This morning you saw the color scheme….and I know I am bucking the tradition of a red and green christmas tree…whatever bucking is…I think it means, to kick with my rear legs…which is funny to imagine me attempting that to a tree in general. And I promised you a full frontal of our tree. oh la la.
The entire reason I was hesitant to show ya earlier was…well…I know our tree topper is probably not everyone’s cup of christmas tea. it’s one of those things that you would probably either love or hate and I am guessing that 99% of you are gonna hate it.
It’s crazy. It’s not traditional. It’s very wacky.
Here she blows.
Yup – I know. I’ve heard it all. It looks like a Christmas tree with a spider on top…an octopus…a crown…
They are supposed to be candy canes. but surprisingly candy canes don’t really read as christmasy candy treats when they are blue and green. woop woop. But I don’t care – I love it. and it’s grown on me. like the giant jester hat that it reminds me of. so it’s staying. afterall – christmas can be fun and silly too, right?!
But before we get into the details of how my crazy tree topper came to be – let’s talk about tree placement. I went with the smack dab center of the living room window wall to get maximum visual enjoyment…now I can see the tree from the living room and the kitchen. And I was able to pull back the green chairs into the room to flank the tree. I think it helps make it look like part of the room. Plus, using the white ottomans with the green chairs make them feel more substantial in such a large room…and more comfortable for sitting.
Okay – so our tree topper. I picked up a $3 thing of yarn in my colors of choice at Hobby Lobby and decided to create some crazy candy canes for our crowning glory of the tree.
Basically it’s a wire hanger (free from our closet) wrapped in paper to beef them up a smidge (I used leftover packing paper and newspaper) fastened with blue painters tape (also free but made it so that I didn’t have to wrap the ends because the blue matches!) and then wrapped in yarn. So basically I made five candy canes for three bones.
I simply held them up to the top of the tree and tied them to the longest stem with a bit of ribbon. Then I created the big ribbon bow around it. Actually it’s three ribbon bows so that the tree topper is pretty from every angle 🙂
Then I used the lighter blue ribbon to fill in the hole that was in the middle – this created a place for our B to “stand”.
In case you were wondering, the B stands for Baby Boy’s Birth. Or Bower. Or Booyah Beelzebub. Whatever you prefer.
And I anchored it with a bit of craft wire tied around the base to the candy canes. And yes, that B is just one of those cardboard ones at Hobby Lobby (they go for half off and run ya under $2) and I just used some scrapbook paper I had on hand to decoupage it for some color.
When it came to the tree skirt, I used an old bedspread that was inherited from my grandma after she passed. I love the colors. And since it’s faded in certain places, it’s easy to match with all sorts of blues and greens. I really wish I had taken some plastic bags and poofed it up a little more though…I likes me a fuller looking skirt…especially when it’s all nekked under there presentlesslike. totally a word.
Ever since we decorated the tree, Will is sortof obsessed.
He loves standing up in the chairs and pointing and saying things I don’t understand…I do understand that he is talking about the tree though…mostly because of the pointing…but also because he is REALLY excited.
Pray for me…I have about three more months till I have to start weening this little guy off the pacifier. I think about it every time I see his teeth. Right now he’s on it only during naps and bedtime…but still…that day we start THE WEENING is going to be a bad one.
Totally off subject.
Yes – that’s me on the ground with him sitting on top of me trying to find my belly button. But isn’t the tree cute in the background? 🙂
Okay – and here it is with the lights on…
Personally I am of the breed that likes the lights on during the day….but it doesn’t photograph as well…mostly because the lights translate warmer. I think if my color scheme included gold or yellow, it would be fine to take pics of the tree with the lights on…but in our case, I think it looks better without them.
Oh – I wanted to share this little Goodwill find…it’s a narrow side table that works perfectly for the amount of space we have next to Jer’s ‘football-watching’ chair. And it was $14. I love it.
This very randomly written post leads me to this subject – how to take a good photo of your tree.
