Christmas Decor

Being busy with school kept me from putting up the Christmas decorations as early as I usually do. I decided to keep it simple so taking them down before school starts again will be easy.


My little tree... fewer ornaments than usual.


The fireplace, nothing but lights and pinecones on the garland.



These are plain white, velvety stockings that I bought last year (or the year before?). I added the satin fabric to match my color scheme. It can easily be changed out when the color scheme changes in the future.

Pretty reindeer...

2009 Christmas Decor

Finished!

Eddie's Tree.

Cute!

Woodrow was feeling kind of festive today as he watched me decorate!

Handmade Christmas Ornaments

Here are some of my crafty ornaments from past years in case you need any ideas.

These are not exactly handmade, but it's fun to display old pictures on the Christmas tree.


These are made from antique clip-on earrings and plastic pearl beads.


These were made by wrapping ribbon around a wooden ring (napkin ring or curtain ring). The picture is just cut to size and glued to the back.

I made bows out of sheer wired ribbon and attached antique brooches in the center.

These were made with Crayola Modeling Magic compound (lighweight, air-dry spongy type clay) pressed into a cookie mold. I added gold paint and tiny pearl accents.

My craft fund is empty... so I'm not making anything new this year. But that's okay, I have plenty of options to work with.

Past Christmas Trees

I have been using this small (4 foot) Christmas tree for about 10 years. It started as an extra tree in my family room (a big tree was in the living room). Once I moved to a smaller place, it was a great fit.

I'm back in a big house, but I still prefer my small tree. It's so much easier to decorate than a big one. And less expensive to change themes or colors.

I use a lot of the same ornaments every year (gold, silver and white) and change out beading, ribbon or balls each year.

The tree in 2004... Sheer white ribbon, jeweled ornaments, pearl accents...


The tree in 2005... Simplified a bit... Irredescent beads and balls, silver ornaments.


The tree in 2007... Burgundy, gold and white.

The tree in 2008... Irredescent beads and balls again, gold and silver with the addition of deep purple.

So, what will I do this year?

I'm thinking it will be something similar to last year. I love the deep purple. Except... the den decor as changed since last year. I don't know if the purple really goes anymore.

I'll show you once it's up. I'll also show you some of my homemade ornaments from years past.