How to Create a Window Display in 15 Minutes or Less!

Christmas Garland in My Kitchen Window

When it comes to decorating for the holidays, or rearranging your home according to the different seasons, some people do not take kindly to change! I suppose it’s because we are said to be creatures of habit, and most people usually like things to remain the same. The minute you try to change things, or decorate differently, you might hear sighs that sound like this… “we can’t do that” or “we always do it this way”!

I’m not sure why, but I love to have things continually changing… especially when it comes to decorating our home! I look forward to creatively using what I have, adding little bits here & there as I find good deals, then bringing it all together to create something beautiful for our family to enjoy!

When it comes to changing things around for the season, one of the easiest & most rewarding ways to bring decorative change is by creating a display in your window. There are several reasons for this, a few being…

1. You can enjoy the display from the outside as well as the inside

2. Because you spend alot of time looking out your windows, the decorations will be a frequent source of enjoyment

3. You can use found objects and items from around your home to create your masterpiece

4. Changes are quick to do – 15 minutes or less

To help keep my decorating items organized, I like to use see through plastic containers for each season. Then, as you acquire different items for use in your displays, simply tuck them away in the box for that season. This will not only help you stay organized, but it will also help you put together beautiful displays in just a few minutes!

Here is one window display example from this year’s Christmas decorations. The window is over my kitchen sink, so I get to enjoy it quite a bit 😉

I like to use some sort of greenery to start with. You could use a piece of pine garland from last year’s decorations, or some of your trimmings from the yard outside. Then, intertwine some of your favorite things around the greens. Here are some of the things that I choose to use.

– Rusty bells – I picked up a bell garland at an end of season sale for $1.50

– Homespun fabric strips – $1 per yard at discount stores

– Berries – $.50 per bag last year – I twisted 3 at a time around the greens

– Pine cones – free from the yard

– Bigger rusty stars – $2 at end of season sale – I added a homespun bow

– Empty candle jars – I save my candle jars, add some homespun, and tuck in a grubby candle

– Wooden butter bowl – picked up at auction in the bottom of a $1 box!

– Red wooden bead garland – bought at end of year sale for $1

– Grubby candles – I pick them up when I find them on sale

Grubby Candle Tip: When you burn a grubby candle, the inside usually burns down faster than the outside. When my candles have a nice center that’s melted down, I tuck a tealight candle inside and light that instead of burning the bigger grubby candle. Now you have the best of both worlds… a beautiful grubby candle, that is lit by a tealight candle. Because you can buy tealight candles in bags of 100-200 for under $3.50 in your local discount store, this helps your beautiful (more expensive) candles last a VERY long time!

Grubby Christmas Window Garland

Because I have a counter right below this window, I decided to keep the display going on each end of the window. Here is the little “end cap” to the decorations 😉

Christmas Display

Vintage Snowman

To finish everything off, I give a few sprays of my favorite potpourri and now everything really smells like Christmas!

Here are a few other windows around our home.

Christmas Window

My Kitchen Rooster

Window Project
How-to for this window project


Ideas From Other Folks

Window display
A shelf made to look like a window display – using a mirror!

Paper garland
I love this simple & inexpensive idea! Simply use some newspaper cut into shapes, and add your tidbits to them! So pretty & so simple!

Christmas Front Door
Have a pair of skates that are not being used right now? Why not use them to make a beautiful creative display!

Christmas Window

Star Garland

Christmas card garland
Using old Christmas cards & some trim

garland

red Christmas

Christmas kitchen window

Christmas Tips and Ideas For Your Holiday

Vintage Holidays

Dickens Christmas Sleigh Bells Ring


Dickens Carolers

To help make your holiday a memorable one without the high expense, participate in local Christmas festivities! When we went to pick out our Christmas tree, we stopped down in the village to enjoy the Christmas celebration. There were carolers dressed in costume that looked like they stepped right out of a Dickens’ tale, horses with jingle bells around their necks giving sleigh rides around the village, and church bazaars and bake sales on every corner – filled to the brim with lots of goodies.

Look in your local paper (and online) to see what’s going on in your area.

Here’s an example of a Special Christmas Celebration that happens every weekend in a village near us. It’s called: Dickens’ Christmas in Skaneateles, NY

I’m sure that you will be able to find lots of great ways to celebrate with your family!



