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Thursday, December 4, 2014

Christmas time is here

I've been seeing a lot of lovely home tours lately of people's abodes all gussied up for Christmas.  Now I don't have some big ol' house to show you my many rooms, nooks and crannies because it's just the Mr and I and we live in a shoebox that is close to being paid off.  But that doesn't mean you can't come on in and sit a spell.  Hot chocolate is on the stove...come on in.

This is the project I've been eluding to the past few days...



I saw this picture on Country Living's website and given how much the Mr loves skiing and our recent stay in a skiing mecca of Stowe, VT, I knew I wanted to do it in our home.  Two days later, I was hunting through antique shows and stumbled upon this set of skis for $25!  One of them was stained but we can either keep them that way or when the season is over, I can strip the wooden skis and re-stain them.

I knew if I did the wreath on them it would add a ton more weight and cover the leather straps on the skis so we got this swag of greens to hang in the middle instead.  I also hung up some small ski art prints I picked up in Stowe and love the way it all came together.


You may remember what the mantel area looked like when I did the post about creating a Fall vignette.  Well, it was time to get a splash of Christmas!


Oh, let's not forget the tree...


Yes, I totally have a star on top and I like it that way.  It's how I always drew them as a kid and for me an angel, big bow or anything else won't do.  It's filled with red and opal white ornaments as well as some shiny ornaments from our travels.  I put the travel ornaments that didn't go with my motif on a smaller tree I'll show you in a few.

But let's get back to the mantel.

I decided to keep the birch tube vase and added some fresh greens, two sprigs of sparkly holly from World Market, a couple of pine cones and an antique sheet music paper chain.  The candle smells like pine so it's nice to light and take in the smell of Christmas when I go nose blind to the greens.



On the window, I used a 6" candle ring centerpiece with fir, cedar and boxwood hung with a red ribbon.  Simple but still conveys the cozy feel of Christmas.


Of course I have to have up our old school ceramic tree we picked up last year!  I put it on a book just to vary the height a little and I love this sparkly candle with the poinsettia ring.  Don't worry, it's a battery-operated votive candle (affiliate link) so no real flame has a chance of setting fire to the wreath.  They aren't cheap but were worth every penny.


This sparkly vintage Christmas bulb garland was a project last year and I loved it so much it made a return appearance this year.


I took my Fall flowers out of my coal bucket and replaced them with some birch logs, more World Market sparkly holly and a few ornaments.


The armoire is pretty simple this year.  I just put up a poinsettia swag I used to hang on the wall on top.


The little converted CD shelves house a couple of knick knacks.  On the left is a Santa drinking cocoa and a fireplace.  The bottom is a little putz house knock off I made last year.  You can lift the top off and put a faux votive in there.  On the right is a wooden Santa that holds candy canes that my work dad gave me for Christmas many years ago.  If you look behind him, you can see he's hiding our Christmas DVD's to watch.  On the bottom is a vintage hen that I painted with mirror spray paint and a decorative pine incense box.


On the top shelf is just a votive holder with some boxwood and faux berries.  There is a hole in the back of the armoire so I used a vintage tin lid to cover it.


On to the other armoire...


Let's take a look at each shelf.  On the top is the white nativity scene I've had since before the Mr and I were married.  It's from Christmas Around the World.  Anyone remember that company?  On the top shelf is a J O Y decoration I made a few weeks ago with antique sheet music, ribbon and sparkly glitter.  There's a small birch tube with fresh greens and this gigantor pine cone we got from the nursery.  It's way too big for the shelf but I have nowhere else to put it right now so we'll deal with it for this year.



On the second shelf is another tin lid, some porcelain carolers I've had forever in front of a bottle brush tree.  I also have my grandma's gumdrop tree up as well.


On the bottom shelf is my sewing drawer I did, a cloche full of vintage ornaments and bulbs with fairy lights and small stack of vintage books and of course another tin lid.


I tied together the Christmas colored books with jute twine secured with a jingle bell and pine cone.


The other tree with the travel ornaments was stuck in a vintage cookie tin and put in a corner on an old stool.  That area needed a little Christmas...right this very minute.


Because I like simple wreaths, I just decorate with a string of faux berries.  Because our weather is so unpredictable and the front door is in direct sunlight, I hang it inside most of the time and when we're expecting company, I'll flip it to the front of the door to welcome guests.  You may also recognize the quick craft project of the hanging tea towel on the wall.  I still need to twist the top a bit to hang it higher.


That's about it!

Now, let's plug in the tree, grab some hot cocoa and gab by the fire!


What colors do you use to decorate?  Do you have a "theme" or a mish mash of things collected over the years?

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14 comments:

  1. I was extremely impressed with the way you made the house look for fall and I have to admit I was a bit unsure about what to expect for Christmas/Winter. Well you did it again girl. It is classy and wonderful. You really made the place look great with a perfect mix of "new" decorations along with our usual ones and I love the way it has all turned out. Now if we can just slow down the season enough to really soak it all in!

