DIY Life

Now that you have some ideas on how to store your Holiday decorations, what is the proper way to dispose of your Christmas tree? You could set it out by the curb for the garbage man to pick up, but all the benefits would be lost for our feathered and furry friends.

The Home Know-It-All has gathered some great ideas on how we can recycle our Christmas tree. The birds would be thrilled if you set up your tree for them and adorned it with suet cakes, peanut butter pine cones, stale bread and bird seed. You can anchor the tree in the ground with wooden stakes, or attach it with rope to another tree.

When spring comes, you can mulch the Christmas tree and use the chips to protect your plants, small shrubs and trees. Your landscape will look much prettier with mulch than without. Larger branches of the Christmas tree can be cut off and used to help protect your shrubs in the winter.

If you have a fireplace, why not use the tree to help heat your home? If you don't have a wood burner, friends and neighbors that do would be happy to take your tree off your hands.

These are just a few of the ways to say goodbye to your spent Christmas tree this year. How do you dispose of your tree? Please share with us some of the ways you recycle and dispose of your Christmas tree in the comments section.

In a few days, it will be time to take down your Christmas tree and store it away for another year, if you have an artificial tree, that is. Taking down the tree is not nearly as fun as decorating it, and if you are anything like me, by the time it is time to take the tree down, you are fed up with the Holiday season, and ready to just chuck everything into a box and forget about it until next year.

Storing your lights in a tangled heap will only result in frustration when it is time to place them on the tree again, so Chrisjob at Curbly has a wonderful suggestion on how to store lights, tangle free and cheap! Using a piece of cardboard or a shoe box lid, a utility knife, a string of lights, and a cutting surface, Chrisjob shows us how to store our lights properly.

Storing your Christmas lights in a proper manner this season will eliminate the need to throw your hands up in frustration next season. You will also have an easier time finding any burned out or broken lights, making it easier to fix or replace the lights. After all, the Holiday season is all about happiness, right?

Ice cubes are great during the spring and summer months when the weather can become unbearably hot. Drinking a warm soda is downright unappealing and doesn't do much to satiate the need for something ice cold. During the winter months though, we don't really need ice cubes for anything. Or do we?

DIY Maven at Curbly.com has compiled a list from various sources, giving us 15 alternative uses for ice cubes. Makes me cold just thinking about using ice cubes in the middle of December, but the list is wonderful, useful and downright practical.

I especially like the idea to use ice cubes to water your Christmas tree and plants. I always seemed to end up watering the floor!! Sure saves time, not to mention your back, instead of taking water under the tree. Check out the list, and please leave us a comment and tell us your alternative uses for ice cubes.

We have a real Christmas tree. I love opening the door and smelling the fresh pine scent that fills the living room. I wouldn't give up using real trees, but I am tired of their short life (mainly cleaning up all the needles!). The challenge: keeping a tree fresh.

This homemade tree preservative recipe saves money and keeps the tree healthy for weeks. There are many store-bought solutions, but why bother with those when you can make your own? Here's what you need:

1. 1 quart warm water
2. 1/2 cup light corn syrup
3. 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach

You'll want to top off your tree every day. This simple solution will help you enjoy a lush, green tree right through New Years.

Along with just about everyone else, I really like the sewing patterns created by Hillary Lang at Wee Wonderfuls: way back in July, I posted about her free Pointy Kitty pattern.

Last year, she gave us the Elf Stitchette embroidery pattern as a Christmas freebie; this year, it's a small pig to make out of felt.

You could make the pig alone, as an ornament or as a decoration for a package, but it's designed to sit on a small platform with button "wheels," like a pull-along toy. You could also consider altering the shape of the ears and snout, and making a little elephant! So cute.

Having no room in your house for a Christmas tree doesn't mean you have to go without this year. My house is so tiny that my living room doesn't have the space for my big 6 foot tree. It isn't only the lack of space, it is also the fact that my two cats and my two year old think that the tree ornaments are for more that just passive decoration.

Ansley of Bleu Arts shows us how to make a felt table top Christmas tree. The Christmas tree can be decorated differently year after year. All you need to make the felt tree is some Styrofoam cones, felt fabric, straight pins, pinking shears, white glue, a craft knife, a cardboard tube, a marker, some ribbon and other decorations. The instructions and pictures are super easy to follow.

If you decide to make the felt table top Christmas tree this year, you won't have to lug out your monstrous tree and spend hours decorating it, not to mention having to find a place to put it. You also won't have to spend a lot of money on a real tree that will happen to shed all it's needles before the New Year is upon us. The felt Christmas tree is a cheap and easy alternative for those who don't have the space for a large tree. Have fun decorating!

[via:Craft]

A few years ago I saw a beautiful trio of white Christmas trees constructed out of what appeared to be white feathers in the window of a ritzy home decor shop. They were so stunning that I entered the store only to discover they were far beyond my holiday decorating budget. I have never forgotten the trees and recently set out to recreate the project on my budget, under $10 rather than the three figure price tag I originally spied in the fancy shop. At a local craft store I found a package of two styro foam cones for $2.98 and a some white feathers for another $2.89. Then it was home to visualize the final project and figure out how to do it.

Before you know it, Thanksgiving will be over and it will be time to send out Christmas cards to family, friends, and acquaintances. Making our own Christmas cards is a tradition I want to start with my youngest daughter, and it will be made easier with these instructions from wikiHow.

To make the Christmas tree pop-up card, you will need heavy card stock or construction paper, a ruler, a paper clip, a pair of scissors, and some art supplies to decorate your finished card. WikiHow gives you step-by-step instructions on how to construct the card, including the pattern for the tree.

I think this would be an ideal project for youngsters in school to give to their parents for Christmas. The art teacher could print out the paper, have the kids cut and decorate the card, and then make a fancy envelope to put their decorated card in. I know that I would have a happy heart if my little girl gave me this card for Christmas. How about you?

Before you know it, Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa/ Solstice will be here. Actually, if some of the department store windows are to be believed, Christmas got here about 3 weeks ago.

In any case, what better way to take a step back from the holiday shopping madness than to make some festive holiday ornaments at home with your loved ones. Here are 10 great ideas to get you started.

1. Amy Butler fabric ornament and tree topper featured in Blueprint. If you get the chance, check out the latest issue of Blueprint - there's a picture tour of Amy Butler's House.

2. Button Wreath Ornament from marthastewart.com. I really like this one because after the holiday you can simply re-purpose the buttons.

3. Ribbon pine cone ornament from WhipUp. More traditional but very clever.

4. Polymer clay ornament from craftster. Classy.

5. Mitten ornament from the Feathered Nest. Made with felt, ribbon and glitter - infinite possibilities for customization.