Last Christmas was like a fabulous whirl wind {if there’s such a thing}.  It was our first Christmas season in our new home which I was ecstatic about, but it was also spent purchasing and shipping gifts, checking off the to-do list, and traveling to beautiful St. Michaels, Maryland for the holiday season.  It left little time to focus on our Christmas decor.  Fast forward to 2015 and it’ll be our first Christmas actually spent in our home and with family officially coming to Orlando to celebrate!  Can you give me a high five!?

Needless to say, with all of this giddy excitement, I started buying and creating Christmas decorations this past October.  With us enjoying Christmas at home I had a little more motivation to decorate, create, and come up with a new Christmas theme.  I wanted something timeless that I can use and add to year after year.  It all came together with a Fort Wilderness Lodge feeling after using neutral colors: white, tan, gold, and pops of greenery.

I’ve been so excited to share our little slice of Christmas cheer with all of you! Can you spot my excitement in this photo?  Grinning from ear to ear.  Enjoy!

Christmas Tree

Our tree was the first thing that was taken out of the attic and decorated.  I made it my goal to make majority of the ornaments and tree decorations handmade.  Mission accomplished and they make our Christmas tree truly one of a kind.  Here are some of my favorite ornaments which include fringe ornaments that were originally shower hooks and gold triangle garland made out of drinking straws and the help of gold spray paint.  They all helped bring the final look together.

Mantel Decor

This is where my trips to the craft store, Target, and HomeGoods beautifully came together! I took so much pride in decorating our mantel this year.  I carefully picked out the pieces to to use as Christmas decor and crossed my fingers my Decor Daydream Christmas edition would turn into a reality.  My daydream and reality were pretty close and I’m thrilled with how it turned out! I’m just waiting on my stockings.  What do you think?

Here’s a closer look at all of my decor items with the details on where you can find them!

Kicking it off with a few of my favorite things! The bay leaf garland was made using shipping paper, green paint, and a little water after finding a great tutorial by Kim of The TomKat Studio.  The geometric garland {that I’m smitten with} came from Target.  So did the gold glittered feather ornaments that I transformed into garland.

You know my love affair with Flax and Wool Designs if you follow me on Instagram.  Pieces of wood, paper, cookies, and ornaments turn into instant glam of glam home decor after Jessa gets her hands on them! I immediately knew I had to have her Happy Tonight board for my mantle! Don’t you agree??

I searched, looked, and searched some more for a boxwood wreath that wouldn’t break the bank.  It proved to be difficult until I found a boxwood wreath at Home Depot for half the price of other wreaths I found in person and online.  Score!   As for the deer head?  It started off as a paper mache deer head that I painted white and gold and ended up only being a $13 investment.

The following mini trees came from the one and only Target dollar section!  Including the mini led lights.  As for the rustic deer decor item, this was a lovely find at a local holiday market here in Orlando that I attended with my wonderful friend, Melissa Creates.

Even our entertainment center needed a little Christmas cheer.  I’ll give you one guess as to where the beautiful calligraphy sign came from.

Entrance and Dining Room

Although these areas didn’t get as much attention, I still attempted to add my Christmas touch.  The beautiful thing about using neutral colors is that I can continue to add throughout my home year after year.

Thank you so much for taking the time to view our home and to see how we’ve made this the most festive year yet as The Rishel Family.  If you have any questions or want to know where I got a certain decor item that I didn’t mention, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Let’s keep in touch!

We have a brand new community over on Facebook, House & Home, where we’ll be chatting, sharing, and helping one another when it comes to home decor and projects. Come join us! Check it out here.

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