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    1. Yeah I'm sure with the various projects clogging our precious space you were wondering what kind of Christmas voodoo I was working! :-) There are some things I will probably tweak either this year or going into next year but overall, I'm happy with what was supposed to be 'transitional' decor this year! Yes, please make it slow down!

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  2. I think my theme is mish-mash. I have ornaments from when I was growing up, ans some my Mr. brought in to the mix. I have ornaments my folks have brought back from their travels and ones my grandma made. I also now am starting to have ornaments my son has made. In high school and college I spent 4 seasons working at a Christmas store (such a great job, but that may have ruined me for my own Christmas decorations) where we had theme trees and as beautiful as they were, they just didn't call to me the way a tree full of unmatched but much loved and sometimes slightly battered ornaments does.

    One thing I did pick up for this year is a pickle ornament. I've wanted one for years and

    PS - i had trouble posting, so if I posted this like a million times I apologize.

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    1. You're so lucky to have your ornaments from childhood. I lost all of mine in a flood in our apartment when I was in elementary school. Otherwise I would definitely have mish mash as well. Congrats on the pickle ornament. Did you hide it yet or is it Cmas eve that you do that? Hide the pickle...sounds dirty. As much as I love Christmas, I'd be afraid that it would ruin me for Christmas Like how people work in restaurants and don't want burgers anymore. Eureka! I should work at a donut shop!

      Sorry you had trouble posting, glad you got through!

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  3. I love it, Anele! Looks so homey and friendly. I absolutely want one of those santa that holds candy canes! I've never seen one of those and am in love! Thanks for the holiday tour, you have a knack for decorating, that's for sure.

    Melissa
    the_new_melissa

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    1. Hey girl! I've missed you!! Thanks so much. Yeah that Santa is so cute and when I joked that his wife picked it out, he was like "no, *I* picked it out just for you!" I never questioned him again. It was so cute! Hope you're doing well!

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  4. Your home is beautiful!

    I definitely have a mish-mash. I was just thinking yesterday that when I get home I am going to streamline things a bit. I have ornaments I save from year to year but never actually display. I have decorations people have made for me over the years as well as things I've purchased. I wish I had your flair for decorating.

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    1. Thanks so much! Yeah, I think streamlining is good especially if there are things you're not really attached to. I have three huge stuffed Christmas animals that are cute but I have no room for them so I think they're going to a better home at the end of the season. I could use the bin room too! :-)

      Oh bless you for calling it flair. It's somethin'! LOL

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  5. Ok, so I apologize if my comments come up 3 times or more but it keeps weirding out on me and I don't know if they'll show up later or really just disappeared so I'll try one more time. LOVE it ALL!! You are a master. Such great ideas. LOVE the skis--so cool! We have a ceramic Christmas tree music box that my mom's aunt made with the same bulbs in it as yours. We just ordered some new little bulbs to replace the ones that have fallen out over the years. Great job!!

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    1. Seems that Blogger may be wonky today, I apologize.

      Aww, thanks! I was happy with the way the skis turned out for sure. It's a little unexpected but totally fits us. Vintage for me, skiing for him!

      Aww, how fun! I love that you have that and sentimental stuff like that is a good thing!

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  6. Oh so cute! You're responsible for me decorating "seasonally" now. I guess it's time to take down my fall tablescape and put up some Christmassy stuff. I don't want to say goodbye to my fall decor, but now, like you, I can store it away and have it for next year! I'm totally a grown up now with a decorations box and everything! LOL

    I think I'm going to go for a Winterscape more so than a Christmas one. That way I can keep the decor up through Feb. I'm seeing....icy metallics...and reds...like berries and ribbons...hmmm

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    1. That made me smile! :-D Good on ya!

      Yep, we're keeping the skis up through February or March, depending. I'll have to think on what I want up through the winter but I like decorating with natural stuff so I'll have to see what can double from Christmas woodland collections I've been seeing!

      That sounds pretty!

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  7. Absolutely gorgeous! I love the stockings hanging--so nostalgic! Everything blends so well together and doesn't look "too busy". Instead it looks very warm and inviting. Beautiful as always!

    I don't really have a theme anymore. I used to do a lot more but this year I just can't get into the festive feeling. The hubs decorated outside with a bunch of stuff and he'll probably put up the tree. Mom's situation is going downhill faster than she or I thought, so I'm a bit in limbo about what our plans will be over the next couple of weeks. I'll keep you updated as I know more this weekend.

    As for colors, I'm kind of digging the white/blue light combination we did last year. Typically we do the multi lights inside, but we've changed it up a couple of times and I've liked it.

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    1. Thanks so much girlie! Yes, the stockings must be hung by the vented fireplace with care! :)

      Try to enjoy this season as much as you can. Please fill me in when you can.

      I love white and blue. It looks so pretty!

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