Here are some of my tips –
- Do it during the day – natural light is much more flattering!
- Shoot in manual mode or AV mode (it allows you to have more control over exposure!)
- Aperture (aka f-stop) should be 3.5 or higher for whole-tree shots (so that you can have more details of your ornaments)
- Meter off your tree not surrounding windows or furniture (your tree is usually darker to the camera’s eye than surrounding objects and light sources so your main objective is to expose the tree – not everything else – notice how the windows below are blown out?)
- Expose it up a notch or two (the photo below is at +2!) but make sure to take some other options as well – just in case you like it a little darker
- Take some with the twinkle lights on and off and see what you like best 🙂
So there you have it! Our very boyishly blue Christmas tree complete with crazy topper. It’s not everyday you get a full frontal – complete with jester hat. Or maybe you do 🙂
cute tree!!!…love the wonder and awe that comes with it…kids and trees are attracted to eachother :)…paci weaning…will be thinking of you…we cut the end off and told our son that the paci “grew up” and that’s how it grows up and every day we cut it shorter and shorter..(so lame and can’t believe he bought it!)..i’m not gonna lie..it sucked for about a week or two and then he sort of forgot about it and we’ve never really had a major issue with it…but every kid is differant and i’m not going to be “that person” who says it’s all roses and daisies… 🙂 toodles!..love your blog 🙂 merry christmas!!!
Love the blue and green tree. The fabric in the embroidery hoops makes the cutest ornaments!
Will’s special “W” ornament made me wonder… do you always do a theme tree? Do you and Jeremy have any special nostalgic ornaments that you hang every year, or only if they fit the theme?
(asks the girl whose entire tree is nothing but completely mismatched ornaments… for better or for worse! Someone called my tree style “random” last week… I prefer “interesting.”)
I LOVE your tree!! I think you did an amazing job! It’s great to have something different! Ours is the same every year lol…..we add some new decorations but never change the theme….but I got a compliment the other day! My very modern sister told me she always loves my tree the best because it’s traditional and so ‘christmassy’ so that made me feel good!!
KB, I LIKE the blue candy canes. Its very Dr. Suess Whoville to me 🙂 Also, I work for an orthodontist and dont you worry a thing about Wills teeth. They are baby teeth and wont affect his grown up teeth. I remind myself of this as I tuck in my baby girl each night with her ‘bink bink’. Gosh we come up with silly names for those dang things dont we?
Can you also help me ‘meter off the tree?’ Does that mean just set my light to be correct elsewhere and then shoot that way when looking at the tree? Or do I need to change my metering mode? Ive read about 5 blogs on tree taking pictures and they all say to meter off the tree, but Imtrying to decipehr what that means. Thank you!!! You are my camera guru and Ive leanred sooo much from you.
I think it is beautiful. Candy Cane tree-topper and all! I wanted to put a peacock on top of our tree this year but the Hub’s thought I had lost my mind. So I went with a giant Moravian star. Next year who knows what will be on there LOL.
I love your creativity, you come up with the best color combos and I love the blue/green on the tree. Very pretty.
Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
I was going to say that the tree topper seems very whoville-esque too! I like how fun and playful it is. But for me the real show stopper is that bedspread-turned-treeskirt. Gorgeous!!! 🙂
LOVE it! I also LOVE the tree! And please, you got me on the pacificer talk! My baby is 2.5 and we haven’t found the time to take it away. He is a nap timer and night time taker, but if he finds it duringthe day, it’s in there. We just haven’t found the “right time” to take it. First we moved, then he started a new school, then we put him in a bed, now we have a baby coming….all these things happening in his life, and I didn’t want to take away his source of comfort. The comfort that he can give himself. Obviously, there is a lot the hubs and I give him too, but you get it….well at least it makes since in my (lazy, scared, coddling)37 week pregnant mommy brain. Good luck!
I. Love. It.
I love it, I love it, I love it!
