Christmas Tour

Hi Friends, Today I'm joining in the Tour of Homes with the Nester!! I'm showing the remaining Christmas decorated rooms in my home. To see all the homes of the tour, click HERE!! It's so much fun to see how each one interprets CHRISTMAS in their homes using the talents and creative gifts given to us all.

I have always loved Christmas for the reason that it focuses our attention on the great gift the Heavenly Father sent us on that dark night in a little stable, so ordinary and yet so extraordinary in the way he chose to bring Jesus and the salvation he brought to a world without hope. Today he comes and takes up residence INSIDE each of us who invite him in. There is always room, because without HIM there is a "space" that only He can fill.

The world needs Him more now than ever before, and yet He waits patiently and quietly for the doors to be opened. Praying that the Lord will speak to your heart in a still and quiet voice to tell you that He loves you more than you could ever imagine.

And now, on with the tour!!

This picture is in the guest bath. It is actually a "framed" gift bag. I loved the Santa and also the monkey, so I thought why could I not frame it? You see, I have this little affection for monkeys....... I know, I know, it's weird, I've just always like them.



This is the window in the entry. It is clear, not a mirror. Rather than a solid wall, we had an old window frame built in to let in light and add character. I have vintage Shiny Brites hung on the garland. The iron piece hangs on the other side.

An old wash bowl filled with old looking ornaments in silver, gold and white on the diningroom table.

I keep thinking I want to work in some red into this room also, so I put a few balls on the sideboard. What do you think?? It might look more country French with the 3 primary colors. I don't know. I like just the golds, whites, silvers, and blue too!!

Does anyone else every wish you have several houses to play in? Sounds silly I know!! These days, I can barely get the one house in shape!!

This is the little fake dormer over the diningroom. I have lace curtains to eventually hang on the window, just haven't yet asked DH if he would go up the ladder and do that for me yet.
For Christmas I have a lighted tree on the table, the rest of the year, a lamp.

My fontanini nativity set. I think the pieces and the colors are so beautiful!! A dear friend gave me some of her pieces when she had to downsize recently, so now I will treasure them in my home for years to come and they are a precious reminder of her.

These are my "star" trees. I really enjoy them and the way they sparkle and shimmer in the lights!!. I think next year, I want to hang some stars from the light fixture also.

The master bedroom, sorry I forgot to pick up the camera cap!! Just have a few extra touches of Christmas in this room. The biggest piece is my "angel tree". I have collected angels for so many years. Colors are mostly pinks and creams. It's so beautiful to lie in bed and enjoy the lights and the glow.

This tree is in my art studio and holds special momentos from the past. Old pieces of lace and crocheted work, dolls, and things from my childhood. See the baby shoe? It was mine.

The little green tatted basket was a sweet gift from my Aunt Jo. She does such beautiful work!!
I love the porcelain dollhead with the real fur hat and the angel that is very old.

The blue beads were the only gift I ever received from my paternal grandmother. The rhinestone bracelet I received from my parents for 8th grade graduation. The baby hairbrush was mine.

Pieces of jewelry and other special things I have received thru the years, another tatted piece from Aunt Jo. Sorry about the glare on the mirror ornament!

Well, hope you enjoyed seeing the rest of the house. I look forward to seeing all the other great homes on the tour!!! Many thanks to the Nester for hosting this fun blog party!! She is a daily read for sure!!

Warm Christmas Blessings, Linda

Home for the Holidays

Hi Girls!! Today I am joining in the fun with Rhoda at Southern Hospitality blog.com to share my Home for the Holidays photos of my home wearing it's Christmas attire. I will show you pictures of my kitchen and family room today. Please click HERE to see all the other great decorating ideas to gain inspiration from!

Also, I am linking to Julia's Hooked on Holiday houses tour. Go and check out all the other holiday homes HERE!!

This is my kitchen. I have the stove mantel decorated with apothacary jars and Christmas trees. The jars are filled with my collection of vintage "Shiny Brites". I love them and pick them up whenever I can get them for a good price.There is a little glare in this photo. We had 6 inches of snow on the ground this morning and it was really bright when I took this picture!!


