Get In The Mood For Christmas With Homeroad's Wreath

I still have to go to Starbucks to get caught up on internet. Supposedly "the internet" is coming to our subdivision around Dec 1st...We will be welcomed to the 21st Century soon!

Until then, Starbucks it is for hot chocolate and free wi-fi.

Here's a great DIY wreath from Homeroad's wonderful blog...

Buffalo Check Christmas Wreath

I love to get inspired when visiting other blogs. 

I haven't had much time to get things done, but plan to work on making a similar wreath and maybe get these two bedside tables painted, or at least started...

Thanks for dropping by!

Golden Boys And Me...A Colorful Room

I was tired of looking at our neutral beige walls and furniture, so I went looking for some colorful inspiration. I found it on the blog, Golden Boys and Me...

GOLDEN BOYS AND ME

Warm Colorful Room On Golden Boys And Me

After years of going mostly neutral, I find this year I'm loving red again!

Here's an old photo of a red plaid duvet from Pottery Barn and some old red floral shams my mother gave me a long time ago. 

I sent the floral shams to a blogging friend who is a terrific sewer, hoping she can remake them into something for her home, but I still have the red plaid duvet to use on one of the beds.

I found the storage box with these $5 red throws I got a bargain on a few years ago...

They're from Old Navy's store. One of them cheered up a leather chair one Christmas past...

The other one livened up the corner beige chair like it will do this year too...

I found this photo of our living room from last year when I put an old family quilt on our love seat... 

Even though there's very little red in the old quilt, I think I'll dig it out and cheer our place up a little like the room on Golden Boys and Me's blog.

The red in this old chair wreath is perky and cheerful -- just right for adding red to the dining room...

And last year or the year before, Oldest Grandgirl made this cute red Christmas Elf picture for me, which I'll frame and hang up this year.

hmmm...the little blond elf in the drawing sure looks familiar! 

I wonder if she was looking in the mirror when she was drawing it?

If you want some ideas for a cheerful room or two, head on over to this post on The Golden Boys and Me. 

I think her home will give you inspiration.  And...I don't want to spoil the surprise, but her kitchen has a sleigh hanging from the ceiling!

Thanks for dropping by!

P.S. 

They're saying it might snow here this Saturday...YAY!!!

Finding Bits Of Christmas Past

Have you started decorating for Christmas yet? Somewhere in our garage and storage closet are Christmas decorations I need to find.

I've been trying to find the inspiration to get started in my search so I've been looking at photos from years past to get me going! 

I've got to find my snow boots for instance...it didn't snow at all here last year, but they're my favorite decoration for the entryway even if I don't need to wear them!

The year before last it really snowed here in NE Texas. My feet were warm every time I ventured out in those snow boots.

The View From Our Porch In Winters Past

I've been tempted to buy some new Christmas signs and pillows recently, but this year I've vowed to bring out all the decorations hidden away and use what we have and only keep what I love.

I'd forgotten about these Christmas pot-holders in floral and stripes. I love to hang them for Christmas decor...I'd never actually use them!

Last year I mixed the white dishes we use every day with this woodland Santa and faux Christmas greens. 

I like the look of the white mixed in so if I buy anything this year it will be white -- or black and white -- decor.

Somewhere these Merry Christmas signs are tucked away tight! I hope I'm not the only one who packs things away and then can't find them...

I bought this Santa last year (or the year before) at Home Goods. They had so many wonderful Santas it was hard to choose.

And last year Trader Joe's had these wonderful little bright green bushes. I bought 2 or 3 of them and loved using them on the kitchen counter and dining room cabinets. 

I've gone to Trader Joe's twice this year, but haven't found them for sale yet.

Though some of the Grand-Dogs are no longer with us, each year their ornaments (shown here from a past Christmas) will again remind me of those sweet canine grandkids!

Sweet Dee Always Loved To Celebrate, Especially If Food Was Involved!

I especially miss Dee (above) and Wrigley (below) whenever I see their ornaments and think of them.

Mr. Wrigs Was Afraid Of His Own Shadow When Adopted, 

But Became A Loving Party Animal

My own dog, Ginger, died over 27 years ago. I haven't been able to adopt a dog of my own because of her memory.

This picture of her makes her look white, but she was ginger colored just like this ornament, which reminds me so much of her...

Her favorite toy was a green squeaky frog, which we called "Froggy"...so original!

