How a DIYer Decorates for Christmas

While other people are untangling their Christmas tree lights and shopping the heck out of Black Friday, Sarah Hubbell is gathering up pom-poms, glue sticks, and glitter. “I don’t feel festive until I’m buried under piles of crafts supplies,” says Sarah, a lifestyle and DIY blogger.

The 1,760-square-foot ranch-style home in Phoenix, AZ, that she shares with her husband, Ryan; son, Hudson; and newborn daughter, Olive, is dotted with Sarah’s self-styled projects — some big (a homemade sliding barn door), some small (pillow covers made from fabric napkins). When the Christmas season rolls around, her crafty nature kicks into overdrive. “Every year I do something different with new projects and colors,” she says. “Ryan jokes we need another shed just for ornaments.”

On tap for 2016? Felt-ball-garland trees strung on the wall, a snowy Advent calendar scene perched on the piano, customized paper ornaments for the tree, plus who knows what else. “My favorite crafts store is only 10 minutes away,” she says, “and it’s open till six on Christmas Eve!”

Almost all the gallery wall art in the living room is from minted.com. “Buying art online works great for me,” Sarah says. “I take screen grabs of what I like and map out on my computer how everything will look together.” Here, she stuck to vibrant shades that pick up colors found in the room, like on the vintage dresser (painted Bull’s Eye Red by Benjamin Moore) and the aqua of the tufted sectional from apt2b.com. Hudson is into globes right now, so Sarah reverse-stenciled one with a Joy to the World decal and chalkboard spray paint. The barn door (it’s the one she made!) is painted March Wind by Sherwin-Williams.

Sarah’s so obsessed with Christmas that she owns three artificial trees — two green and one white. “Its embarrassing,” she says. But this year the Hubbells went for the real deal: a 7-foot-tall spruce. “It smells so good, I don’t think we’ll go back,” she says. The tree-trimming takes place the day after Thanksgiving, with a different color scheme each year. For 2016 it’s pink and blue baubles, with DIY paper starburst ornaments that “look complicated but are actually really simple to make.”

“I grew up in Phoenix with a fireplace, so I really wanted one in this house, even though they’re rare around here,” says Sarah. “Hanging stockings on the piano just didn’t feel the same.” So during the home’s 2015 reno, she got an electric fireplace from Lowe’s, then had her contractor build and tile a surround with 8-inch-by-8-inch cement tiles from Granada Tile, which are used throughout the house. Pink-and-red-striped stockings hang from a thick slab of barnwood, and Sarah filled the wall space above with felt-ball garlands hung in tree
shapes from adhesive hooks.