Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Christmas Decorations 2015

Hi! I don't know about you all but it sure seems like Christmas snuck in on me this year! What's ironic is that I've actually been shopping since the end of August and I'm still not even halfway to the finish line. I'm doing a fairly decent job of not stressing because things always seem to get done, including the shopping so I'm keeping the faith and trying to enjoy the season.

For the first year ever we had our tree up before Thanksgiving this year. I have mixed feelings about it...mostly guilt that Thanksgiving/fall didn't get its share of the spotlight this year. But, on the flip side, relief that I didn't have all the decorating to deal with the week after Thanksgiving. It's been nice to just sit and enjoy the tree :)

I don't have extravagant holiday decorations and could never begin to rival some of the videos I've watched on YouTube recently...But, I do have some pics to share with you all.  I've been blogging for almost 2 years now and I'm not normally nervous about posting pictures but for some reason this year I feel a slight trepidation at the idea and I'm pretty sure it's because of those videos I mentioned lol.  I have to be honest, I had some serious envy while watching some of them. The Christmas displays in some people's homes is absolutely incredible and if you have a few hours to get sucked in then I suggest going to YouTube and just typing in Christmas home tour and prepare to be enthralled.

But, while I did feel a little envious, I would never want to imply that I'm not happy and content with my own personal slice of "Santa Land". Those of you who read last year's post won't see a huge change in my Christmas decorations as I'm excessively sentimental and I enjoy a traditional slant when decorating...especially with my tree. I wish I had the space to have lots of different themed trees because I think that would be amazing. But, I have my tralace and space is, of course, limited.  So, my tree is always a hodge podge of decorations...some just because I love them and some because they hold sentimental value in my heart.
And, hey, even if you saw everything last year, take a look--I might have some things arranged differently, ya just never know ;)




This picture was taken at the front door

And this one was taken from just in the kitchen
beside the dishwasher


The entry table with the garland...And it's so
much prettier in person. It's just really difficult to get
good photos of Christmas lights.
more close up view of the garland. You might notice
the snowflakes from my trip to Dollar Tree AND I changed out
the ribbon for this year :)



Another view of the table

This poor table tree has taken a beating this year already.
Our grandson has pulled all the balls off more than once.
I put them back but it's just not the same as it was when
it was fresh.


The wreath that I made a couple of years ago.
I have it hanging on the inside of the front door so that
I can enjoy it as well as keep it protected from the weather.

Glittered tree on the end table beside the couch

My beautiful "Mrs. Claus"...we actually
picked her up at an auction several years ago and
I love her. My kids say she's "creepy" and don't like
when I plug her in. I say they're silly willies lol. 

Mrs. Claus again along with my Santa in his sleigh
which we also picked up that same auction. I think
at one time he probably had some reindeer but all I got
was the Santa in the sleigh. I got him for a great price though
and I love him!

Frosty and friends as well as a small unlighted tree.

Top of the fireplace


Our mittens have, of course, made another appearance
as I'm sure they will for many more years. They are one
of my favorite Christmas decorations. I need to make one for
our youngest grand-daughter before Christmas. I'll just add
that to my ever growing list.

Quick view of our tree (also starting to look slightly
haggard due to little hands that like to rearrange and remove things.


This little beauty is about 2 ft tall and this is on
the kitchen table. I chose not to add lights because I
had no way to plug them in without having a cord running
across the table and I didn't like the idea of that but I
love it regardless.


Some scattered Christmas touches in the kitchen too :)



Notice the "Joy" sign on the far wall of the kitchen--that's
from my Dollar Tree trip.

Hey, I never claimed to be an artist LOL.
I absolutely love this giant stocking I got from Ross
several years ago. The kids aren't crazy about it and
use to really make fun of it but I don't care because I love it
and that's what really matters, right?
And last, but not least, I put together a video highlighting our Christmas tree. I'm rather new to doing videos and it turned out to be a little longer than I'd planned, but, if you have 5 minutes and you want to take a look at the ornaments on my tree then give it a look :) Just click this link 
-------->>>>>>>My Christmas Tree 2015<<<<<<<--------

And that's going to wind it up for this post. I hope you enjoyed my Christmas decorations for this year. I'll have some yummy craftiness to share sometime in the next week or so so be sure and come back for that.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Rhonda

Friday, December 4, 2015

Dollar Tree Christmas!

Yes, you read that correctly! If you have a Dollar Tree Store near you and you aren't taking advantage of some of the incredible deals then you are seriously losing out. Every time I go in there I spend way too much...which is saying something since every item is only a DOLLAR, lol.
This morning I made a trip to our local Dollar Tree to check out what kind of Christmas goodies they have and I was not disappointed. I picked up several things and will probably go back for a few more, lol.

Here are some photos of a few of the things I got this morning :)

This thing is big...probably at least 18 inches across. Not sure
what I'm going to do with it just yet but it would perfectly
coordinate with the wreath I made a couple years ago that is
hanging on the inside of my front door :)

The refrigerator magnets are a little deceptive because they're
rather small but for a dollar?? Yeah, totally worth it and it
adds a touch of Christmas cheer to the kitchen. Plus I'm
sure as soon as my grandson notices them he'll be ecstatic, lol. 

