Stay Connected

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Our kitchen table for Christmas


This is the centerpiece for our kitchen table this year.

I used the pillar candles that my step-mom gave me for my birthday this past year, free sheet music from free-scores.com (Joy to the World), ribbon from my gift ribbon box, raffia, a branch of cedar (cut into tiny sprigs) and tiny pinecones (from the baggie of pinecones and brown plaid ribbon my good friend gave to me, and that I used part of for stemware ornaments at Thanksgiving). That's it. It took me all of 20 minutes to do everything, here.

How I did it

I printed out my sheet music and cut into 3 pieces, each one to fit a different sized candle. The candles move about the house as I need them, sometimes in the living room, sometimes on the dining room table, and now on the kitchen table.


I wrapped the paper around each candle, and then wrapped a length of ribbon on top of the candle. I have taped the ribbon into place on the back side of the sheet music. Then I tied a short length of raffia around the ribbon, and trimmed the ends.


I took a small branch of cedar and clipped it into small sprigs. Then I tucked the sprigs under the candles, adding a few tiny pinecones.

Super easy, free, and fun to make. In early January, the candles will return to their neutral existence, the ribbons will return to the ribbon box, the pinecones I'll put back with the other tiny pinecones in a drawer, and the raffia, greens and sheet music will be composted. Not much to store -- a bonus.

This could be done with pillar candles set on small plates, in place of raised pillars, or clustered on a raised cake plate, or votives, set in jelly jars and gathered on a large plate or tray. I've used battery-operated pillar candles. If you plan on having the candles lit, this works best with a battery-op candle, a candle in a glass jar, or pillar candles fat enough that they burn a hollow down the core, but leave most of the sides intact. (Do not leave any lit candle unattended.)

Anyway, I just thought I'd share another of our Christmas decorations.

12 comments:

  1. You mentioned that your mother was really good at decorating tables. I think you inherited her talent.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How beautiful! I've been contemplating some creative uses of sheet music in my Christmas decor.

    There are some really neat ideas on Pinterest. I saw a garland made with stars cut from sheet music that I loved. I've also seen mason jars wrapped in sheet music and used as candle holders. There is usually a shape, such as a star or heart cut in the sheet music for the front of the jar. The threads of the jar are usually tied with ribbon or raffia. I might make a couple of those for my Christmas table.

    Angie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angie,
      We have this shop in the vintage district that has displayed items using sheet music. My favorite was a short bookshelf, with the back-insides papered in sheet music. I've wanted to do something similar for our living room bookshelves. A very nice look.

      The candle jars wrapped in sheet music would be very pretty for your table. You could find some music which you have always loved, and that would make it even more special to you. On ours, I like being able to read the words to the carol that I chose. I have had Joy to the World (several different renditions) running through my head for a couple of weeks now. Anyways, have fun with it!

      Have a great day, Angie!

      Delete
  3. Ahhhh, this is lovely, Lili! Will this stay up through Christmas, or do you do "intermediate" decorative changes to your "festal board"? Sara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sara,
      This is our kitchen table through Jan. 5. I will add some greenery and pinecones around the base of the candles, and some candy canes, just before Christmas Day.

      Have a great day, Sara!

      Delete
  4. Very nice, Lili. Your candle decoration would have me humming Joy to the World all day long! I like the idea of changing out the candle decor to match the season.
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,
      Thank you. I find myself singing Joy to the World in many different renditions. It's got to be my favorite carol this year.

      Have a great day, Mary!

      Delete
  5. Very pretty and so much fun. I love this idea. I could do this with jars. I don't have pillar candles we moved recently and lots of things were donated, as we moved to a condo. I think I will give this a try. I think I will turn on Christmas music.
    Blessings,
    Patti

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Patti,
      I think this would look lovely with jars of candles, too!
      Last Easter, I was wishing I had some pillar candles (received these in April, after Easter), to go on these very candle stands that were given to me at Christmas. I used glass jelly jars, holding votives on the candle stands, instead of pillar candles. And I thought the jarred candles gave the same sort of feeling, as pillar candles would have.
      Go for it!
      Have a blessed Christmas, Patti!

      Delete
  6. Oh, I like this one so much! You are so creative, Lili. We have company coming for a couple of days and I think I will do something like this. I know we have some pillar candles here, I think red ones, but they will work too. And we have pine cones and even cedar trees right here on the property. Thanks for the idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Belinda!
      That will be a fun table decoration for your guests to enjoy (as well as you and your family)! And red candles will look so lovely.

      Belinda, have a very merry Christmas!

      Delete

Thank you for joining the discussion today. Here at creative savv, we strive to maintain a respectful community centered around frugal living. Creative savv would like to continue to be a welcoming and safe place for discussion, and as such reserves the right to remove comments that are inappropriate for the conversation.

FOLLOW CREATIVE SAVV ON BLOGLOVIN'

Follow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be a voice that helps someone else on their frugal living journey

Are you interested in writing for creative savv?
What's your frugal story?

Do you have a favorite frugal recipe, special insight, DIY project, or tips that could make frugal living more do-able for someone else?

Creative savv is seeking new voices.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

share this post