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Custom China Plate Christmas Ornaments

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Welcome back to another DIY Christmas post! Handmade Christmas decor just seems so much more special, don’t you think?

I saw these ornaments on Instagram and knew I had to make my own with my Old Havana dishes from Anthropologie. I decided to have two trees downstairs, since I wanted to be able to see the lights from outside. I bought another 7′ pencil tree from Michaels to put in our dining room since the space is not big enough for a slim or full sized tree.

For this project you will need:

  • 3″ Acrylic Disks (with holes makes things much easier, like these)
  • Cardstock
  • Elmer’s Clear Glue
  • Water
  • Paintbrush
  • Ornament hooks or thin metal wire
  • Ribbon, optional (3/8″ is a good width)
  • Small hole punch (optional)

Now, I tried two other ways to make these: regular paper, clear round stickers, and Mod Podge. The method I’m using for this post gets the better results. Regular paper crinkles too much. The clear stickers would only work if 1) you have a printer that can print white; or 2) you are okay with semi-transparent and also a matte finish (even on glossy stickers). Mod Podge left streaks under the acrylic, where the diluted glue did not.

Choose photos of your favorite dishes. I chose options from Anthropologie, Dillard’s, Ginori, Fortnum & Mason, Famille Rose, and Halcyon Days. I selected the images, then pasted them into a Canva document using the template for PLS819. These are the 3″ round labels, but we just want the correct sizing. Remove the background of your image, then resize to just inside the circle for the template. Follow the instructions on the first two sheets to remove the cut lines for printing, otherwise your plates will have a black outline.

Let’s get started!

Here are my plates in the template:

China Ornament CanvaDownload

Print onto cardstock and then cut out each plate. Do I wish I owned a Creative Memories Circle Cutting System? Yes, yes I do. But scissors had to suffice.

At this point, you’ll have wished you removed the plastic coating on all of the disks. If you didn’t, go ahead and do that before getting your glue ready.

Now, dilute your clear Elmer’s glue with a little water – just enough to make it easily spreadable. I used a foam paintbrush to apply the glue to the face of the plate cut out, then stuck it to the back of the acrylic disk so the image shines through the disk. Turn it over and work out any air bubbles, then set aside to dry.

After they’ve dried, poke holes in the paper through the acrylic, attach your ornament hook, then tie your ribbon in a bow at the top. Voila!

Check out how adorable these are! I love that you can customize however you want to your home. Your holiday decor should reflect you!

What other crafts are you guys making this year? Let me know in the comments!

xo, Amanda

2025 Green and Pink Thanksgiving

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The magical Dining Room Makeover has culminated into this beautiful day! You know I love to host Thanksgiving, so what better way to show her off than with a spatchcocked turkey and all the trimmings.

I scoured the internet for the perfect (and affordable, let’s be reasonable here), tablecloth to set the stage but not overshadow. When I stumble into blue and green, something comes over me. I’ve decided that this year calls for Dopamine Dressing – wearing things that make you happy! Blue and green and pink. Always. Forever.

I love a patterned tablecloth! I try, oh how I try, to love a solid. I add table runners, placemats, flowers, and still? It feels so sad. Patterned it must be. I decided on this block print beauty from Amazon. I was torn between this and the purple (more fuchsia-ish), but this felt right.

I wanted sparkle, I wanted glam! This is a debut, after all. Champagne beaded placemats. Is that a question? Not here!

I’ve been drooling over this Ikat print from Pottery Barn since it came out and was able to snag the napkins on clearance! I love the burgundy and pink as well.

Last minute, I decided to make place cards since our group grew overnight! Using Canva, I found this turkey graphic and adjusted the colors to coordinate with my table. They are such a cute, unique touch.

I wanted to use my new ivory basketweave dishes, but it was feeling flat. The moment my Old Havana plate hit the table, all hopes for restraint were lost. I immediately grabbed some pink gross grain ribbon to tie off the napkins and leapt with delight! Restraint? I don’t know her.

Was it relief? Was it a flood of dopamine? Was it all a dream? I don’t really care what it was, I’m just thrilled to step back and see the fruit of so much work. And I can’t wait to share it with the people I love.

In addition to smoked turkey and my usual casseroles (sweet potato and sinful potato), I added a Maple Dijon salad with butternut squash and candied pecans, homemade cultured butter, and did a punch in coupe glasses to dress up the table. It was a hit! We made a sample glass the night before to be sure it was a good choice, and Austin raved all night. Safe to say, we’ll be making more!

I hope you and yours had a blessed and happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are.

xo, Amanda

P.S. Tutorial for these custom china plate ornaments coming soon!

