Christmas Decor 2013

Our Christmas was beautiful and busy!  We celebrated Wonderful Hubby's extended family at my mother-in-law's home Christmas Eve where Santa stopped by for awhile. My extended family came to our home Christmas Day.  Prior to that, there were multiple holiday parties for organizations we're in, as well as choir practices, shopping and lots of baking!  I'm just now able to sit down to share some of our holiday decorations.  I want to thank you all for your great ideas!  I'm truly inspired each time I read your posts!

 The Mantel

 

I really like a natural winter look.  The hope is to be able to leave some of these things up through January! 

 



I just love these pheasants!  Both they and the lantern are from All About Home, a local home décor store.  I believe the tray is from Target.

This Jim Shore nativity set sits on our dining room hutch.

 

 

 

This nativity is nestled in a lantern with a little snow and a few trees.  A candle in the back helps illuminate the scene.

 

 

I shared about these vintage ornaments in the Coca-Cola Crates in a previous post.  You can see it HERE.  I have two and just love displaying them each year!  Wonderful Hubby and I have great memories looking through antique shops trying to find the right crates for this project. 

 

 

I got this little village set at the Dollar Tree a few years ago.  There are about 20 pieces in all.  It sits atop the dining room hutch.

 

 

 This vignette sits atop the Hoosier cabinet in our kitchen.  I really liked the look of the lantern from the fall and decided to see if I could change it up just a bit to make a more wintery scene.  I was pleased with the look that just a few changes made.

 

  

When the kids were very small, I purchased this little set from Hallmark.  It seemed to fit our family perfectly, at the time.  I enjoy getting it out each year.  It makes me smile to remember how small our children were when I got it and see how much they've grown!

 

  

This vignette includes some vintage photos from our family.  The gentleman is my paternal grandfather.  He passed away before my parents were married and I never knew him.  He was a handsome man, wasn't he? 

The young lady is my mother's first cousin, Adrian. 

Mom told me lots of stories about the fun they had growing up together.  The other photo is of some extended family members who moved to Canada. 

The photo holders are from All About Home, in Troy, MO.

 

 It's hard to believe the Christmas season has come and gone! 

What fun we've had, what great memories we've made! 

 

 

We wish each of you a Happy 2014!!

 

 

 

 

Sharing at these great parties: 

 

 Seasonal Sundays hosted by The Tablescaper

 Metamorphosis Monday hosted by Susan at BNOT

 

 

 



New Use for an Old Crate

I have a thing for ornaments!  New, old, large, tiny, elaborate, simple.  I LOVE ornaments!!  I'll post more on my favorites later this week but now I'd like to share an idea I saw on television several years ago. 

They demonstrated how to display vintage ornaments in old Coca-Cola crates.  When I shared this idea with Wonderful Hubby, he said he could help with the 'alterations.'  We have two built-in cabinets around our fireplace and we thought they would look nice on top with our other vintage pieces.   The hunt for the perfect crates was on!

  

 

We had a lot of fun tramping through antique and resale shops that fall looking for just the right crates.  (Memories help make these pieces more special!!) 

 

 

 

After finding two crates that fit the bill, WH got to work repairing one and adding the eye hooks in each little cubby.  When he finished, I found enough small ornaments that would fit well in the holes and secured each of them in their places.

 

   

 

 

We love how they turned out!  Some of these ornaments are from our childhood homes but most we've found at antique stores on weekend getaways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best things about these little crates is how easy after-season storage is!  Since the ornaments are SECURELY fastened to the eye hooks, all we have to do is lay the crate down and each ornament swings inside its cubby! 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't have to take each one out and wrap it up!  I stack the two crates on top of each other then place them inside a large plastic bag to keep off the dust. 

 

Great look, simple display and easy storage!!  How great is that?!

 

I'm linking up to these parties to see what other ideas you all have for decorating with vintage finds ..

 

Organized Clutter Queen - Vintage Christmas

Metamorphosis Monday

Must Love Junk - Rustic Christmas

From Dream to Reality

Inspire Me Tuesday

Fishtale Cottage - Cottage Christmas

Home Sweet Home

 

 

 



Christmas Dollar Store Finds

I love shopping at the new Dollar General Store in our small town.  There are always new surprises there and when I read Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage and Debbie from Debbiedoo's were hosting another challenge, I knew I'd shop there first for a frugal setting.  There are Dollar Tree stores in nearby towns, too, but I thought I'd give my Dollar General first crack.

Several weeks ago I spied these plates and mugs and thought they might make a nice modern winter setting.  Since the plates were rather small and I already have several sets of Christmas / winter dishes, I passed them up.  After reading about the Dollar Tree Christmas Challenge, an idea started to form.  Back to the store I went and purchased these two plates, the mugs and glasses, a small bottle brush tree, holiday bling and some mittens.  I had already bought these placemats on sale after the holidays last year. 

 

 

Since the plates are luncheon size, I thought I'd use them at the kitchen island. 

 



 
 

I thought the mittens were a fun way to display the flatware.  I used green napkins I already had and stuck them in the mugs.  The little village vignette was made from Dollar Tree houses.

 

 

They started this way.

 

 

 

And after spray painting them white and adding white glitter here and there, they ended up this way.

 

 

 

 

 

I really like these plates and mugs and am looking forward to using them for breakfast or lunch  You may even see them again soon in a different setting!

 

 

 

And now for another Dollar Tree sharing moment....

 

Several years ago, I was at the Dollar Tree in a neighboring town when I saw this little village.  I fell in love with it and brought it home ... all for $20!  Since then, I've added a few trees and a couple of houses I received as gifts.  The last several years it's been on top of the dining room hutch.

 

 

 

 

 

 



You just never know what treasures you'll find at dollar stores!  That's what makes shopping there such a fun adventure!!   I'm looking forward to reading about the pretty ideas you all find!


Linking to these fabulous parties
       Fox Hollow Cottage  
       Debbiedoo's
       Inspire Me Tuesday