Salvaged Wood Tree and Copper Wire Stars

This idea came from Pinterest.  I have lots of salvaged wood torn from Charleston's historical homes.

Perfect 'craft' to do with my son...the builder, but don't tell him it is a craft!

To make the stars, I used a piece of wood and hammered five nails in the shape of a star.  I sketched it out on the wood to note the points.  This was fun to do with my five year old.  We tried several different wires, including a coat hanger!  The coat hanger was too difficult to work with, but seemed like a great idea for recycling!

I used some 20 gauge copper wire and that worked great.  It will age nicely outside!

Wrap the ends around to hold the wires together or cut smaller pieces to bind the sections together.  You could layer and layer for thicker stars.  We did three layers.

See 'A Christmas Shed' here!

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Whimsical Perspective

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A Ski Lodge Christmas

 Memories can be great inspiration for decorating.  When I was young, we would go skiing almost every Christmas.  Often, we would be gone on Christmas day. 

I purchased the Swiss Army Blanket (here) a while back as a gift for my dad.  One of my favorite ski trips was to Switzerland.  The alpine mantel is a reminder to me of one that might be found in a ski lodge. Of course, you will need to pretend that it sits in front of a great big stone fireplace!

I cut the limb holding our stockings from a river birch tree in our yard.

One common tradition of the small villages is the ringing of the bells.  Children will go in the streets ringing bells such as these and sing carols.  Often the towns will compete to see who can ring their church bells the loudest to lure people to church.

I used the snow in a can to give the look of snow covered evergreens.

White ceramic pinecones came from Target.

I placed the river birch wood on top of the mantel for some balance.

We used mostly things we found outside to decorate this mantel.  Some limbs are spray painted and added to glass vases full of glittery snow.  Last year, we did a Woodland mantel (here) using things we found on a nature walk.

My MIL knits beautifully.  We have many, many Christmas stockings from her.  The white stocking was made from an old quilt.

My grandmother's frame fits nicely into the evergreen wreath displaying the antlers.  I threw handfuls of snow on the wreath to assimilate the alpine look.

I love to ski!  Although my family doesn't travel to far off places, we go to the North Carolina Mountains for a few days at Christmas.  My five year old daughter will finally get to ski this year!  The old wooden skis were a gift from Rob for my birthday.  Pottery Barn has some vintage ones just like these.

I placed some more river birch wood in this basket beside the vintage 'showshoe' chair of my mother-in-laws.  I love buffalo check.  This blanket was a gift from my sister!


Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas!

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Country Living Copycat Ornaments

The December issue of Country Living magazine inspired me to make some embroidery hoop ornaments.

I made several of the ornaments with a Swedish embroidery cloth that I purchased for $8.  I wish I could say that I painstakingly embroidered each hoop!  It was a very small cloth, so I didn't feel so guilty cutting it into pieces. 

Their creativity over at Country Living prompted some of my own!  I have some vintage pins of my moms and Grandmothers, and made ornaments using them.

I wore this one to a Christmas party over the weekend, but think I like seeing it the entire month of
December on my tree!  I love the little things that remind us of our loved ones long gone.

I purchased the red and white gingham fabric from IKEA and made pillow cases for my daughter's room (here) last Christmas.

The red and white gives some continuity to my tree.  Last year, the Christmas tree (here) looked a little schizophrenic (some might call eclectic!)

Country Living

You can see the plaid fabric inside these embroidery hoops in the recent issue of Country Living.



Country Living

These were advertised at Country Living's website and are available at etsy.  So cute!

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I am making the party rounds!  Thanks for the invites to some new parties!

 Debbie Doo's

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Sheep, an Elf and a Jesse Tree

(photo taken at Earth Day last April)

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own...and I lay down My life for the sheep. ~John 10:14-15

As Christmas approaches, I am desperate to keep focused on Him and to fix my children's gaze on Him.  The world is very distracting, isn't it?  All the lights, toys and merriment everywhere, it is so easy to get caught up in it all!

This year we have a Jesse Tree.  If you haven't heard of it, you need only to go to Pinterest and type it in to see lots and lots of ideas.  Several of my friends have had the Jesse Tree, and I am excited to make this a new family tradition!

I am all about making traditions and having fun for Christmas, but here is my advice to all you young moms:  if you start a tradition, it will be hard to stop, so think carefully and choose wisely!

Our elf has been here for two days, and already I want him to go back to the North Pole for good.  For two nights, I have jumped out of bed at four in the morning, because I forgot to move 'Zelfman' our elf.  Okay so maybe it is fun for the kids, but it is just one more thing for mama!

The Jesse Tree teaches the wonderful stories of the Bible and has a different lesson each day leading to Christmas morning.

As I reflect on the upcoming holiday, I can't help but think of the above verse.  He 'laid down His life for me.'  I can hardly comprehend this.  He loves us so much that He would die for us.

Yes, I am certain the Jesse Tree will be a regular family tradition.  I want my children to 'get it.'  I want them to know why we celebrate Christmas.  It is not for the gifts or for the bright lights, and it is certainly not about an elf.  It is about Jesus, who came to earth to redeem us.  He came here to love us and to walk in our shoes.  He left His throne and humbled himself to show us mercy and to restore us to our Father.  He died a horrible death, so that we might live.  There is enough mystery and wonder in His amazing story; who needs an elf?! 

All that being said, I will share my Jesse Tree soon, as well as some funny things our elf did!  My friend Jenn suggested having the elf bring an ornament each day for the Jesse Tree.  This is a great idea, if you already have the elf and want to incorporate him into the real meaning of Christmas!

What traditions do you have?

Blessings on this 'life lesson' Sunday!

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A French Country Hutch (No Paint Makeover)

I got this French hutch for free...

(Let's all just assume I'm going for the wrinkled look!)

Over Thanksgiving break, I finally made this ruffled linen skirt for the base. 

The grid iron work is so pretty!

Green is my favorite color!

I placed this child's highchair in front of the hutch to break up the mass amount of linen that was required to cover the bottom of the hutch.  I made the little linen pillow from leftover fabric, printed one of my favorite Christmas pictures onto it, trimmed it with some brown and white ribbon and filled it with Balsam fir scented potpourri.

Rob cut a piece of wood to go on top of my old hutch base.  The French hutch was about 4 inches too long.  My sweet friend Tonya gave me sewing lessons one day and helped me figure out a plan to cover the base.

Straight panels were the plan with a possible monogram on the middle panel.  My lack of expertise at sewing caused me to go with plan B...a ruffled skirt!  It is way more forgiving with crooked lines!  I cut the fabric in panels so that I could easily gain access to the cabinets.

This dining room set was the first pieces of furniture we bought when we first married some twenty years ago.  In the craftsman style, it was made by an Amish man in Pennsylvania.  His woodwork is divine, but the style no longer fits with the rest of our house.  Instead of having to buy more furniture to accommodate the freebie, we decided to use the base and cover it.  I plan to cover the dining table with a pretty cloth and change out the chairs with others from around the house to go with the new look. 

So here is the deal:  I went shopping to a small antique/consignment store in Charlotte, NC.  I happen to be in the right place at the right time!  A lady purchased the hutch and base, but didn't need the top hutch.  She told the owner of the shop to 'give it away.'  I said I would take it and ran home, hooked up my trailer and paid two men $10 to load it!  FREE...well, except for the ten bucks!

The linen fabric came from IKEA for less than $4 a yard.

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