Remember those $1.38 plate stands I showed you yesterday?  Well, here is what I did with them.  This is the big reveal.  If you look really close, you will see that I used a candlestick, a sherbet dish and a martini glass to achieve different heights for my candle holders.  The variety is also very visually appealing.   The picture simply does not capture how pretty they look on the table.  

This is the way our kitchen table looked this morning before I began setting it for Christmas. 

 Nice huh?  Guess you would never know I have been crafting on the kitchen table.  Why you ask?  Because my craft/sewing table is also buried in projects.  At least, I resolved this table today.  The other one is going to take some more work.  

After I cleaned off the table and put everything away (sort of), I put down my new hand painted table runner.  It looks like this.

I made it from a painter's drop cloth.  I will give you a tutorial on how I did it later.  I have to say I love it!   Next, I placed three of the plate stands in the center, added three of the sparkly candles I made and some cedar and holly from our bushes outside.  (Remember, use what you have.)  The holly has really beautiful red berries on it and it makes a nice little pop of color on the elevated plates.  Then I added one of my beloved acrylic stars.  Yes, more stars because it goes with the star in the center of the table runner and it WAS a star that guided the wise men to the nativity.  

The same treatment was done on the other two plates.  Next, I added 5 mercury glass votives, and hung some stars from our light fixture.

Then, I put out my red chargers which were given to me by my dear sweet friend Don and added a festive red holiday napkin that is embroidered with gold holly.  I have some beaded napkin rings, but didn't want to use them so I searched around and decided to cut a branch of artificial berries apart that I had and twisted them around the center of each napkin and then added a sprig of fresh holly leaves.

The backs of the chairs have red velvet bows tied on them with a crystal snowflake and some red and white string.  Here is a close up.

Because we use our table every day (we don't have a dining room) I will have to move the chargers for daily use, but I just love the way the table looks.  It is simple but festive.  Smashing actually and that is what I was aiming for.  There will be so much ambience when all the candles are lit. 

These pictures were taken with my phone because I don't have a camera at the moment.  They are not the best, but will give you an idea of what you can do with little expense.  Here are a few more pictures.

I also used some of the plate stands on the trunk I use for a coffee table in the living room.  There is a new hand painted tabled runner on it also.  Instead of candles, I used some of my Dollar Tree mirrored trees that I got a year or two ago.  Here is what the coffee table looks like.  I LOVE this look.

So I have $1.38 in each plate stand and $1.00 in each mirrored tree for a total of $5.76.  Not too shabby for a great looking arrangement.  Greenery is from the yard.  Now that makes me happy.  Here are a few more pictures for you.

At last, I am at the end of my decorating spree.  Everything has come together quite nicely and I will be sharing some more tutorials with you and pictures of all of my efforts.  I LOVE when the sun starts going down and all the lights are on and everything looks so beautiful.  It's a lot of work, but so worth it.  Can't wait for the grandsons to see all the trees! Our New York grandson won't make it here this Christmas  because his dad (our son) will be performing and we will really miss him.  Otherwise, it's going to be such an exciting Christmas and we are counting down the days.  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more 
beautiful.    Norman Vincent Peale