Merry Christmas 2019!

Merry Christmas Friends! 

I didn't want 2019 to slip away with out at lest one Christmas post! With all the boiler/pipe fitting/radiator work going on this year, I had to quickly come to terms that not all the usual decorating was going to get done quickly. So it has been a slow arrival of Christmas at this house!

I am still not sure if I am really ready for Christmas this year! (At lest I got all the handmade gifts done!)

My one crafty decoration this year was this wreath for the dining room window! I love the little bottle brush trees! (from Hobby Lobby, in the decorative picks aisle) I also bought a pick with the plastic red ornaments which I took apart and glued on  The Shiny Brites are so pretty on a wreath, but I was worried about storing them. So every year I have removed them from the wreath before packing it all up. This year I needed an easy look! 

Kinda hard to photograph! But so sparkly in person!

 For the last several years we have added this sleigh full of elves to the top of the refridgerator. Sometimes their seats are a little precarious and they like to come see what is in the fridge with us!

And a little Christmas Shiny Brites for the kitchen shelves! My sister found the milk glass candy dish for me. The minute I saw it, I thought it needed to be filled with Shiny Brites!

I was so excited to find this little bottle brush tree matched one of my vintage cards!

 These bells looked so vintage to me, I just had to get them from JoAnn Fabrics. I didn't really know what to do with them, so they ended up on my dressing table mirror! I love how the bring out the touches of red in my vintage cards.

This is my other Christmas crafty project! Another quilted stocking, which might not get finished before Christmas. Lol! I loved the stocking hanging on the dining room radiator, so decided I needed one to match my bedroom!

Wishing you all a lovely Christmas!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

Merry Christmas Friends!

I hope your day is filled with family, friends and peace!

I have a few more Christmasy pictures to squeeze in before the new year!  Here is my tinsel Shiny Brite wreath from last year re-invented. I couldn't figure out a good way to store it with all the ornaments attached so I took them all off at the end of the year. But I figured I would want to do something different this year anyway. The little red metal bell was this year's inspiration. At some point I had picked the bell up at an estate sale and it floated around the house most of the year. Now it is it's time to shine!

Another estate sale find (the same sale I got the aprons from in my last post!), was this set of mini Shiny Brites. I was so excited to find them as I knew they would be perfect for my metal tree!

I love looking all the different designs.....

I think this one might be my favorite! 

I am not sure if I will be back until after the first week of January. I have the week between Christmas and New Year off and am hoping to get the Brick House done! 

Christmas Around the House

 How did the time fly by so fast?!? How can it possible be two weeks until Christmas?? 

One of the reasons I love Christmas is it is a good reason to get creative. And the creativity has been flowing! There is just not enough time to get it all done! Lol! The house is a mess; Stacks of decorations being made, boxes waiting to be filled and mailed, gifts to sew, cookies to package..... 

I don't know if I will get around to posting more decoration, but I am going to try! So for now, here is what we are up to.

 Saturday and Sunday we made lots of messes in the kitchen. Some were fails (English toffee is not working for us this year!) and some successful. Here I am mixing up my famous Ginger Snaps! Recipe HERE.

 We had every square inch of the kitchen covered!

I had so much fun dusting these Chocolate Cookies with powder sugar! I used cake stencils to make the fancy design. We also made Hot Cocoa cookies and attempted peppermint patties.....

 I can't wait to show you the re-arranging of the kitchen shelves we did! Perfect for a little elf!

 We just got our tree up on Monday, which is a little late for us. It is a big one this year! But we still didn't manage to get all our Shiny Brites up!

 I can never resist taking pictures of a few of my favorites. We love them all!

Merry Christmas Friends! I hope your holiday season is smoother them mine!

Shiny Brites on Display

I have two more Shiny Brite ideas for you today. The simplest is to just pile a bunch of ornaments in a bowl or vase and enjoy!

When I spotted this hobnail bowl at an estate sale this fall, I knew it would be perfect filled with Shiny Brites!

Here is a sneak peak at some of the new living room decorating. I haven't forgotten about it! It has just been a slower than anticipated process. I keep reminding myself it isn't a race! Anyway here is a peek at the shelves. Much cleaner and brighter!

One of our vintage nativity sets is on the top shelf. I love the sweetness of their expressions! It has been a few years since we have gotten it out. I love how well they shoe up against the white.

And on the third shelf, my cardboard houses. They aren't that fragile and can withstand a bit of poking and prodding by a little niece's fingers. 

But I think this has been my favorite this year! It was a bit of a splurge, but well worth it!

I first saw one of these ornament trees at an antique shop (displaying Shiny Brites, naturally!). It was love at first sight and I was crushed to discover a not-for-sale tag on it! Well, I rushed home and started googling, sure there was another out there for me.

Eventually I found it at Crate and Barrel! Not somewhere I usually shop or would have thought to look. And right now they are on sale HERE! There are several sizes and colors, so be sure to look around. (Maybe I need another one?!?) 

We have been enjoying the ornament tree in the middle of the dining room table. But I thought pictures would be nice on the buffet. 

So those all my ideas on how to display Shiny Brites! Do you have a favorite? Or do you have an idea on how to display them? (I am always looking for more ideas!)

Shiny Brite Windows

 One of my Christmas crafts this year was making a Shiny Brite wreath. I was drooling over them on Pintrest this fall and finally decided I need to make one!

It was rather simple process. I wrapped an already owned wreath form in silver tinsel, wired the ornaments on and sat little elf on it. Done! Since I used one of my favorite wreaths (it is still wrapped in burlap ribbon under the tinsel), I secured the tinsel with straight pins and used thin wire to attach the Shiny Brites. It will also make storage easy as the ornaments can go back into their special boxes and the wreath can go in it's own tub.

 This elf is actually a new Hobby Lobby find. But doesn't he look perfectly vintage?

 How could I not have bells? I don't think these are as old as the Shiny Brites, but they have survived since childhood and are always an essential decoration.

 For those of you who have been here for previous Christmases, you will remember the second year in the little bungalow I hung ornaments in the two piano windows. They have been a favorite decoration each year!

I always find the piano windows especially fun to decorate! What is your favorite decoration or spot to decorate?