Simple Burlap Christmas Stockings

I have a love-hate relationship with the fireplace in our new house. The fireplace surround is patterned blue and white tile that I think is so charming, so quaint, so New England. I kind of love it. But the tile colors and pattern really limit what I can hang over the fireplace and how I decorate the room. So I kind of hate it. 

Pick up some 39 cent embroidery floss in your favorite color, tie a knot at the bottom of the floss, thread your needle (a needle threader helps – embroidery floss is thick!), and hand sew your initial. Once you’re done, cut off the extra embroidery floss and tape the end to the back of the tag. 

Cut another piece of embroidery floss to create a loop to hang the tag from the bow. You can leave it at that or you can add a little piece of cute ribbon to the back of the tag.

My new stockings are perfect for the decorating commitment-phobe in me. It will be a cinch to change out the ribbons for something new next Christmas and get a completely different look.

I’ve finished decorating my mantel too – here’s a little sneak peek:

I’ll have more pictures on the blog on Sunday when the Christmas Tour of Homes makes a stop at my house and I invite you all inside for a little look around. 

Until then, I’m going to keep adding some Christmas decorations here and there but I’m keeping it pretty simple this year. After having just unpacked and put away over a hundred boxes from our recent move, taking out the Christmas boxes seems like two steps back so many of my holiday decoration boxes are going to go unopened.  

Surprisingly, I’ve found that I really appreciate the look of simple. Like these chairs that were in need of some dressing up:

I took some ribbon that was leftover from making the stockings and tied bows on the throw pillows. One minute and done. Love that.

What’s your approach to decorating for Christmas this year – are you going all out or keeping things simple?