diddle dumpling: Christmas crafts and decorations

A couple of weeks ago we had two parties at church. I was in charge of the centerpieces for the parties and since our budget was pretty tight for both, I had to find inexpensive ways to make the tables pretty. Along with the help of several other ladies who provided centerpieces, we were able to make the round plastic folding tables in the church gym look more festive.

Here are some of the centerpieces I came up with.

Do you know how awesome dollar stores can be? I love our local Dollar Tree. They have these tall glass hurricanes which were easy to dress up. For the middle hurricane I punched a snowflake pattern in some red card stock with my Japanese hole punch.

Since music was a big part of the program for both parties, I used sheet music for several of the centerpieces. This one was the easiest.

Joann had their Christmas ribbon 60% off recently, so I picked up a few rolls of this lovely music print wired ribbon for less than $2 each.

I made a sleeve out of the ribbon for this hurricane.

Each one got a flameless LED candle (also found at The Dollar Tree) for a little ambiance, since real flames aren't allowed in the church building.

This little sleigh was a clearance purchase at a craft store a few years ago, so I added a few "presents".

I wrapped some blocks in craft paper and tied them with ribbon or string.

The Bargain Center always produces interesting finds, including this wreath on a wooden stand. I wove some ribbon through the front and back and along the outside.

The glittery reindeer ornament came in a set of 2 from The Dollar Tree.

I found this rusty pitcher at a local thrift store and just filled it with some silk poinsettias that I already had and attached jingle bells (also from The Dollar Tree) for some extra detail.

This weather-worn lantern came from the Bargain Center as well. It had apparently been used outside, but all I had to do was clean it up, scrape the wax out and add a little LED tealight inside. I love how rusty and battered it looks

Target had these mini trees in their Dollar Spot so I picked up 3 and just had fun decorating them. This one got some mini bulbs (also from Target's Dollar Spot), a pom-pom garland from The Dollar Tree and a little banner that I made.

The white tree is my favorite. The mini star came from Michael's...

...and I made a banner for this one, too. (It says "rejoice", in case you can't tell.)

I made the garland from string and faux pearl beads, ornaments from thread and mother-of-pearl buttons, and tiny curly-cues from strips of sheet music.

Finally, another pom-pom garland...

... some button ornaments and a "peace" banner with a button star on top.

I got kind of carried away with trees while I was working on these projects.

The mercury glass tree on the left was a Bargain Center find, and the one on the right was an old book that I cut the cover off of, trimmed down with my Exacto knife, curled it into a cone and secured it with a paperclip. The wire star is my lame attempt to make something from only what I had on hand.

Another tree! This white ruffly one is just a Styrofoam cone covered in folded coffee filters.

Okay, I guess that's all of the centerpieces I took pictures of. Now I can show you a little of the Christmas decorations I've put out lately. I've tried to keep it minimal since we're gearing up for a move at the end of the month. But there are a few pretty things here and there.

I came across this beautiful vintage sled at the consignment store when I was dropping some things off.

Isn't it cool?!

There's no telling how old it actually is, but I love how weathered it is and the fact that the decals are still visible.

Meet Rudy. He's our helper elf that Santa sent to keep an eye on our kids. He decided to hang out on the sled the day I took these photos. Isn't he cute?