My Christmas Home

I thought I'd share some photos of my home decorated for the holidays. Our Christmas tree is artificial due to the fact that our house is very dry and the needles would be dropping soon after decorating! I also need a very thin tree for the space I have available. There are a ton of ornaments on the tree, some mine from when I was a kids, and many for my kids (we pick a new ornament each year, usually a Hallmark, and they will go with them when they start their own family).  *Please ignore the fact that we still do not have any railing on our stairs or that all the trim is not painted!*

The kids' Playmobile Advent scene. This is something we have done for about the past 5 years. Usually involves fighting as to whose turn it is to put the piece on, but this year oldest DS made out a list for each day and that has cut down on the fighting!

My wonderful hutch that I got many years ago. It holds some of my china, cookbooks, kids activity books, silverware, and other odds and ends. Right now it has a display of my Santas, vintage pieces and the big ceramic Nativity set my mom made for me while I was in High School.

  My chandelier in the dining room all decorated up.

 Feather tree and various new and vintage items on my victorian side table.

 Collection of music boxes and snowglobes on the windowsill.

 Collection of snowmen on top of the TV.

 The cozy fireplace and decorated mantle.

 Shelves I made in my kitchen. Vintage-y Christmas. Most of the decorations found at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. I love it when I find Bethany Lowe, Nicol Sayre and similar products there!

My Cat's Meow Colonial Williamsburg houses on top of my cabinets.

 And the door to my pantry.


I hope you enjoyed the little tour! Have a wonderful holiday!

My Special Furniture Piece

I just got this piece. It's not an expensive antique, but to me it's priceless. It was my grandmother's china cabinet. It had been stored for many years in my aunt's garage, but now it is mine. The piece is probably from the 40s, but I'm not sure. My dad has 9 brothers and sisters, so money was not something that they had to spare. That's why it's special to have this piece. I think it is the only material thing I have from my grandparents. My grandfather died when I was pretty young and I was probably 12 when my grandmother died.
Now I need to find a place for it in my home. I don't have a lot of wall space, so I am limited as to where it will reside. It does need a through cleaning and polishing. But I am so happy it is here.

2010 Christmas Card

Ribbon Wishes Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

I almost forgot!

I never mentioned Carrick got his braces off! It was during football season right after his birthday. He may be totally done (with the exception of wearing his retainer at night) now and not have to have any more work done! Yay! Now I only have one more to go (Cole is already in braces, Cade is next).

Doesn't he look handsome?

I'm thinking of Christmas...!

...cards, that is! I like to get mine done early and out of the way. In the past I have done a yearly wrap-up letter, but this year I think I'll just stick to the card. I picked up my cards in the beginning of summer. Summer, yes! I know that this is the best time to pick them up at the Hallmark store in the clearance section. I think that I got a box of cards for around $3.50, so that equals about .29¢ each! (I bought 5 boxes.)

I also like to include a photo card each year so that those we longer see on a regular basis can see how the kids have grown. I love all the options they have at Shutterfly. Something for everyone! You can see for yourself here. I think that I will be picking "Merry & Bright".

The size works with my card and I like the clean design. Now I just have to get the kids to cooperate in the photo-taking department!

I also usually do a yearly calendar for relatives each year. Works well for those "you-don't-know-what-to-buy" people on your list. I have ordered yearly calendars from Shutterfly in the past and they were high-quality and looked great. They also shipped fast, too. Not sure if I will go with a Desk Calendar or a Wall Calendar .  What's even better, they're on sale right now, 30% off after you buy the first one at full-price!

I really like the Photo Gallery Style and the fact that you can add in dates to be printed right on the calendar.

So there you have it. Easier ways to get some of that Christmas stuff done before the rush starts! Now I'd better get cracking!

Change of Seasons

Here's all the Halloween stuff together, ready to be put away for another year. Sad to see it all go, but it's time to move on to the next season! And it's almost Christmas. I love to decorate for each season.

The mantle was all cleaned off and is ready for Thanksgiving/Fall decorating.