A few years ago, I walked into a store after Christmas in a little town in Illinois while visiting Middle Daughter.  

Right on the tree in front of me was this green frog ornament, and I promptly burst into tears! Twenty-seven years...and it still hurts my heart to think of her loss.

Thanks for joining me on this trip down memory lane. I enjoy your visits so much and your comments are always appreciated. I'll be by to see your decorations as soon as you get them up.

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining the party here:

Thursday's Favorite Things

Sort of...Wordless Wednesday

Truly Is The Last This Winter

I'll bet you can't believe I'm still talking about Christmas! But, yes it's true. 

Rather than a Christmas Post, I like to think of this as a Crafts Post. 

And honestly, if you wait until next December to start thinking about making Christmas decor, it will be too late! I learned that lesson the hard way...many, many times over in fact.

As I said in this post, I plan to make more "Chair Bows" for my counter stools based on the one I bought a few years ago. 

I've been looking at the After-Christmas sales for unusual items to add to the bows, like the bells on the original Chair Bow.

I was able to find sets of bells exactly like that set. These sets of bells were on sale for $1.99 each after Christmas. Originally they were priced around $10 each.

I found this cute candy cane, with rusty bells attached, which is made from red and brown twine and a leaf made of stiffened green burlap. The original price was $6.99, but on sale after Christmas for $1.50 each.

I was thinking it would be easy to make additional candy canes to use on a wreath or such, but if you can buy them for $1.50 that's probably cheaper than making them.

Here's another cutie that I thought would look good hanging on a Chair Bow with some greenery. It's one of those things that can be described as "...so ugly it's cute..." 

I bought it before Christmas for around $7 knowing it might be cheaper after Christmas, but maybe not!

As it turned out, they were all gone when I checked during the After-Christmas sales. I only needed one anyway. I'll use the snowman with a set of the bells and some greenery to make one of the Chair Bows. 

Now that I've gathered up all the Christmas-oriented items I needed at the After-Christmas sales, I'm putting it all away until maybe July when some of the TV channels show Christmas movies for their Christmas in July month. 

Right now I'm more interested in organizing and renovating. I've been doing a little painting around the house that I'll be sharing with you soon. By July I'll be back in the Christmas mood again and making Christmas projects will sound like a lot more fun then.

How about you? Did you get any bargains in the After-Christmas sales or were you totally done with all things Christmas as soon as the new year started? 

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining the party:
Share Your Style at The Essence Of Home

January 7th...The Neighbor Called

My favorite neighbor called today to ask: Do you know your Christmas lights outside are still on? 

She hasn't been over recently or she would know our house inside is still lighted up like we're expecting Santa any minute too!

Right before she called, I had just told my daughters by text that the other house that still had lights yesterday took theirs down, and so now we are no longer fashionably late, but just look lazy! 

While I think about those lights, I'll show you the other pieces that got painted when the coffee table got another layer of Fusion Paint the other day:

This little reindeer guy is a metal candle holder and was originally a dull gray when I bought it. 

I first painted him with another chalk paint, but gave him a final coat of Fusion Paint in the Casement color I used on the coffee table HERE if you missed it the other day.

In case you thought I was joking about our inside lights, as you can see...the lights are still in full glory over on the Hot Cocoa/Tea bar too! 

I'm loving the reindeer and won't be putting him away with the Christmas stuff!  Instead he's going to hold hearts for Valentine's Day. 

I tried one on him the other day in between painting him and the other things.

Besides the coffee table and the reindeer, I painted two wood pieces and an Ikea Wooden Lazy Susan.

Both the wood pieces hold cloches and are inter-changeable and can be used together.

I'm letting the paint cure a little on these pieces, then in a few days I'll give it a coat of Miss Mustard Seed's Tough Coat, which will give them a little more protection.

By the refrigerator, the Lazy Susan I painted holds a glass drying rack from World Market with our Super fancy pint drinking jars.  

I've lost count of how many things I've painted with my jar of Fusion Paint in Casement. It amazes me how far that jar has gone! And I still have 2/3's of the jar left, so I've got a lot more I can paint with it.


I'm joining Cindy's party at Amaze Me Monday this week. Hope you'll hop over and check out all the links.

Thanks for dropping by!

Note: I do not receive any compensation for using products from Fusion or any other company whose products I like and use.