A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas

Here’s the thing: it doesn’t take much to work me up. I’m the type of person that operates at a pretty moderate level of anxiety at all times.  Most days, I’m around a 4 out of 10 on the frantic-o-meter…then I got the email, and I quickly went up to a 9. The email was from Martha Stewart Living asking if I’d like to partner with them and Home Depot to deck my halls with boughs of awesome. Well…that’s not exactly what the email said, but that was the gist.   Of course I said yes…because, well…how do you turn down a opportunity like that!?

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

Then the freak out started. When I think of Martha Stewart holiday decor photos, I think of sprawling entryways, beautiful wood flooring, roaring fireplaces and a formal sitting room housing a 9-foot-tall tree flanked by two canapes and a one of a kind coffee table.

Now,  me? I live in a medium-ish apartment in the middle of Miami. We don’t have a huge sprawling entryway. We don’t have freshly lacquered wood floors. No fireplace. And we most certainly do not have a formal sitting room…although we do have a one-of-a-kind coffee table. I got it from the “As Is” section at Ikea for $7. Then revamped it with some batting, fabric and tufting buttons. All this considered, I was completely intimidated by the idea of doing justice to the Martha Stewart Holiday Decor Collection in our home. Enter: Freak Out Mode.

After hours of planning, decorating, crafting and photographing, I’m excited to share the results. Our house is all decked out for the holidays and I love every bit of it. The bright colors in the Jingle Bright Collection are exactly my style and the chalkboard accents gave me an excuse to add a few touches of handcrafted goodness. So if you’re still with me, let’s do this. It’s gonna be a long post.

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask LoveWe don’t have a fireplace in our apartment and quite frankly, with these Miami temps, a fireplace would make exactly zero sense. To create a fireplace-inspired feature, I used the buffet as a centerpiece for our cheery, chalkboard Christmas decorations. I’ve also had the pleasure of having several wreaths stolen right off my front door, so by keeping this pretty wreath indoors, I thwarted the terrible efforts of all the wreath-snatching Grinches out there.

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask LoveI  anchored the Jingle Bright wreath with an oversized frame that I created using supplies from Home Depot, some matte black gift wrapping paper and a little crafty know-how. Here’s how it came together:

How to Make an Oversized Frame | Damask Love BlogOnce you’ve assembled the frame and the paint has dried, you’ll want to mount it around a piece of matte black wrapping paper to create an authentic chalkboard look. To hang up your oversized frame, just use Command Strips. Two or three on each side of the frame should hold it up nicely…and make it easy to take down.

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask LoveBeing the paper crafter that I am, you know I had to incorporate some handmade papercrafty-ness into these decorations.  Turns out, Home Depot sells ginormous rolls of kraft paper for only ten bucks! I cut a banner from the paper and used my very best handwriting along with my very favorite white gel pen, to add a pretty Christmas greeting.

IMG_5465

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask LoveWREATH DECOR SUPPLIES

Jingle Bright Ornament Wreath  | Jingle Bright Gift Boxes Decor | White Gel Pen | Kraft Paper | Matte Black Wrapping Paper | Moulding | Metallic Silver Spray Paint | Flat Corner Braces | Wood Filler |  Apothecary Jars | Cake Stands

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask LoveImagine my excitement when  Santa arrived a little early…specifically October 16th, 2013 when THIS baby showed up in the mail! There might have been some excited squeals in the mailroom. Once the helpful guys from the front desk helped me get this behemoth of a tree into our place, I  immediately went to work setting it up in the corner of our living room.

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

I’m no professional when it comes to decorating a Christmas tree so, I kept it pretty simple by using the Jingle Brights 2″ Ornaments and the 3″ Ornaments with Pattern . A roll of silver wired ribbon was great for making some pretty cascading garlands down the tree.

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask Love

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask LoveTREE DECOR SUPPLIES

Jingle Brights 2″ Ornaments | Jingle Bright 3″ Ornaments | Clear & Simple Stamps Polaroid Die

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask LoveThe last part of my holiday decor includes our dining table which I jazzed up with easy placesettings. Instead of using the Star Ornaments on the tree, I put them onto the plates as a pretty favors for our guests…you know….the one’s who will be showing up in about a month or so!