Wonderful, different and gorgeous all of it!
I think it’s so fun NOT to do read, gold or silver. And the tree topper is awesome!
Katie, I love it! 🙂
I actually LOVE the tree!!!
A) I think the topper looks like a crown, but that’s cool! Why not top a tree with a ribbon-y crown & your last initial? Looks great to me!
B) If I were you I certainly wouldn’t have gotten to it this year either, maybe not for years more either, but dude: the upper windows on either side of the fire place? With the ledges? Would look SO COOL with their own Christmas trees, or maybe big wreaths, or some sort of Christmas-y scene, like piled high with fake wrapped presents. You gotta utilize that area some year in the future! You know, when you have lots of extra time 😉
I LoVe it! Everything about it is fabulous!
Your tree is unusually nice, I like it.
About taking the binky away from your baby guy. When it happens….don’t throw them out. Instead save them to use as Christmas ornaments. My son is 32 and we hang his dry-rotted pacifier on the tree every year, it’s a tradition…also a conversation piece!!!!!
Enjoy the holiday with family.
B.
Love your tree! My first thought was you reused your spidey legs from your front porch last Halloween!
Love everything about your tree, and it is one of the most beautifully photographed I have seen in blogland!
LOL! It’s beautiful, great job I was wondering which tree-topper-comment was Jeremy’s?
I love that your tree is jam-packed with lights and ornaments. That’s how we do ours too!! Not a single sliver of tree left untouched. 🙂
Good luck with Will and the paci. I thought it’d be torture when we got rid of Charlotte’s a few years ago, but surprisingly she let it go with no fight at all. Kids are weird and unpredictable like that.
I love the tree! The colors are so non-traditional and the blue really pops! I also love the string ornaments you made, I may have to try that next year.
I’m with you, Lori. I love the blue and green, but what about all the nostalgic ornaments from years past? (Let’s call our trees “nostalgic” rather than random;) I’m a teacher so I get ornaments each year from students, and my own children make some new ones every year. I can’t imagine not hanging them. Katie, do you do a separate nostalgic tree?
The blue and green tree is beautiful. I especially like the embroidery hoops. The candy canes do read as candy canes in the picture where you show how you made them, so if it were mine I think I’d just hang them on the tree in traditional candy cane fashion. But you do have a fun Whoville kind of thing going on, so whatever rings your jingle bells.
I am obsessed with your tree. Oh my gosh. I. love. it. I even called people to tell them to look at your blog so they can see your tree. Even people who don’t know what a blog is! haha. Merry Christmas! 🙂 p.s. the table is amazing and the green chairs are my favoritist thing on I’ve seen on your blog. awesome!!
So gorgeous and fun. I love it!
Love the tree. Love the color scheme. Love mixing it up. I think when my son gets a little older, we will start going a bit more consisently traditional (or have 2 trees), but for the time being, it fun to switch things up a bit 🙂
It is gorgeous! I love everything about it including the wacky topper!
Katie,
There should be a picture of this tree in a magazine or on Sherry’s (YHL) wall.
Seriously, you did an amazing job. Gorgeous, and I love everything about it!
Oh yes we do! There’s more Christmassy goodness to come including how we incorporate our memory ornaments :). Just gotta wait for it!
xo kb
I love your tree! It’s fun that you decorate differently every year. The colors are fun and playful, perfect when you have a little toddler running around! 🙂
I love the tree — all of the ornaments serious look great. It is a tree that can be found in a magazine. I love how all of the decorations are oversized, it makes the tree dramatic. But the colors you use make it totally work. I love it! Some great creative craft ideas!!
I love this! So cute!!
I LOVE it!! Can you show us how you made the ornaments? Please?
Hi, I love the colors of your tree! I have a blue living room and thought about doing something similar but ended up putting the tree in the other room and but decorating our mantle in blue and silver. The colors may not be traditional but they still say Christmas to me. And I LOVE the tree topper, it’s very fun and fits right in with the style of the ornaments. Thanks for the inspiration!
