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Friday 9 December 2011

Oh Christmas Tree!

The November/December life of an interior decorator revolves around Christmas trees. What can I do that is different?  How big a tree, how glitzy or rustic a tree, what colour, what theme, real or artificial?  The next questions are more like: how many scratches will I get, will it fall over, is it pre-lit, can I reach the top from a ladder...?

 Image compliments of The Graphics Fairy

I'm a big fan of pre-lit, artificial trees! They make my life sooo much easier!  Sure, I love the smell of a real evergreen but I do not like struggling with tree holders, uneven branches and pine gum in my hair.  In most things, I am a nature girl but this is the exception.

I think it all started when I trudged through a northern Ontario forest looking for a perfect tree with my dad.  It was -30F and we were on a mission to find a tree to take south to my grandma's for the holidays.  When you live in the bush it should be easy.  Nooo - the trees in the forest all seemed to be towering out of reach!  Nobody trims the small trees in the forest to make them nicely uniform.  Around the time frost bite had set into my toes, my dad started in with an axe to fell a huge tree.  The top was perfect and he intended to lop it off.  Right about when I could no longer move my frozen hands, the tree toppled over and snagged on another tree.  That's when we gave up and headed (treeless) for home, while frozen tear icicles formed on my cheeks. We did show up at Grandma's with a tree and she never knew he bought it at a roadside stand!

Here are a few trees that have given me far less trouble!

This is one of my favourite Christmas trees. ~


How gorgeous is that Peacock topper?  I used emerald green, purple and peacock blue ornaments, with real peacock feathers and a shimmery blue/magenta sheer fabric instead of ribbon.  The same fabric is pooled at the base for a tree skirt. ~


A palm tree in the same room gets a touch of magic with a sparkling butterfly on Spanish moss.  ~


My own tree comes with a wooden box base, is pre-lit and black.  Hey, you get tired of green when you work with it all day!  It's a narrow tree and doesn't require many ornaments.  On one super busy year it wound up with a simple garland and three decorations.

Last year it got a hit of purple just for fun. ~


This year, the theme is all about ice in my library.  I've added silver picks and clear bead garland. Some Faberge eggs are airy and elegant. They're not real Faberge eggs -  that would be silly.  I save the real ones for my breakfast in my other home, The Castle. ~


A diamond studded spire (again not real diamonds in this home) is set in a white bow with silver ice dots.



The clear balls have scraps of book pages inside.  I'm pretending it is a library in an ice castle.  Too fanciful you think?  A sparkling penguin stands guard over a bird's nest and angels fly in the sky above. ~




When the lights are turned low, I  have a magical world of ice and snow! ~


Whatever your choices, the best trees are decorated with love!


I'm sharing this with:
  Thrifty Decor Chick  christmas tree party

6 comments:

  1. WOW! Simply wow.

    You know, there is one more reason why Ilove fake trees. I think the evergreens are too darling to be snipped. It was only yesterday that I was thinking of this fact.

    I'm a fake tree fan too. I hate cutting trees.

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  2. Thanks for showing the different ways to do the trees...I love your tree this year! I'm still looking at my bare tree! But...it's up! xo

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  3. I'm kind of fond of my fake tree too. I like all of the versions of your tree. The ice theme is so pretty. Thanks for visiting and following, following you as well.

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  4. Thank you everyone and a big welcome to Karen!

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  5. I love your imagination! :) Ever since the year we replaced not one, but two live trees, we never had a live tree again. Then we moved here. The property was full of beautiful cedar trees, like the ones we put up when I was a little girl, so we cut one for our tree that year. Yep, even watering it every day like crazy, it literally lost all of it's needles. Never again! Fake all the way!

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  6. I'm so glad I'm not alone in the reverence of the fake tree! Pre-lit trees are the next best thing to sliced bread as well. Thanks for all the great comments!

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