Again, this was taken in the early morning and it creates a lot of shadows that I don't particularly like but it is what it is. My little "feather looking tree" is filled with vintage ornaments. It is acutally a fibre optic tree with a wheel so it changes colors also. I have a string of little lights on it as well. To get the layered effect, I simply cut out the branches I did not want with wire cutters.

Oops, I forgot to turn it on for the picture. Obviously I took this photo before the snow came!!



I have quite a Santa collection and choose to display all my small to medium sized ones in this little cupboard. I have kind of a fruit theme in my kitchen so the garland has beaded fruit in it.

This is on the coffee table in the family room. I just put a wreath on the table and arranged unbreakable ornaments in it. The little batting Santa sits in a hurricane vase.

The first Santa I ever made.

Over the piano, I made the wreath to coordinate with the garland on the fireplace mantel. See the cute monkeys? They like to sing Christmas carols around the piano!

This photo has some glare too, sorry it just didn't take very well.

The tree, I love how it turned out. Takes a while to get all the ornaments on it but it is worth it. Not too impressed with the prelit part. We've already had to cut out several strings that burned out. So, I'm back to stringing lights and I don't believe you can have too many lights on a tree. The more the better is my motto!!

The other side of the room. I recently moved this curio secretary in here because it had been in the hall niche where we just added to bookcases. I think it works okay here.


Hope you enjoyed these two rooms. I will be sharing more next week. I'm anxious to see everything the other bloggers have to share. Have a great and wonderful day!!

Blessings,

Linda

Here Comes Santa Claus

I am linking up to Susan at Thoughts from over the Rainbow for her Deck the Halls Tuesday blog party!! See the other displays HERE.

Hi Friends!! We are all so busy Christmasing our houses aren't we? I love how my house looks at Christmas, so warm and cosy and I have always had a special feeling for Santa Claus or St. Nickolas. I believe he represents a "spirit of giving" and the love of children. St. Nick was a real person who lived in Turkey and was a bishop in the Catholic church. He was orphaned at an early age and used his money to give to poor children and those in need.
As I said in my last post, I started making Santas many years ago and they have evolved through the years. This Santa is one of my latter ones, pardon the brightness, I used a flash for this picture a few years ago, and I cannot take another as he went to a home in another state. He was custom created for a special family to represent them and all that they hold dear. By the time I get one done, it is hard to let him go!!, but I love the process of making these kind old gentlemen come to life!!





This Santa went to an LSU fan among other personal references. All done in purple and gold.

This Santa lives with me!! I have 2 new bookcases in the hall to display all my Santas and have been having fun filling it up!! I think I'm going to have to pare down my collection though. I ran out of space for them all!!

Since I also do miniatures, I had to make a tiny display for all my mini Santas. There are about 200 or so, it's been a while since I have taken the time to count them all!! Many are handmade, some just repainted, and some are tiny Hallmark ornaments that were the perfect size.

The" gift box" is plexiglass on 2 sides and the lid and front can be removed. There is also a light inside ~ it's one of the favorite things I have made.

This is my new bookcase!! It's actually 2 (purchased at Walmart) cases that were the perfect size to fit in this niche we had in the hallway. We already had the beadboard cupboard beneath them, so we just painted everything white and put beadboard on the backs of the cases instead of using the cardboard backing that came with them. I love how it turned out! and and looking forward to seasonal displays all year as well as a great place for family pictures. I plan to store games and such in the base cabinet for the grandchildren to have easy access.

See the picture of the old gentleman with the pipe? I recently found this picture at the Goodwill Store!! I was so excited. Doesn't he look like Santa??

The only problem is one of lighting. The hallway has two fixtures and the bookcases are between them, so I think we will try to get some kind of a track fixture that doesn't look too contemporary so we can aim little spotlights on the bookcase.

To take these pictures, I put a table lamp on the opposite side of the hall on a table and it cast too many shadow, but you get the idea, not to mention that it snowed here all day and so there wasn't much natural light in the house. But it did put me in the Christmas spirit to finish up my decorating and do some baking which is a good thing!!!

