Orlando Festival of Trees 2014

Every year John and I visit the Orlando Art Museum's Festival of Trees to see what new holiday decorating trends I might be able to rip off lovingly recreate in our own home. The Festival gets smaller and less grandiose every year, but fortunately I still managed to find plenty of inspiration for my fellow decorating-holics out there!

So let's dive right in, shall we?

I'm always most fascinated by designer tree toppers, so here's a classic feather fan to kick us off:

But if you're going for whimsy, how about turning the tree into a snowman?

Using that mesh garland for a scarf down the side? BRILLIANT.  I'd love to see this done on an all-white tree, though, to really sell the snowman look.

Less whimsical and more weird, but this recycling-themed tree is kinda cool:

It took me a second to realize it's a giant fish wrapped around the tree.

So now someone should do this, only with Smaug the dragon. :D

I never would have guessed a construction-themed tree would be in my top favorites this year, but this one completely blew my mind:

See the paint brush, "painting" a swath of white ornaments? THAT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!! There's also a red version on the lower front of the tree:

 

Seriously, I'm in awe. It's genius ideas like this that keep me coming back to the Festival each year.

Moving on, you know there had to be at least one Frozen themed tree:

I like the icy sprigs used in the topper, and there's also a wire crown just below the top, though it's hard to see:

The Elsa shoe ornaments sprinkled around the tree were also a cool touch -  pun intended. ;)

This rainbow tree was donated by a pottery studio, I think, which is why all the ornaments are clay hearts:

It's a neat concept, but the green & blue hearts are completely lost in the green tree. This is another one that would look better on a white tree.

A lovely rustic design from some local wood carvers:

This red monstrosity completely foiled my camera's attempts to capture it:

So. Much. RED. (I like to think this is Crowley's Christmas tree. :D)

Here's another of my top favorites this year:

It was donated by a lawn company, so all the flowers are big metal lawn ornaments. SO FUN! I like the paradox of a summer-themed Christmas tree, and I'm a big fan of unconventional tree decorations.

Aaand from summer to snowy winter:

Oooh, hang on: can you imagine having a Christmas tree for each season?! THAT WOULD BE EPIC. (Right now John is getting really, really worried.)

I'm still completely enamored with flocked Christmas trees, btw. I told John I'm *this close* to taking all the ornaments off our almost-finished Potter tree so I can flock it. If not this year, then definitely next!

I've noticed one hallmark of designer trees is they tend to have more sprigs sticking out beyond the tree line, like so:

I like the idea of using greenery garland - like those red berries - as tree garland. This one's a bit overloaded, but overall I think that gives it a more natural feel.

Here's another construction themed tree with some genius ideas:

Ornament garland! The colorful balls are all wired together - and I saw they were selling something similar over in The Christmas Tree Shoppe a few days ago, so you don't have to make your own.

But the best part were these ornaments made of corrugated sheet metal:

Eye hooks, washers & nuts, and shiny sheet metal. Construction materials just got glam, y'all.

I also like the topper; it has a fun retro fifties vibe going on:

This next tree was a bit boring, but I liked the topper:

With so many designer trees going overboard with giant sprigs and feathers and whatnot, it's kind of refreshing to see a simple lantern topper - and it totally works!

Not sure this topper is quite as successful, but it's definitely cute:

And my favorite, out in the museum lobby:

Can't go wrong with a top hat!

John loves magnolia trees, so this was his favorite of the Festival:

I like all the shiny magnolia leaves worked into the topper, and those paper scrolls with the vintage typeset used as garland are fabulous.

Lots of rustic accents, glass, vintage paper, and bronze:

This next tree had a whole themed room to go with it:

That mantelpiece action is making me wish I had a fireplace. LOVE.

The tree itself had this gorgeous embroidered ribbon woven in it, plus lots of red and gold glass:

Of course, they can't all be winners:

What. What is happening. Why are there feet. What.

Er, moving on...

I'm not much of a country fan, but this vintage rustic design has all KINDS of great ideas:

I love the wagon wheel sticking out of the side - imagine if it were a gear! - and that star topper covered with vintage photos is fantastic.

