Hi Cheryl,
Thank you for you very nice comments, I am glad you like my decorations :)

I am getting ready to leave to meet my DD, but I do want to answer this before I go out today (shopping YEAH) LOL

In the case of the pink tree, the red tree and the tree I am doing this year....the cheap base filler balls (some used on the outside too) are all the mass produced gold balls, Walmart generally carries them in at least 12 balls per box. Gold in the past has always been my base for my trees, although in the last few years I haved been collecting silver ornies, so I eventually will have a heavily based silver tree. The nice thing about the silver on the inside is that it will act as a "mirror" for reflecting the lights giving you a more brighter whiter glow. Using the gold gives off a reflection of light too, but the light is more of a warm "fireplace" like kind of glow. Step One for me in Christmas tree design is in definately choosing the deep interior balls, whether gold, or silver.

As for a Christmas tree class, well, I was thinking of taking photos of my step by step, and going from there.

Gotta go.

PS, a great Xmas book is the one done by Christopher Radko, I am not sure it is in print any more, but it is a very elegant Christmas decorating book.

Is Judith giving us a little "tease" about the next class? If Judith published a Christmas Decorating Book, it would be at the top of the Bestsellers List for sure!
Hope you had a good day of shopping with your DD, Judith!

DD

Judith, I'm looking forward to your step by step tree decorating! I was wondering...do you know approximately how many of the gold filler balls you put on the tree? I was looking back at the photos of your pink tree, and couldn't really see any gold balls on it. Of course, my eyes are probably just being drawn to all the pink!

Don't forget you can load up on silver or gold balls at Dollar tree. They have those 'tubes' of 7, so you could get 70 balls for $10. Can't beat that price.
I hope Judith does a pictorial step-by-step. I do much better seeing than reading when it comes to directions.

hugs, Karen

While at Costco the other day, I wandered down the Christmas isles and noticed they had a HUGE container of ornaments in varying sizes for $30.00. There were both plain and glittered fancy ones in the package.

I love the step by step photo tutorials. Would enjoy seeing a Christmas one Judith. Would be perfect to use on your blog too, wouldn't it?

I've been wondering if you saw all the wonderful Halloween tables these gals created. Sure looked to me like you have some star pupils in your table setting class! (I didn't do a Halloween table, so it's okay for me to say that!)

Luvs

DD, LOL, maybeeeee, by the time I pull out all my bins and boxes of stuff, I will hardly be able to move in my LR, I will try to take seperate photos of the groups of items, I think that is the best way for folks to see the set up of things, and how they all eventually come together, sort of like my cake plate tutorial, the items on the sheet looked pretty run of the mill, but it was clear what they were before they went on the plates, so I think that would be the way to go.

If any of you are a fan of the crystals hanging off the trees order now so there will be here in time for your xmas decorating, you won't regret it, I LOVE mine.. (I posted the site for the crystals on an earlier thread). Now, last year on my pink tree I did not use hardly any of most of my pretties, some of you remember I was recovering from serious surgery last year, I could hardly stand straight, it took me over a week to do my sort of "naked" pink tree, I just did not have the energy to go all out. BUT this year look out! Tons of crystals and glass iciles, WARNING --- way over the top LOLO

A clue for right now.. I had mentioned it earlier, is to fill those empty spots in the tree, and to add elegance, I rely on using silk flowers. Today I just got all they had at my local walmart in the cream and gold glitter poinsettas, (I will also be using cream roses) so BUY NOW, before they are all gone (from the likes of people like me LOL) For the "red" folks, they had the same red and gold glittered silk poinsettas that I just bought in the cream and gold. Go now.......LOL

dreamgoddess, gosh, normally I would use at least 100-150 gold balls for inside the tree (7.5 ft tall) last year there were not as many and they were in deep. I was recovering from surgery and it was very difficult for me to bend and stretch like I normally would have done. This year, I will be buying new packs of the wire hangers (they come in boxes of 200 or so,) that will be how I "count" my ornies this year by how many boxes of wires/hangers I go thru. I am betting the ornies, crystals and glass icicles to be at least 700 or 900. But remember, I have collected over the years (cause I am not rich) so everyone has to start some where. (Plus lots of folks don't go on decorating overload like I do, so of course other people can do less, it just depends on your taste).

Karen, yes, dollar stores are great for some things. I had bought a TON of the giant plastic snowflakes last year, did a pretty tablesetting with them and used them in another area too.

Luvs, I wish I belonged to one of those "clubs" I'll bet you can get great bulk ornies there.

A great thing to remember, is if you find a big box of ornies that all flow and match, don't be afraid of buying alot (if you can afford it) because when you get ornies on a tree, 50 ornaments get "lost" easy on a 8 ft tree....

Well, that's it for now, I am off to bed!