Last night I did my weekly shopping. I had plenty of places to go (returns at Michaels and Target), prescription to pick up at Walgreens, Kohls to look at sweatshirts for the Coaches gift (I'll get your opinion on this soon), and my grocery/household shopping

at Walmart. I also made a stop at Marshalls for pants for DH. I love to see what I can find there and I know that when I find something I like, I'd better buy it or be out of luck. Last night I found Shiny-Brite ornaments, KD Sparkling Icicles and a bottlebrush tree. All for about $25. I love to decorate for Christmas (my kids do, too) and I like to change it up each year with a few new things. When I put things away for the season, I go through what I haven't used in a while and decide if it is "keep" or "pitch". If it is still useable, I donate it to the Veterans. Otherwise I throw it away. I no longer have the space or inclination to keep everything just in case I might use it.

If you are ready to get in the Christmas spirit, check out Amy Powers Inspired Ideas Christmas magazine.
It has so many great ideas for crafting and inspiration!

Patriotic Day

 
Last night was the PTA Veteran's Day Program featuring the 3rd Graders. I didn't get very good photos as you can see above, but they are still precious. It was wonderful to see all the Veterans get a little recognition. I was surprised to see how many in the audience were Veterans. I brought a tear to my eye and a swell in my heart.
The students sang about 5 songs and some of the students were picked to read their poems they wrote. Cade was picked, but Cole was not. He was upset about this because he thought his poem was better than his classmates, and also I think because Cade got to read his.

I voted this morning too. I was number 184 I think (at about 10:30). Mark voted before he went to work at was 7th in line. I am so glad that I have the right to vote. I hope you all vote too!

Some Layouts

I got some layouts done recently. The first I've done in many months. I have a bunch of kits to use up even though I stopped my Studio Calico sub because I couldn't justify keeping it going since I wasn't using them and money is tight. I do use a lot of stuff from my stash along with what is in the kits.



This one is a recap of my son Carrick's 2nd year of playing football. He had an awesome year, starting on both offense and defense. Such a difference from last year because he hardly got to play. They even made it to the playoffs this year (last year the same team only won one game). So proud of him! I based the LO on one that was featured at 2 Peas called My Little Pirate. I wanted to add in a photo I had taken at each of the games. He's in each of the photos.

This one had been sitting on my desk from July. I hadn't gotten to it since I was working on items for my Etsy shop (I only ended up selling 2 items, so I'm not sure it was even worth the effort :( ). So now I am getting back to scrapping and doing things that make me happy. I've had a rough time of it lately. I'm not sure if it is just me, but things have been not too sunny. Here's to hoping things brighten up. Send me some good thoughts.

Finally, here's the delicious cookies my mom made for the boys. She always made us cookies for all the holidays when I was growing up and they are so good! Today I have to make cookies for the twins' Veteran's Day program they are doing at the PTA meeting tonight. They are so proud that they get to sing patriotic songs and Cade even had his poem selected to be read. Yay!

Tomorrow is election day. I will be glad that I don't have to see any more political ads or get any more phone calls. I plan on voting. Do you?

Just when I thought it was over....

....It wasn't. The next team up from Carrick's had won their play off game that week, so they asked for some the kids that would be moving up next year to come practice with them. Carrick was all excited. That was until he did one practice with them. He found out if was a lot more work than he did in Termites. While I did feel bad for him, I didn't give into his pleas to let him stay home the second night because "it was boring, I'm tired, I don't want to go...". I was brought up that when you start something, you have to follow through and finish it. So, that meant he was going. I figured it was because the kids were bigger (and hit harder) and because it was a lot more work. At any rate, I had a very sullen and mad little football player on my hands.

After days 2 and 3 there wasn't any more complaining. He got used to it and I think he even enjoyed it. I told him he was lucky to get this opportunity, that now he had an edge on many of his teammates that would be playing next year (only about 5 boys from the Termite team did this for the Mitey-Mite team). That his coaches would know him and he'd have a better chance of playing next year because of it. He did end up thanking me for making him go.

In the end, the boys that moved up for the week got to dress for the playoff game last Sunday. They didn't get to play, but I think it was still exciting that they got to be there. The team ended up losing 46-0. I felt so bad for the boys on the team. It must be so hard to come that far and then hae a game like that. But it was a really good season. And we're happy for the time off before hockey starts, but I know they are looking forward to next year (and I am too). Sometime I'll tell you the story about how I was a Freedom Lil' Bulldog too.

