Easy Christmas Tree Ornaments 2012 Ideas

Clever embellishments turn plain-Jane ornaments into seasonal standouts.

Frosted Pinecone Ornament 

Take a walk in the woods to gather materials for this simple, natural ornament. Clean the sap from pinecones with a weak water-and-bleach mixture. Twist an eye hook into the top of the pinecone, dust the edges with spray snow, and tie on a bold ribbon to add outdoor charm to your tree.

Seashell Ornament

 Bring the beach into your Christmas decorating by painting stripes of glue on an aqua-color ornament and sprinkling it with sand. Add small shells and beige buttons for a casual, sunny look.

Cable-Knit Ornament 

Turn an old sweater into a warm and festive ornament. Cut a 6-inch-long tube from a sweater sleeve. Slip a plastic-foam ball into the tube. Gather cut ends at the top and bottom of the ball using straight pins to hold the fabric in place, trimming where necessary. Glue red velvet ribbon around the ball as shown, dividing the ball into quarters. Use a red pearl-head pin to secure a felt poinsettia or a small purchased artificial flower to the top of the ornament.

Paisley Gem Ornaments 

Swirls, teardrops, and tiny dots cover satin baubles like frost on a winter windowpane. Freehand paint paisley-inspired patterns so each ornament is one-of-a-kind. All you need is a white paint pen and some colorful Christmas balls.

Salt-Dough Snowflake Ornament

These delicate snowflakes are definitely sweet -- but they aren't edible! To prepare the dough, mix 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup water until sticky. Roll the dough to 1/4- inch thickness, and cut out snowflake shapes with cookie cutters. Use a skewer to pierce a hole for hanging. Bake the shapes for 4 hours in a 200 degree F oven. When cool, draw hearts, squiggles, and dots with a red permanent marker. Hang from a loops of festive twine or yarn.

Santa's Greeting Ornament

Let it be known that Santa is in the house with this greeting. Paint a ball ornament with red acrylic paint. When the paint dries, apply letter stickers and a snowflake to make Santa's voice ring throughout the holiday season.

Jingle Bell Ornament

Add a little jingle to your tree with an ornament that's sure to bring music to your ears. Fill a clear ornament with small red bells. Wrap ribbon around the top of the ornament and glue the long tails in place. For an extra touch, tie ribbon through the hanger and glue a felt Christmas tree to the center of the crossed ribbon tails.

Metallic Snowflake Ornament

Dab metallic paint onto an ornament using a sponge to create texture. Punch snowflakes from cardstock and adhere just the centers (so the points are not secure). Top the snowflakes with round, epoxy stickers adhered to the centers for a frosty fun addition to your tree.

Patterned Paper Tree Ornament

Cut out a tree shape from festive holiday-motif cardstock. Mat the tree on white paper, then add rhinestone trim and a snowflake on top.

Gem Christmas Ornament

Add a little bling to your tree with this dazzling ornament. Dress up a clear orb with pink acrylic paint. Let the paint dry then add evenly spaced rows of multicolor adhesive-backed gems.

Holiday Projects for easy Christmas decorating ideas

Add something new to your standby Christmas decor. Alongside your sentimental ornaments and favorite pieces, introduce an updated centerpiece or a fresh take on stairway decor, and you might find a new decorating tradition!

Holiday Headboard

With a neutral base, it's easy to add a bit of temporary holiday flair to a bedroom. Drape hand towels or tea towels over a headboard, and pin together covers for throw pillows using striped napkins and place mats. Drape an unfinished length of burlap over a side table and add a potted dwarf evergreen. For the final touch, hang a few pine branches on the wall over the bed to accent the headboard.

Holiday Accent Pillow

The best holiday decorations make use of what you already own, allowing you to transform them with the changing seasons. Add festive touches to a neutral pillow in no time at all. Cut a holiday shape a tree, a star, an ornament from felt or burlap, and use thick yarn or twine to secure the shape to the pillow.