Here are some quick tips:

Snowflakes

Have the kids make paper snowflakes, lay them on top of a chocolate cake, sprinkle with powdered sugar, carefully remove snowflakes. You now have a beautiful snowy scene! This is a very inexpensive way to decorate your holiday cake!

Snowflakes

Make mittens out of fabric of choice & use in place of the usual Christmas stockings. You can make the mittens match your decorating style by choosing coordinating fabrics. I would use cream colored wool – lace – buttons & trims.

Snowflakes

Did You Know…
Christmas didn’t become a Federal Holiday in America until June 26, 1870 – by President Ulysses S. Grant.

Snowflakes

Organize your magazines by months, take out all of the Dec. issues & place them on a coffee table. You’ll love having so many Christmas ideas right at your fingertips!

Snowflakes

Lots of great Christmas gift ideas – Cheap!



Snowflakes

Did you know…
The Christmas tree industry employs over 100,000 people yearly between 21,000 different Christmas tree growers in the US?

Snowflakes

Did You Know…
A snowflake can take up to 2 hours to reach the ground!


Snowflakes

Christmas Decorating Idea…
Instead of using regular paper for your paper chain projects, why not use other materials such as; wallpaper scraps, decorative scrapbook paper, pieces of wrapping paper, or left over pieces of silk ribbon!

Snowflakes

To add some glitter & sparkle to your decorations, spray paint different kinds of nuts with your choice of colors! Silver & gold make stunning displays!

Snowflakes

Did You know…
The poinsettia is a plant that is native to Mexico. The plant got it’s name from Mexico’s first American ambassador, Joel Poinsett, who brought the plants back to America in 1828.

In the 18th century, Mexicans thought the beautiful red star shaped leaves were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. This helped the poinsettia to become a favorite traditional plant at Christmas.

Websites to Visit For Great Christmas Ideas!

Great Christmas Cookies Recipes & Pictures!
http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChristmasCookies.html

Everything You Need to Know About Beautiful Paper Snowflakes
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dstredulinsky/home.html

How to Take Great Pictures of Christmas Lights
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-to-photograph-christmas-lights.html

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish everyone a “Very Merry Christmas!”

I hope you & your family are able to spend some good quality time together this week.

May we all reflect on what is really important in our lives; family, friends, and our relationship with God.

Isaiah 9:7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The word “Peace” here means “wholeness” – if we want true peace & wholeness in our lives, we can only find these things through a relationship with God.

Looking forward to sharing piles of information over the days ahead!

Great Christmas Find – $1.49

I wanted to post a picture of my newest find at the local thrift shop. These little Christmas trees have such a wonderful vintage look to them with their creamy color & hints of sparkle. I only paid $1.49 for both of them! While I was there, I saw HUGE piles of Christmas items to choose from.

Think about it… people everywhere are pulling out boxes & boxes of Christmas decorations from their attics. As they sort through it all, they decided that it might be time to finally get rid of some of it 🙂 So – they pass it on to the local thrift shops. This is your opportunity to pick up some very nice things at VERY nice prices!

If you enjoy vintage style decorations you will find some very nice finds, because many times, people want the “newest styles”. But, I did find a BRAND NEW Martha Stewart wreath made up of silver bells for $1.98 – so you can find new things as well.

Enjoy & be sure to come back & post your newest finds!

Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments & Gift Tags

Each year I save my favorite Christmas cards & re-purpose them into different things. Here is a card that I turned into a Christmas ornament. I just added a bow that came from a different gift that year.

……….
Last year I kept all of my Christmas cards! They come with such beautiful colors & pictures, that I knew I’d think of something to do with them!

This year, I decided to cut out all the pictures & use them as this year’s gift tags!

Cut out whatever shapes you’d like, punch a hole in the corner, & tie on with ribbon. You could also tape them right on the package if you’d like.

Because you’re cutting out the picture from the front of the card, the back is normally white & not written on.

Use a pretty color gel pen & write your message on the back.
……….

Christmas card display
Hang varying lengths of beautiful ribbon from your curtain rod. As you get a Christmas card, pin it on one of the ribbons with a straight pin. Hopefully, you have lots of friends & can fill the whole window with cards! =) The end product looks like a holiday window treatment.

* You could also use last year’s cards for an instant display.