This project for a festive ice skates door swag dresses up my entry for the holidays and has a country feel to it that I love.
We changed our front door this summer, and now have an oval glass panel on the front entry. The shape means that I no longer use round wreaths for it and swags have become my go-to door decoration.
Swags work well though.
Note: Hot glue guns, and heated glue can burn. Please use extreme caution when using a hot glue gun. Learn to use your tool properly before you start any project.
Decorate your front door country style with this ice skates door swag.
The inspiration for this door swag came from a visit to Maine for my mother’s funeral. We were there during Thanksgiving week and people in the town had started decorating for the holidays.
I saw one house with a pair of ice skates hanging in every window and I loved the look of it, so I decided to put the theme to work on my front door swag.
If you read my blog often, you will know that I balk at spending much on decor. especially for such a limited season as Christmas.
I wanted something that didn’t cost much but that I could extend into January when we actually get some snow here in NC.
My first step was to raid my craft basket to see what I had to decorate the ice skates door swag. I didn’t know when I took the photo which of these I would use, since this project was very much a work in progress from start to finish.
But I knew I would use some red burlap ribbon and also some holiday floral picks. I have envisioned using some pine cones and my bell too, but in the end, I didn’t need them.
A trip to my local Cary Ice House got me a pair of run down girl’s figure skates for a grand total of $3!
They were in pretty bad condition and needed some TLC but were the perfect size and I snapped them up. They were a child’s size 3. Ladies skates would have been too large for my door.
The paint was coming off the skates in places and I knew that I wanted them to be white when they were done, so I removed the old laces.
By the way, have you ever tried to buy inexpensive LONG red shoe laces?? Believe it or not, that was my biggest challenge!
I ended up using two packages of 45″ shorter ones for this project for $1.68 each and joined them together under the tongue of the skate inside it.
Next, the skates got a good sanding with a piece of an orbital sander and some emery cloth roll to remove as much flaking paint as I could and smooth out the edges so that I could polish them.
Once the skates were fairly smooth, I used a white Kiwi shoe polish to cover the brown and black coating. it was about this time that I kept thinking…why didn’t I get some white skates?
DUH… I didn’t worry too much about the edges of the base. I planned to use paint thinners to remove it after and it was quicker not to have to be too neat!
A few coats of the white polish and my skates were ready to use in my swag. I added some colorful red shoe laces to give the decoration a holiday feel.
.I had originally planned to make a fir bough swag to sit under the base of the skates, and I actually did make one, but discarded the idea when I found that it was too top heavy and did not sit well on my door.
Back to the drawing board, which happens a lot with my projects but I don’t even mind that. I love to perfect things as I go.
I decided, instead, to hot glue the fir boughs to the back of each skate.
I just kept arranging them, gluing, testing the look, repeat, until it the boughs were all glued on in the position I wanted them to be.
When I was done with the hot glue, I tested the look on the front door and gave it a seal of approval. All that was needed now was some holiday decor and a bow to finish the look.
Next came the floral picks. I used three small sprays of fir boughs and twisted the stem of the floral picks around the base. They will be going into the top of each skate.
Then came my bow. I love the chevron ribbon that I chose. It had wire edging to it, which makes it very easy to fashion a bow that holds its shape well and can be used from season to season.
Here is a tutorial on making floral bows, if you have not made one before. And here is my finished bow. I used a whole roll of ribbon to make this one.
The burlap ribbon is the perfect material for this swag. It has a country look that matches the feel of the ice skates.
A snip on each end of my burlap bow and Ta da! Drum roll. Here is my ice skates door swag in all its glory.
I just love the way it turned out, even though it changed direction mid project. I like it much better than my original idea and my husband thinks it is wonderful.
I can’t wait till Jess gets home. This is a very different look to our front entry than anything we have had before, and I think she will love it.
The ice skate door swag is held in place with two extra large glass wreath hangers.
I used two, because they hold 5 pounds each and I wanted the swag to stay in place and not end up on the front step! 
Then, for the last step, I added a sled and a festive slate Santa sign to the entry and some white lights were place in my two planters and in the small boxwoods on both sides of the step.
I large black lantern and white candle completes the decor. The whole display is cohesive and gives a lovely country look to my entry.
What I love most about this swag is that, after Christmas is over, I can remove the white lights and then add something different into the top of the skates and it will still work as a door decoration during the winter months.
My husband suggested small mittens and I love his idea.
For another look to my front door, be sure to have a look at my St. Patrick’s Day door swag.
Have you ever done something other than a normal wreath for your front entry during the holiday season? Please tell us about your project in the comments below. I’d love to hear your ideas!