This year we hosted my husband’s Christmas party..in the woods!  Some of our dearest friends have the perfect spot on their property…complete with a little structure, fire pit, and outhouse..yes I just said “outhouse” on my blog..oh my! Seriously, we were so thankful to get to use this spot..it is truly a neat place and a lot of heart and soul have gone in to making it a special spot to gather.  My husband’s staff work very hard and have stressful jobs so this was the perfect getaway..they started before dark with skeet shooting and then we had a cookout and gift exchange around the fire.  I had so much fun decorating with pine, cedar, holly, moss, burlap (of course), galvanized containers and….antlers!

The pictures don’t really do it justice if I say so myself. I am still learning my new camera (canon rebel, some have asked)…

One of my favorite things about this place..the antique potbelly stove. A lot of people have been warmed by this old stove!

Notice the neat benches, our friend actually made these!  That’s my handsome husband working on the fire!

And the “candle”-lier looked so pretty with the moss and berries..I was nervous about it all catching fire but it did fine…I love it when candle wax starts dripping!

And what you cant see are all of the wonderful log benches around the fire outside (you saw a glimpse above) and the huge Christmas tree with lights..my husband cut it the day before from a tree top and dragged it down there and planted it so we could have a tree, complete with lights and some burlap garland(my humble addition) and even a star!  He also made the chili and stew!  What a great boss huh?!  Here is a peek of the benches around the fire, you can see a bit of the tree in the right edge of the photo below as well.

One more shot of the serving table on the porch..no electricity..just a gas burner and few lanterns, candles and fire!

Thanks for letting me share!

Hope everyone has a safe and blessed holiday!

{Card by Take Note! from the Paper Cafe}

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, you fill my heart with music! 

Seriously, I am not a huge Christmas decor kind of person…BUT I do love a beautiful Christmas tree.  As a child, my mother always made the tree really wonderful..full of ornaments, ribbon, tinsel, old candle clips, and a TON of lights.  I remember she had a huge basket she always sat it in, still love that idea…and I just was totally impressed with it each year.  I wish I had a picture to show you of her current tree, it has a deer head and antlers nestled in the branches…it is both comical and really neat looking too!  She always finds the best woodsy, rustic decorations.

And my tree, well it doesn’t really have a theme.. I read recently on a blog that trees needs theme and maybe that is true but mine is a huge mish mash of ornaments, maybe that is the theme-chaos!  I do have a lot of typography elements, but they are all different fonts and makes, i add more letters each year..i love that look but we also have a huge variety of other items.  This year I have, are you ready??  COTTON IN THE TOP.  Yep, I stuffed some cotton stalks I bought from my floral design friend (yes I bought the cotton, it’s artificial but very cool) in the very top under the star..My husband sarcastically asked if we are now “in high cotton??”  Not sure about that, but I like the look.here is a closeup.

I think I first got turned on to the cotton and Christmas idea from a photo in Southern Living years ago of a huge wreath of cotton..anyone remember that house?? it was gorgeous!  The glitter star is by Wendy Addison. 

All of this to say, we really enjoy our tree.  Our home is small and it simply cant handle a lot of extra decor, what with all of my five year old’s “creations” and you know, necessities.. SO I go all out on the tree and well that is about it..and it goes great with the toile drapes and other patterns in the living room.

And this year I finally toned down the wrap and it is MUCH BETTER.  I am usually of the “more is more” bent but less has truly been more soothing and less hectic feeling on the whole wrap issue.  Just sayin, at my little house this has worked this year.  Of course I didn’t keep it too simple did I? I did use that HUGE red flower on the target box…really easy..the ribbon is adhesive ribbon from Martha’s line at Michael’s.

My favorite things in addition to the kraft wrap is the bakery twine from Garnish AND the little dog, from Martha’s scrap line at Michael’s..so cute for little boy packages! Also love the tent box also from Garnish and the burlap upholstery webbing.   Below is a shot of the burlap ribbon from Michael’s (thanks Lynsey!) It looks great as a garland too.

{tags by Pixel Impress}

Merry Christmas!  More soon from the little man’s room…highly stylish stuff like paper chains–simple and sweet.

And now, a stocking update.  The “four burlap stocking project” turned into ONE linen stocking on the front door.

Which means I am using the old stockings I made several years ago…I actually think I blogged about “just how excited I was” to find that leopard felt..barf!  So over the leopard felt tops I nearly pitched out the stockings which would be a shame because they were work, you know SEWING!  So I think I might just pull off the “cuffs” and either add something new or nada.  And yes the baby’s stocking is different, it is the official “baby stocking” even though it is “black”..i love it, its needlepoint and I bought it when were newlyweds and living here and I already had “baby fever.

OK, more  later in the week, just so you know, the tree is pretty much the same, just one extra weird thing in the top..you’ll have to wait to see.  And I have been enjoying (as much as you can enjoy wrapping) using the kraft paper and boxes including some items from Garnish..more on that maybe later. One little tip (or maybe you can give me some tips) on working with kraft paper..it is thick and doenst always stay put with regular scotch tape..i bought some “easy tear” packing tape but that is UGLY even on the back of a gift…i think it is better to buy a thinner “kraft paper look” paper..i found some at Target on the paper plate, paper party bag aisle *you know near the thank you notes and cards* it does the trick but i am also addicted to the sheets from Garnish..they are not thin but not super thick and are precut a good size for most boxes…another little alert..my friend Lynsey picked up some CUTE burlap loose weave ribbon stuff (wide) at Michaels for me..very cute for a bow on a BIG gift or tree garland..i will try to snap a pic soon.