A Cheery & Chalkboard Christmas with Martha Stewart and Home Depot | Damask LoveIMG_5512

How to Make an Oversized Frame | Damask Love Blog

TABLE DECOR SUPPLIES:

Martha Stewart Star Ornaments

All of the holiday decor product featured in this post was provided by the Martha Stewart Living team to celebrate the ‘Tis the Season of Doing holiday campaign going on now at The Home Depot. All project ideas and opinions expressed are my own.

Keep on crafting with these other posts

About Amber

Hey, I’m Amber Kemp-Gerstel - the crafty brain behind Damask Love, where creativity, color, and a little chaos come together. I’m a suburban mom of two, known for turning up the volume on everyday DIYs and showing up like your colorful, crafty BFF. Over the years, I’ve gone from psychologist to full-time content creator, TV host, and brand partner, with appearances on Making It, Today, and HGTV. When I’m not making stuff or on set, I’m chasing around my two boys, Markus and Maxwell, and laughing my way through the mess.

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46 Comments

  1. 11.18.13
    Rochelle said:

    Very, very nice!

  2. 11.18.13
    Joan B said:

    Aack. You consistently floor me

  3. 11.18.13
    SueB said:

    All of this is gorgeous stuff. As I’ve said before, you are AMAZING!! Congrats on partnering with Martha and Home Depot.

  4. 11.18.13

    Good job! I love your table centerpiece idea and plan to do it for Thanksgiving.

  5. 11.18.13
    Adoree said:

    Yes…You are amazing! Everything…so gorgeous! Are you sure you’re in the medical field? I think you’d be great next to Martha! lol

  6. 11.18.13
    Nancy said:

    AMAZING! Congrats on the teaming up with Martha Stewart Living & Home Depot.

  7. 11.18.13
    Gerry S said:

    Amber, I don’t know why you’re frantic. I think you could teach Martha a thing or two. These are beautiful and so well explained. Love your humor too.

  8. 11.18.13
    Sheila H said:

    How exciting and amazing! Your project are fabulous. And congratulations for being selected for such awesome projects.

  9. 11.18.13
    janet Wilson said:

    Wow, Amber – so very excited for you and you have done a FANTASTIC job, just like you always do. Bravo xxxx

  10. 11.19.13
    beth opel said:

    So prettay!!!! Very creative, tasteful, and fun! Can’t wait to see you in January! xoxo

  11. 11.19.13

    How exciting CONGRATULATIONS on this collaboration. You didm a LOVELY JOB, I am super inspired to decorate. I start to decorate my home on black Friday. I think its time for me to make a plan for this year.

  12. 11.19.13
    Janet said:

    Amber,

    Congratulations on this wonderful honor. Everything was just fabulous. I really like your banner since I love calligraphy type writing.

  13. 11.19.13
    Phyllis B. said:

    Beautiful! Everything works together so well! Now I hope you can take some time for yourself–you have been BUSY! Big congrats on this project, as well as your Gift Guide, Toile, and everything else on your Blog! Wow!

  14. 11.19.13

    Hello Amber, I finally had a minute to stop in and wowowoow. Amazing and incredible post. My hats off to you !! 🙂 Happy Holidays

  15. 11.20.13
    maria f. said:

    How cool is this. Love that you can make those wonderful, bold colors work. Ingenious to combine them with chalkboard.

  16. 11.20.13
    Tanis Scott said:

    Gorgeous. Loving the big turquoise bow! You keep those grinches away from your wreath!

  17. 11.20.13
    Pat C said:

    Gorgeous! Love the non-traditional colors and chalkboard look! Can you please tell us what stamp company the “Merry and Bright” sentiment is from?

  18. 11.22.13
    Kathy H said:

    Oh ya! You are pretty awesome! Love all that color and sparkle and the chalkboard elements are perfect!

  19. 11.23.13
    Dinahsoar said:

    Gorgeous! Love all of it. Great job.

  20. 12.6.13
    Lisa said:

    Hi love your decorations! That wreath really stands out. Where did you get the that beautiful ribbon. I would love to try this look in my home.

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