I love to decorate for each season but I hate being forced into a color palette. Christmas is an especially difficult season for me when it comes to decor because it seems like so much of it is traditional red, green, and white. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m more the “all the colors, all the time” type! That’s why I’m so glad to see more people embracing boho Christmas decor. It makes me so excited to see so many trees filled with a full spectrum of color!!!
I’ve also been pushing myself outside my comfort zone lately. I’m not normally a “crafts” kind of person — I actually think I am really bad at them — but I knew I wanted to make some boho Christmas decor in my own style. I gave myself some creative freedom and came up with some completely unique decorations that can all be made from upcycled materials!
Supplies
- DIY Paint — To get a truly boho finish I always use this clay-based paint
- Watercolor Paints — Mixed and poured by hand in my home studio
- Brushes
- Watergirl continuous spray bottle
- Brayer
- Scissors
- String
- Spray Glue
- Ribbons (optional)
- Gold foil (optional)
Boho Christmas Decor for The Table
Being an artist means understanding that, sometimes, a piece just doesn’t sell! Sure, I wish that I could hold onto every canvas until it finds a forever home but my husband would like to be able to open the door to the guest room where my piles of canvases are currently sitting. While I could paint over them, something inside me said it was time to take a few of my personal favorites and turn them into something new…
Upcycled Canvas Tablecloth
The first upcycled decor I created was a canvas tablecloth!
First, I took all the canvases off their frames and distressed them; scrunching, folding, and crushing them to make them more pliable and give them a nice, lived-in finish. Then I applied a healthy amount of wax to each canvas, which protects the paint from spills. I’ll still be using placemats with this tablecloth but the wax adds another layer of protection. I laid the canvases out and labeled the backs so that I could flip the pieces over and patch it together using spray adhesive. This is where the brayer really came in handy to make sure that each canvas fully adheres to the other with no bubbles!
The full tutorial for this project can be found on The BloomTV Network! People seem to love the casual artistic twist that this tablecloth adds to their homes. My favorite part is that every spot at the table gets a unique view of the artwork!
Handmade Place Cards
I took the artistic inspiration even further with some handmade place cards! I took some watercolor paintings I had created for practice and cut them into fourths. I wrote a sweet message on the back for each guest and included their names on the front. Then I attached the scraps to tiny clipboards (which could totally be created from scraps of other things!) and placed them in each spot.
Because each piece is part of a larger painting, I love the idea of families coming together to lay out their pieces like a puzzle and discovering the full painting! This is probably my favorite boho Christmas decor so far because it’s so quick, easy, and customizable… Even if you love traditional holiday colors!
Boho Christmas Decor for The Walls
I had some scraps of canvas left over from my tablecloth project so I decided to make some quick and easy wall decor!
Canvas Snowflakes
I have always loved the look of those strings of paper dolls all connected at the hand, especially because garland is so festive, so this is a modern bohemian take using snowflake shapes! This was super easy and fun to make. You can also cut out traditional snowflakes from canvas, too! Just be sure to use very sharp scissors for this project.
Canvas Garland
Another easy DIY holiday project? Creating a garland out of canvas scraps! For this project I used leftover scraps of canvas cut into tree shapes to hang in my art studio. I might do this again next year using tiny star shapes to hang on the tree!
Boho Christmas Decor for The Tree
Speaking of the tree, you didn’t think that aspect of the holidays would be exempt from my boho Christmas decor bonanza, did you? I came up with some unique and colorful Christmas decorations that are sure to put your personality on display this season.
Painted Ornaments
The key to these effortlessly bohemian ornaments? Clay-based DIY Paint! I’ve been hooked on DIY Paint since the very first time I tried it because it’s non-toxic and blendable with excellent coverage! I really love the texture it gives the dollar store ornaments that I used for this project. I gave each plastic ornament two coats of paint and then applied some affordable gold leaf from the craft store on top to give it some shine. Jewel toned velvet ribbons add another layer of texture and depth of color that makes a cheap, easy DIY look like a luxury!
Painted Cars
For years I’ve seen cute red trucks used as holiday decorations! I love the look of vintage vehicles but red isn’t my favorite color. So, for this project, I took some inspiration from my friend and fellow artist Carrie Schmitt (featured in Issue 2 and soon-to-be featured in Issue 10 of The Turquoise Iris Journal) and painted flowers all over these tiny cars! I used DIY Paint and some acrylics to get the exact shades I wanted. By adding a tiny bottle brush tree, these cute knick-knacks are transformed into beautifully boho Christmas decor.
Some of my cars might be a *little* too big for the tree but I think they still make gorgeous tabletop decorations.
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