you for understanding!

If you enjoy this print, please pin this post so others can find it, too!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE MERRY & BRIGHT PRINTABLES

I hope your holidays are merry & bright!

-Bre

Colorful Christmas Kids Bedroom

November 29, 2017 by Bre 46 Comments

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is here, and I couldn’t be more excited to deck the halls and make my home festive! Over the years I’ve shown you some of my Christmas decor, but it’s always been focused on the communal areas of the home. Today I am switching things up a bit for the Come Home for Christmas Blog Hop, hosted by my friends Vicki & Jenn at 2 Bees in a Pod, and I’m sharing my daughter’s Colorful Christmas Kids Bedroom. It’s a departure from my typically traditional holiday home decorating style, but it makes me so happy because it’s filled with sparkles, glitter, metallics and more!

This post contains affiliate links. To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

Before I jump into sharing my daughter’s colorful Christmas bedroom, I wanted to let you know that you’ll find links to 32 different Christmas room tours at the bottom of this post! Every day focuses on a different space in the home. I hope you’ll visit my friends’ posts and see how they are decorating different areas of their homes for the holidays!

Now, come on in and visit a Christmas bedroom that is truly merry & bright!

I have to be honest, my seven-year-old’s room is usually a mess. She’s somewhat of a packrat (just like her mama!), so we did a lot of cleaning and purging to get this space up to snuff for the holidays. Seeing my daughter’s reaction when she saw all of this colorful Christmas decor was priceless. The magic of the season means so much to children, so it’s extra fun to give them some of the seasonal sparkle in their bedrooms!

This little tree sitting on top of the Painted Butterfly Bench is something I’ve had for years and almost donated last year. I’m glad I didn’t because it’s perfect for this young child’s Christmas bedroom. (See, being a packrat can pay off!) Its greens and pinks got me started on the color scheme that winds itself through the room.

We gave my daughter’s room a festive look for Christmas that feels young at heart by switching out the bedding for a plain white duvet, accented with an incredibly soft pink throw with metallic pink polka dots (link to similar throw). Let me tell you that I am obsessed with this throw and might steal it from her.

Adding to the coziness factor is the faux fur pillows. These are also incredibly soft, and were such a bargain! Pillow covers are my new favorite way to instantly change your decor’s look (wrapping paper previously held this coveted spot.).

And for my sequin-obsessed daughter, I had to get this flippy sequin Christmas tree pillow. The tree can be gold or white, depending on which way you flip the sequins. So much fun built right into a pillow, friends!

The Merry & Bright prints over the bed are covering the regular artwork, and similar versions are available HERE as FREE PRINTABLES (2 color combos and in a single 8×10)! And, the 3D Glitter Snowflake removable decals that Paper Riot Co. gave me are a perfect accent above those! (P.S. you can enter to win a set right now on my Instagram feed! Click here to find the entry.)

The festive new look has us all wanting to spend more time in my daughter’s room. We even let Jasper the dog get in on the action (he’s not usually allowed on the furniture). He gives that cozy throw blanket his stamp of approval.

Now, if I can figure out a way to get my daughter to keep her room this clean going forward, I will have received the best Christmas present ever! (But wait – please don’t tell my husband this. I would still like a real present under the tree. :-))

Now that you’ve seen how I decked out my daughter’s bedroom for Christmas, please visit my friends to see each of their spaces! Remember – the Thursday and Friday posts won’t be live until later this week, so make sure to check back!