Cover of a Magazine! A Dream Come True!

✨DREAMS COME TRUE!!✨That’s my home on the COVER! I’m so honored to have had the opportunity to have my Christmas home on the cover, the inside cover, and a ten page feature in the 2021 The Cottage Journal Holiday Home magazine!

I was so busy last holiday season with the magazine and my daughter’s wedding I never had a chance to write a blog post about this extraordinary experience!

The Cottage Journal contacted me Fall 2020, asked if I would like to be featured in one of their 2021 Christmas magazines. I was thrilled!! I couldn’t believe it! I immediately got to work planning, designing, and styling each room before the photo shoots. I worried so much about every little detail - every little ornament, every ribbon, and every piece of greenery. My husband Justin and I did all the photography since we have our own light kit, tripod, and DSLR camera. This worked out well because we were able to shoot one room at a time - especially with having five kids at home.

I wanted everything to be perfect, and have as much natural light as possible,  so we ended up reshooting the dining room and living room three times. After I sent the raw photos to The Cottage Journal team during January of 2021.

Then in July, amazing writer Katie reached out to me with questions to answer for the article. Katie did an outstanding job! The article was like a window to my heart.

In September Katie conveyed to me the most exciting new ever - that my home, my photography, was going to be on their cover story! I couldn’t believe it - my home was going to be on the cover of a prestigious interiors design magazine!!

The magazine hit newsstands on October 12th, 2021. I received two complimentary copies a few weeks before that. When I first opened the package with the publication I sobbed with joy. It was an incredible feeling!

The next several weeks were magical as my family and I would go around to different stores to find the magazine. It was fun to be at the check out counters at places like Albertsons or Lowes, and to look over and see my Christmas living room while I’m purchasing our items.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the wonderful The Cottage Journal team for choosing me! It was an extraordinary experience!

To see the article in its entirety you can find it online - Google The Cottage Journal Holiday Home 2021.

Christmas Magic with a Sweet Treats Tree!

Christmas magic is here! I’m excited to reveal my whimsical “Sweet Treats Tree!” I’ve paired with Decorators Warehouse as part of their Home for the Holidays Christmas Tree Challenge to come up with a unique Christmas tree design! This tree was inspired by the visions of sugar plum fairies, pastel colors, and the elegant holiday sparkle of silver and gold. It’s adorned with tasty treats like gumdrops, popsicles, cookies, cotton candy, and cake pops with rainbow sprinkles. (Click on the bold words for links.)

I had the wonderful experience of going to Decorators Warehouse in September and being transported into a Christmas wonderland. Lights were twinkling from every inch of the ceiling and dreamy themed Christmas trees were everywhere you looked. The trees were beyond beautiful with ornaments, ribbon, and every detail one would need to create the tree of their dreams.

Before going to the store, I had originally thought of decorating my christmas tree in traditional christmas colors of red and white, possibly a candy cane theme. But that all changed when my eyes beheld the magic and enchantment of the sugar plum fairy tree dressed up in pastel colors! It reminded me of the sugar plum fairy costumes from the Nutcracker Ballet that my mom took my sister and I to when we were little girls. (I love the Nutcracker Ballet! I have the entire collection of Nutcracker Ballet Barbie dolls - each one dressed from different parts of the exquisite Ballet.)

After falling in love with pieces from the sugar plum fairy tree, I came across the cutest gingerbread ribbon ever! Then I saw the most darling treat ornaments, and I knew I wanted to combine these three pieces. I still loved the look of a whimiscal fairy tree, but once I saw the adorable Christmas goodie ornaments, I decided to focus on happy colored Christmas treats. I decided to also incorporate elements like; glitter cupcakes ornaments, snowflake cookie gumdrop sprays, sprinkle balls, glass popsicles, and fuzzy cotton candy ornaments. From there the Sweet Treats Tree was born!