Pumpkin Carving Time

It's that time of year again! Time for the boys to carve their pumpkins. I got three interesting specimens (the pumpkins, not the kids!) at Walmart for $3 each. This was the first year for each of them to take out their own pumpkin "guts". Cade still ended up asking me to take over shortly after starting.

Take at a look at Cole's face. He thought the "guts" felt weird.

After cleaning them all out, they started to work on their faces. I had to help Cade and Cole out a little with the cutting, but Carrick did his all on his own.

Here's the final product. Aren't they cute? Cade's is first, Cole's is second, and Carrick's is last. Tonight is Trick-or-Treat night. Kinda weird to have it so many days from Halloween, but that's the way they do it here (not on Fridays because of football games, not on Sunday because it is Sunday...). At least it won't be too cold or rainy. The kids are counting down the hours... and their school party is tomorrow.

Last Day of Regular Season Practice!

taken in early August 2010

It is so hard to believe that today is the last day of regular season football practice. Where has the time gone? 11 Weeks. This week has been the worst weather-wise. Cold and rainy all week and it gets dark so early now that practice ends at 7:15! At least this practice will be nice -- no rain and 65°.

Blackhawk vs. Freedom Termites - 10/2/10

The boys pulled off another big this last weekend. They were really fired up! (I guess it's all those Hit-Its Coach made them do before the game!)

They are now 4-1-0 in the division, 4-2-0 overall. This week they play against an undefeated team, the Ellwood City Wolverines. If they pull off another win, they will be tied for Division Champs and will have a better seed for the playoffs. They really have worked hard this year as a team. And overcome adversity (one player's mom died just a few weeks ago). What an awesome group of boys. There are 34 of them on the team and not a single one quit. This is a team that won only 1 game last year. That is a tribute to the new coaches and the boys!

If you can spare a minute, they'd love to hear your comments!

Final Score : Lil' Bulldogs 33, Cougars 7

 

 

 

 

 

My Newer Chair

This is my old chair that I bought probably over 12 years ago. It is a antique rosewood chair that I use as my chair at my computer desk. As you can see, the fabric on the seat has seen better days. I decided to redo it myself with some fabric I had found at Joann's.

Here's one of the fabrics. A Tommy Bahama fabric that is heavy-weight and I got for over 70% off. I used the wrong side because it matched better with the fabric I used on the top. I also used the wrong side of that fabric because the right side was too shiny.

I started on the top and back of the chair. I got the nailheads from eBay. I just took my time and worked each side so that it was equal and pinned it in place before I started so that it wouldn't move.

And here is the final product. It only took me most of the summer, because I started on the back and then got to doing other things... but now it is finally done!

Halloween Mantle

I just updated my mantle a few days ago for all of my Halloween items I just finished. I love Halloween and I love decorating for it. This year I focused in on more of the black and white palette. Not the best light in these photos as it has been pretty gloomy here the past couple of days. 

You can read more about my mantle and how I made it into this here.

Most of the items on the mantle were made by me, with the exception of the 2 signs that I got from Marshalls. I love Marshalls for all the treasure hunting! You never know what you will find. ;)

First up is the spooky-fun pumpkin head. I made it from a Funkin™ that I painted white and added the face. It sits on a vintage Black Amethyst glass candlestick from L.E. Smith.

Then I made a paper mache cone with some vintage-looking scrapbook papers I had and added vintage copy of a crow.

And lastly another Funkin™ that I hand-painted again (they were orange originally) and covered in sugar glitter. This one also sits on a Black Amethyst glass candlestick from L.E. Smith.

I'm selling these on Etsy, but even if they don't sell, I'm more than happy to keep them for my own house!

Now that the mantle is finished, I need to go back to my Fall house cleaning (I didn't do much in the Spring, so now I have lots of dust and dead bugs to clean up) . It's been slow going since I've been trying to repaint my bedroom at the same time. Hopefully I will have DONE photos to share soon. Then I can do the decorating in the rest of the house. Wish me Good Luck!