It's Christmas time... The Upcycled & Co. Tree

A wonderful time of year!

As a child Christmas was a very special time in our household. With seven children to buy and cook for, my mother was busy. Incredibly organised, and always well ahead of time, she would shop and store presents months in advance. It was always an exciting time, because we knew that the very, very high long narrow hall cupboard was full of special things for us all.

These days I'm more aware that not everyone has the wonderful memories I have, and that for many, this time of year is sad and stressful. My heart goes out to those people, and with this in mind, to be perfectly honest, I struggle a little with where to 'put' myself in it all these days. Don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas fare, and of course the decorations; especially the creative ones people make now. But I'm mindful of the many experiences people have at this time of year.

Yesterday I had a fun afternoon shopping for new decorations, painting some, and decorating an old wooden ladder that belonged to my father-in-law; it is more than 50 years old. This year I wanted to go with a white, silver and craft paper/string theme.

Here are a few photographs of the process of putting together our Christmas 'tree'.

Step 1
​First up, these cute wee plastic cherubs got a make over with Upcycled & Co. Furniture Paint in White and Silver. With a very sparse coat of paint to start with (which drys as you're painting it on pretty much), I then applied a second thicker coat, and a third because I wanted to create texture. Then I highlighted with Silver and replaced the gold string with jute twine.

Step 2
I replaced the silver string on these balls for jute twine.

Step 3
This gorgeous angel was just $2 at the Emporium, but she needed a makeover to fit in with my colour scheme. I removed her gold ribbon from around her middle, and cut away her overskirt. Then I painted her cream top white and sprinkled it with some white glitter while the paint was still wet. Next her wings and crown were painted silver with silver glitter being added to the wet paint. Last but not least, a new over skirt made from some ribbon I had.

Step 4
It's time to dress the 'tree'.

Step 5
​My husband Craig had a play around with some spotlighting.

There you have it, Christmas 2018 at the home of Upcycled & Co. 

I'd love to see your Christmas tree. You can share it on our Christmas tree Facebook post here.

Happy Christmas my friends... and, please spare a thought for those who are not so fortunate. 

​Kathryn x

​p.s. Yes, my next project is to bring the large ceramic angel into my scheme!