Dining Room Makeover: The Reveal!

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We have finally crossed the finish line! Months of dreaming and working and creating are finally paying off. That being said, is a room every truly finished? According to Austin, yes. According to the rest of the world? We’ll see.

You know Mr. Darcy had to have a cameo in this reveal. I love the extra something the velvet ribbon added to this lampshade. It was missing something pink in this corner, and this was an easy project to finish it all off.

I love Alexis Walter Art, and was finally able to snag some prints. I took them to Hobby Lobby to be framed in these gorgeous burl wood frames.

Such a fun project. Hope you enjoyed following along!

xo, Amanda

Dining Room Makeover: Soft Furnishings

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Finally! The wait for fabric and drapes is over.

First up, the drapes! I bought them from Neutral, an online shop that makes custom sized curtains. I was searching all over for affordable (but not cheap or requiring hemming), aqua-ish, silk drapes. Preferably pinch pleated and 50ish inches wide.

I found the perfect hue in the Rina Premium Silk Drapes in Cyan. I was torn between Cyan and Light Blue, so I ordered samples of both. What arrived was two sample books: one of all the Rina Silk options and one of all their lining options. That made the decisions so much easier! Thanks, Neutral! (Not sponsored, a girl can dream.)

I ordered them on 10/14 and they arrived 10/24. I was concerned due to recent customs issues, but they had no issue making the leap from China to me. They even came with adjustable hangers to hang them on the curtain rings.

Of course, I had to dress them up with this trim from Etsy. Even Austin agrees that the trim was a necessary addition to tie everything together. I sewed them on with just a straight stitch. So far, so good! Then I left them to train after steaming out the creases.

Next up, I ended up ordering the chevron fabric after all, much to Austin’s chagrin… he’s coming around, I promise :).

My original plan was slipcovers, but after several attempts and making 10 yards of piping, I gave up and grabbed my staple gun. All was well until I got to the back and had to reckon with my decisions. Thankfully, I was going to reupholster a different set of chairs once upon a time, and had bought this metal tack strip that saved the day. Thanks, past self. I love when that happens.

I attempted scallops. Did not go well.
Made an absolute ton of piping. Did not use.

When Austin got home, we worked on the back, and wouldn’t you believe that it actually worked?! I wish I could say I was less surprised but wow, could it all really be so easy? Ask me again in a year for how they’ve held up.

Whew, y’all. I can see the finish line. It’s still past five chairs, but it’s there. With three week until Thanksgiving. Tender mercies.

I’ll keep you posted!

xo, Amanda

Viral Hobby Lobby Advent Calendar

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Yes, I was influenced. But how cute are these tiny little houses?? Hurry and grab yours before they’re sold out again!

Do you celebrate Advent? We did our first advent devotional together last year and it was such a sweet time. We paired our devotion time with Fortnum & Mason’s Tea & Biscuits Sharing Advent Calendar. And while it was fun, and tasty, about halfway through we Americans were a little tired of tea… However, it left a lasting impression.

We decided to divide the 25 days between us, and plan little dates, activities or treats for each day. I’m so excited for some Christmas dates!

Naturally, this advent calendar would have to be done in blue, pink and green. Last year, I painted laser cut village scenes to put on top of the cabinets in our living room. This was a fun project!

You can kind of see them here, apparently I didn’t get any good photos of them on display!

I love a checkered moment, and these turned out a little Mackenzie Childs-esque.

I painted the base of each layer white, and added these number stickers to each house. Then I updated the roofs with glitter sheets from Hobby Lobby. They are on the aisle with felt sheets, not the paper section. They need to have more strength than the paper.

And then, because I didn’t appreciate my fingerprints enough, I decided to glue beads to the edges of the roofs. At first, I wanted them to be less uniform, but decided that lining them up like icicles looked the best.

I added a few more miniature brush trees and a little package for more festivity.

As others who have done this project have experienced, mine does not turn when the lights are turned on. I’ll be purchasing a rechargeable turntable from Amazon (when this hack (!) is over).

Have you made an advent calendar? I’d love to hear!

xo, Amanda

A Jewel Tone Thanksgiving 2023

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I love to host Thanksgiving! I love the planning, the prep, and most of all: the table scape! When planning for this year’s table, I could not get the brown zebra tablecloth from Mrs. Alice out of my head. The second it went on sale I snatched it up! Who even am I?

That tablecloth has sold out, but here are some similar options.