Judith,

I wanted to ask what size your crystals are. I notice they come in different sizes and say to add an additional 1/2 inch for the bead. Do you have all one shape or different shapes?

Ok, I didn't do the table setting class... but would definately would love to see one on decorating a tree!!!!

Cheryl, I will hunt down my crystals tonight and measure them for you.

bright, well, I will try....:)

Cheryll, if you look closely (this is my pink tree from about 4-5 years ago, you will see the tear-drop crystals in the tree. Hope the pic helps.

Thanks Judith. The picture does help and I like the size of yours as they relate to the other ornaments, so if you do get a chance to measure yours, I think it will help me with my order.

Judith, Did you use the crystals with the gold (hanger thingie)or with the silver on your pink tree? I personally like the silver best, and my tree is silver,white, and blue but I don't think they are as long as the ones with the gold.
Betty

I have a chandilier still in the box we bought on clearance at Lowes 2years ago!! DH is a procrastinator like me... Told him last night I'm going to take all the crystals and hang them on the tree this year!!! He didn't like the idea too much ... but ... I can put them back in the box after CHRISTmas.!!! LOL!

Tell him to put up the chandelier and then you can decorate that also depending on if it has arms.

I had purchased the 1.5 and the 2 inch, mine are in the gold wire, since that is the "metal" I use mostly. The 1.5 crystal shows up nicely too, I had just wanted different sizes at the time. I also have quite a few pendant shapes too. The crystal look for the money is a beautiful look on a tree if you like to "razzle-dazzle".

There is a choice of the silver wire for those that want the silver on the link below. As I remember I ordered about $80 bucks worth of crystals quite a few years ago (gave some to my DD) but there was enough to go on my tree quite nicely with sharing some with my DD.

Here is a link that might be useful: crystals

Judith,
One last question. Where in the world did you find all of the pink stuff to go on your pink tree? I found ONE pink poinsetta and that is it! I've been looking since I first found this forum and saw that tree. I've started to think I may never have a pink tree.
Alfred has already said he would buy me the tree with the white lights, BUT I NEED PINK STUFF! Waaaaaaaahhhhh!!!
Betty

Betty, there are 3 different kinds/styles of pink ornies at Michaels Arts and Crafts right now, unfortunately I have not seen pic poinsettas for a few yrs. I did buy pink roses with the white flocking on the tips from a Garden center last year, I used those in my tree last yr. Also if you have a Garden Ridge, check the ornies out there too. Last year I found pink simple frosted balls there for a great price. But you are right, pink is hard to find!
This is a close up of the rose. You could always buy pink roses, and "dip" them in spray snow from a can and a bit of glitter to get this look.
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Judith, I love seeing all your tree ornaments. I love the little porcelain one with the pretty roses on it, and the pearl heart with the little silk rose. You always find such neat things. Luvs

Thanks Judith,
I looked at my Michaels when I was on the after Halloween spree, but nothing pink. Lots of other colors. I don't have a Garden Ridge, but I'm going to one of the larger cities 2 hours away tomorrow to visit BIL and SIL. I will ask them if there is one there. Maybe I can talk SIL into hitting a few places while I'm there. I will also ask them to keep an eye out for pink stuff for me when they are shopping.
That is a great closeup shot. Really shows off the crystals. BTW, I bought 4 of the largest snowflakes like that one today. The DT didn't have any of those smaller ones. I sure hope I can find some of those roses. They are BEAUTIFUL! If not, I will try my luck "dipping".
I have GOT to learn how to take better pics. Can I talk you into a photography class? LOL
Betty

Luvs, thanks, it takes alot of searching and good luck, especially for the pink stuff.

Betty, keep checking Michaels, some times different stores get their things in later. The dipping is really easy, you can just spray them with snow, or I have just sprayed the snow into a bowl lined with tin foil, then quickly dipped in the ends of the rose/flower and sprinkled glitter on it while still wet (that is how I did red roses one year) easy!
the most valuable answer I can give back to everyone about photography is to use a tripod. You can get them fairly cheaply at Target or Walmart (about 30-40 dollars) worth every penny. If Mary Ruth pops on here she will tell you it made a big difference in her photos. And of course understanding on HOW your camera focuses is important, some people don't correctly focus (even thought most cameras are set to do it automatically). I don't have a fancy camera, I use the auto focus all the time, but you still have to know where to "place" the focus point. Some people will have the focus point on the "background" rather than on the actual subject (lets say a ornament), so when that happens, the tree branches are in sharp focus, but the ornament is blurry! And most important to using the tripod, you will not have to use a flash, using a flash is death to most photos, it wipes out the color and "flattens out" the object. Available light is always the best. On most cameras there is even a "low light" setting, just make sure you use it with a tripod. EASY! LOL