Your tree is so cool! What a great color scheme. And I love all the ornaments you put on there. I like it when a tree is stuffed to the brim!
It looks like a crown–like the tops of the King and Queen buildings at the Perimeter. And it is charming.
I would be very surprised if you aren’t contacted by BHG to feature this room next year. It really is fresh, fun, and achievable. Keep up the good work. I love your preppy take on decor. xx00
go on with your bad self, katie!
haha… i think its fun! and if you love it, that’s all that matters.
beautiful tree – we just decorate with nostalgic ornaments… the best part is all the memories while putting them up. 🙂
I love, LOVE, L.O.V.E your tree! So clever and different, and in my book, different is good!
Yes, Amy! Nostalgic is the right term. In fact, many of my ornaments are gifts from students to my husband and me as well. We don’t get them anymore; I’m no longer teaching, and he got more presents from middle schoolers than he does from high school students. We have homemade ornaments from friends, my daughter, her friends, even our childhood selves. Virtually everything on my tree is a memory, which I love.
Barb, what a great idea! (Nostalgic Lori is off to get that 13-year-old binky out of the box it’s stored in…)
I honestly lurve the tree, spider topper and all. It is definitely unique!
You thought the topper wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it turns out it IS everyone’s cup of tea, Katie! Seems we all love the Bower Family tree. It’s gorgeous! (Personally, I triple love the color scheme. The toothpaste-colored walls draw zero attention to themselves with this color scheme in your LR.)
I love everything about your tree, topper included!! It looks so perfect in your living room 🙂
I love the tree Katie! It’s so creative and fun. The topper is a little different, but I like it. Toppers can be so boring!
I LOVE your tree. And the topper. I live in the Bayou though where Mardi Gras is strong and is celebrated November – Fat Tuesday so having a “king” like crown on top of the tree in fun different colors would totally be okay.
You make me want to redecorate my whole tree right now.
LOVE IT
Also I love incorporating the bedspread. It is soo gorgeous.
Big Bluey is Bluetiful!! I love the colors. It looks great, topper and all….
I love your tree!! I would like to do theme trees but I’ve been collecting ornaments every year since I’ve been married and now feel too sentimental to not use them. Maybe one year I’ll do two trees so I can both. 🙂 We are totally non-traditional too in the topper department, (well every department if you must know). Our topper is Yoda holding a light saber and it is the love of my life!!
In the binky weaning department, two of my three kids were addicted to them. My daughter had one and only one and she wouldn’t take any other pacifier. One day the nip fell off and we had to wean her cold turkey with no mental prep on my part. She cried for it for a couple of days and then forgot about it. With my son, I had about a handful of them around so if he lost one there was another to quickly take his place. He used his until he was about Will’s age and like you, we decided to wean him for the same reason. It also got to the point that he could keep it in his mouth, move it to the side and ask us questions. lol One day we gathered them all up and tossed them, (I kept one to put in his baby box). It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think I stressed more about it than he did and after a few days he forgot all about it. I guess what I’m trying to say in the longest way possible is that it won’t be as bad as you fear it will be. Promise. Just make up your mind to do it and stick with it. It also helps if everyone is on board so no one will sneak a bink to him when you’re not lookin. 😉
I love the tree! It makes me want to redo ours! I wish we had a hobby lobby near us.
Love the color scheme on the tree!
I also like to keep my tree (and other various decorations in the house) lit during the day. The tree seems so “cold” when they’re not on!
Katie, I love your tree! Blue and green are my favorite too! I thought your tree topper looked like a crown in the first picture (although I did get “spider” in some of the others). 🙂 Still totally cute! No worries about your tree skirt. My hubs put a 50-year old choo-choo ’round our tree this year and I’m scared to death it’s gonna catch fire, so our tree stand is naked (blush). I love your blog – I check in at least twice a day Mon – Fri and sometimes on the weekend. You and your family are too cute! Have a great holiday!
