Wordless Wednesday!

Wordless

Wednesday

2010 went by too fast!

This was probably the fastest Christmas I can remember in a long time. It was really pretty great, except for the fact of having a terrible cold for 2 weeks.
I have been busy with planning a new kitchen and that will begin right after the New Year. I really enjoyed letting my girls take over the decoration of the tree this year. I thought the results were lovely! They chose a theme of red and silver.
 Bead garland in little silvery pearls and red and silver balls with multi colored lights. And red ribbon.

More often than not, our tree looks cluttered because we have soooo many hand made decorations from 6 kids, over the years,...

 But this year we wanted something a little different than the usual. And I was more than happy to give my 3 girls full reign. So they added  vintage silver snowflakes that have been around here for 30 years, and still hold their charm.

It was a really nice shaped tree this year! We always get a fresh tree. We have wood floors so the needles sweep up pretty easy. Here it is at night....

 and during the day....

So all of the presents are put away. And today we took down the tree. And put away all of the inside decorations. The pointsettas are gone..

The mantle......
 barren and waiting for it's rebirth

Ugghhh it took me hours to organize my Christmas closet, under the steps in the basement.. it was a disaster!!
 Last year we just sort of through everything in there hairy cairey. So it was a mess this year.  I finally put up a shelf in there and added some nails for hanging things and Voila! Presto! Organized!

Those UGG boxes are great for ornaments! Nice and sturdy! My extra wrapping paper even has a spot  while it waits for next  Xmas. Tucked between the studs.

One thing left to take down and that is the outside decor. The wind has taken it's toll.

 I did it with a little help from my son.

 May have to take it down with out him though-- he's been busy.


On to the new year!!
Now I will have to get busy emptying cabinets, and carting boxes of kitchen stuff to the basement while the Kitchen remodel gets done.

Can hardly believe friday is New Years eve 2011. I will be seeing Sarah McGlaughlin in Atlantic City!
I am excited about that.
Have a Happy New Year!

Silvery Mantel for Christmas

It's the first thing I usually decorate, and also the last. I say that because it isn't completed until Christmas Eve, when we hang the stockings by the chimney with care!
It's never the same decor. Sometimes I like alot of live greenery. I used to use Holly because we had a big Holly tree out back, but that got dug out when we made some renovations. There are some other greens out there but this year  my heart is set on going with white and silver. And a desire to keep it simple and use only what I have already in my decorations box.

I have begun with a wreath, which I have had for a very long time and I still love it. I just gave it a new bow from ribbon I got last year on sale.

I love the frosty Angel.

Some lacy for the top and twinkly white lights to start!

And I just kept layering all my favorite white or silver things until I was contented.

Some pretty white pointsetta, some ribbon in silver,

A sparkling silver candle in my cut glass dish... rimmed that with pearls.

And for the other side another cut glass dish and a small package from the dollar store all silvery, with a silver gift box tucked into it, and some baubles.

At the bottom I used my mom's Antique wash basin and pitcher, filled with ribbon and pointsetta!

I like how it is looking!

   I'm dreaming of a White Christmas..

Simple candles and a gift bag, so sparkly

I love how it looks, I just have to add the Nativity set...

My mom bought this for me a very long time ago. It is from Avon.

 I have always cherished this!

I usually put it in the manger that my mom used when I was a little kid. I just changed it for this design.

And one other tradition, my mom never put the baby Jesus in the manger, until Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas!

Come to the Mantel party at Kevin and Layla's blog

http://theletteredcottage.net

Christmas Ornaments from Christmas Cards

I like to reuse and recycle.
Here's a great idea my daughter bought home from school one day many years ago. It is a great way to be able to save some of those favorite Christmas cards from years gone by.
A very simple way to make a Card into an ornament, for hanging on garland or on your tree.
Like little presents!

Start by cutting the card in half.

Fold all the edges

and cut the corners. Fold the middle flap down  to create a pocket

Fold the corners in to create your box end and fold the middle flap down over them.

You can tape it or glue it. I chose to staple. simple and quick.
Do this to both sides of your card, to create a little box.

and go ahead and fit the top onto the bottom!

You wind up with some cute stuff on the back of the box. Nice verses...Signatures from old friends...

And the finished product is a delight!
Just slip a ribbon  thru the top flap.

And you are ready to hang on your tree or garland!

Happy Holidays

Thank you for stopping by!


I'll be linking up with a hand made ornament party, at Under the table and dreaming!
 Stop by and get some ideas!

November is such a pretty month!

I am really enjoying this November. Aren't the leaves so luscious this time of year?
The weather has for the most part been warm. We are only wearing light jackets or sweatshirts. A few crisp days turned the leaves their lovely colors but no nasty winds yet this year for us here in Jersey!

The grass is just such a pretty shade of green. And the trees so vibrant. Here is a shot out the back door of my daughter's house.
And the one below I am peeking through her flowers to the end of the yard.

You can see we had some bit of wind that knocked down a couple of branches, but only one day.

The skies are just incredible! November Skies! This next shot is from Atlantic city. 41st floor of Ceasar's

The Trump building was in the way of the glorious sunset. This is from the hallway. There is a reflection in the glass of the ceiling lights.
And the one bellow is the other side of the building from the room.  Some dirty window spots kind of ruin this photo.

And they are getting ready at the Casino for Christmas too!

After work today the sun was setting so pretty so I went down by the river after leaving my daughter's house to snap a pic or 2

There were little ducks enjoying a float, about 12 of them!
On my way home, ( someone's gotta make dinner for the hungry teenagers!).. I had wished I'd stayed, just a few more minutes, because the sky just got pinker after the sun went down.

I love when the sky turns pink!

November has some of the prettiest skies, don't you agree?