Because of the impending puppies coming in just over a week (PUPPIES!!!!), I filled Micah's new (unused) room with all the boxes and trees of Christmas. (Well, mostly all. I left a few crates of decor in the attic, most of the wreaths, and three trees. It'll be low-key this year.) I will be the first to admit that this is a bit early to be decorating for the holidays, but I'd rather do it early than two months after the fact. Plus, if you want to decorate for Christmas in November, and it's your house, you can totally do what you want. So I did.
I have a lot of Christmas stuff. Mostly I paid next to nothing for it all because I love a good deal more than I love Christmas stuff. Hand-me-downs, clearance sales, Salvation Army and yard sales have stocked my holiday boxes with tons of fun decor. Any time I see glass (or plastic) balls for rock bottom prices, I buy them. You just can't have too many of these things! I use them to fill vases and bowls (add lights, and viola!), I hang them from curtain rods and chandeliers, and I glue them in tiny tins with greenery and ribbon to make a fun gift for teachers. You just can't have too many balls.
Except I maybe do. Shocker, I know.
I have two 5-gallon buckets filled with extras that I haven't used in years, but love anyway. I have a rubbermaid crate filled with them. (I think it's one that I left in the attic. I may have to go check.) I have a lot of shiny ornament balls. So Pinterest told me that because I have a lot of shiny ornament balls, I needed to make a DIY ornament swag with them. This was perfect, because it would look fabulous on my banister! It's more unique than the traditional greenery, which is expensive for real stuff or looks like yuck if you buy the cheap and very thin garland in the store. This is why we don't have nice things; I'm way too frugal. But I had extra shiny ornaments that I could turn into a wonderfully beautiful decoration. So I did.
These are the instructions I was given on Pinterest:
You will need a thin ribbon or heavy string, and ornaments.
Begin stringing balls onto your ribbon. Tie the first one on so that it doesn't slide off the end.
Continue stacking the ornaments, alternating colors to keep it varied as it grows.
Tie the last ornament on to fasten that end as well, and you have a gorgeous ornament swag!
These are the revised instructions, based on my experience.
You will need a thin ribbon or heavy string, and ornaments. And a lot of free time.
Sit on the floor as you do this. It will make your job so much easier. Trust me.
Begin stringing balls onto your ribbon. Tie the first one on so that it doesn't slide off the end.
Continue stacking the ornaments, alternating colors to keep it varied as it grows.
Take time to stop on occasion and be sure they're slid together well so there are no gaps, because if you find there is a gap 18" down from where you are currently working, it'll be a bugger to get fixed. If you are not sitting on the floor, but are instead sitting on your sofa with the ever-growing swag of shiny balls teetering off the front of the cushions, it'll be really hard to keep that swag from falling onto the floor by it's own weight, much less trying to hold it up with one hand and fix a gap with your other hand.
When you think it is long enough for the place you have in mind to hang it, hold it up to measure to be certain.
As you hold it up, be aware that a few shiny balls are going to just pop right off their tops and crash onto the floor. Only the glass type ones will do this. The plastic ones will remain on the swag. You will now need to add a broom and dustpan to the "things you need to make this super simple DIY project" list.
Once the swag is the desired length, tie the last ornament on to fasten that end as well, and you have a gorgeous ornament swag!
As you do this, more glass balls will crash to the floor and you will once again have to employ the broom and dustpan. And tell the dog that MUST HAVE ALL THE THINGS FIRST that desiring to eat glass shards isn't going to be in her best interest.
You know what? You should probably just lock the dogs up before you start. That would have been a good idea.
As you tie the ornament swag onto your railing (or wherever it is you want to display this), more shiny glass balls will crash to their demise. You will begin to wonder why there aren't huge holes in your shiny new swag.
Once hung, you stand back and admire your work, because it will indeed be gorgeous. But as you contemplate making another for the other side of your banister, you will also contemplate where you can just buy one of these things. Or at least how much plastic ornaments are going to cost.
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