P.S. Our son had a paci too – all day, not just naps. Daycare weaned him a little, but it was as much a vice for his father and me as it was for him. We did the cold turkey method and it was amazing how quickly and painlessly he adjusted. We had 1 or 2 nights of intermittent crying and he was over it. Just be prepared for him being 1) louder and 2) droolier. 🙂 Good luck!
I am smitten with the embroidery hoops of coordinating fabric. Why didn’t I think of that? I think the swirly B topper looks like something out of a candy factory, and I mean that in a good way!
I love the tree!! Love, love, love it! The colors look great and all the homemade ornaments are amazing! I too have been making yarn ornaments for a sock monkey themed tree for my little boys room….and i am finally d.o.n.e with the elmers and sticky mess all over my hands 🙂
Katie, I think your tree is beautiful – and I LOVE that you found a use for the embroidery hoops and scrap fabric. It looks fabulous in your beautiful home! Your beautiful family seems pleased too. 🙂 Merry Christmas, indeed!
Oh Em Gee…a Yoda tree topper?! I die!
xo – kb
Which ones? The yarn ones are just dunked in watered down glue and wrapped around a balloon and hung to dry. The embroidery hoop ones are just fabric inserted into the hoop and trimmed to fit. The felt ones are just cut felt and then I used complimentary embroidery thread to stitch it on. SUPER EASY.
xo – kb
I LOVE the xmas tree! Looks fabbo!
BTW, do you guys still use the bumgenius diapers? I know you use a hybrid approach (disposables and cloth), but it seems the photos I see of Will he’s usually wearing a ‘sposie. (I’m not trying to make a statement or anything like that, I’m just curious as I’ve just started using them on my newborn and was introduced to them by yours and YHL blog). 🙂
What a beautiful tree. Great job to you all. It’s the sort of tree we would like to have in our home … it’s always HOT at Christmas time in Australia (we’re in our summer right now), and this tree reminds me of the beach for some reason. Maybe it’s the cool tones. Stunning – thanks for sharing.
This whole tree is a testament to your creativity, love it! the B is for beautiful! 🙂
Im always a fan of the red scheme. Its vintage which I like. The blue is interesting, but I could easily tire from it.
Love the tree Katie. If you get a chance, could you do a tutorial on how you get the ribbons on the tree? Yours look so lovely. Mine always end up looking weird so I stopped trying to do them.
Thanks.
Not sure if someone else has mentioned to you, but if you want to get rid of the paci now, try hanging them on the Christmas tree for Santa to take to the other babies. Yup! That’s right! Have him hang them on and then tuck little gifts inside the tree where he placed them. Our Will hung three pacifiers on the tree and we tucked three little airplanes in there for him from Santa. We did it last Christmas when our son was 26 months. Worked like a charm! Good luck whenever and however you do it though.
I love your tree colors! So fun and it looks great with everything!
I have a friend who used a great trick for dropping the paci. She prepared her daughter for a few days and told her it was going bye bye. Then on the day it would go she tied the paci to a balloon and she got to go outside and let the balloon go and watched the paci float away. Because she let it go and saw it leave she never asked about it again.
I love your tree topper! From afar it looks like a royal crown! I love the blue and green theme!!
Maybe it is because both my sister and I have whimsical tree toppers, but I LOVE yours. Mine is a green top hat with red polka dots and a large red that I found at Cracker Barrel a couple years ago. My sister’s? Well, as of this year she now has a color changing star with a Bumble (from Rudolph) wired into the tree looking like he is placing the topper on for her! It is adorable – and her 7 year old LOVES it. 🙂
Merry Christmas!
I love your tree topper! It is very unique and awesome. Love the blues and greens too!
