Oh Christmas Tree {& 3 DIY Ornaments!}

Is there anything prettier than a lit Christmas tree? It might as well be a piece of art in a museum, because I spend every evening gazing at our tree. Everything from dinner to TV time is made more special when done under the glow of a Christmas tree.

That said, there is nothing harder for me to photograph than a blasted lit Christmas tree!! It definitely falls under the category of 'Looks Better in Person!'

If you were here last year, then you know Mr. Sugarplum got his way, and our tree was one big, green, glowing Kermit! So this year, it was my turn to pick...and I chose pink! We do like to mix it up each year, but I'm not about to buy a new set of decorations every time. Simply by changing the green lights to white, and creating some DIY ornaments, we had a new accent color.

The first thing I did was hit up Hobby Lobby's 50% off Christmas decor sale, for boxes of clear, pink and silver balls...all $4 each. These projects were also fun for the kids, so $12 was a great investment for an afternoon spent together.

For the clear ornaments, we simply squeezed in some craft paint and rolled it around inside. Then repeated with other colors in the same color family until the entire inside of the ball was coated.

Second up was a marbleizing technique I learned from my aunt. Fill a disposable container with water, spray a thin layer of paint on the surface, then dip an ornament one time before hanging it to dry. We dipped hot pink balls in white paint, and silver balls in pink paint.

Our last project was to make these nickel-sized hanging mirrors. Add a dollop of hot-glue to the back of one mirror, lay the ends of a looped piece of ribbon on the glue, then press another mirror disc on top. They look like tiny prisms on the tree and reflect even more light.

Here are our DIY ornaments in action on the tree.

Adding wide strips of pink and silver ribbon was another inexpensive way to 'pink' our tree.

See what's happening on the windows? Yep, I went a little bonkers with wreaths this year. I'll show you that one tomorrow.

Today I'm excited to share this tree with Megan, as the Christmas Cheer Link Party continues!! I can't wait to see all the gorgeous trees, and hopefully pick up inspiration for next year's palette! (Along with tips on how to photograph this elusive tree!)