2025 DIY Christmas Decor ¦ Easy & Budget Friendly 🎄🎅🏼🎁❄️🔔

Hello everyone! Welcome back to my channel. Before I can start decorating a few areas in my home, I realized there are some DIYs that I needed to knock out first. So in today's video, I'm sharing three easy budget-friendly DIYs that I'm using in my home this year. First off is a Santa figurine from Walmart. I love the size and has so much beautiful texture that's kind of disguised since it is completely white. I decided to use Rust-Oleum spray paint in the color Espresso as my base coat. I really love this color and it reflects the design aesthetic throughout my home and of course, feel free to use whatever base color reflects yours. I gave it one light coat of paint. Some areas didn't get full coverage but that's okay since I'll be layering over it anyways. I wanted the Santa bus to have a lot of dimension and a patina-like finish. If you've ever worked with gold rub-and-buff before, you know a little bit goes a long way and it can quickly turn the entire piece into gold if you are not careful. And to avoid that, I mixed antique gold rub-and-buff with acrylic paint in the color Warm Buff. I started testing the mixture on the back just to make sure I like the tone. At first, I dabbed the mixture on with a paper towel and wiped it off with another but it didn't quite give me the look that I wanted so I switched techniques and I started rubbing it on instead and that's when it gave me the exact finish that I was going for. I continued rubbing the color on and then wiping it off as much as I could which really enhanced the gold tones. For the face, I added more antique gold to the mixture and applied it to the high points of his face to bring those details forward. My final step was going in with Grecian gold rub-and-buff. I used just a tiny bit and lightly brushed it on the high points and the base for in my living room. I placed him on my Wonderland bug and I added some small rustic bells from Cottage Home to tie everything together. This next project is similar to the last one and a bit simpler. I have a set of ceramic village houses that I purchased years ago and honestly, I don't think I've ever used them. Just don't love how they looked and since they were only five each, they were a great budget find. Recently, I came across some metal brass houses from Lulu and Georgia that I loved but I wasn't sure if I wanted to purchase them since I had a set already sitting unused but they did inspire me to give mine a new look hoping that I'd finally use them this year. I sprayed each house with the same Espresso Rust-Oleum paint giving them all one light coat and I let them cure for a couple hours since I am spray painting glazed ceramic. Then, I mixed Antique Gold and Grecian Gold Rub and Buff together for the perfect shade. I went in with a very heavy hand this time and I covered each house effect. For now, I styled them on top of a stack of bugs leaving one off the side for variety but since then, I've placed them inside of my display cabinet and I'm so glad I decided to give them a new look because I love them so much more now. This next DIY might seem repetitive and it always makes the biggest difference in my home and that's rotating seasonal prints. The one I'm using is a digital print from Etsy that I downloaded and printed at my local Walgreens. The size is 24x30 and the total cost for this print was $16. To give it a more textured canvas-like finish, I used the Mod Podge method. For most of the print, I brushed it on evenly and in the areas where I wanted a little extra texture, I used a stippling motion with my brush to create that effect. Mod Podge does dry fairly quickly but I actually left mine overnight because of how fast the sun has been setting lately and I got to it the next day. I'm replacing the artwork in my living room with this piece. I love this particular print for both spring and fall but I thought the Santa sleigh print was just adorable and it's a bit more minimal which I like since it balances all the festive decor that I'll be adding throughout the space. My frame is from Frame It Easy.com. It did come with an acrylic screen but I placed it behind the art because I don't love the glare that it creates when I am filming. I also like to store my previous art behind the new one that way it stays flat and crease free for future use. I think the print is picking up a bit more gray on camera but it is pretty beige in person. I like the balance that it's creating in my space. I'm also adding a bow on top of the frame just because I haven't added any festive decor to the space and I felt like it needed. I might remove it in the future once I'm finished decorating but I wanted to share with you guys how I tie my large bows without wasting any ribbon and here's how I do it. I started by unrolling a good amount of ribbon without cutting it from the roll. I make my first bow loop leaving a long piece out and then using my thumb and my index finger I hold that first loop in place. With my other hand I take the long strand and wrap it around my thumb and my index finger and I use my middle finger to hold that piece in place and then I take the same strand of ribbon make my second bow loop and tuck it where my thumb is holding. Once that is tucked through I pause and I free my hands and using my thumb and my index fingers on both hands I hold each loop securely and with the rest of my fingers I hold the strands and then I pull and tighten all four sections. This is where you perfect the bow. Keep pulling and adjusting until you get the shape that you want. Pull and tighten, pull and tighten a few This method prevents waste and takes away the guessing game of figuring out how much ribbon you need before cutting it. I attach my finished bow to the top of the frame using a command hook and that completes today's video. I wanted to keep these DIYs in a separate video so they are easy to follow along and stay tuned for my living room decorating with me, that one's coming up next. I hope you enjoyed spending time with me as much as I enjoyed filming this for you and I will see you in my next video.