100 gift tags with metallic accents--LOVE them! A box I
plan on using as an accessory and some snowflakes.

Place mats...and the quality is every bit as good as those you'll
find in the department stores. They also had Snowmen ones that were
cute.

Ornament hooks because...UH...you can NEVER have too many
of those little boogers. Somehow they all manage to run away
every year after I pack my Christmas stuff up, lol.
The Santa ornament in the middle is SO much cuter than it's
showing in the photo. He's big and full and I love him lots!

Close up of my Santa who has already found a spot on the tree :)

Love this little glittered top hat ornament too.

Guys, this bell is so much prettier in person. It's all glittered and
it's actually about 6 inches tall. 

They had a good selection of flowers but I just got a couple
to add some bulk to the garland I have over the mirror in the
living room We aren't blessed with a mantle so I make do with
the mirror and entry table.

I got a couple of these snowflakes and again, the photos do not do them
justice! They are quite a good size and SO sparkly. Not sure what
I'm going to do with them just yet but I couldn't leave the store without
a couple of them.

These little gems are so beautiful...honestly, you just need
to get to Dollar Tree and see if they have any to be able
to appreciate them. They are so thick and shiny...my Dollar Tree
only had 5 and I snagged them all. I also added them to the
garland over the mirror in the living room and I LOVE the
way they look on it.
A close up of the snowflakes....SEE???? Didn't I tell
you they are gorgeous! 

Here is one of the snowflakes tucked into the garland :)

It's difficult to get a good shot of the garland because of the mirror
but I'll try again when I post a Christmas decor update :) 

I also picked up several other things that were not related to Christmas.
I think I need to go to the next Dollar Tree up the road and see if they have anything I might have missed on this trip.

Seriously, Dollar Tree is definitely worth a look. And you never know, you might just find something you can't live without :)

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Rhonda

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Happy Tuesday y'all

Good morning and happy Tuesday!
Rereading my post from last week and I realize what a downer it was and I apologize for that! Today is a new day and this morning while on my morning bus route, I had an epiphany. And that epiphany was this--I became too complacent with my place in life over the last months and when the inevitable ripples came I was thrown off balance. Life happens, people, and that is just the way things are. So our family is in the process of going through some changes but life is still good and although it's going to be a rather large adjustment, life goes on and let me say again life is good!

And now that we have that out of the way, how about those scrapbook layouts I promised you all? :)

A couple of these, you'll notice, are rather simple and maybe even "plain". But I really am pleased with each of them in their own right.

First, I'm going to share the first layout I've ever done sans photo. After all, scrapbooking IS all about the preservation of memories and this particular memory is a very special one to me and one that I remember frequently throughout the entire year, not only at Christmastime.


SO much love for Ranger's diamond Stickles!!
What a difference they made to the Jillibean die cuts!
I filled in Santa's beard twice to make sure it was extra full and sparkly :)

I used Stampendous Fran'tage scarlet embossing powder
for my title. I cut the letters on my Expression and then
embossed them individually before adhering them to the
white cardstock and using scissors to cut around each letter.
If you love embossing powder and you have not tried this brand
then let me assure you that you will *love* this stuff. It's amazing
and gives such a wonderful color and texture to your projects.
And YES the gold is already mixed into the powder to get this incredible
effect. 

Got the old sewing machine out for some sewing on this one :)

popdots and Stickles :)

Here is simple layout about when my son, Garrett, had mono. Not the most pleasant of topics but a memory deserving of preservation. Nothing fancy here...just photos, a few stickers placed on popdots and a uniball pen.



I have always loved this photo of my son, Chris. Those blue eyes and a smattering of freckles--ahhh, be still my heart <3
Nothing too fancy here either. I used a glass jar dipped in acrylic paint for the circle effect.
The title was one I fell in love with on a layout posted at Scrapbook.com and the creator of the layout was gracious enough to share where she got it. Turns out, it was a design from the Silhouette Design Studio. I absolutely love it.

Buttons, filmstrip washi tape (Paper Studio), acrylic paint


There's those eyes and freckles I mentioned :)



I like this layout because it's bright and happy :)
I used a couple of punches, stickles, gold leafing, texture paste
rub-ons, stickers, my Expression,...all kinds of yumminess here!

Ribbon that I've had forEVER, flowers made with a couple of punches,
The felt "time for love" is something I've had for ages and I
have been racking my brain trying to remember where it came from
but the memory eludes me.

Here you can see the effects of the texture paste using the Tim Holtz
burlap stencil. Once the texture paste was dry I used a sponge
and dotted the glue on in random spots and then applied the
gold leafing. I really love the way it turned out and I will probably use
this technique again before too long.

Another title from The Silhouette Design Studio. I used diamone
Stickles to make the title POP a little more.


I hope you enjoyed the layouts I shared today and will come back again. The holiday season is here and I have several projects to get started and finished in the coming weeks and of course I'll be sharing them here with you all.

Have a great day and I'll see you soon!

Rhonda