Easy Christmas Decorations

This is one of those things that you have probably seen before. These pretty, fluffy lights came across my Pinterest a long time ago. When I saw a roll of sparkly tulle in my craft supplies a couple of weeks ago, I decided to play around with the idea and ended up loving this. It's incredibly easy. I am sure you are all very smart people and know how to cut strips of tulle and tie and it around a strand of lights. 

But just to help you along...

1. Cut tulle into strips

Cut tulle into 6-7 inch strips. I layered the strips so that there were two pieces in each knot. This made it look thicker and fluffier. 

I used gold sparkly tulle. You can use whatever color you'd like; it doesn't have to have sparkles in it, but the sparkles add a little extra holiday glam and the finished look is so fun.

2. Tie the strips around the strand of lights

The lights I used are about 6 feet long. I tied the strips of tulle around the strand in the gap in between every light bulb.

Once you're finished, you may want to take scissors and trim the strips. I adjusted a few pieces to make it look a little imperfect. 

Drape it over your mantle - or, just leave it trailing on the floor. Mine is gathered around the bottom of my Christmas tree since I don't have a tree skirt yet. I might try another one using white tulle...

What do you think of this easy diy? Share your pictures with us on Instagram if you make this! @rusticandluxe

Affordable Entry-Way Curtains

Hey guys, so with this being our first home and having saved as much as we could while we lived in our apartment, I haven't ever actually bought any home decor. So, I decided that we needed some curtains for the windows around our front door. I started looking for sheer white panel curtains and I almost had a heart attack seeing the prices. The cheapest I could find them for was $30/panel in the length I needed which was 108". There was no way I was going to fork over that kind of money. Then, I found these babies for $7/panel with free shipping! SCORE! (I googled a coupon code, it seems like they always have some sort of code out there) I was actually expecting the curtains to feel and look pretty cheap but as soon as I opened them I realized they were actually very smooth and luxe feeling so I was even more pumped.

Next up was finding a curtain rod and this thrifty new home-owner was not about to spend what most places were asking. So I decided to buy a tension shower curtain rod from Bed Bath & Beyond for $15 after my 20% off coupon. Although the brushed nickel looks fine, I really wanted more of a golden bronze color so I went to Michael's and picked this stuff up.

It's pretty cold in Kansas City so I had to spray paint in the basement, here is a picture of the before, progress and after result.

....and all together now:

Total cost for this project:
Shower curtain rod $15
Curtains $14
Gold Spray Paint $6
Grand Total $35

Do you guys have any other go to places for curtains? I would love to find some cute printed ones for a decent price!

christmas tablescape on a budget

This year, we decided not to spend a lot of money on Christmas decorations since everything is marked up now, and will go on sale after Christmas. If you know my husband, you know he is very... thrifty. Which is fine with me because I love a good deal. However, I wanted our house to feel homey this season, and since a lot of the house isn't furnished yet, I set out to get some decorations on a budget to make the house feel cozier.

This is a little preview of my decorations so far. I wanted a woodsy feel with lots of greenery so the house is sprinkled with greens and pine cones. My tree still needs a little work, but since I still haven't found a tree topper and ribbon for it, I might just have to let it be until next year. Plus, since our tree was a quick-pick in the Lowe's parking lot, it's a little wild looking. It looks more like a round bush in the corner than a symmetrical Christmas tree. But at least it smells nice!

Almost everything is from Big Lots. I love that store for Christmas decorations. You can't beat the prices and a lot of the stuff they have is adorable. The sparkly garland is 8 feet long and was $8 dollars.

The two burlap trees are from Target and were $3 each. The white pumpkins are leftover from when we hosted Friendsgiving, and I just don't have the heart to throw them away yet.

I made the glittery candle jars for my wedding, and now have them all over the house. I will do a DIY on how to make them soon. They were very easy and inexpensive to make! The lantern in the middle was a gift at my wedding shower. A big part of my decorating game plan was using things that I already had and mixing it with festive decor to give the illusion that I had more going on.

The cushions were the result of a spontaneous shopping spree with my mother-in-law, and she  bought these for me. I love them because they are sparkly and look festive for the holidays. I believe they were around $7 a piece when we got them and then we got an extra 15% off. The table cloth is the same material as the chair pads, I just folded it into a runner. My mother-in-law got it on sale for $11.99, but it's now $16.99. (Target is offering 10% off at checkout and 15% off decor purchases of $75 or more for a limited time. Yes!)

This is our first Christmas in the house and it's been so fun adding touches of Christmas to everything. Until I acquire more decorations in the years to come, what I decorations that I do have is just enough to hold me over until everything goes on sale.

Send us a picture of your Christmas tablescape on Instagram and tag us so we can see! @rusticandluxe

our table and chair set was from Overstock for under $800