Thrifting Christmas Decor on a 75 Budget You Won t Believe What I Found

I thrifted all of these items over the last couple weeks, and today we're going to use them to decorate my home for Christmas. But first, let me show you what I found. This cute little green and gold lampshade was $4, and this little brass and glass display cabinet was only $1.99. I thrifted two huge rolls of this burgundy ribbon. Only $3.99 each. And look at this beautiful red velvet curtain. I wish they'd had more. They only had one panel for $5, so I'll be cutting it up and using it for fabric. This vintage cup and this thermos came from one of my favorite thrift stores that doesn't put prices on anything. So I'm not exactly sure what I paid for these, but I'm sure they were only a couple dollars each. I have no idea what I'm going to do with these huge fluffed ornaments, but they were so much fun and only $4. I found a couple really nice figurines. This one of the Holy Family was $5.99, and the gold reindeer, only $2.99. I love the look of sugared fruit at Christmastime, and these fowens have some lovely beading, and were only $3.50. If you've been watching me a while, you know I have a collection of brass angels. These four napkin rings were $1.99, and these three little ornaments were $4. I'm not sure if I'll actually use this gold garland as a garland, or if I'll repurpose the pieces, but that's a lot of pretty gold metal for $1.50. I haven't even taken this out of the bag. I'm assuming that it is also a garland for $1.99. This metal piece was $5.99. I think it's a plant stand, but I'm not sure. But I have a fun idea I want to try with it. I also have a fun idea for these shutters. They were only $2, and I'm going to use them to dress up my fireplace. These lighted tree branches are usually so expensive, but I got this set for only $4. This big brass bucket was only $15. I am guessing that it was originally used to store firewood, but I'm not sure because I don't know that it's actually sturdy enough to hold firewood. So if you know what its original purpose was, please let me know in the comments. Icy greenery may not be in style right now, but it's still so pretty, and I got these for a dollar a piece. I thought this vintage hanging lantern was perfect for Christmas decor, and only $5.99. Okay, I know this clock is not Christmas decor, but look how cute! I had to have it, and only $2.99. So I'll incorporate it into my Christmas decor somehow. I found some pretty good stuff, didn't I? And before we get to decorating, I'd love to know which of my thrift finds was your favorite? Let's start with these shutters, because I can't wait to see if my idea is going to look as cute as I think it is. First, I removed the screws holding all the hinges so that I could take them apart. The screws are flat heads, which tells me these shutters are vintage, probably from the 1940s or 50s. Some metal braces had been added to one shutter, but since they're on the back, no one will see them. I hadn't realized just how dirty these shutters were. After a thorough cleaning, I was surprised at what a deep, rich color of brown they were. Since we like to use our gas fireplace over the holidays, I removed the fire screen, and I'm going to use these shutters to frame the firebox. I got lucky and they were the perfect height. To give them a more festive appearance, I wired a large candle ring to each shutter to look like a small wreath. Then on the right side, I styled two pieces of architectural salvage that I upcycled in a previous video. For the left side of the firebox, I grabbed that large brass-like bucket that I had thrifted and sat a little gold bird right beside it. I previously thrifted a pair of these gold birds that were originally stocking holders, but I removed the hook on the bottom to use them as figurines. Then I just filled the metal bucket with some pine and berry stems that I already had on hand. I'm keeping the mantle really simple this year so that I won't have so much to change out once Christmas is over. I took a few things down and cut the glittery gold garland in half so that I could use a piece on each side of the TV. I arranged it around the decor I already had and then decided to replace the bird with that cute $3 reindeer I thrifted. Next, I turned my attention to the opposite side of the TV. I'd already traded the fall wreath for a simple green one, but the heavy wood candlesticks felt too warm for this look. So instead, I brought in a brass candlestick that I thrifted this past summer. To finish the look, I tore a strip of green velvet from an old dust ruffle and tied it into a rustic yet elegant looking bow for the brass candelabra. I had forgotten that I had previously thrifted some other sugared fruit. This bag of looks like mostly apples, a couple pears, $2.49. And I was thinking this gold garland was looking