Holiday Home Tour

This was the "first" version of the white tree.....

(not sure if you will notice the changes)

AND the second (not to say final as we still have 12 days before christmas so I proceed with my disclaimer: christmas decor subject to change at any moment!!)

I added more ornaments.....I started this holiday season with "simple" decorating BUT I really am a more is more girl at heart! Last weekend at the library I checked out every December Home Decor issue they had (ya know, in case I missed something) and I did! While browsing through BHG, there was one home that was featured and her theme was simple also (although that's every year for her) and she had what I have found to be the most brilliant idea ever!

Tying together groups of smaller ornaments with ribbon (that would other wise get lost in the tree) and uses them as 'fillers'. L O V E! My tree looks a lil fuller now!!!

Here's a cutie lil ornament that I picked up this year.......

And another grouping ( I ♥ the chocolate brown polka dot ribbon)
The book shelf beside the tree....
A shot of the newly painted mantle wall (WITH the flash)
And WithOUT the flash....much more romantic this way! I just hung the mirror over the weekend (prior to the mirror there was a vintage white washed window frame resting on the mantle which prohibited all the extras that are on there now!!). As I look at this picture I am realizing this looks more formal - I like the casual better.....hmmm, we'll see what to do after the holidays!
The SIMPLEST, most elegant item all season! (I won't tell you that it's taken me 3 weeks to put the pinecones and lights in there - pitiful isn't it?!?! Sometimes the simplest tasks take us the longest).
A lil grouping on the kitchen table....(I thought about covering the picture up on the candle with some burlap -which would make the shade coordinate better BUT I LOVED the black and white picture on the candle).
Ok, I'm linking up to the Nester's Christmas Tour Of Homes here http://www.thenester.com/2010/12/christmas-tour-of-homes-2010.html and I CAN'T WAIT to see all of your homes!

A LEOPARD doesn't change her spots....

You CAN'T take the leopard outta this girl!! It's no secret that my animal print of choice is LEOPARD (although I have been leaning toward zebra has of late). I wanted some more leopard accents in my holiday decor BUT nothing too garish! I had these vintage pale gold ornaments on hand and wouldn't really use them in my decor as they are...so they've been sitting in the box all season....UNTIL the lightbulb went off to leopard-ify them....

I pulled out the glue and this FAB glitter mix that I had (silver, golds and coppers all in the same tube - no CLUE where it came from). They were looking good BUT missing something....the BLACK around the spot, that's what they needed.....

Ta-da!! L O V E!! I didn't have any paintbrushes on hand and was SO desperate to get them done that I considered using my make-brushes (no worries, that insanity only ensued momentarily) so I used the next best thing - a Sharpie! I think I need to make some more of these bad-birds (I only made 2). Happy decorating!

Christmas Fluff

In this post I will be showing you "fluff" and stuff!!

I started out with this silver tinsel wreath from the dollar spot at Target.....

Hung it on the window frame mirror in the entryway.....KNEW it looked pitiful and sad...KNEW it needed some ribbon....but just couldn't decided what color / kind to use...silly, right? For some reason these days I am very indecisive....

While at the shop sorting through the ribbon choices, I brought all the greens and leopard print home! I thought this celery green plaid was a gorg choice.....
Here's a side by side.....it's pretty amazing what a difference a lil swatch of ribbon and color made....wouldn't you agree?

I had some empty glass globes from last year and this vintage tinsel (which by the way I have available for purchase IF you're interested) and combined these two elements to make a vintage sleek ornament....
and as we learned, ribbon makes a world of difference.....and I had these stragglers from other ornaments I purchased and some soap BUT they were BOTH wrinkly....you're looking at this saying wait, the orange one is smooth....
That's because I used this.....

My iron is at the shop and I wanted to complete this lil project SO desperate times called for desperate measures! My lil helpful hint of the day...for small wrinkly items, use your hair straightener!!

Remember this lil cupcake holder that I employed to hold my ornaments?

While it was a clever idea it needed more.....
AHHH, that's MORE like it!! (see the orange ribbon I flat ironed, and the tinsel ornaments I made?) Orange, zebra, leopard silver......OH, and I moved it here....
Much better, no?

While we're' looking at the bookcase......here is my "ode to CHRISTmas"....
Simply covered my decor books in wrapping that coordinated with my decor...simple and elegant.....and OF COURSE the reason for the season.....Celluloid / bakelite Mary, Joseph and Manger (baby Jesus will appear in due time) Vintage church and a FAB tin tile with a crucifix.
THESE are a few of my favorite things.....

White Christmas....

...I was dreaming of!! If you're a follower of my blog you know we suffered a flood in July at which time almost all my holiday decor was destroyed (including 5 christmas trees) SO this year we had to buy a new tree. I started thinking about what kind of tree to get....obviously I wanted a pre-lit tree, my IDEAL tree would be a wire-y vintage tinsel tree BUT the more I thought about it, I came to the realization I wanted a white tree! Yep! An UNCONVENTIONAL out of the box white tree!! SO after a lil cajoling here it is.....

Now you DID see one of my requirements was a pre-lit, right? Well, this one did NOT come pre-lit (and again due to the flood, lights also needed to be replaced SO I got just enough to get thru this season and will be in line the day after Christmas for the half off sales). Below is what we started with...

Truth be told I had all the ornaments on the tree and it looked NEKKID! I knew I needed something more (which is when I added the lime green ribbon) Notice there are no pics of the "before" the ribbon version!!
On the tree are mercury glass like (thanks to water damage on my vintage silver shiney brites) orange, lime green and fun funky ornies! SO I wanted a fun tree top.....got a lil zebra print in there! (now I must admit I thought I was original with this tree top idea BUT realized I have seen it on other blogs like Shannon's http://thedavisfamilynwa.blogspot.com/2010/11/winner-and-evolution-of-topper.html at Bless Our Nest and here on Queenie Eileenie's Blog (she has a FAB Christopher Radko style here) http://queenieeileenie.blogspot.com/2009/11/candy-colored-christmas.html
Another lil bit of decorating on the tv bookcases....I am going for "rustic elegance" in our decor and would also like my holiday decor to reflect that (with HINTS of lime green). My plan is after the holidays while I am purchasing my lights at 1/2 off to also pick up silver and chocolate brown accents for next christmas.

Two years ago Tia of Two Junk Chix http://twojunkchix.blogspot.com/ and I made these canvases. They were our modern-ish take on a style Ballard offered at the time.
HAPPY DECORATING! I have linked up to Faded Charm's WW here http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

AND check out ALL SORTS of Christmas Trees here http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-christmas-tree-party.html