My “wedding china,” if you will, is the mint Old Havana line from Anthropologie. I say that because Anthro started doing wedding registries a month after I got married… So I would buy myself a few plates during sales or with extra money I had saved, and now have enough dinner and salad plates for 14! I love how the mint goes with so many color schemes. Mint and Lime, Mint and Red, Mint and… Fuchsia!


Bam! There it was, the most gorgeous combo for a fall table: Brown, Mint and Fuchsia. I immediately began the search for napkins. I love World Market napkins, so that’s where I went first. They had the fuchsia I was looking for. I linked a few different options, including disposable if that’s your flavor, below.

While looking around, I saw these adorable Table Dare cards from Anthropologie. I loved this idea! Since I had more guests than cards, I opted to make my own. I scoured the internet for appropriate, and non-humiliating dares (which was a little hard to find) and came up with the rest.

“Recite a Haiku about your favorite Thanksgiving side dish”

“Place a roll in your mouth and let Finn [my dog] take a bite.”

“Draw a turkey using either your teeth or your toes.”

We had so much fun with these!

I attached them to place cards made from marbled paper and dispersed them randomly (making sure that the ones for guests or older family members were the easiest and least humiliating, of course). Then I made sure no one peeked before it was time to play. I love the way the marbled paper adds a little more texture to the table.

I added little coupe glasses, also from Mrs. Alice, with little stars etched on them. They are so adorable pared with my favorite goblets from Belk. And how perfect are these dessert plates from Anthropologie!? They have long since been discontinued, but I’ve found some on FB Marketplace and eBay over the years. You can collect the whole alphabet!

My coworker was kind enough to make the floral arraignment for me. Thanks, Katie! It was so good until I had to rush home for an emergency, causing the flowers to dump over in my car… While cleaning my car, I sat the container on the floor and my dog Daisy ATE MY HYDRANGEAS. Well, didn’t eat them, per se, but they were shredded. Why?? So I had to adjust them the next day sans the hydrangeas.

It was certainly an… eventful Thanksgiving Eve. But Thanksgiving Day went off without a hitch. I desperately needed fun, laid back family time this year and that’s exactly what it was! Beauty can always be found in the midst of suffering, and somehow it’s always sweeter.

xo, Amanda

Thanksgiving 2024: Turquoise, Peach and Brown

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During our trip to London, we stopped at Fortnum & Mason, where I fell in love with the Camellia White tea ware. I could not get it out of my head! Just like the cabbage ware for my brother’s baby shower, it was just meant to be. I love the way it plays with my “fancy” china – Anthropologie’s Old Havana line in mint. Perfection.

I started with my favorite, Microsoft Word, and laid out my ideas. The teal glasses are from Walmart’s line with Drew Barrymore, which are sadly out of stock. There are always options for teal/blue goblets online, or in my favorite place to search: Facebook Marketplace.

These placemats from World Market always help keep the place settings from feeling too feminine. I love a girly table, but just like in decor, there should be balance. The tablecloths are courtesy of TJ Maxx, and they have a subtle gold shimmer.

As you can see, my plan included white florals. But, alas, I could only get my hands on peach. That’s okay! Short of ordering in flowers online or from a florist, you just have to get what works the best. I used similar cut glass vases from Amazon.

The napkins are old Hobby Lobby, but these would be beautiful as well! I chose the darker teal napkin rings to compliment the goblets.

We had 14 for Thanksgiving last year, so we had two tables. I love hosting Thanksgiving, and am so grateful for time with family. And pumpkin pie 🙂

xo, Amanda

Dining Room Makeover: Wallpaper is complete!

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It’s been a busy few weeks, and I am thrilled to show you the progress!

So, we left off at putting up the trim. I then spent every day off priming, caulking and painting. I was dragging my feet and making excuses for a few days before attempting the wallpaper. After getting a $2,500 quote to hang the paper, I realized I am definitely cheap enough to try to hang it myself, and since the paper is affordable (unlike our Farrow & Ball paper in the primary bath), I figured the risk was worth it.

After watching a lot of videos on YouTube (shout out to Spencer Colgan Wallpaper & Painting, I would be lost without his instruction!), I finally worked up the courage. Per his infinite wisdom, I decided the best place to start was over the kitchen side opening. I went a little cheap with the paper, estimating that since they are 10′ panels, and my ceilings are only 9′, I could use the excess to cover the stretches of the cased openings, saving having to buy enough rolls to cover them. It worked like a charm!

First panel, I thought, “um, is it really this easy??” And then panel two…. I had to do my first match while simultaneously doing my first corner…. Tears were shed. Lots of them. And when Austin didn’t answer his phone, I sucked it up and found a roll of painter’s tape for an extra set of hands. I made changes for the next corner, for sure.

