DIY Christmas Decor

Glue guns, and spray paint, and sawdust, and ribbons…these are a few of my favorite things.

It’s no secret I love a good DIY, and the holidays are by far my favorite time to get crafty. There’s a level of satisfaction I get from creating décor and gifts that just aren’t the same as buying them from a store.

And, of course, I’m all about affordability. It’s a lot less expensive to switch up my décor scheme from year to year by incorporating a few easy DIY projects.

If you’re looking for an affordable way to add some new holiday décor to your home, want to make a handmade gift, or just want an excuse to bust out your own glue gun, keep reading! (Pssst, some of these are so easy, you can even get the kiddos involved!)

Front Porch Sign

If you were following my Instagram when I put together my front porch décor for the Fall, you already saw the simple “Happy Fall Y’all” sign I made out of scrap lumber.

For the holidays, I simply flipped it over, added a new message to the other side, and topped it off with a bow and some artificial pine stems. And, technically, it didn’t cost me a dime.

The board I obviously already had on hand and the pine stems were from last year’s décor. The ribbon I used to craft the bow is the only thing I actually purchased this year but I’m also using it to decorate our tree. So, for less than $10, I’m getting plenty of uses out of it.

The board itself was leftover from my Industrial Farmhouse Entry Table. The original board was a 2” x 12” x 12’ that cost me around $15. The leftover piece that I’m using here is roughly 3 feet long.

Adding the text required only craft paint, a simple text document, and my inexpensive art projector. For a more detailed tutorial, check out this post.

Wooden Signs

I’m honestly a little starry-eyed over these signs. Creating custom signs is definitely one of my favorite projects to do.

From my coffee mug rack to these quote canvases, they’re such an affordable way to add my own style to my décor. (I even have a highlight saved to my Instagram of a pallet sign I made to hang by my mom’s pool).

The large sign I have on our mantle for this year is probably one of my favorite projects to date. The phrase was something I came up with and put together in a text document to trace onto a 2’ x 2’ piece of ¼” plywood. The frame is simply four pieces of 1” x 2” lumber joined together with wood glue and finishing nails. The plywood was then fixed onto the back of the frame, also using finishing nails.

For a little 3D effect, I picked up some really inexpensive snowflake ornaments from Hobby Lobby. They were originally coated in glitter, but I removed that easily with a little nail polish remover and sprayed them with my favorite chalk spray paint. I adhered them with superglue but a glue gun would also work.

My other sign is smaller and sits on my entry table. If you don’t recognize this quote, it’s an excerpt from “Yes, Virginia, there is a Sant Claus”. And if you’ve never read it, check it out here. This sign is extremely special to me. As kids, when me and my sister and cousins started to question Santa’s existence, my grandparents read this to us. (Granddaddy also insisted that if you stopped believing, Santa quit bringing you presents. So, just FYI Santa, I still believe in you).

I used the same projector method for the text. The sign itself I assembled using Baltic Birch Wood from Hobby Lobby and craft glue. The face of the sign is made from two ¼” x 4” x 36” strips cut in half to make four 18” strips. I adhered those to two horizontal 16” strips cut from a ¼” x 1” strip. (Tip: Keep an eye on weekly ads for Hobby Lobby and purchase craft wood supplies when they are discounted. By purchasing them this way, I created this sign for only $10.)

Salt Dough Ornaments

I wanted to incorporate some metallic brass/bronze accents into my décor this year, but I didn’t want to spend money on a bunch of ornaments that I may not use next year.

Thankfully, salt dough ornaments can be easily made using supplies that you probably already have in your pantry. Search Pinterest and you’ll see dozens of tutorials for salt dough ornaments. In a nutshell, you mix 2 cups of flour with 1 cup salt. Slowly add in roughly 1 cup of water a tablespoon at a time until you get a dough-like consistency. Roll it out and create your shapes (I used star and snowflake-shaped cookie cutters).

After that, transfer them to a baking sheet and bake at 250° for about 2 hours. (Tip: Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with baking spray to keep the ornaments from sticking.)

Alternatively, instead of baking, you can leave the ornaments to air dry for a few days (but really, who has time for that).

Once dry, they can be painted, covered in glitter and glue, stained, embellished…the possibilities are endless. For mine, I simply spray painted them with this spray paint that I’ve used for a few projects.

And, voila, super affordable ornaments.

Tree Collar Crate

I switched to using a tree collar versus a tree skirt last year and I loved the way it looked.

But, to be honest, this tree collar that I crafted last year wasn’t my best work. I had just started exploring woodcraft projects and my supplies were pretty limited. (I was still using a handsaw. 10/10 do not recommend. It took forever to cut all the wood to size.)

So, I set out to make a new one this year. And I really love the extra detail the X’s add.

However, I’m not going to provide a detailed tutorial. Instead, I’m going to refer you to this build plan. The general layout I used is the same with the main differences being that I used plywood for the side of my crate and mine isn’t as tall.

I’m not including my own tutorial because I didn’t take into account that my mitre saw doesn’t make bezel cuts beyond a 45° angle (total rookie mistake, I know). I had to get a little creative trying to form my X’s and I don’t recommend my method.

If you’re looking for a similar look without having to pull out the power tools, you could easily repurpose a square planter box or plywood crate.

Pinecone Clips

It goes without saying, but I’m a big fan of any decor that costs me next to nothing.

The perfect example: These pinecone clips.

I sourced mine from my parent’s backyard because all of the ones in my yard have turned into chew toys for Lola. (If you don’t live in a place where pinecones are easily accessible, you can find them for pretty cheap at any craft store.)

Once I got them home, I laid them out in the garage to dry in case of any moisture and make sure they weren’t hosting any creepy-crawly buddies (I did pick them up off the ground after all).

After that, I sprayed them down with a couple of coats of varnish. This served a couple of purposes. One, to help preserve them and prevent them from getting brittle. Two, to hopefully deter Lola from pulling them off the tree and eating them.

The clips I picked up from Hobby Lobby for a couple of bucks. Using a hot glue gun I attached them to the pinecones perpendicular to the scales towards the base (so that they can be positioned naturally).

I love the effect the pinecones add to the overall look of my tree and I love the price tag even more. Because I get the pinecones for free and already had the varnish, making two dozen pinecones cost me all of two bucks.