Beautiful Buffet Table

Adorn this buffet table with several traditional and unique holiday decorations. Filled with apples and cherries, these lanterns light up the table without a candlestick in sight. Cut from inexpensive burlap that's fringed at the edges, a table scarf adds a colorful pop underneath, while a trio of trees are actually branches set in wet florist's foam in clay pots. A sliver-size window displays a holiday message spelled using adhesive letters.

Greenery Gift Garnish

Surprising accents make present wrapping and giving  that much more enjoyable. Instead of ribbon, tie bits of twine around each wrapped gift and add miniature sprigs or ornaments.

Votive Candle Accents

Votive candles with the right touches are the perfect holiday accent to any room, so consider polishing off your candle presentation with this smart idea. Fill a larger vase part way with fresh cranberries or small beads and insert a smaller glass votive holder. Mix and match sizes of vases or keep them all the same for a more consistent pattern.

Favorite Christmas Cards Display

A new crop of holiday cards is a great way to display lots of color and pattern throughout your house. Use an old window shutter and tie lengths of ribbon from top to bottom, and attach a cards with double-stick tape.

Fresh Herbs Chair Back Decoration 

The produce aisle often has more decorating possibilities than you might think. Bundle fresh herbs together with twine and tie them together with a length of ribbon to make festive bouquets. For fragrance and color, try an arrangement of thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and a bay leaf. 
Editor's Tip:
The bouquets can be made several days in advance
refrigerate them until you're ready to use them.

Colorful Glass Candy Jar

What would the holidays be without a few sweet treats? Luckily, bright ribbonlike varieties are pretty enough to display on their own. Fill a few lidded glass containers with various colors and sizes and loop a bright green cord through a pretty paper label.

Pretty Paper Accents

Twisted into a cone, a square of decorative paper bedecks everything from a chair back to a doorknob. Secure the cone with glue and trim the top, then punch holes to insert a ribbon hanger and line with a pretty handkerchief or towel. Fill the easy-to-make decoration with a little gift or a sachet for a pretty take-home present.

Natural Holiday Basket

Some of the most elegant focal pieces are crafted from simple materials and can be assembled without a fuss. Fill a wicker basket with repeating rows of moss, smooth stones, pinecones, and a cheery row of green apples, or use items from around the house and yard, such as acorns, nuts, sticks, herbs, flowers, and oranges.

Easy Christmas decorating tradition ideas 2012

Add something new to your standby Christmas decor. Alongside your sentimental ornaments and favorite pieces, introduce an updated centerpiece or a fresh take on stairway decor, and you might find a new decorating tradition!

Holiday Cheer Bedside Lamp

Transform a clear glass lamp base or a large vase into a festive still life with a few accents. Fill the bottom with sea salt (a stand-in for snow) and arrange a scene with small ornaments, pine branches, and old photographs or cards.

Holiday Flowers Table Centerpiece

Sometimes the simplest flower arrangements can add the perfect amount of holiday cheer to a table. Arrange bright red roses in a tall vase and complement the centerpiece with leftover glittery ornaments in various sizes.

Wrapped Gift Boxes Display

Pretty wrapped boxes -- even if they're empty -- can play up a distinctive holiday color scheme. Here, an unexpected combination of gold, cream, and chartreuse provides a vivid pop of color both on and under a bench. In place of bows, wrap a few loops of ribbon around the boxes and stick in a cedar sprig or two.

Ornaments-and-Ribbon Headboard Accent 

A wall, a headboard, and a door are all great spots for this simple-as-can-be idea. Sew a single ornament to the end of a length of ribbon, then loop around a hook or headboard and hold in place with strong tape. To create a diminutive bedside tree, wire together full branches and prop in florist's foam.

Christmas Card Holiday Garland 

Add festive greenery to the kitchen entryway with a large, leafy garland. Make it unique by adorning it with last year's (or this year's) Christmas cards, gold and green orbs, and sprigs of fir or spruce.

