Christmas 2014

This time of the year is always busy and hectic but this year was crazy busy because I had a seasonal job where I worked 6 days a week. It was hard to have only one day off when you have a mountain of laundry, housework and grocery shopping to do all in one day, then you add Christmas shopping, school Christmas programs, PTA events and meetings and cub scouts...Ugh!! I am totally wiped out and thankful to finally have some time to recharge. I plan to do as little as possible today. It's Christmas morning and the kids are happily playing with their new toys which includes a drum set and and electric guitar. (What? Are we crazy?) Yep, it's loud in here as I write. A peaceful loudness that makes me smile as my kiddos learn to play their new instruments. Later today, I'll head to the kitchen and make some homemade soup with left over Christmas ham and then go for a long walk with my husband and kids. The perfect day.
Aside from the crazy schedule this year, I did find a little time to do a little decorating. I stress, a little decorating.  Here are a handful of ideas. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas! 

Snow Globe Christmas Village

This idea is a variation of the Haunted Hamlet I made for Halloween, just on a much smaller scale and not haunted. The Dollar Tree sells these little Christmas houses, but as you can see the paint job is not the best but that didn't stop me. I decided to make it more Christmas-y by giving them a coat of white paint. Then I used a few accents of color and some glitter paint to give some dimension to the features on the houses.

Rather than just placing the village on my sideboard on a blanket of cotton snow, I placed three of the houses in a large 12" fish bowl vase so that it looked like a snow globe. The remaining house fit perfectly in a smaller fish bowl. I lit up the larger bowl using a small string of lights I placed on the bottom of the bowl and covered up with a snow drape and then I poured two containers of table salt over the drape. I placed the houses and some snowy trees in strategic places to hide the power cord and plugged it in. Pretty cool huh? 

Deck the Halls
I did manage to make a new wreath this year. I didn't buy anything new, rather I re-purposed some old ornaments and garland. I think it turned out great!

My dining room and kitchen are the heart of my home so I love to decorate the dining room for every holiday...well at least for Christmas and Halloween.:) This year I wanted to use all those simple Christmas tree cones I'd picked up over the years. The 99centsOnly Stores have these each year which is great because they are only a dollar each. This year, I picked up two cones, one blue and the other gold, not exactly the colors I wanted but that was easily solved. I also picked up some garland in the colors I wanted and I wrapped the cones in garland. An easy inexpensive way to make them in any color you want to match your decor. Plus they look so cool when they are different, sizes, textures and colors.

Handmade Ornaments

I made these handmade ornaments many years ago...I guess it was nearly 20 years ago. Wow! Just a few lifetimes ago. I alternate my tree every couple of years. Some years I do my handmade country tree where I hang all the ornaments I've made and other years, like this year, I just use red and silver bulbs. Each year, when I open up the Christmas bins, I take a look at all the ornaments I've made over the years and I remember each one. I remember when I got the idea and when I began creating the pattern and designing the details. Each one special and so much fun to put together. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

 Trees. I love trees. Simple.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!