Quick and Easy DIY Christmas gifts

In our Style Challenge series, we ask some of our favorite bloggers from around the web to surprise us with their ideas for creating a stylish and functional space using Home Depot products as a starting point.

We’re thrilled to have Courtney Fernan of the blog A Thoughtful Place take part in the Holiday Edition of the Style Challenge. She used the Paley Pine Christmas Tree from Martha Stewart Living as the focus of her challenge. She shares her Christmas tree decorating ideas, including some very clever ways to modify your Christmas ornaments. And take a look at the stunning photos showing her shimmering Christmas display.

We opted for a neutral tree full of natural elements, various textures and a touch of glamour. To compliment the other design elements in our living room, we chose golds, creams and browns to create our look. And in all honesty, my daughter’s obsession with cheetah print definitely played a huge role in the designing of our tree. She insisted we use it somehow so we went for it! The DIY elements of this tree are super simple and can be done with very little time and supplies. (You can read more about how I layered mirrors above the mantel on my blog.)

I chose to use only gold and white ornaments this year. To create the white ones, a little antique white spray paint did the trick. To add a natural element to some of the ornaments, I simply tied twine around them. The cheetah ornaments were created by wrapping a strip of duct tape around them!

If you do not have enough gold ornaments on hand, you can always use some gold spray paint to accomplish the same look.

I also used some of the wicker balls that I use year-round in my décor. I took advantage of the natural elements I already had on hand and simply placed them in the tree.

These birds come in a set of six, and while they come in attractive colors, I wanted ours to be white, so I gave them a quick coat of spray paint.

The berries on the tree were actually red, but I touched them up with some Rub N’ Buff to give them a gold hue.

My favorite part of our tree this year is the bucket we placed it in. It just gives it such a natural feel. We used a couple of brackets as well as bags of sand to keep the tree upright as the tree stand will not fit in a planter like this. It wasn’t difficult at all. And I am super excited with the texture it adds to our space.

For more texture, I wrapped some gold netting that I already had around the tree. The same netting is also draped across the mantel to tie the whole look together.

We have a tree in our playroom that hosts all of our fun and silly ornaments from over the years. It wouldn’t be Christmas for us without those. But our living room tree is a warm and inviting spot for when we entertain and have friends and family over.

My daughter is over the moon that she was able to pick the theme of this tree. The cheetah print mixed with the golds and creams has been a really fun addition to our home this year. And with simple DIY ornaments, the whole thing came together very quickly.

Thank you for letting me share a little bit of our home during the holidays. Merry Christmas, everyone. May you have a blessed holiday season with your dear family and friends.

Courtney Fernan dishes on all things decorating, organizing, entertaining and DIY on her blog A Thoughtful Place. She recently started a decorating firm with her sister called Casey Grace Design. We are so excited about her gorgeous tree ideas. Thank you, Courtney!

Courtney’s Christmas display includes these Home Depot items:

Get more Christmas tree decorating ideas from our Holiday Crafts, Ideas, and Inspiration board on Pinterest. And take a look at the other great Christmas decorating ideas in our Holiday Edition of the Style Challenge series here on the Apron blog.

• Homemade DIY Christmas gifts
• Cheap and Easy Christmas gifts
• Cheap and Easy DIY Christmas gifts