Pro Tip: I found it easier to do a corner if you only paste one part of the wall at a time. So, most of the time I pasted matching wall, then cut the paper, then pasted the adjoining wall. The third corner I chose to do backward, since it was such a small space and the panel needed to be level with no reference point.

Which brings me to my next Pro Tip: get a laser level!! It was the real MVP of this project. Since there were three areas where the pattern would have to line up without a reference point (i.e., on either sides of the window, and the cased openings), the laser level saved the day. It has both vertical and horizontal lines, and the satisfaction of having all the blue birds line up on the horizontal line is a dopamine hit like no other. So. Satisfying.

This project took 14 hours over two days. And while I could point out every area of mistake, I am proud to have completed this by myself! I took the paper to Home Depot to be color matched to fix some spots where I cut the top too short, or made scratches in the paper. Is it visible in the right light? Yes. Is it visible under the lights I’d have on for guests? Not really. I can live with that.

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, you can learn anything!

xo, Amanda

Dining Room Makeover Part 3

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We’re back from another weekend of working on our dining room. Are we slow? Absolutely. But who cares? We can take as much time as we want, it’s our house! Feel free to take the time it needs when doing the same in your own home. It’s okay to resist the made up, social media inspired timelines for your life.

Anyway, we are so, so happy with how this is turning out. This is how we started: openings with no trim. When our house was being framed, I noticed that there were no visual breaks in the ceiling between the rooms in our wide open first floor. My husband and our contractor quickly framed out some openings before the drywall sub came out.

In order to add the trim and not look silly or have to be cut (since our thermostat is just on the other side of this little wall), we had to build them out.

Then we started on the trim boards! The amount of shims needed to make the top of these openings level was comical…

This part took the longest. But, boy was it worth it when the trim went up. When we tacked up our test pieces they lined up perfectly. Ahhhhhhh!

It took a while and a few trips to Home Depot and the lumber yard where we bought our windows and doors to figure out what trim to use. I didn’t realize our door trim came in a 5 1/4” width, and I am so glad, as it is exactly what should have been there all along.

The most tedious parts of the trim were the top pieces. It took several tries and saw-blade length cuts to get right. One piece was cut just too short. I was prepared to leave it, as it was 10pm by that point. When the question was raised, Austin said, “I’m a perfectionist. Let’s try one more board.” I knew I loved that man! And of course, perfect. Except that we needed another long board to finish and the lumber yard was closed. Still, #worthit.

While this was going on, I kept feeling that the window just didn’t match the new trim. Austin, being the sweetheart that he is, pulled the 1×2” boards off the main trim to see if it would work. And there it is! With the casing trim around the edge, it’s just like it was supposed to be.

Before
After

While we didn’t get as much finished as I’d hoped, I am so pleased with the results that I don’t even care. Enjoy the process!

xo, Amanda

Dining Room Makeover: Part 2

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Whew, we had a busy weekend working to frame out around our dining room windows!

As I stated in my previous post, I could not find an inspo pic anywhere. So, the first day was a lot of problem solving and brainstorming to get the look I wanted. I love the detailed simplicity of Greek Revival style trim. Just enough to be fancy, not enough to invoke Victorian undertones.

We settled on this design, and while I’d change the width of the outer pieces, I’m pleased! My original plan was to have the 4” boards surrounding the whole thing, with a 1×2” edge. That never looked right, so I woke up Saturday with the idea to attach the 1×2” to the 4” to look like a raised surround with a more gentle profile. If I had a do over (because, let’s face it, I did not want to make yet another trip to Home Depot), I’d do the same with maybe a 5 or 6” board. But, with the window coverings I doubt I’ll even notice when all is said and done.

Then came the filling of nail holes and priming. There were several of the brad nails that did not sink all the way, and after trying to hammer them in using some kind of metal pin and a hammer, I turned to the internet. Voila’! Take your *empty* brad nailer and shoot again over the raised nail. The mechanism in there will hit it again to go deeper. It took a few practice shots (creating bigger holes that I wanted), but it worked so well! Problem solved!

I also read that one should prime before caulking, as dry wood takes the moisture out of the caulk, compromising it.

So, first I filled and sanded. Then I primed the surrounding walls that had been skim coated with Roman Pro-999. Then I did a rough coat of Zinnser Primer on the trim that I will sand after it’s dried.

While that was going on, my fabric samples arrived! Now, Austin does get veto privileges, so we’ll see if the chevron sticks around. But aren’t these gorgeous?

Pretty good weekend for a couple of newbies!

xo, Amanda