On the other side there's a whole chair stuck in the tree, and I'm not even mad:

Great use of vintage Christmas cards & illustrations, too, which could easily work in more Victorian/steampunk designs.

This next one is pure Hollywood glam:

Love the color combo of lime, gold, white, and black. And the feathers! "Fabulous, Harry, I love the feathers."

Welp, that brings my tree tour to an end, but stay tuned! I'm hoping to post all the best wreaths and tablescapes from the Festival in the next week or so, for your decorating edification and pleasure.

Now here's a self-portrait, because John insisted, and when your man puts up with you snapping pictures of Christmas trees for over two hours, you indulge the guy:

:)

Happy decorating, everyone!

(And if you want more, check out my Festival posts from 2012 and 2013!)

Harry Potter Inspired Floating Christmas Candles!

You guys know how much I hate posting projects before they're finished, but our Harry Potter tree is really coming along, and I want to show you all the fun stuff we're making!

First, a lights-out shot:

 OoooOOOooo.

Again, keep in mind the tree itself is still a work-in-progess, k? So just look at the top bits:

 Ta-daa! Floating candles!!

(And yes, the tree IS in a giant wizard's cauldron, which we built for about $15 - but that's for my next tutorial.)

I wanted to make floating candles a few months ago for Halloween, but all the tutorials I found used LED tea lights tucked inside toilet paper tubes, and I couldn't figure out how to make that fit properly OR look right.

So when I spotted these 2-packs of battery operated candles at The Dollar Tree, I decided to do things the Way Easier Way:

Seriously, that's only 50 cents a candle*! It was tempting to buy the whole rack, but I decided 10 would suffice.

[*Batteries aren't included, so also add in the cost of 2 AAs per candle.]

First, pop the candles off their bases, and remove all the stickers:

Next, add "wax" drips using a glue gun. There's a bit of a trick to this, so you may want to practice first on a TP roll.

I found the best method is to start your drips at the bottom, and then draw the thinner line of "wax" up to the top. This part is actually really fun, so go nuts adding as many layers as you want!

The hardest part is avoiding those dreaded glue gun strings, which really show up when you paint, and scream "FAKE!" Scrape the tip of your glue gun on the inside edge of the candle to avoid these, and then be sure to pick off any stragglers before you paint.

Of course, the glue almost look good enough on its own, so you may decide to stop here!

I decided to paint, though, to give the drips more definition. I used a spray primer base coat, and a satin white top coat, to give the candles a nice waxy sheen.

You can see what a difference just the primer coat makes; the drips really stand out.

Finally, I used a watered down craft paint to add a little aging on the non-drippy parts of the candles:

I brushed it on and kept it really subtle, which is great close-up, but disappears completely from far away. So learn from my mistakes, and go BIG if you're planning to hang these from the ceiling!

(To give you a better idea, this lovely Candle DIY by Taylor A. Baird was my painting inspiration:)

 I'd like to go back and darken mine up, but since they're already hanging... maybe next year. :)

To hang your candles, use a Dremel to drill a small hole through the tip of the plastic flames, and thread clear fishing line through to tie a knot. Wrap the other end of the fishing line around a thumb tack several times, and push firmly into the ceiling. DONE.

You can just barely see the line & thumbtack from close up. Both disappear a few feet away, though, making the floating illusion extremely convincing. We've only had ours up a few days, so I still get the urge to squeal like a little girl every time I see them!

The candles turn on and off by twisting the tops slightly, and luckily John is tall enough to reach them each night. I'm curious to see how long the batteries last, since we leave the trees on for a good 8 hours a day. Since the lights are LED, they should last practically forever - but I'll let you know!

Important Note: These candles are so cheaply made that John had to tweak the battery contacts inside each one to make sure they lit up properly. So if yours don't work at first, try bending the metal contacts down a bit.

Hope you guys like our floating candles, and maybe try making some of your own! If you're hesitant to poke holes in the ceiling, you could always hang these on the tree, or suspend a few in front of a mirror for an extra sparkly effect.

Stay tuned for more updates on our Harry Potter tree!

*****

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