just a little chintzy, like not enough. And so I thought I might try to add some of these pieces of fruit, intersperse that with the garland just to spice it up a bit. I feel like either the books or the clock have to go to make room for the fruit. I moved the pieces around for a while, trying a few different arrangements. But in the end, a simple cluster of three fruit on each side of the TV felt the most balanced and visually pleasing. Let's take a little break from decorating so that I can tell you about today's sponsor, Reolink. You guys know I spend a lot of time checking out local thrift stores. But I also like to be able to keep an eye on what my animals are doing at home. And Reolink security cameras make that so easy. I was worried that the setup would be really complicated because even though I have a YouTube channel, I am not that great with technology. But honestly, it was super simple. It only took me a few minutes and I didn't even have to watch an instructional video. It came with mounting hardware. But for now, I just set it on this table aimed at the pet bowls. I can't believe how clear the picture is. And I can pan, tilt, or zoom the camera right from my phone. Another thing I love is that I can talk through it and hear noises. It's actually fun to use and gives me some extra peace of mind when I'm away from home. So if you want the peace of mind that comes with having indoor or outdoor security cameras, right now Reolink is offering their biggest Black Friday deals of the year on all their cameras. Just scan the QR code on the screen or click the link in my description box. And Reolink generously donated their 4K dual lens track mix outdoor security camera to one of my viewers. So stick around until the end of the video and I'll tell you how you can enter to win. I still can't believe this adorable miniature grandfather clock was only $2.99. To turn it into Christmas decor, I grabbed one of those wired greenery stems and twisted it into a little wreath. Then I added a tiny mouse and a velvet bow with hot glue. To attach it to the clock, I wrapped some thin florist wire around the wreath and then around the clock, tightening the ends of the wire on the back. And for a pop of color, I glued on a few tiny sparkly red styrofoam balls from Dollar Tree. I thought this little display cabinet was so cute, especially the scalloped top edge, but I didn't care for the flowers and candlestick inside. But a few taps with a hammer and a putty knife and thankfully it popped right out. I scraped away the leftover glue and gave it a good cleaning. And then I tucked in a little bird nest I found in my yard this summer. To dress it up for Christmas, I tucked a few tiny pine cones into the nest and added a pheasant Christmas ornament right on top. I thought it needed a little something extra, so I grabbed a few Dollar Tree bells, the ones that look like little acorns. When you cut them off the string, they come apart in two pieces, so I needed to hot glue the tops back on. And then I added a couple of those bells to the nest as well. The pheasant originally had a clip on the bottom, so I took that off and slid a small craft stick into the opening. That helped anchor it in place so it wouldn't move around. Then I just added a little bow to finish it off. The top of my foyer cabinet is one of my favorite places to decorate. It's the first thing people see when they walk in. I didn't want to redo it completely though, so I added a previously thrifted brass candlestick lamp with my new green and gold shade for some cozy light. Then I arranged a single icy branch in front of the pieces that were already there. And for something a little unexpected, I tucked in the pretty beaded fruit and scattered them throughout the greenery. Then I tore a couple strips of fabric from the velvet curtain panel and tied them into bows, which I wired around the candlesticks, including a DIY candlestick from a previous video. You might remember this bench from my foyer. I actually repaired and upholstered it in a previous video. And while I still love the cruel fabric I used, I don't think it fits quite as well with the rest of the foyer decor right now. So I'm going to cover it with a piece of the red velvet curtain that I thrifted instead. I'm not going to remove the cruel fabric. I'm just going to place the velvet fabric over it and staple it on the underside. That way, if I ever want to change it back, it will be easy. I'll just have to remove the staples that are holding the velvet in place. Reupholstering a seat cushion is surprisingly quick and easy. The only part that's a little tricky is the corners. A lot of people like to fold them like a gift package, but I don't care for that look. Instead, I pull the fabric taut as I go around the corner, making small pleats and stapling each one down. You use a lot of staples