Christine Schwalm Design

Last weekend we had our annual workshop to give customers some great ideas for stylish and easy holiday decorating.  I pulled a few looks together for the workshop focusing on ideas that would be simple to shop for and put together.  I bought everything I needed at the local garden center, craft store and grocery store.  I paired them with items we had here at the store--similar to items you may have around the house.  I found a ton of inspiration on Eddie Ross's site.  If you're looking for some new ideas for tabletop decoration and working in some thrifty finds, definitely check it out.

You'll see I borrowed his idea of a wreath centerpiece and styled it three different ways to create festive looks.  A plain wreath (purchased for about $7 from a local garden center), paired with a tall hurricane, is dressed with ornaments, ribbon, wreath picks, fruit and/or pinecones.  For example, several glass containers filled with miniature ornaments (I found a package of 16 for $1 at Target), nuts or gilded pinecones, grouped together looks great and is very easy to do.  Groups of small wrapped gifts in a basket or on top of a mantle are another easy idea.  The trick is repetition.  In the first picture, there are several different takes on the silver and white.  The second picture is all about brass and crimson.  The third is a more country look with plaid paper and lots of fresh fruit like clementines.