Guest Room with Holiday Cheer

To pamper visiting family and friends, consider adding a few extra touches to the guest bedroom. Add a bright pop of color with a throw pillow and an extra quilt. To brighten the side of the bed, include a few red blooms in tin containers, and carry through the same color with a ribbon accent for a bottom-of-the-bed fir wreath. Spray-paint paper letters with a welcoming holiday message and set them atop a fir garland on a nearby shelf or table.

Mini Christmas Tree Tabletop Accent

This potted dwarf Alberta spruce tree makes a great tabletop accent when combined with other holiday elements. Put the tree container into a basket such as a picnic tin and surround it with apples, oranges, or other fruits, adding pinecones or nuts for accent. Attach a vintage holiday card to the open lid to make the decoration even more festive.

Cheery Christmas Container

You don't need to go out and buy a special container or vase for the holidays -- instead, get crafty and adorn what you already own. Cut felt to fit around a container, adding an inch to the length. Wrap the felt around and glue at the overlap, then center a ribbon and glue it in place. Using a cookie cutter as a pattern, cut seasonal shapes, such as trees, wreaths, or ornaments, from a complementary color of felt and glue in place. For the final touch, fill the container with ornaments and bits of greenery.

Falling Snowflakes Decoration

A waterfall of wooden snowflakes, hung from thumbtacks and ribbon, cascades behind the headboard of a bed. Depending on the color scheme of the room where you put the decoration, change up the color of the hanging ribbon or use more than one color to add more festive cheer.

Red-and-White Chair Back Accents

Dressing up the chairs around your dinner table is super easy with candy canes and holiday ribbon. Tie one end of some wire-edge ribbon in a pretty pattern around an oversize candy cane and the rest in a big bow on the back of each chair. For solid chairs, use T-pins or cut longer ribbon lengths for a sash.

Embellished Fruit Decoration

Cloves are the go-to adornment for decorating fruit, but crafts materials can also add dimension and visual interest. Arrange inexpensive brads (found at crafts and office supply stores) in various patterns around apples or oranges. Pile the arrangement in a bowl and place on a coffee table or in an entryway.

New Ideas for Decorating in Orange

Have warmed to the thought of using orange in your home.i hope you like this slide show that features a variety of looks in this citrus hue ... Enjoy !!!!

Morning Room 

A warm color scheme is right at home in a breakfast room where a jolt of energetic color can help to get a jump on an active day. A range of oranges, from deep russet to light peach surround the banquette, which in turn is bathed in a glow of sunlight and yellow walls. The drum shade of the pendant light fixture incorporates all the colors of the palette.

Fabric Focus 

Vivid persimmon fabrics capture the eye in this appealing dining room. An analogous color palette of warm hues supports the bold orange color. Solid yellow fabric covers the curved banquette and pillows in a yellow-on-white pattern with contrasting piping giving definition to the yellow shapes. A russet rug, banded in yellow repeats the color scheme underfoot. Overhead, the chandelier is an energetic design of leafy tendrils in a single matte orange. Sophisticated black elements ground the room.

Color Coordinated

Choosing from within a coordinated collection of colors and patterns ensures foolproof decorating in this enticing living room. The sherbet shades offer a balance of soft tints and intense hues in playful patterns and restful solids. Neutral walls allow the mix of orange, pink, yellow, and green furnishings to take center stage.

Better with Color 

Bold splashes of orange and red give this all-white room a new look with little effort. An orange table with modern lines adds a sassy touch to the decor. Underfoot, a graphic red-and-white organic-pattern rug layers on top of a larger sisal floor covering. Solid orange linen throw pillows and a fuzzy throw give the upholstered furnishings a bit of visual punch.

Small Space, Bold Color Scheme 

Bold accents make a big impact in this tiny space. Two unfinished wood hutches, painted soda pop orange, add display and storage space. The hutches complement the room's blue accent wall. Orange stripes in the window treatments and rug bring all the elements together and add a touch of drama to the space.

