Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite holiday traditions, and I especially love creating fun themes for my holiday decor. This Christmas, I selected a fun theme of holiday gnomes in a palette that reflects my collection of vintage Christmas ornaments – shades of pink, aqua, red and green. Our tree is a big one; it stands nearly twelve feet tall, and is covered in soft white snow. I love the look of the flocked tree, and it fits well with our other home decor. I’m thrilled to share some of my designer secrets for creating a stunning holiday home, and have included a few DIY ornament ideas, plus instructions for making a cute Christmas wreath. Grab a mug of hot cocoa, a warm cozy blanket, and snuggle up for this fun Christmas theme, “Gnome for the Holidays”.
Prepare Your Tree Whether you opt for a live Christmas tree or a faux beauty, some preparation will be needed. For live trees, they'll likely need to be rinsed outdoors with a garden hose and any dead needles removed. Floral snips are a great way to shape the tree, if needed. For faux trees, they'll need to be assembled, lights checked, and branches shaped by hand. I like to address any open spots in my tree by adding lengths of Silver Glitter Fabric. 
It helps fill empty spaces without adding bulk to the tree. Adding this Blue and Gold Circle Garland is another way to fill in spaces, and it's an unconventional use, which I love. See even more of my mischievous gnomes at my Gnome for the Holidays Party! Create Some Fun Ornaments With a theme like Christmas Gnomes, it can be difficult to impossible to find ready-made decor, so with just a few inexpensive supplies and a little time, I created my own! The first ornament was created from Birch Coasters, a little acrylic craft paint, and a Bistro Chalk Marker. I just painted the surface of the coasters in my palette colors, and once they were dry, used the chalk marker to add holiday messages. A little bit of pom pom trim, silver tinsel garland, and Christmas Bulb Beads made a great finishing touch! These would also be fantastic gift tags or name plates for a Christmas party. 
Speaking of cute place cards, you won't want to miss these adorable Gnome Place Card Holders. 
For my second ornament, I used Fimo clay to create tiny gnomes and mushrooms, then placed them inside these fun plastic terrarium ornaments, along with some craft snow and Sisal Trees. I hung them in my trees with bits of ribbon and rick rack. The tiny scenes are so charming, and add the whimsy to my tree that I was hoping for. 
Once I added some vintage ornaments and a little red beaded trim to the tree, it was finished, and such a delight to behold! I can't wait to gather around this beauty on Christmas morning with my family. 
Ringing in the Holiday with Wreaths I also love to create wreaths for the double barn doors in the entryway of my home. These two were created using a wire wreath form wrapped in snowy Christmas pine garland. It's amazing how easy and fast they were to create! 
I added in some vintage ornaments from my collection, and then created these darling gnomes from cardboard cones, wood spheres and felt. My favorite part was embellishing them with snowflake gems and pom poms. They really jazz up the room, especially when styled with a big chair for Santa Claus, complete with milk and cookies! For more Gnome for the Holidays inspiration, take a look at my Gnome for the Holidays party, treat jars, centerpiece and place card holders, plus a gnome Christmas village.
