Red: The Secret To My Holiday Decorating

I'm going to let you in on the secret of my holiday decorating, and here it is:

Red.

What? Red isn't a secret? Well then, let me tell you my "red" strategy.

All through the year, when I am making purchases for household goods, I will try to pick up the red item whenever possible. Need new dish towels? Why not red? Need a new pattern of everyday Corelle dishes? Buy the pattern with the red stripe. Debating on which tole tray to buy at the antique mall? Pick the red one. Red looks great all year long, and it's a lovely pop of color if your house is filled with neutrals otherwise.

But here's the red secret: your everyday items become "Christmas" items, too.

Take, for example, this vintage Juice King juicer that was a gift from my mom. I love it! It stays in my kitchen all year long. But over the holidays, you can add a little ribbon and a sprig of greenery, and suddenly your vintage treasure becomes a holiday decor piece!

The best part? Your red items do not stay in storage for eleven months, waiting to get put on display for the holidays. Instead, you are using those lovely red items all year long. How practical is that? And here's another secret: red looks great for so many other times of the year, too. Valentine's Day, Independence Day, summer picnic season, spring tulip season.

I'm getting ready to paint my kitchen in a nice neutral called Accessible Beige. We've used it in other parts of the house, and I like it. But in my kitchen, I'll be pairing it with red accents for an extra wow! I think it will look great for the holiday season, too.

I found these spools of red plaid ribbon at the Target dollar spot. I know I will use these in my easy holiday decorating this year.

Today's card uses my red secret.

{Today's Brew: Folk Art Flurries (wplus9), dies (wplus9), vellum, ink and cardstock (PTI), glitter card stock (SU)}

I made this one for the Get Sketchy challenge at WPlus9. I used a vellum overlay panel to soften the red snowflakes a bit.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!