My kind of Christmas decor

I don't know what your Christmas looks like, but mine looks like twigs and leaves. Coincidentally that's how my 'the rest of the year' also looks. I decided against a tree and so my Christmas decor looks as bare as nature does outside the windows, but I kind of like the simplicity.

 If you tilt your head to the side this photo looks completely straight. 

Above my "fireplace" I used a thrifted metal tray, a couple of large tea strainers with battery operated tea lights inside, a chunk of bark I salvaged from a tree that had to be removed and a sprig of faux greenery we were going to throw away from the decorations box at work.

 


And lit up...

I amuse myself by continuing to refer to these as "tea lights" since they are lights...and a tea strainer...and have tea lights inside. Ha. ha. Knee slapper?

 The artwork was painted by a mom's friend who has since passed away. She always sent cards with images of something she had painted in the year. Most of her work was copies of other work but I don't know about this one. Anyone know?

 


Above all this I hung a banner I made a few years back and forgot about. You wouldn't believe how many things I've found in old boxes (and how many things I can't find in new boxes). I hung it here using tiny, clear Command Strip hooks. They are my new favorite discovery, for sure. I linked it there if you want to check them out, I found mine at Rite Aid I think.

 

I made this using a pair of circle punches of two sizes and then using those weird edged scissors to give the inner one some interest. I aged the paper with ink and placed a glittery sticker in the middle, hanging it on some jute by punching two small holes in the top. I'm not usually a paper craft person but this turned out pretty well.

 

Along the top of my giant bookshelf it took me forever to assemble I've finally hung a few things on the wall.

 

My chalkboard art can be seen originally here and my leaf garland can be seen here.

 To the left is my collection of thrifted bowls and cande holders topped by thrifted glass domes. They are holding an assortment of nature items and keeping them dust free for me.

 On this one I've hung a tatted snowflake I bought from an older woman at a craft bazaar several years back.

 

The work is so beautiful!

 This giant cone I also bought at a craft bazaar. The woman said it came from a tree in her yard. Can you imagine having a yard full of these giant cones? What if one hit you? Yikes!

 
It is sitting pretty on a little gold candle holder. The cute chubby snowman came from JoAnn stores several years ago. The leaves I took from my neighbor's yard one year and spray painted - they've stayed perfectly preserved for over a year.

 

More gold leaves and some twigs with mini cones.

Thanks for taking the tour with me!

Shutter organizer and a kitchen corner

Sometimes things happen and are a happy accident. I put this little shutter in my bathroom window for some added privacy. The window is a blurred, foggy glass but...well...I've seen what that looks like across the way and I don't think it's as private as it could be. Plus I love the rustic look.




Then, when I needed somewhere to stash my headbands (two came from Gussy Sews, the rosette one I made myself) and hair clips (dark one from Payless Shoes and the light one I made) and to hang a necklace (made by me) for a moment, they all went on here and I realized how great it worked for it.

 

I haven't actually managed to decorate much as I'm still trying to get all my books put away. I purged my books 4 times - FOUR TIMES - before I moved and I still have so many books that I have no room. I bought a huge bookshelf that I'm taking a month to put together. Yes, really.

I did manage to put a few things up in the kitchen though.



A utensil holder filled with dried elephant garlic blossoms and this beautiful little gourd I found at a farm stand.

If you can't tell by now, I love natural elements in the home.

As I get things put in their proper places, I'll have more to show. For now I have to get back to that bookshelf...

Scenes from my life - in Cinemascope!

I love how the cinemascope photo edit makes everything more glamorous. I used it on some of my photos from this summer and cinemascoped them into perfection (with two exceptions - I used two filters on them and I'm sure you'll be able to pick them out.)

Lightning or something like it

I keep working on projects and taking photos and then completely forgetting to share them here. *facepalm*

We had a pretty grand storm last week and my brother and I were 98.9% convinced we got hit by lightning as we drove home from dinner. We were in a car and all, but it was so loud, so close, so scary that we were both gasping and screaming (he won't appreciate me sharing that, but hey) and then he ached all over and I had weird pains in my ankle and then toe.

Now you're imagining my toe. I'm sorry.

After that we had a few more and then a torrential downpour for about ten minutes and then it moved on. I ventured out after I thought the lighning had fully gone because the clouds cleared way and the sky was turning incredible.

One one side there was:

And on the other side there was:

So was this brief summer storm scary as all get out? Yes. But the beautiful ending!


Still not sure if I was struck by lightning or not.


(I apolgize if the rainbow photos are massively over-edited. Was trying to get the colors to show and this laptop tweaks colors and I never know what things actually look like to everyone else.)

The last house of the year

I've spent this week at my last house-sitting appointment of 2011 (unless something comes up last minute - last year I did this until the day before Christmas). What I love about it is that most of the people's homes I'm caring for have nice yards with flowers I can enjoy...and you always get to see that. A day without photographing plants is...horrible.
This house has a really nice piece of property with a huge back deck and lots of leafy trees that are turning. And the sun even managed to come out and shine on me this week so I was able to go out and enjoy it.

I put a little soft focus on all the photos to give them an extra warm fall feeling.

 Not the back deck.

Strolling down the lane I noticed an orange speck at the base of this tree.

It was one of their kitties taking a nap. This cute little kitty napping in such a "woodland" setting totally tickled me.

They have several kitties and a dog...

Who more frequently was doing this.

 Pet meeeeeeeeee.

And these gals whom I called all either Henny Penny or Houdini depending on the situation.

And I've gathered plenty of these - about a dozen every day!

They've also got these fantastic ducks.

They are very shy and have a quiet, almost muted quack that I love.


It is just so very Autumn in an enjoyable sense.

And the light filters beautifully here.

And the leaves are putting on a show.

I had a little fun with this last one and added a "space texture" from picnik. Love them!

I've also been learning crochet thanks to Maybe Matilda and youtube. Now my brain is exploding with ideas for Christmas gifts and I'm not sure I can complete them all in time. Eep.