::merry Christmas::



The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Luke 2:11 (New Living Translation)

::outside::


We are not outdoor light people..but we tried this year for our four year old..he loves the candy canes..i will spare you pictures BUT I do want to share my real live greenery…i love it, the simpler the better, just plain wreaths with simple ribbon (I would love to use fab ribbon outside but i believe it would bleed)..the M on the door is from Ballard..the have an artificial and a real..i bought the real..it is rather larger but once i put up the garland around the door and the wreaths on the windows, it all came together..thanks for looking!

::more Christmas::




A few more Christmas shots from around our home..notice how the cupcake stand is exploding..it has been a great wrap caddy..and the extra little stocking;;

::Christmas 2008::






Here are a few shots around the house from this year, including Drew’s new vintage children’s encyclopedias…and I have calmed down about the wrapping paper..i did end up using several papers but mostly the beautiful brown print (from Walmart..what a shock) kraft paper and solid green..love the midori ribbon and gift labels from Tiny Prints. The cupcake stand by the books is storing extra balls (for when i see “a hole” in the tree), gift tags and extra ribbon!

::Christmas Past::






I have received some comments and emails about Christmas decorations and hints to see things I have done around my own home. I am going to begin by sharing some things from years past. Please be warned, these are not “fancy” or expensive projects..we live in a small home and they are all easy, simple and often homemade decorating projects..and honestly I am “over” most of them so I am hesitant to share because I am not as excited about them as I once was (except the stockings, stil love the stockings)..each year I try to do something a bit different or add or subtract something. This year my focus is on the wrap..I am in a neurotic knot about the wrap..i usually enjoy it immensely, this year it is too busy and just too much..so I am involved in a “paradigm shift” with the wrap..so look forward to that discussion;;

enjoy!

*target ball wreath..still love
*wrap..stresses me out..so busy
*stockings made from fabric.com fabric and leopard felt from HL “sew easy” ;;
*monogram balls..easy gifts…use scrapbook stickers, cute ribbon and take out boxes
*mantle 2005…this is always different..elton hated this ribbon..called it the “swedish” look..apparently he doesnt like an IKEA Christmas;; I do appreciate that my decorating has matured enough to eliminate so many little things..my goodness look at the stuff! ha!

::Christmas inspiration::

I finally found a picture of this wonderful HUGE ball wreath…i loved this years ago when i first saw it in BHG and finally found it on their site..what really kills me is that I could have bought something very similar (although smaller but still a great size for my small house) for FIFTY bucks years ago..i really liked it and though it was unique but $50 seemed sooooo expensive..now you cant buy a halfway decent looking fake wreath at HL Target for less than $50..I also realized after trying to make one, making a ball wreath is not easy..at least for me..i bought one at Target for $20 and tried to augment it with vintage ornaments..disaster. at least i found this picture!;;

Here are few of my fave things to decorate with at Christmas..please share yours in the comments:
**mason jars for luminary lights
**plain bottle brush Christmas trees (you can find these in the model train area of craft stores if you dont want to buy them in boutiques)
**kraft wrap (I had abandoned this stuff along with raffia..thinking it was too country but i am back to it with fab ribbon, still over the raffia..hope that doesnt offend anyone;;)
**speaking of great ribbon..by the yard at WM or HL but for really great ribbon only midori..and this place has a great color selection..
**plain manilla or white office supply tags for gifts
**upholstery webbing to hang wreaths or as garland..i love this black i found online usually i can only find it with the red stripe and very wide.
**burlap for tree skirt
**vintage glass balls in jars
**old kitschy tiny nativity sets (think $ store ca. 1970)
**leopard felt on stockings
**wendy addison stars
**real greenery, i bought wreaths today for my windows for $7 each (at WM..i hate WM except at times when i score good stuff cheap…garland for $8!)
and last but not least, LETTERS..for a wreath, decopaged on the tree or just plain gold ones, old or new..great when you are trying to teach the alphabet too!

SOOOO let me know in the comments, what materials are you loving to use this year..what inspires you, what are you over (for me..toile wrap!) Cant wait to hear what you have to say!

[edited to say: if you can’t click on certain links back to my personal blog, no worries..i will post some of those old Christmas dec pictures here soon..and if you want to join and were a regular reader over there, just email and I will get you an invite..thanks for understanding.]

::y'all, keep calm::




I have loved this poster for a long time, and now I am seeing them everywhere. I love the history and the graphic look..i just need to decide what color and where..would look great in the kitchen, a mudroom (I dont have one but maybe you do;) or OVER a CRIB perhaps;;?! Great price here and history and more items here.

::fall tablescape::




I want to share these pictures from recent project/preperation for a little get together–hosting my book club..I wanted to use my big collection of friendly village dishes, a book page/decoupage element on pumpkins, pumpkins for placecards, leaves, burlap..you get the vibe..my harvest table works well with this and I loved mixing my chairs and adding white..actually, loving that (the white chairs) was a big surprise, i thought i would need to paint them black for fall but the white was great.

But my favorite thing was FINALLY completing the big chalkboard I used for a menu..i have had this frame for years (it is old but turned out to be a standard hole size..praise God!) I was able to buy a pre sized artist board that fit perfectly and just painted with the trusty chalkboard paint and voila! If you desperately want a big chalkboard but dont want to pay Ballard over $200, just wait until Hobby Lobby puts their big open back frames on sale for half off..buy the biggest gaudiest frame they have (or whatever style you like), paint it shabby, sand or throw out in the yard for a few days to rought it up.. and get an artist board for any easy fix..they come up to 16 x 20..you might be able to find something larger, foam core might even work but if you are like me and dont use a saw and dont want to have to wart your husband to help, this works great!

My other favorite thing from all of this was the gold ribbon on my dress form just thrown on like a scarf, I actually intended to use that on the table and just threw it up there for “storage” and then LOVED it..isnt it funny how little things just work sometimes and happen by accident..i am sure no one noticed but me but i love it! love the gold with the color of the form and red walls.. little things make us happy!

*edited to add** i got a question about the little creamers…the tags are labeled with dymo tags indicated the creamer flavors;;

Hope you are enjoying the last bits of fall decorations before the chaos of Christmas begins…

::Pumpkin chic::

I have seen so many cute ideas decorating with pumpkins this year..polka dots, monograms, and of course lots of white “ghost” pumpkins everywhere, they are getting so much easier to find (and dare I say cheaper..59 cents a lb? what do you pay?)… I also love the heirloom varieties with different colors, warts and bumps..the crazier the better! (these really freak out some people apparently)

Click here for instructions on decoupaging the cute polka dots (i actually prefer using choc brown to the black so they can be used through Thanksgiving) but we just painted ours on with a brush..not perfect but cute and EASY! My next project is to decoupage some with old book pages!

::Marburger Show pictures::

Debbie at Curious Sofa has an amazing post full of photos from Marburger..I did not get to go this year but after seeing her amazing pictures, I feel like I was there! Enjoy!

Check back soon for pictures of polka dots pumpkins that my assistant and I are working on…

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