Things are starting to look a lot like Christmas at the Miller household. I don’t know what it is about decorating a Christmas tree that brings my soul so much happiness. Maybe it’s the Christmas music turned up loud, maybe it's the twinkle of the lights, or maybe I’m just a crazy designer that loves any chance to get creative and decorate. We always have a couple Christmas trees in our house (remember I’m a crazy designer) and the one in our living room changes slightly year after year. This year I am so excited to bring the new look of the tree to life with JOANN!
For this years look I kept it pretty traditional and slightly modern. I wanted to pull in the colors from my living room while still keeping it traditional, neutral, and festive. And lets just say I got a little crafty. Now I’m going to give you all my tips for styling a modern neutral Christmas tree.
Tip on Creating a Modern Neutral Christmas Tree
1. Planning: Plan your tree design- First you want to think about colors, textures, and materials.
Color: Try to stay with 3-4 main colors. I picked white, gold, green, and blue. But remember you can also use differing hues of those main colors.
Textures: You can add texture with ribbon, florals, ornaments, fabric, and many other things. For my texture I choose ribbon and ornaments.
Materials: Think about all the material you want to use. I used glass, metal, and ribbon.
2. Gathering: Gather all your materials and complete any DIY projects. I did a couple DIYs for my look which I will talk about in more detail here in a bit.
Marbled ball ornaments
Painted metal snowflake ornaments, bells, and topper
Tassel tree skirt
3. Starting: Start by placing the item you have the smallest amount of. For me it was the metal snowflake ornaments. Place those items evenly around the tree. I find this to be easiest when spacing your ornaments and getting an overall even design. Then you begin to fill in with your other ornaments and materials. Take it one material at a time.
4. Trick: Use 3 sizes in ball ornaments. This creates a visual depth trick on the eyes- designer secret. Evenly space the 3 sizes throughout the tree. Even place some further back in the branches.
5. Finishing: Add your finishing touches. For my tree I tied pieces of white linen ribbon to the ends of branches all around the tree. Then I draped a long piece a ribbon along the top weaving in and out of the branches- extending the “topper” slightly down the tree.
Last add a fun textured tree skirt and some fun wrapped packages.
Products and Materials I used:
Star Tree Topper- CLICK HERE
Snowflake Ornaments- CLICK HERE
Bells (I untied the bells from rope and used as ornaments)- CLICK HERE
Mercury Glass Ornaments (I removed them from garland and used on tree)- CLICK HERE
White Linen Ribbon- CLICK HERE
Snowflake Pillow- CLICK HERE
Metal Sign “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”- CLICK HERE
I created this entire look with items from JOANN. I went into the store knowing step one from above (color, texture, and material) and just let my design develop from there. Now lets talk about the DIYs I did.
Painting things to match my design:
I will start by saying I have always said there needs to be a book called “It you give Kayla a can of spray paint.” I found these amazing 3D snowflake ornaments that were so modern and I thought could add so much texture to my design…But they were silver. No worries because I am the spray paint master and JOANN sells some amazing gold spray paint. I painted the ornaments, star topper, and bells all gold to match my design. They were a beautiful silver but painting them allowed me to stick with my color scheme. Moral of the story is- don’t necessarily let the color of something rule it out! If you love it and it would be AMAZING in your design- YOU CAN PAINT IT!
Gold Spray Paint I used- CLICK HERE
Star Tree Topper- CLICK HERE
Snowflake Ornaments- CLICK HERE
Bells (I untied the bells from rope and used as ornaments)- CLICK HERE
Marbled Ball Ornaments Tutorial:
These ornaments are probably my absolute favorite part of the tree! They are so classy and modern and EASY to make. I was able to create ornaments that incorporated all the colors of my design that matched my living room. You can select any colors that match your design too! Plus marble is really in right now.
Materials:
Clear Large Ball Ornaments- CLICK HERE
Clear Standard Ball Ornaments- CLICK HERE
Clear Small Ball Ornaments- CLICK HERE
Marble White Paint- CLICK HERE
Colored Acrylic Paint- CLICK HERE
Gold Acrylic Paint- CLICK HERE
Rose Gold Acrylic Paint- CLICK HERE
Plastic Cups
Directions:
1. Take your clear ball ornaments and remove the metal cap.
2. Pour in a 5-10 drops of the white marble paint.
3. Add in some color. I did drops of green, blue, gold, rose gold, and even some black.
4. Holding your finger over the opening swirl around the paint inside until it covers all sides of the ball ornament. The marble paint helps create the marble look.
5. Turn the ball ornament upside down in a plastic cup allowing the excess paint to drip out. It will continue to marble more as the excess paint runs out.
6. Let them dry overnight and replace the metal cap.
And the last DIY I did was the tassel tree skirt- Head over to the JOANN app for my full tutorial on this: CLICK HERE. You can access the tutorial by desktop without installing the app. If you are using your mobile simply download the app then you can access the tutorial and so many other amazing “How To” projects, coupons, and a direct way to shop.
I really hope you liked this combination post of my tree decorating tips and some easy DIYs. Sometimes it’s so nice during this busy season to just sit down, take some time for yourself, and craft. Have so much fun decorating your tree and remember some of my tips! Special thanks to JOANN for sponsoring this post and sharing all their fun Christmas items with us.
Let me know if you try my DIY projects. I love seeing my little creations inspiring others to create their own version. Snap a picture and tag me on social media- I will be sure and share. I hope this gave you some inspiration as you begin trimming your tree!
With love,
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*This post was sponsored by JOANN. Post may contain affiliate links, but as always all words, reviews and opinions are by yours truly.