Deck the halls from the dollar store

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- If you still need to deck the halls, a trip to the dollar store and some designer tips can be just the thing to inspire you.

Don't discount bargain stores when it comes to creating your Christmas tree. Do-it-yourself guru Kat Cosley says you just have to be creative.

Kat challenged herself to create her family Christmas tree using items from the Dollar Tree. She found a variety of ornaments that cost $1 each and multipacks that contain seven ornaments for $1.

Before you make your trip to the store, Kat says to keep one thing in mind.

"The first thing you want to do is come up with a theme," Kat said. "What do you want? What colors do you want to use? Do you want to use flowers as a theme? Do you just want to use all balls? Do want to have ribbon?"

The theme for Kat's tree is gold and white, so we picked up some supplies and headed to Kat's house. Before we went in to decorate, Kat found some free ornaments outside in the yard. Pick up any pinecones and branches and spray paint them for custom pieces for the Christmas tree.

"The grand total $23 and that includes all the ribbons and the ornaments," Kat said.

If you just want to spruce up existing Christmas decorations, considering heading to the design experts at Arcadia Floral and Home Decor on the South Beltway.

Designer Kim To says you can take any old arrangement and make it look like a brand new Christmas decoration. We gave her a rusty candle arrangement and she re-worked it using ribbon, flowers. She finished it with small bows, for a total cost of $12.

If you want to design your tree like the pros at Arcadia, keep a couple of things in mind.

Choose no more than three colors to create your theme. Pick big ornaments to cover up the space and instead of a star or small topper, use a handful of floral picks to create a statement piece.

If you want the feel of a whole new look without starting all over, take one color out and replace it with a new one.