Melodrama

DIY Vintage Christmas Ornament Throw Pillow

Published on December 8, 2017November 29, 2025 by KrysLeave a comment

If you don’t know by now, I’m totally obsessed with vintage Christmas ornaments.

My favorites are the ones with the indented reflectors in the middle. I just love how unique each one is and how they sparkle and reflect colors when hanging on a lit up tree. It’s magical! You might remember that Ornament Tree Skirt I made a couple of years ago, but this year I wanted to bring that theme to life as a throw pillow.

What you’ll need:

-Fabric. (The amount depends on the size of pillow you want to make. I used fleece, but you can use any non-stretchy fabric you want. I got two 18″ pillows out of 2 yards of 45″ wide fleece.)
–Metal Christmas light reflector cups
-1” Silver buttons
-Snowfake shaped crafting buttons
–Metallic Braid Trim
-Ribbons, rickrack, and felt/fabric to decorate
-Embroidery thread and long needle
-Fabric glue
-Sewing Machine and thread (or you can glue the edges for a no-sew attempt)

What you do:

First draw a circle. The best way to do this is to use a tape measure or ruler and the compass method. Remember the way we learned in math class? HA I bet you thought you’d never need that. Then sketch out a little top piece (about 5″ wide), like an ornament would have. Then cut it out!

Sew the edges together leaving an opening at the top. Turn it right side out and iron. Stuff with polyfill through the top and then close the opening using a slipstitch. (You can try gluing all of these edges for a no-sew attempt, but the results won’t be as clean.)

In order to make the indented middle you need to tuft. Use a silver button and a light reflector to do this. Put the silver button in the middle of the reflector and use embroidery thread and a long needle to pull the button and reflector through the middle of the pillow. Pull it tight to make the indent, and use a triple knot to make it stay. Trim the excess thread. You can also use another button on the other side to keep it all in place if the triple knot isn’t enough.

Now you can have fun decorating it! Glue the snowflake buttons around the indent for extra sparkle. Use the metallic trim around the top to make it look like the ornament cap. Use rickrack, ribbons, and fabric scraps to create lines and shapes.

And voila! A cute little ornament throw pillow!

DIY Cellophane and Bottle Brush Tree Wreath

Published on December 4, 2017November 29, 2025 by Krys4 Comments

In this installment of Krys’s craft corner I’m bringing back an oldie but a goodie. When I was a kid I always made some version of a DIY wreath using a coat hanger and some sort of household product like tissue paper, felt, plastic bags, or in this case cellophane.

This is a totally retro craft that was really popular in post-war households. During the 50s and 60s companies like Alcoa, Reynolds, DuPont, and 3M sent out pamphlets full of ways to use their plastic and foil products for other household uses such as holiday crafts, including cellophane wreaths. They were usually dressed up with foil flowers and an electric candle stick. Companies even sold them already made, for the non-DIY crowd.

(photo: Etsy)

There are a few different ways to make these wreaths. You can use a wire hanger and shape it into a circular shape, or you can do what I did and buy a metal floral hoop. Most ready-made versions were made by layering round, crimped pieces of red cellophane (almost like cupcake wrappers), but other versions and the easier DIY method are made by tying strips of cellophane to a metal ring.

What You’ll Need:

-a metal floral hoop or a wire hanger shaped into a circle

-cellophane in your color choice, cut into strips approximately 1″ wide by 7″ long

(I used a 14″ wire wreath form, and 3 rolls of cellophane wrap)

I unrolled the wrap on my floor and cut strips 1 inch wide. Then I cut those strips into 7″ long pieces.

Crumple up the strips to give them more texture. Then tie them onto the metal ring. Push each piece tight against the last.

Continue working all the way around until the metal hoop is completely covered.

Instead of the traditional candle stick I used dyed bottle brush trees from Distinguished Flamingo.

And thats it! Use a ribbon or a wreath hanger to put it on your door or in your windows.

DIY No-Sew Mid-Century Inspired Christmas Tree Skirt

Published on November 27, 2017November 29, 2025 by Krys7 Comments

It’s that time again! Christmas time! I love this time of year. No matter what is going on in life, good or bad, decorating my Christmas tree always cheers me up. This year we switched things up a bit and used our fake pink tree instead of trying to find a natural, flocked one here in the desert. We even got a rotating stand so the whole thing spins!