this way, but the corners end up looking very clean and polished. I love how that looks! As I was unpackaging the threshold metallic garland, I realized there were actually two, and one of them had never even been taken out of the box. I was excited, thinking that I'd hang one over each of the big bookcases in the library. But it didn't take long to figure out why that extra garland had never been used. No matter what I did, I could not get all the metal pieces to face forward at the same time. So I decided to hang the metal pieces vertically instead of horizontally. They were easy enough to untie and reattach to the gold string, but hanging them vertically made the garland look sparse. So to fill it out, I ended up adding most of the metal branches from the second garland onto the first, and that gave it a much fuller look. But since combining them left me with just one garland, I decided to hang it from the built-in bar cabinet in the family room instead. To build on that gold, elegant look, I stuck with neutral tones for the decor on the cabinet. I cut the other icy branch into three pieces and placed them inside a brass vase that I had previously thrifted. I had two of those metal branches left from the garland, which I attached around the brass vase with florist wire. Originally, I had planned on using the light-up branches on top of a cabinet, but that was before I realized they are not battery-operated and they need to be near an electrical outlet. So instead, I tucked them into the brass vase among the icy pine branches and ran the cord behind the decorative mirrors. I love how they bring an unexpected pop of color to this area. I thought this was a good spot for the Holy Family figurine, but I realized that Joseph had originally been holding a staff that was missing. To replace it, I grabbed a skewer stick and cut it to size then rubbed over it with some dark wax so that it didn't look so new. I really liked the shape of this hanging lantern, but I didn't like its silver color. I don't know why, but I've always just preferred warm tones of metal. I used a little goof-off to get the residue off left by the packing tape that Goodwill uses. Then I tried brushing on gold rub-n-buff, but there was just too much silver showing through for my taste, so I decided to give it a coat of black chalk paint. Once the paint was fully dry, I went over the whole lantern with antique gold rub-n-buff. I used my finger to apply most of it, but switched to a small paintbrush to get into tighter spots. When it was finished, I thought it looked like a genuine antique. I hung it on a hook I already had in the living room and tied on a simple bow I made from a strip of velvet cut off a dust ruffle. Inside, I placed a battery-operated candle for now, but I may swap it out for a real one. I added my newly thrifted brass angels to my collection that I had arranged on this apothecary cabinet in a previous video. After that video was released, I purchased a package of remote-controlled, battery-operated Christmas tree candles and removed the branch clips so that I could use the candles with the angels. I placed a little poster putty around the candle bases so they would fit snugly in the candle cups and stay upright. I thought about using the oversized velvet ornaments outdoors, but I didn't think they'd hold up to the winter weather. We got eight inches of snow on Saturday and are supposed to get three or four more inches today. So instead, I styled them with some greenery stems on top of the bookcases. I think this is a plant stand, but I'm not sure because I tried putting plates in the middle where the bars cross, but because one bar overlaps the other, it made the surface uneven and the plates wouldn't sit flat. So instead, I added large candle rings, wrapping each ring with a small strand of battery-operated twinkle lights from Dollar Tree. Then I filled the hole in the center with some velvet ornaments from Walmart. One of the candle rings had a bow attached that I removed. Then I made a large bow from a piece of fabric torn from the red velvet curtain and attached it to the top of the stand. A bottle brush tree would have looked adorable in this vintage egg cup, but I had a different idea I wanted to try. I first filled the cup with five taper candles and I pushed a small piece of styrofoam into the cup in front of the candles. Then I began pulling apart a thrift store candle ring with, yes, more sugared fruit. I stuck some of the greenery in the styrofoam and then added some of the fruit. And finally, I hot glued a few small pine cones into the empty spaces. I just love the idea of using pretty fruit as Christmas decor. I hope you enjoyed today's video and if you would like to win this amazing outdoor security camera, just enter Riolink in the comments. Thanks so much for watching today. Hope to see you next week.