Tree #1, No One Has Just One Tree Anymore?

I grew up with a mom that always had several trees decorated for Christmas, way before it was the norm. I will blog about her house at a later date (My kids like her Christmas decor way better than mine). Anyway, here is our family room tree. My husband thought I was a little wacko when we were first married and I proceeded to put up more than one tree. He grew up getting and decorating the tree on Christmas Eve. He's used to it now and has learned to stay out of the way when the Christmas boxes come out. He guards the couch because I think he's afraid I might decorate that too if he leaves it unprotected. He helps me when I need help, but I'm pretty self sufficient when it comes to this kind of stuff. Mostly he inspects when I'm done and tells me it looks great. We do the outside lights together because it just works better with two sets of hands.



I had a hard time photographing my trees. Both indoor trees sit in front of South facing windows and the back lighting caused me some challenges. I ended up taking most of the pictures at night with the flash off and my utility work light shining on the tree. I read that tip on another blog. It seemed to work best for me.

My trees are fake. This one is a 7'6" Costco special we got last year. We have ten foot ceilings and could have bought a 9' tree. The problem with a taller tree is that the diameter is usually bigger too. It would have taken up to much space. Instead of buying a taller tree, I use urns for my tree stands to elevate the trees.

I made both my Christmas Tree urn stands about ten years ago. Check out my Columns, Urns, and Capitals blog to see how to make them. http://anythingologyblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/columns-urns-and-capitals.html

We had been using a 30 year old hand me down fake tree from my parents. It was an OK tree, but it didn't have lights and it was a pain to set up. Literally a pain, it drew blood. I always ended up with major scrapes on my arms from setting it up. Each branch had to be individually installed and they felt like they were made of barbed wire. It took forever! This new one is pretty easy.

I like a nature inspired tree. I also pack my trees tight. I don't like seeing the trunk of a fake tree. If it was a real tree, that's different. It's just a personal preference of mine to not see the plastic trunk. I decorate deep into the tree, not just the outer edges of the branches. This tree is stuffed with lighted garland and other greenery near the trunk to give it depth.

I have had the same decorations for years. I try to use them in a little bit different way each year. My mom did get me some silver ornaments to add to my tree this year. She is a great personal shopper and deal finder.

Remember in a previous post I spoke of my love of Italy.

My tree is imitating the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I'll have to fix that.

I use my embellished starfish I made.

There is a saying in my house. Don't sit still for too long or you might get hot glued, spray painted, or bedazzled!

See what happened to the star fish.

I used a combo of red, white, silver, and gold this year.

Fruit, birds, spray painted branches, flowers, and greenery.

Thanks for checking it out. I have two more trees to show you.