I badly needed a new tree skirt since my last DIY one got ruined during our move. Wahhh.

I used the same tutorial and materials as my previous no-sew felt Christmas tree skirt (pictured above), and put a different spin on it.

First you need a couple yards of 72″ felt. Then you make a circle in your desired size. I explain this in more detail here.

Then use pieces of felt in various colors to create curved rhombus shapes that were popular in the 50s and 60s.

Like so!

Then just simply use fabric glue to adhere them to the felt skirt in whatever pattern you desire.

And there you have it! A quick and easy DIY tree skirt for your retro tree.

Happy tree trimming!

Be sure to tag your Christmas photos with #Krysmasgram on Instagram!

Apple Pie Thanksgiving Cocktail

Published on November 21, 2017November 29, 2025 by KrysLeave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving, my darlings! We’re not doing much for Thanksgiving around here this year, but what we are doing is mixing up some delicious cocktails for the occasion.

This “Apple Pie Cocktail” is our current favorite. It’s an adaptation from one of my favorite vintage Patrick Duffy books and it’s a delight. It’s a refreshing cocktail with seasonal notes of fruit and apples. Be careful with this one! It goes down really smooth so pace yourself. Now go rummage through grandma’s liquor cabinet for that apple brandy and start mixing!

Here’s what you need:

1 ounce Bacardi Rum
1 ounce Italian Vermouth
4 dashes (about a teaspoon) Apple Brandy
4 dashes (about a teaspoon) Lemon Juice
2 dashes (about 1/2 teaspoon) Grenadine

Shake well with ice and strain into a glass. I garnished mine with a pie crust spiral.

To make the pie crust spiral, just take a strip of pie dough and wrap it around the handle to a metal spoon or something similar and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove the spiral from the mold before it completely cools and is still somewhat pliable and then let cool completely.

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!

Mid-Century Metallic Diamond Bi-Fold Closet Doors

Published on November 7, 2017November 29, 2025 by Krys1 Comment

Here’s an easy, inexpensive, and renter-friendly way to add a little pizazz to plain bi-folding closet doors.

When I moved into this newly renovated 1960’s apartment it was a blank white canvas, and I’ve been trying to find temporary and inexpensive ways to add doses of my personal style where I can.

As you can see, there wasn’t much character in here. Even after doing wallpaper and decorating the room, those closet doors needed help!

I thought about adding some kind of moulding, but I didn’t want to add weight or texture. I wanted something metallic to go with the wallpaper! Something inspired by brass inlays! That’s when I found metallic mylar tape*. Much easier, and much more renter-friendly than moulding.

All you have to do is just run the (very forgiving) foil tape between each center point where you want your points to meet, smooth it down, trim it with a blade, and you’re done! And if you hate it, it comes right off with no damage to the underlying paint.

I added vintage starburst knobs, which is another fun way to add a vintage touch to an otherwise stale door.

And there you go. Hope this helped solve some plain bi-fold door problems! Bye for now!

Our Pink, Gold, and Green Atomic Meets Glam Inspired Bedroom Reveal

Published on November 1, 2017November 29, 2025 by Krys10 Comments

I finaallllyyyy get to show you guys our bedroom before and after reveal! Yay!

I didn’t think it would turn out to be my favorite room in our apartment, but I think it totally is. I was inspired by mid-century atomic and glam styles, and used green, pinks, and lots of gold elements as my palette.

Here’s what it looked like before:

Here’s after!

Putting a bed in front of a window like this can look a little awkward, so the first thing I did was hung wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling shimmery coral-pink curtains and sheers from Target to frame the bed and disguise the window, while still letting tons of light in.

I used a fabric in a similar color to do a wall treatment in the vanity nook. I changed the built-in’s hardware to a vintage 1950/60s set that I found on Etsy and also changed the light to a beautiful brass Sputnik from Lucent Lightshop. The vanity chair is from Nate Berkus for Target.