Binky weaning is no fun. But luckily it takes a good 3 days and they are usually ok with it. My oldest daughter (almost 13) took one until she was 18 months old. And now I am paying her Orthodonist for it! Like $5,000 for it. I tell her all the time, “I hope you enjoy wearing your car in your mouth!”
oh and we did our weaning the cold turkey way with both her and my youngest (22 months now, but he was also 18 months when we quit the binky), we just threw them all away. Every single one of them. So they couldn’t find it and want it. And I just kept telling them “we had to give them away, they are gone”. My middle son never took a binky. He was also the best baby. No colic, the best sleeper, eater, etc.
I love your tree! The topper is very… unique, but so is the whole tree in general! I really like the non-traditional of it all! 🙂
I never comment but wanted to offer a word of encouragement on the paci…I DREADED taking my first three kids’ paci away for months (turning 2 was our general cut off and I wanted to do it before I moved them to a big kid bed) and all three turned out to be no big deal AT ALL. Oldest had one night of about 45 min. of fuss. My oldest boy nothing at all. 2nd boy 2 nights of fuss…that’s it. And they loved their pacifiers. Each time I thought surely that child would give me a terrible time…it just didn’t happen so don’t worry about! It may get ugly for a night or two but I would guess three w/b tops! My 3rd boy has just turned 2 and I’m trying to remind myself of all of this too because it will have to be gone after the holidays!
I love this! It’s so charming and fun.
I’m curious – I know you’ve mentioned before how much you dislike the wall color so I’m wondering what’s holding you back from repainting.
Love it! I love seeing different versions of “non-traditional”. What is “tradional” anyways?! I love love love the blue & your homemade candy canes are such a great idea! Merry Christmas to you all!
Money. This color goes all the way around the house including the halls upstairs and down, the foyer, the living room and the laundry room…it’s not gonna be cheap for that many gallons of paint…but also both Jer and I are scared of heights so painting a two story living room and foyer are gonna cost us for someone to come out and do it.
xo kb
I’m in love with this tree. I think it’s the absolute best one I’ve seen around the internet this year. I don’t even hate the topper. It’s neat. 🙂
We never did the paci thing, but this is a really great weaning idea! I’ve never heard it before.
I like the color scheme! The topper is different but cool.
About the pacifiers-out of 4 kids my (3rd child and only girl) daughter was the only one to take one. We weaned her @ 2 yrs 5 months. It was hard, but the comprehension was there. I think you should talk to an ortho about the teeth. Seriously you are the mama and you know best for your little guy…but now I am not sure I would have taken it away. She never learned to self soothe…and even @ nearly 4 she is such a cry baby. I love her to death and I know it might be b/c she is a girl, but seriously she is so dramatic-and difficult. Anyways, I would have used that vice for another year probably. The point to my rambling I guess is that IMHO check with an ortho, follow your gut and make sure you’re ready to give it up too! Best of luck!
I love it! So cute!
All of your ornaments are so unique! Also, call me weird, but I had a dream that you and Will came over to play! 🙂 Too much bower power following? maybe.. haha
Happy Christmas week!
When was it? Maybe it wasn’t just a dream but a prophecy 🙂
xo kb
Your tree is fantastic!! I love the colors and check out those ornaments! Seriously, you could get paid to decorate Christmas trees. Best tree I’ve seen this year, hands down.
I absolutely agree with the comment above, your tree is the best & coolest!
Merry Christmas Bower family 🙂
hey katie…so i’m catching up on your blog after the crazy that was getting ready for christmas. so i L-O-V-E this year’s tree. i’ve been reading your blog for several years now so i’ve seen your past ones as well. this is my favey fave favorite one. love those embroidery hoops…gives it such a handcrafted and cozy feel. it looks very anthro-esque. don’t listen to the haters…the topper is fun. and christmas should be fun.
merry merry christmas…blessings,
sara
I am so excited after days of searching for color scheme ideas I came across your tree ! I absolutely love it! I love the big blue and green balls, where did these come from?
I made them out of yarn, glue and balloons 🙂
xo – kb