Christmas Keepsakes

One of my favorite decorating projects, not only for Christmas, but for every season, is the Welsh dresser, which is the focal point in our breakfast area. It doesn't seem that long ago when I was decorating it for Spring ...

Then came Summer ...

And Fall ...

And now, here it is all dressed up for Christmas with some of my favorite Christmas keepsakes ...

Apple candles and Avery's little Lefton Christmas plate ...

Christmas Owl hiding amongst the holly vines ...

We bought this little Santa's workshop when our children were little, and, even though it's gotten a little battered through the years and has been glued several times, it is still one of our most treasured Christmas decorations.

Another very old and much loved decoration is this set of brass Angel Chimes ...

Lighting them has become one of our granddaughter Avery's favorite Christmas traditions ...

Christmas Candy Centerpiece on the breakfast table (another one of Avery's favorite decorations) ...

And Joey, Avery's "Elf on a Shelf," enjoying the decorations from his perch high on the chandelier ...

The two little squirrels you see on the dresser are Ralph and Cindy, named in honor of our son Benjamin's imaginary-friend-robots when he was little ...

Best wishes to you for a week filled with your favorite Christmas Keepsakes, sweet memories of Christmases Past, and lots of wonderful memories-in-the-making.

Christmas Lagniappe ...

After I posted this, I went out to blow some leaves off our patio (in 20-degree weather), and was delighted to see this rose blooming on my arbor ...

To think that that little rose could "weather" the cold and bloom one more time, was a "How Great Thou Art" moment, and I wanted to share it with you ...

Christmas Votive Candle Tree

After several days of hard work, a little "piddling," and many trips to and from the attic, I finally finished my Christmas decorating yesterday. I've shared a few vignettes along the way, including the Mantel, our Nativity Set, and Dining Room Chandelier project, and today I am featuring my Votive Candle Tree.

I was inspired by one I saw in a home decor shop last year, and decided to make one myself. I started with a tomato cage and a couple of vine garlands I rescued from my attic.

I wound the garlands around the frame of the cage and attached them securely. I love their "airy" natural look.

Then I painted the whole thing gold ...

Next, I went shopping for votive holders that were lightweight and opaque.

I attached the votive holders with my glue gun, then added the LED tealights, which flicker and look very realistic, and are much safer than using real candles.

After the tree was finished, it was pretty, but needed a little something else with the votives.

I found these sweet little angels at Hobby Lobby and knew they would be perfect.

When I started making my tree, I knew I wanted to use it on the sideboard in our dining room. I wanted a "neutral" look, and I'm very pleased with the way the tree turned out (it didn't take me long to discover that it was very hard to photograph, but I think you can get an idea of what it looks like, especially if you click on the pictures to enlarge them).

I found this little gold metal angel and love it perched on the top of the tree. I wish my pictures were better, because it's much prettier "in person."

Overall, I love the tree. If I was going to do another one, though, I think I would make it a little smaller.

A Christmas Chandelier

I love celebrating family traditions, especially at Christmastime ... and when it comes to decorating, it seems that I have established a few traditions, too, by using a lot of the accessories we've collected through the years which have special meaning to me and my family. Some of the decorations have been passed down from generation to generation, and I love unpacking them and recalling memories of Christmases Past.

I tend to create similar vignettes using those accessories year to year, and today, I'd like to share a fairly new decorating idea from last Christmas (which I used again this year), featuring our dining room chandelier.

[You can click on the pictures to get a closeup look, if you'd like]

It was love at first sight when I saw these gilt ornaments in one of my favorite shops last year.

I bought six, along with coordinating ribbon, and tied the ornaments to the arms of the chandelier at varying heights.

I love the understated elegance of the antique gilt finish on the ornaments, which doesn't compete with the tablesetting or the rest of the dining room.

I do believe that I have created yet another Christmas decorating tradition — my Christmas chandelier!

Away in a Manger

Away in a manger,
No crib for His bed.

One of my favorite Christmas accessories is our Nativity set. It's not a fancy or expensive set — in fact, it's rather plain — but we've had it a long time and I love its simplicity (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them if you'd like to get a closer look).

I display it on a chest in our dining room, under an iron French cross ...

I'm enjoying seeing and reading about everyone's Christmas decorations and preparations, and will post more of mine as I finish them.

Until then ... Happy decorating, Y'all!

Christmas Mantel

Happy December 1st!

This is a follow up to my post from yesterday which featured my mantel decorations for this Christmas. If you would like to read that post before seeing my "after" pictures, you can click here — Christmas Mantel: Stage One

As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to do something different with the mantel this year. This is a picture of last year's mantel featuring some old holly vines with berries and birds scattered amongst the vines ...

As you can see, it's kind of plain and simple, and I just wanted a change this year.

I added a garland of greenery, two old brass candlesticks and globes I rescued from our attic, the old holly vines, birds, and a string of lights.

I wanted battery-operated lights, but spent a very frustrating morning yesterday trying to find some with clear mini bulbs, and finally came home empty-handed. I decided I would just use a string of regular lights and try to hide the cord as best I could.

I was delighted to find an old string of yellow and white lights in the attic that I bought many years ago at a flower shop in Jackson, Mississippi. With the help of my sweet, very patient husband, who moved our two-ton television cabinet out from the wall so I could plug in the lights, I wrapped the garland with the lights and he set up a remote outlet so they can be turned off and on with the light switch.

After adding the holly vines and birds, I was pleased with the way it all turned out (you can click on the pictures to get a closer look, if you'd like).

I've had the little birds for years, and even though they are looking kind of "scruffy," I love them.

I have found my blog to be a wonderful source of reference when decorating, because I can look back at my pictures from previous Christmases to see what I did then, and either copy it or make changes, as I did with the mantel.

I'm doing my decorating a little at a time, and my next project is one of my favorites — setting up our Nativity set. I hope to work on it today and will share pictures in tomorrow's post.

Christmas Mantel: Stage One

One of the first things you notice when you walk into a living room or den is the fireplace and mantel. I love decorating our mantel for the four seasons, but my favorite season is Christmas.

For the past four Christmases, I have used the same accessories for the mantel — holly vines with berries, gold doves in the center, and birds scattered amongst the holly vines (you can click on the pictures to get a closer look, if you'd like).

This year, I'm going to do something different.

Yesterday, I bought a nice lush garland made from three different kinds of greenery, and rescued a pair of brass candlesticks from the attic, along with two large glass globes.

I was dismayed to see that the globes wouldn't fit in the candlesticks, but you know what they say about "where there's a will, there's a way" — I turned the candlesticks upside down and, voila! ... the globes fit securely in the bottom of them.

I want to get red candles to go in the candlesticks and a battery-operated string of clear lights to add to the garland — and that's as far as I've gotten on the basic look I want to achieve. I'm going to work on it some more today, and may end up just adding the old holly vines and birds.

Have you started decorating for Christmas yet? I'm going to be working on mine in stages and, hopefully, will have some pictures to share soon of my "new look" for the mantel this year.