Castaway Christmas - Adornments

Castaway Christmas, part 2.

The Victorians loved their Christmas adornments. Originally made from food, then later glass and paper.

Today the humble bauble has a multitude of variances from material to placement throughout the home, but the premise is still with us.

These delightful trinkets add the glitz & glamour to our homes and start the layering process of Christmas decorating.

Castaway Christmas focuses on the coastal inspired bauble, including the recently popular 'natures own' baubles of late.

Here's just a few ideas to help get you inspired this year as the handmade Christmas theme runs through in a bid to create the unique, the beautiful and the wow in our homes.

Lets take a look at the baubles themselves first.

A sisal covered bauble, this can work for a coastal or country Christmas scheme.

Fabric covered baubles these really remind me of French Provincial style.

Newspaper covered baubles with glitter.

I love the aged feel of these, vintage and a little shabby.

So simple, just add the string of your choice for a nautical take.

I've seen a lot of these pinwheel fans this Christmas.

So easy to make, I like these ones make from old music sheets.

I like the muffin tray used as bauble storage - how clever.

These are made from tooth picks and remind me of sea urchins.

A trend that's starting to appear this Christmas, tribal inspired baubles

for a wild Christmas look.

(Pier 1)

So sweet and easy to make. Mother of Pearl buttons threaded onto

wire and shaped into a heart.

I featured these last year, made from beautiful Paua shell.

For those who love turquoise, these glitzy creations are featured in all

major stores this year. Birds have been a popular theme in decorating and

are still with us this Christmas.

Beach in a bauble.

Handmade shell star bauble.

Glass terrariums make beautiful baubles.

Coral bauble.

(Boho Beach)

White feathers and pearl bauble.

(Boho Beach)

A new take on the monkey fist knot  - a nautical bauble.

I like these sea urchin inspired glass baubles. I'm currently trialing

a DIY take on these - will keep you posted.

(Isola Bella)

I quite like the tropical leaf behind this bauble - it really pops.

Starfish make naturally beautiful Christmas ornaments.

(My Island Home)

Interesting take on the icicle - crystal quartz.

Maps are big in decorating at the moment, and it's no surprise to see them pop

up at Christmas - so inspiring.

So simple to do, but really elegant. Take a glass bauble and decorate with a letter

transfer. I think this is a fantastic idea for family, where everyone has a bauble with their

initial on it.

(Pottery Barn)

I so love Humming birds at the moment. They are so cute, I first saw them

in the Caribbean and found watching them to be quite mesmerising.

(Domayne)

Pearl cluster bauble.

(Domayne)

The other beauty of baubles is placement. Today there are many different styling options, here's a few to inspire.

I like the textures in this wreath and the black front door is gorgeous, so reminds me of London.

Hung from driftwood, simple but so effective. I also like the improvised cake stand.

A bauble chandelier, I love this cluster effect.

There are some great glass vessels now, vases all shapes and sizes - apothecary jars.

Baubles really make a statement in these containers.

I'm trying this one for sure.

How effective, choose your baubles and glue on some magnets - easy peasy.

I'm showing this because I also adore the colour combo.

Chocolate brown and gold what a gorgeous colour scheme for Christmas.

(all images Pinterest, unless stated)

Happy Island Styling.

Castaway Christmas - 25 Amazing Christmas Tree Ideas

Oh I do love, love Christmas.

It's the best time of year to really let my creative spirit free in a styling extravaganza, the perfect indulgence to play, experiment and create visual sensory delights for my family and friends to enjoy, in fact every year now I get asked how I'm going to decorate Christmas - didn't realise it had become an event in itself.

So glass of Sherry in hand, I really encourage you all to have some creative fun this year, forget the commercial Christmas decorations and create unique pieces that really satisfy, who knows they could become future treasured family heirlooms.

Here in Australia Christmas is at the height of Summer. When I first moved to Oz, the rich, warm traditional Christmas colours and decorations I had grown up with in the Northern Hemisphere looked so out of place in a hot sunny country.

So over the past 12 years I have endeavoured to create a more appealing Christmas showcase, one that sits perfectly well in 30-40 degrees! This creates some interesting challenges.

Today, in part one of my Christmas inspiration collection of ideas we look at alternatives to the humble traditional Christmas tree.

Environmentally, cutting down trees just for Christmas is not the way forward. But the symbolism of the Christmas tree can still stay with us, just in a different format.

I've collected some really stunning and simple alternative tree ideas - I do hope you'll consider trying some of these for your own home this year.

A coral tree, simple to make as coral pieces sit on

a tiered cake stand. This would be perfect as a table centre piece.

This is so clever that I'm going to try and re-create one of these -

it's simply too cute!

There are many driftwood Christmas trees in the shops this year.

As lovely as they are, I love the simplicity of this one, just 2 large pieces

of driftwood, propped up with simple fairy lights - so Castaway Christmas.

Over the years I've created many of these types of Christmas

tree arrangements. Willow makes awesome free styled trees like

the one above. You can leave the branches natural or spray paint them

the colour of your choice.

A different take on the driftwood tree. I've started to see furniture made

out of this type of vintage timber, usually from old Indonesian fishing boats.

Simple with a seaside vintage feel. Sea Urchin miniature tree,

perfect for any little Christmas fairy.

I love these. So simple to re-create. Starfish where made for

Christmas decorating.

Simple again, even the kids can make these.

This is my pick this year. I love the simplicity of this

idea, yet the scope is enormous. Here an inexpensive garden cone

shaped trellis is spray painted and decorated.

Each year there seems to be a tree de jour. This year the urchin tree runs

close ties to the driftwood tree.

Up cycling never got so creative. What a cool idea, an old window

fly screen is given a new life as a Christmas arrangement - genius!

A tree you can roll up and use again. Blackboard painted background with

a hand drawn tree silhouette, very Scandinavian.

What can't you do with ribbons? Simple ribbon tree, just so sweet.

Another Sea Urchin tree, almost looks like dessert!

I've seen a lot of images with old vintage glass cake stands

they're so multi-purpose and add such elegance to a display.

Donna Hay magazine did an amazing coastal collection of

Christmas styling ideas a couple of years back.

This old Palm tree frond free form tree's a stunner.

What a clever idea. Have too many books - create a tree!

Gleaming coastal inspired tree.

This is so ingenious.

A French Provincial inspired Christmas tree seat - how cool!

Simple branch tree, proving small can be just as striking.

Aqua lovers be warned, this set will cause serious drooling!

Another starfish tree - gorgeous.

This is the simplest Tropical tree I know to create. Take 2 large palm fronds,

place in a beautiful glass vase and hang some pretty starfish.

Glitzy Palm tree - Christmas Vegas style!

Very clever!

There are so many more takes on the alternative Christmas tree, it's amazing.

(all images Pinterest)

Have fun Christmas creating.

Happy Island Styling