I installed a beautiful metallic gold and white wallpaper from Tempaper (the same brand I used in my bathroom)! It’s so easy to work with and adds a lot of shine and pattern to the room, but isn’t overwhelming.Lamps are a vintage find from Etsy! Shades are from the Project 62 line at Target. Our bed frame is from Joybird. You know I love me some Joybird. We had our tv mounted in front of the bed for our viewing pleasure. To jazz up the boring closet doors I used metallic gold tape and changed the knobs out to starburst ones from Etsy. The oval starburst mirror is also from Joybird.

And there it is! Can’t wait to show you more rooms soon.

Make sure you’re following on Instagram and search the hashtag #Melodramaville to see more!

Melodramaville Halloween Home Decor 2017

Published on October 31, 2017April 25, 2025 by KrysLeave a comment

Happy Halloween! I finally got motivated enough to doing a little last minute Halloween decorating with a little bit of spiderwebbing, a few DIY bats, and a ton of pumpkins. We’re staying in tonight and snuggling up at home tonight watching movies, carving pumpkins, and eating treats.

Here’s a few pics of a Melodrama Halloween!

We have an orange front door and I couldn’t let that go to waste! I used black construction paper cutouts and taped them to the door to create a Jack o’ lantern face. I added a few pumpkins and a few tombstones from the dollar store.

Inside I used spiders, pumpkins, paper bat cutouts, and a few gilded skulls to spook up the place. There are always plenty of spirits around the bar…get it? Spirits HAAA.I put pumpkins in the fireplace with string lights, those will be sticking around all season long.

And of course the DIY Pumpkin Planter that I made here.

That’s it for this year! I’m off to carve some pumpkins and bust open the bags of candy. Happy Halloween!

Bedroom Vanity Accent Wall | Removable Fabric Wallpaper

Published on October 29, 2017November 29, 2025 by KrysLeave a comment

Before I show you my full bedroom reveal, I wanted to share this easy and renter-friendly project you can do with any lighter weight fabric. It’s a very forgiving DIY project, and a unique way to add pattern or colors to your walls without using wallpaper or paint. And cleanup is a breeze.

I used this wall treatment and a remnant peice of fabric in the vanity nook of my bedroom’s built in shelves. You can find my past tutorial here, but basically all you need is some liquid starch and a paint roller to adhere your fabric to the wall.

I changed the hardware to a vintage set that I found on Etsy, and also changed the light to a beautiful brass Sputnik sconce from Lucent Lightshop.

When I move I’ll just peel it off the wall and wipe down any residue.

Halloween Decor Idea: Pumpkin Succulent and Cacti Planter

Published on October 19, 2017April 16, 2023 by Krys7 Comments

If you’re a plant lover, here’s a quick and easy way to incorporate succulents and cacti into your fall decor. Use a (faux is best) pumpkin as a planter! I used a cinderella pumpkin because I love the shapes and colors of them, and they’re usually wide enough to make a great shallow planter.

Update: I got a real one for really cheap at Trader Joe’s so I originally used that, but quickly transitioned to a faux pumpkin once the inevitable mush set in after about a week. Bummer.
Just cut off the top (and hallow it out if you want to try a real one) like you would when making a jack-o-lantern. Poke some small holes in the bottom for drainage. Then fill it with a variety of succulents and some extra soil or sand.

I layered cacti and different types of succulents in mine. Since the fuzzy cacti looks like a spider nest I added some plastic Halloween spiders. I can easily remove those to transition it into November. If the little guys lasts that long. Fingers crossed.

I love it as our dining table centerpiece.

So easy and cute! I hope it lasts at least another month.

Dyed Fabric Remnant Curtain Valance

Published on September 15, 2017April 18, 2023 by KrysLeave a comment

If you ever have to hem curtains and you don’t know what to do with the leftover fabric, here’s an idea!

I needed cafe curtains for my kitchen window and a valance for my bathroom window, but couldn’t find anything I liked, in the right size, and at a price I felt like paying. I had leftover scraps from past curtain hems so I decided to dye them and make curtains to match my decor. I used Rit and mixed a couple of shades until I reached the desired color. I like to use paper towel pieces to check the color before inserting the fabric, just to make sure I like where it’s headed so I can avoid any surprises and having to color correct later.

I’m happy with the way the bathroom valance turned out! But the cafe curtains were a flop. They looked too stiff and heavy.

I used a different, sheer curtain scrap instead and love it now. The weight is much softer and I like the patterned detail.

So there you go! Save those hems to make more window treatments!

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