Showing posts with label Deck The Halls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deck The Halls. Show all posts

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Decking The Halls: Tree 3...The Formal Tree

I was obsessed with Christmas decorations from childhood. No one knows why. And the Mumster ( aka Mom) and my since departed Daddy, both knew they had a weird kid (for a LOT of reasons beyond Christmas!). I even had my own tree in my room as a kid so now you'll really think really me ungrateful, but it was ALUMINUM! And our  big tree was artificial and I longed for a real tree but I had terrible asthma and allergies and as a parent myself know now that my parents did what was best for me.

But from the time I first lived on my own, I've had a real tree  and over the years it's gone from whatever decorations I could afford  (which some years was barely the ribbon) to a collection for which I am grateful and love, but which has been built over time, including several years of day after Christmas 50% off shopping!

It's kind of hard to see because it has a lot of clear crystal and glass ornaments on it so they blend in. But IRL, they catch the lights and we often just sit in the quiet of the night and think back on the years they represent. 
Another collection I've built over the years is one of Santas. It's not uncommon  for me to get special ornaments or Santas for birthdays, Mother's Day, or just when we're on a trip. If there's a Christmas store somewhere,  I'll find it.
A few of the Santas hanging out together
And the big boss Santa who makes sure the others behave
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Thursday, December 2, 2010

Decking The Halls: Tree 2

Continuing on the tour of Christmas crazy...

In addition to liking the whimsical combo of red and lime, I liked the idea of a woodsy natrual look ( on an artificial tree...I know) so of course that meant its own tree. This one's in our dining room, another 4ft table top tree:


Once again I didn't buy all the decorations at once ( really honey, I didn't) so it's a mix of some I bought and others I made. I used to ice skate so have a few skate ornaments and so this tree has been reserved for them. There are green and brown Martha glass pinecones and small glass balls, as well as these embossed metal doves I made one year:
and paper stars wrapped with copper wire and crystal beads:
The topper is made from leftover faux pears and ribbon from another project, and instead of a skirt, I filled the bottom of the tree / top of the stand with a sugar beaded apple garland I found on super sale somewhere one year:
This little Mark Roberts Woodland fairy keeps watch over the tree:

He's happy that the crazy lady didn't stick him IN the tree like she did some of his friends.

Decking The Halls: Tree 1

OK that sounds a little "Cat In The Hat"...Thing 1 and Thing 2. They're not quite that wacky! And, you're probably wondering: "How many trees does she have"? Don't ask. Just kidding. 4. Well 3 that I do, and 1 that the boys do and I'm not allowed to touch. And 2 are little 4ft trees that I got because I liked the idea of different themes. It's the one time I went out early the day after Thanksgiving to get a deal at JoAnn's.

"Tree 1" is my whimsical tree, with lots of red and lime green. I like the quirkiness of Patience Brewster Krinkles ornaments, but *sigh*, they rarely go on sale so I buy them sparingly. This is also becoming the Santa tree where I put Santa themed ornaments:
My favorite ornament on this tree:
When I decided to add more trees to my life, I didn't go out and buy all the ornaments because that would have been expensive and we make things right? So I did a bunch of these beaded snowflakes in my color scheme:

And part of the fun for me is finding deals after the holidays like a beaded garland I picked up at the Restoration Hardware outlet store for 75% off.  Christmas for me also means Teddy Bears and Mark Roberts Fairies:
HELP! A crazy lady has me in a bowl of ornaments. It's undignified!
At least she didn't put me in the bowl, like the bear!
I want Christmas all through the house so this one sits at the top of our stairs.

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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Decking The Halls: The Mantel

Somewhere, buried in the bins I'm still going through I have some greenery that I'm going to add to this, but it's 90% finished so I thought I'd share it anyway. I changed things up this year and went with shades of green, white, and brown. I shared the banner tutorial the other day.
I used the candleholders and candles that are on the mantel all year round but added small white and clear wreaths to them. 

The "NOEL" framed art is something I showed earlier, in preparation for my Christmas mantel, along with altered candles and my $1 Store footed hurricane vase ( vase plus candlestick so I guess it's $2) filled with epsom salt snow and different shades of green and brown Martha Stewart glass balls. The sugar pine cone we've had for years.
The other side of the mantel has my other all year round candlestick ( re-finished Goodwill find), another altered candle and a glass block I found at JoAnn's this summer on sale for $1.97. I bought all the ones they had of course and luckily Mr. Chocolate was with me because those puppies get heavy, so some will be gifts. The ribbon is from Michael's this year. It has a snowflake print along with a little gold glitter and the green and brown went perfectly with my theme!