Welcome to Christmas at the Little Yellow Cottage. Decorating began the day after Thanksgiving and has been going on since. Do you have trouble getting done? I seem to be continually adding or changing. There is always another idea, something that could look better, another place or use for something. Creativity is a curse sometimes, but I am thankful to be cursed.
The tour begins in our main living area. Our living room is not large, but it is very cozy with the fireplace being the focal point of the room. When you enter through the front door, there is a small entryway with a rustic cabinet that has old windows for the doors. It holds our crystal because we don't have enough cabinet space in the kitchen. The decorations change with the season and here is how it looks this Christmas.
Since I am totally enamored with the shutters I painted earlier in the season, I took my book page wreath down for the holidays and added the ornament wreath I made last year. My "Joy To The World" sign has been part of our Christmas decor for many years. It is very dear to my heart so it is used every year somewhere. For a slightly different look this year, I used the burlap ribbon and the large and small sparkly stars.
There are two small trees in the living area. I gave up large trees years ago due to lack of space and time. Small trees are much easier to decorate and place. With 6 grandsons under the age of 9, three of them under three, it is nice to have them up off the floor. Grandma does have lots of stuff sitting around and the temptation for little hands is great.
This is the flocked tree in the front window that has all crystal and clear ornaments. There is a small village under the tree and you can see the big snowflake through the front window.
Here is a closeup of our little village under the tree. The boys LOVE the ceramic train that I have had for more than 25 years. Such a temptation for little hands. We'll see how long it survives.
The mantle is decorated in a winter wonderland theme using lots of white lights, snow flakes (Dollar Tree), candles, and mirrored trees. If you have not made yourself a regular at the Dollar Tree, do so now. There are such awesome decorations to be had for very little money. The mirrored trees came from there 3 years ago. I had seen them at a high end boutique gift shop for $30.00 each. I scored mine for $1.00 each. Yahoo!
They reflect so much light and give such a frosty, wintry look. They make me happy. The snowflakes are hung with monofilament line from clear pushpins. It's very hard to get a good picture of them so that you can see the detail, but they are quite lovely. These will probably stay up until February.
The small tree in the corner in front of the mirror is decorated with hand made ornaments that I made years ago, lots of icicles and red glass balls. The reflection in the mirror makes it seem much bigger than it is.
See the large rusty snowflake under the tree? I have lots of those that get used in different places also. Have had those for years and years.
Here is a close up of the two trees you can see in the first picture. They are sitting on a trunk that is used as a coffee table in front of the sofa. I made these using sheet music. There will be a tutorial on how to make them tomorrow. They are beautiful decorations and would be wonderful gifts. The little polar bear came from you know where. $1.00. What can I say?
Need a really easy centerpiece or gift? I saw these at TJMaxx several years ago and thought holy cow, why should I pay for that. We have lots of sticks in the yard. Just gather some up and cut them to similar lengths. Wrap them with wire in the center to hold them together, spray paint them any color you want. I added some Christmas greenery and made a nice big bow. Voila! A lovely, natural centerpiece. This sits on top of another small cabinet next to my $2.50 candle holder I found at Gordman's a couple of years ago. I told you, I am the Queen of Cheap.
The sofa table holds one of my prized possessions, a gift from Dan years ago. She is a beautiful angel from Mexico. She sits 12 inches high and holds a candle in her hands and another can be placed inside that shines through her robe. I hadn't gotten the candle in her hands for the picture. Details. It's all about the details. There are mirrored trees on the table and stars that I have gold leafed, paired with white glittered stars. You just can't have too many stars in my book. After all, it was a star that led the wise men to the manger.
And this is my newest addition to our Christmas decorations. My advent calendar made from an antique Coca Cola case. I have two of these and have had them for 43 years, as long as we have been married. They have followed us everywhere and have been used for several different things. This was sitting on our hearth looking at me when it dawned on me it would make the perfect advent calendar! I found these adorable little ornaments at Big Lots (another one of my favorite haunts). I used little cup hooks which were screwed into the top of each compartment. I numbered 24 ornaments and hung them in each little compartment. There is enough space to put lots of little treats for grandsons to find for each day of the countdown to Christmas.
I used a fine point Sharpie to write the numbers on each little ornament. I must say, it is adorable. The boys love to find a treat whenever they are here.
Thanks for joining me tonight. Hope you got some decorating ideas and tomorrow I will show you how to make those lovely little trees. Next, we will visit the dining and kitchen area.
Everyday Donna
Things to Remember:
My goal is to make memories for our family and grandchildren. Yes, it is a lot of work, but so worth it to me. It's all in the details.
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