Judith, I just have my little bitty digital camera. So I don't think a tripod is going to help me, LOL. But I did like your tip about where the focus point should be.
I had never tried pictures of things like ornaments on trees, or dish settings and tablescapes. I'll have to play around some and see if I can improve my skills.

hugs, Karen

I just found this thread and found my name at the bottom! Well Judith SAVED me with her suggestions. I too was having surgeries last year (3)to fix a badlly broken wrist and arm/shoulder/neck injury from a bad fall. Why did I mention that, because picture taking was DONE for me after that. I had no idea that I then shook when I took pictures, so everything was blurry! I was so upset and thought I was DONE! Judith showed me how to steady my camera by using a tripod. NOW I can take all the pictures I want. If I take a quick shot now and then without it, I can see the blur. So, I will rely on that tripod!!! Thanks again sweetie Judith!

I will try and explain what she taught me, here goes!
Also, the tripod steadies the camera (as Judith taught me) so that you can have the shutter open a .5 or more seconds to let in more natural light. So, no more flash for me! I can use a lamp (desk type that I can point the light to the subject) to brighten the dark corners and take pictures with less light. So, why do this? Because the pictures come out less flat like Judith mentioned and with more natural color and depth. Here is a picture I took with an uplight behind the palm. You can see the shadows and the natural light. This picture was taken soon after I got my tripod. I have an inexpensive Kodak 5.0 Mega pixel camera. {{gwi:1447898}}
Here is another showing the colors more 'real' as they are in my house with natural light, the light you see is from the lamp shining in that direction and the silver picking it up:
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Here is an example of an early picture I took of my buffet WITH FLASH, see how flat the area is? And you can barely see the molding on the walls!:

Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog

I used to work for a florist years ago and we had a few tricks to changing silk flowers to suit the arrangement we were making.
Design Master: http://www.dmcolor.com/products/
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We would take a plastic bag (shopping or supermarket type) and hold the flower in our hand, making a fist to squish the carnation or rose or rose bud so that only the tips were exposed and then spray the color (pink, green, red, blue, etc.). Then when you let go of the flower, you had a color-tipped carnation, rose or bud for your arrangement!
I LOVE silver. That is the metal color of choice for me. So, in my Christmas stash I have a large plastic container of rescue supplies. This includes:
Tinsel, garland, bead garland, ribbons, cord, glitter of a few types, silver spray paint, silver leaf, silver RubN buff (Pewter, silver, and antique silver), small silver items purchased over the years, silver leaves, silver paper, well you get the idea. This means that even with a simple (on sale) clear Christmas ball, or white, or cream ball, I can make it match my silver tree.
After Christmas last year I got some ornaments ready for this year so I hung them in the empty tree to dry. (had a red theme going previously). I applied glitter in different patterns on clear balls. I also antiqued some silver balls to make them match my mercury glass look.
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I even painted the inexpensive silver bead garland to match the antique/mercury glass look. The beads in the picture on the left side are painted, on the right they are the bright chrome finish like I bought them.
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In this picture you can see the antiquing on the plan silver glass balls I bought and a few silver ones I had from Lowes sale the year before. You can even pick out the tarnishing I did on the cone silver trees ($3 sale after Xmas from Walmart). I took the bottom off and sprayed water with a little bleach in it and then rinsed them to stop the corrosion. They have tarnished even more after being stored and look like the more expensive ones they sell now at Michaels for $16 each!
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A cone tree made from tinsel (that I painted to antique the chrome color)

Anyway, my thoughts were to show you that you CAN have a PINK (or any color) tree and have PINK (or any color) ornaments if you want them! Make a bunch of one type this year, and then add each year to the collection! Judith has done that and it makes her tree look indeed like it was evolved over time which is what makes it so interesting. Each year your taste changes, what is popular and for sale changes. So, if you can fill your tree with different items that will keep your interest and bring back memories of years past.

To me Christmas is the time to reflect and connect with all past Christmas celebrations. Sort of a measuring stick or time machine type feeling of examining our lives at that time of the year. ENJOY yourselves while planning and making your Christmas celebration this year for you and your family.

And dont forget the most important ingredient! LOVE.

Mary ruth,
Thanks so much for the details and the pictures. The difference in your pictures is pretty amazing with all the different settings. I have a long way to go with photography but this is inspiring me to try. And your tips on ornaments are great too.

Thanks
Mo

Lovely pictures Mary Ruth--but I would never have noticed that any of your pictures were "blurry" because I would have been too busy looking at all your lovely objects and arrangements! ;o)

I've visited your blog many times and really enjoy your "how to" section. Perhaps you would do some step by step tutorials on the things you've discussed above. I'm such a visual person, so I love to "see" how something is done.

I tried to do some designs and glitter on some old red ornaments, and they sure didn't turn out as nice as your's. I love all these ideas because when we can save a bit here and there--then we can buy more! LOL

By the way, I read that you will be moving--your home is so beautiful, how can you bear to leave it? Will you still be in the same state?

