How to Repurpose Old Christmas Decor
Well, don’t throw away those old decorations, because here is how to repurpose old Christmas décor to make it look fresh and up to the minute.
I just saw the cutest bottle brush tree and wanted to invest in the new style so much.
However, I have tons of bottle brush trees at home. No, they are not exactly like the new one and that’s how they get you! They change it just enough to make you want to throw the old ones away and buy new.
Well, I was not going to be tricked like that so here’s how I repurposed my old bottle brush trees.
First, did you read my post about 2 Easy steps to Flock Christmas Trees? Well, this method includes those two steps plus, one more.
Begin by mixing up some spackling as directed here. Then add some glitter to the mix. I used a diamond fine glitter and because I added so much, I had to add just a touch more water.
These are the inexpensive bottle brush trees that I already had at home.
Once you have your mixture a mayonnaise consistency, use a small brush to apply to the trees. Begin at the bottom and lift the branches up to get plenty of spackling on the lower branches.
Continue until you have the whole tree covered with the glittery mix.
When I pull out my Christmas decor, I always find several berries have separated from my stems, so I’m using these discarded berries to complete the project. If you don’t have any, you can pick up a cheap berry stem at the Dollar Tree.
Using a tiny bit of the spackling on each berry, place them onto the tree randomly.
Here is the before and after. Once the spackling is dry, the berries will be secure.
How to Repurpose Old Christmas Ornaments
If you like to use different ornaments on your tree each year, you may have an abundance of ornaments that will remain in storage. Here are some ways to use your ornaments to add sparkle throughout the house.
Fill a bowl with ornaments and greenery.
Hang ornaments from a light fixture.
Add ornaments to your table settings. This lovely pewter cutlery is from Barenthal.
Repurpose vintage ornaments
This year I didn’t use my whole collection of vintage ornaments on the Christmas Tree because I only used the red ones. Since I have several and love the vintage colors, I decided to add them around the cloche filled with bottle brush trees.
I also have some special ornaments that I don’t use on my tree but still want to display. Here is a cute snowman, surrounded by a greenery candle ring and sitting in a vintage wooden bowl.
Think Paint when repurposing Christmas Decor
If you have items that are not the current color pallet for your Christmas décor, consider repainting them to match. I have painted some items 3 or 4 times over the years and continue to use them in my décor.
These white bells showed up in a big way a few years back. Last year they were put into a galvanized bucket and around the bottom of some trees.
Here’s what I have planned for them this year.
Spray paint the bell with your new color choice. Here I’m using Rust-Oleum Hammered copper spray paint to update these Dollar Tree Bells.
I love this update look and they will be perfect for another project I’m working on. These would also look great on the DIY Dried Fruit and Herb Garland or hanging on the DIY Shiplap Tree that I shared earlier.
How to Repurpose Christmas Wreaths
Another item that I’ve repurposed this year is Christmas Wreaths. I saw a beautiful, simple twig wreath with pinecones and a little flocking. Then I remembered that I had a gold twig wreath from a few years ago.
I began by mixing my flocking materials and using a small brush, I painted the twigs and the pinecones with the mixture. I only allowed a small amount of the flocking to adhere to the preserved greenery.
Here is how I am using the repurposed wreath this year in my home. It looks great with the newly flocked mini trees.
Those We Love Prints are available in the Store
Here is another wreath that I picked up from a thrift store. It is perfect for adding additional items.
You can add simple pinecones and berries for a beautiful wreath.
This thrift store wreath will also look great with fresh greenery added to the stems. It would be easy to add because you can wrap the existing greenery around the fresh.
You can also combine wreaths to create a stunning display. Here I have the thrift store wreath wrapped around the smaller wreath from Floral Treasure. This allows the smaller wreath to work in a larger space.
Hopefully these tips will be helpful in repurposing some of your Christmas Items. If you have other tips, I’d love for you to share them with me.
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I’m inspired with all your ideas! I especially like the change of color for the bell. I would Love to repaint some ornaments that I have that are made in India (heavy) but timid about Blotching the repaint. I need to know How ti Remedy the “Boo Boos”. I also have lots of Lighting Decor that’s not LED. Do you recommend Discarding? I Would Gratefully look forward to your suggestions!
Peggy
I also still buy the incandescent multi colour lights. I find that they are much brighter than the LEDs. I’ve tried mixing them but it is not a good look Thank goodness you can still buy them.