I was in love with the direction this tree was going - but it wasn’t finished yet. I wanted to make it elegant and give it bit more of grown up presence. To do that, I brought in the traditional Christmas colors of silver and gold with leaf sprays. I also added extra sparkle with pink and gold poinsettia stems edged with glitter. But my favorite item was the light up topper. To have lights at the top of the tree helps set the magical look!

My Christmas tree decorating guide:

  1. Make clusters of greenery with two different sprays and wrap the stems around each other to secure in place. I used 12 clusters throughout my nine 9 ft tree. 

  2. Add two types of ribbon. I cut them in 2-3 ft strips and placed them evenly around the tree going in a downward motion.

  3. Add two different types of large ornaments - I added pink and blue shatterproof ormaments.

  4. Add two different types of medium ornaments - I added pink and gold ormaments.

  5. Add four types of flowers/stems and small ornaments - I added my candy ornaments and gold and pink poinsettia stems.

  6. Add sprays to fill in any gaps or holes - I used Snowflake cookie gumdrop, cake pop and gold leaf sprays.   

My favorite ornaments on the tree are the glass pink and blue popsicles. They’re so pretty and shiny - they make me smile. Do you see a favorite ornament on the Sweet Treats Tree? My little ones are obsessed with all the darling food ornaments on this tree. What types of Christmas decor do you love?

No matter what your holiday decor preference, Christmas is a magical time of year full of tradition and spending time with family and friends. Decorate your home with the pieces, colors, and themes that speak to you and make you happy. 

Click here for all the sources for my Christmas tree! Plus you can use code NISSALYNN at checkout for 10% off your purchase at Decorator’s Warehouse! #DWChristmasAtHome #sponsored

Source: https://nissalynninteriors.squarespace.com...

A Royal Christmas Tree

A few months ago I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Decorator's Warehouse in Arlington, TX. It was truly like stepping into a Christmas wonderland! Lights were twinkling everywhere, and themed Christmas trees were decorated to perfection!

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I met with Kristen, whose family has owned Decorator’s Warehouse for years, to pick out items to decorate a themed Christmas tree as part of the Home for the Holidays Christmas Tree Challenge with Decorator's Warehouse. #DWChristmasAtHome.

I knew I wanted to go for a regal look with luxurious Christmas ribbon and Christmas flowers adorned with silver and gold ornaments. I have always loved silver and gold trees and when I saw the navy flowers at the Decorator’s Warehouse store, I knew instantly I wanted to combine the two looks of silver and gold with navy accents to create an elegant Christmas tree with lots of sparkle and shine!

My love for elegant Christmas trees started when I was a little girl and frequently visited Macy’s department store on 33rd street in Manhattan, NYC. I remember being in awe of all the large shining Christmas ornaments, lights, and stunning ribbon. The department store felt like a palace.
Drawing upon those memories, I used silver, gold, and navy to bring my regal Christmas tree to life!✨

To  get started, I made fourteen clusters (groupings) with one flocked and champagne crabapple spray, a poinsettia stem and white Christmas flower. I then wrapped the stems around each other to secure them. Next I applied my navy blue velet Chrstimas ribbon in 2 ½ feet strips throughout the tree and added the larger balls. I placed in two different types: The Silver/White Christmas ornament and the 15 CM Glitter ball. After that I added tree different types of flowers - two white and one navy blue, along with a small navy blue ornament for an addition pop of the navy blue color. I also added the crystals to give the Christmas tree an extra dose of glam! The final step was to add several different sparkle sprays.

To simply:

  1. Make clusters.

  2. Add ribbon to Christmas tree. 

  3. Add two different types of large ornaments.

  4. Add four types of flowers and small ornaments.

  5. Add sprays to fill in any gaps or holes.

Click here for all the sources for my Christmas tree! Plus you can use code NISSALYNNINTERIORS at checkout for 10% off your purchase at Decorator’s Warehouse! 

 I hope you enjoyed my new regal tree. Check some of my friends’ beautiful Decorator’s Warehouse Christmas trees below!