| CHRISTMAS ICE BUCKET & ICE CUBS |

Dear Noteblair,

You know I had to come in with the most festive DIY ever in my favorite time of the year! It is the season of joy & maybe we don’t get together like the previous years but still let’s make this super festive & chic this Christmas!

ICE BUCKET

These Gorgeous Wine or champagne chiller buckets, are so fun & super easy to make. You can use any kind of flower or even fruit that you like. My decor usually is a neutral color so I loved going in with a pop of color on these ice buckets. They look so stunning on the table & keeps your drink chilled at all time.

• First ill the large bucket (preferably plastic as glass might break) with 2-3 inches water & freeze. If you want your bucket to have a design go for a textured bucket. They look super cute!
• Whiten 2-3 hours place a smaller bucket inside & fill it with rocks so it’s weighted. Otherwise it will float & move around when then the water is poured in. Make sure you measure the bottle of wine or champagne you will put in the ice bucket & it is fitting in the small bucket.
• Start placing your large flowers & greenery around the bucket & lay them the way you would like.
• Fill the circle with water halfway & play around with flowers and arrange them the way you like. if you have smaller object you can add them in this stage. Try to add enough greenery so they are tight & won’t move when you pour more water.
• You can freeze half of the water & then add remaining water so the object don’t move.
• For my bucket it was not necessary to do it in 2 steps so I went ahead and add water until the top, leaving 3-4 inches from top. I wanted few pieces of greenery to be hanging from the bucket so added few pieces on top.
• Freeze the bucket overnight.
• To remove the ice bucket, hold the bucket under warm water and let is sit for couple of minutes. first remove the plastic inside. Run warm water around the outside of the bucket & it will eventually loosen and slide out.
• I used a clear cake stand as a base while using it. The ice starts melting & you need to have a tray under the bucket to catch the water.
• If you want your bucket to have layers you can freeze it in layers to ensure your objects won’t move & will stay in place. it just means it will take longer to make.

ICE CUBS

I have been making these custom ice cubs for years now. I change them up for every occasion &obviously for christmas we will go in with white & red cranberries & greenery. I would say these take so much longer to make because you kinda have to go in layers to make sure everything stays inside the ice cube. You can use these ice cubs not only for alcoholic beverages but for mocktails & even water was well.

• Get a deep ice mold in the shape you want. I prefer square ones. round looks really chic as well.
• If you are using these ice to decorate an ice bucket then don’t worry about the size, but if you are using it for drinks make sure your ice cube is not too big so it fits into your glass.
• Put all your objects inside the ice cube tray & fill it halfway.
• Freeze the fist layer for 2-3 hours.
• Pour the remaining of your water in and put it back in freezer.
• If you want your water to be a bit more clear, boil your water first & let it cool down before pouring using it for ice cubs.

Hope these little DIY’s will make your holiday a bit more festive. Cheers.