The Warmth of Orange

Goldenrod yellow walls and burnt orange accents work together to give this family room a warm and inviting motif. The solid burnt orange window treatments and throw pillows create a common thread among the patterned chairs, window seat, and ottoman. The bright hue adds both drama and consistency to the room.

Bold Fireplace

This fiery orange is the perfect complement to the fireplace. Natural accents, such as the marble fireplace surround and the antique wood mirror frame give the color an earthy feel. Pairing orange and brown is a good way to tone down the bright hue.

All in the Accents

Graphic tangerine bedding is the focal point in this master bedroom. Other orange accents, such as the statue on the nightstand and the throw pillow, work with the bedding to give the room modern style. Neutral walls and dark furniture provide the perfect backdrop for a bold hue.

Colorful Modern

Tangerine and hot pink combine to give this bedroom an energetic vibe. Black and white are a neutral foundation for the bold color combo, and double mirrors multiply the light throughout the room.

Orange Crush

Warm off-white walls provide a clean, neutral backdrop for a bold mix of bright and deep colors in this playful living room. A plush sectional in rich brown adds depth to the neutral base and provides contrast for the vivid pops of orange. Wall screens powder-coated in orange hang as geometric art.

Bright Basement Work Space Decorating Ideas

hardworking office and crafts haven with bright colors, DIY touches, and tons of storage.

Sunny Style 

Unlike some basements, this space is blessed with an abundance of sunlight. That makes this spacious corner the perfect space for a home office/crafting studio. The homeowners used countertops and cabinets to create an L-shape configuration that allows multiple workstations.

Savvy Storage

To keep clutter at bay, the homeowner/designer mounted rods on the wall. Now her favorite supplies are out of drawers and off of surfaces yet still within easy reach. Baskets, bins, canisters, and magnetic strips provide perfect homes for ribbons, stamps, paper punches, embellishments, beads, and other art essentials.

Clear Solution 

These canisters are meant for the kitchen, but the homeowner/designer uses them to stash art supplies. Clear storage makes it easy for her to see and grab whatever she needs in an instant.

Light Bright 

The homeowner/designer wanted to take advantage of the sunlight streaming in through the basement windows. But she didn't want to sacrifice privacy. So she had a plastics store cut these 12-inch panels of plexiglass and drill holes into the top and bottom of each piece. For color and fun, she affixed vellum and scrapbook paper to the back of each piece. Finally, she connected the panels with binder rings to create this completely unique window treatment.

Color Cues

Mixing and matching vibrant color comes naturally to the homeowner/designer. For her work space, she chose a palette designed to inspire creativity. Two bright shades of orange coat the far wall panels, while lime green accentuates the adjacent wall.

Orange Blossom 

Mod, graphic flowers bring the palette to life. The homeowner/designer first hand-drew the floral design on a transparency sheet, then used a projector to enlarge the image onto the wall. She drew the design on the wall in pencil, then covered it in a coat of light orange.

Barstool Style

To dress up plain stools, the homeowner/designer sewed custom skirts. She used fabric that complements her decor, then added ribbons to hold the slipcovers in place.

Cabinet Creativity

These storage units looked awfully plain before the homeowner/designer got her hands on them. First, she and her husband found three unfinished wood cabinets. They added molding to give the pieces architectural interest, then painted them in their favorite orange hues. She used frosted window film to create the diamond designs on the glass cabinet doors. Pretty curtains suspended from tension rods give the cabinets a soft look.

Store More

Picking up on the floral theme from her DIY window treatment, the homeowner/designer used scrapbook papers to perk up plain white magazine files. Now the storage pieces look like they were created just for this space.

It's A Wrap 

It couldn't get much simpler. Dowel rods suspended from inexpensive curtain hardware allows easy access to wrapping and crafts papers. She painted the dowels blue to align them with her color palette.

Clean Sweep 

The homeowners chose easy-to-clean vinyl flooring for their work space. It resists scratches and scuffs, and it wipes up in a jiffy if paint happens to spill. The natural, woven-look pattern provides a subtle way to ground the bright wall colors.