Luvs

Mo, Luvs,
Thanks, I really should do some more how-to's on my Blog. The problem is that it takes so long to gather pictures and posting them in the right cropping and format to be instructional. That is why I thought I would post the pictures I just did to help Judith with her points (especially since she mentioned my name)! ha ha
If you keep the glue, and decoration simple it really does make a difference. I made some with too much, then realized I was being too zealous! Those inexpensive clear balls that are empty can have some stuff put inside, or pink paint poured in the ball and then turned to make swirls, or glitter added too! One squirt of pink spray paint inside a clear blub can work too! Just keep the hole away from your face cause it does come back towards you, don't ask how I know! ha ha

I am moving to Florida. The grandkids are there and our children and we have been too long without family near by. We will miss our house, BUT we take the know-how with us when we move, so we can make the next (hopefully our last move!) house what we want. With grandkids running around through it... it will be the BEST house ever!

Wow!! Mary such beautiful things!! I would love to try the antiquing with gold. And maybe some silver too.. What kind of paint did you use to get the tarnised look???
My colors are gold, red, and green. Less green at this time. Thanks for all your help. You and Judith are such talented ladies!!

Mary Ruth....beautiful things, beautiful photos, and beautiful words even.
I can't believe what a difference a tripod makes. When I used a regular camera years ago, I never tried one, but then I wasn't taking these kind of photos. LOL.
thank you for sharing all this with us.

hugs, Karen

I like Judith's tip about not using the flash.

That's what always gives me the most trouble. I hate it when I get that glare from the flash--because I have a confession to make--I don't know how to turn the darn flash off on my camera!

Luvs

Mary Ruth,
Can you tell me EXACTLY how you "aged" your silver trees from Walmart to look like mercury glass? I also bought a few of those on clearance last year, and would love to tarnish them up! Thanks so much for sharing your pictures! You and Judith sure do inspire us!
Carol

Sorry, I know this thread is about trees but I HAVE to say a big THANK YOU to Mary-Ruth/Judith about pic taking! My DS gave me a tripod last Mother's Day (had hinted as I knew Judith had mentioned that helped) but although it made my pics a bit clearer, I didn't know that you can take pics without a flash because of the tripod. Will have to work on that...might have to get the instruction book out to find out how to shut if off though. Thanks again!

DD, so glad you have a tripod, I had mentioned about not using a flash before, but posts and messages get lost so quickly, but that is soooooo important for a great pic, to NOT use a flash, I have used a spot light (which I posted about before too), I will use to up certain objects in a room too. Some lighting in the room is OK too,(low light bulbs on in your lamp) even candle light going on in the room to add to the light and ambiance to the photo. Luckily my camera doesn't automatically flash. On my camera I have a little button to hit to "pop up" the flash, so I don't have to worry about how to figure out how to turn off the flash, thank goodness because I am not a real techie person with this "automatic" stuff. My dream is to have a really nice camera, but that is not about to happen any time soon, so in the mean time I get by with what I have. So just to recap, using a tripod, eliminates the blurryness just from someone holding the camera and shaking a bit and at the same time allows for a photo to be taken without a flash, allowing you to use the AVAILABLE light in the room and lights already in the tree therefore no blur again. PLUS, with the camera on a tripod, it is sooooo much easier to compose your photo, you look at the view on the back of the camera, then you can step aways from the camera on the tripod to make those adjustments that make for a nice finished photo.

I was stocking up on gold and red to do a tree this year....I have usually done multicolored lights and ornies (a lot of which are handed down from grandparents and made at school by my kids) so I don't know what color lights to use with the red and gold theme to get that "warm" fireplace look.....do the ornies just "put off" that color with white lights or do you use a different color?????

mrswhatacop, my trees are done in the white lights, when you use the gold balls in the interior, it helps in putting out that "fireplace glow" from the reflection of the white lights. Alot of my red balls also have gold glitter, again contributing to the reflecting of the warm gold color and sparkle. And due to the camera and how you have the light temperature adjusted, you will also see a yellowish gold cast in the photos.

For all of you looking for pink ornaments....I was at Michael's tonight and they had some out. They weren't there last week so they must have put new stock out.

I will start a new thread on antiquing the ornaments.
I didn't mean to hijack this thread Judith! ha ha
Carol, I had someone else from this forum email me for directions, so I will copy those and post a new thread.

Mary Ruth, would you please tell me how you painted your silver garland? I have a ton of strands that I'm wanting to paint, but can't figure out the best way to do it since they're 12 ft long strands. Did you spray paint them, or use a brush? Seems like using a brush would take forever though.

dreamgoddess,
I will put this on the new thread named antiquing ornaments.