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to visit!! I wish for each of you dear friends a wonderful CHRISTmas season!!

Blessings to each of you, Linda

A few of my Favorite Things

Hi Friends!! I thought I would do a little Show and Tell today of a few of my favorite Christmas decorations and ornaments. I am linking to Cindy at My romantic home for her Show and Tell Friday. Be sure and check out all the other enteries too!

Above is the first Santa I made many years ago. I took a class at a local quilt shop from a doll artist and learned to sculpt and make the armature for the Santa. He is made from Super Sculpey, painted and dressed in antique fabrics and furs. I feel my skills have really improved since this one, but he will always be very special to me.
I also put together a sleigh full of toys, some of which I made and others were repainted.


One of my favorite ornaments. I see it needs a touch-up of paint.

I have collected angels for many years, and this one will always be a favorite as it came from my good friend Gail who passed away from cancer about 3 years ago. She gave me this beautiful angel for my tree right after she was diagnosed. I miss her very much.

The little "wax" angel in the background is one of my favs. I picked it up many years ago at a sale or something. I have never seen one like it, obviously handmade I think, with mohair wig and pearl strand for her halo. She is so delicately painted. The angel in front is made from a purchased angel head and shoulder and a long tassel for her skirt. The bodice is made from wired ribbon.

And this is "Willie" our yellow and white cat of some 15 years. He loves it under the Christmas tree with all the twinkly lights. We always think he is ready for Christmas when it arrives. ha.

Well, that's just a few things to show you. I will be joining some of the Christmas tours in the next few weeks to show you more. I'm almost done!!

I am soooooo excited! I have just passed my medical transcription finals and will now be moving into an internship position. There is still much to learn, but I really do enjoy it and find it interesting and best of all I can work from home. There is no where I would rather be.

Hope you all have a good Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Blessing, Linda

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Praying that each of you has a happy and wonderfully "thankful" Thanksgiving with your families and loved ones. All our children and grandchildren will be with us to celebrate God's goodness to us as we love and encourage each other. I have been so busy with my school work that I have had little time to blog lately. But, I am ALMOST DONE!!!!. Then I will begin an internship program for a couple of months before employment. I am thankful that this old cerebelum (brain) of mine has been able to learn some new things!! ha.

Doesn't this turkey look appetizing?? Well, not really, but I can assure you it is delicious!! My DH smoked our turkey last weekend and cut it all off to freeze for Thursday. I did not want to spend my afternoon on Thursday "picking the turkey"!! I have broth saved for the gravy and I think it will be easy to put it all together.

It's beginning to look a lot like.............

Christmas!!!! Yes, I have a little bit of a head start with the diningroom Christmas trees. They are mostly decorated with stars I have collected through the years. I always add a few new ones every year. To finish, I add cobalt blue bulbs to tie in with all the blue and white in the diningroom.

A peak!! I will show you more later!! May all of you have a wonderful time during this special holiday in our country. I'm so thankful that we decided many years ago that a special day dedicated to "the giving of Thanks" was needed!!! We can take nothing for granted. We must concentrate on what we HAVE and not on what we DON'T HAVE!! And.................we have sooooo much, don't we?

Blessings and Love to each of you, Linda

This and That

Hi Friends, Sorry I've been away so long. Several things have been the reason, number 1, my camera has been in the shop being repaired after I dropped it, and it took a while to get back but it seems to be working fine now, which makes me very happy! Then secondly, I have been very busy with my online Medical Transcription course. I am now at the end of all the curriculum and am working on my final exams. I really like the typing and I find the reports very interesting as I have always been very interested in medical things. It is challenging work but so far so good. I haven't had as much time to play around with decorating and art things as I would like, but this I think is a good anwer to wanting to earn some extra money and yet wanting to be at home. I'm excited about it!

Do you like my little black boxes? Aren't they cute? I found them at the GW a few weeks ago. Not sure just what I'll put in them, I guess a little of this and a little of that!! he, he.

Veterans day is coming up and I found this really neat flag case at Michaels this summer. Since we lost my father-in-law last January, I thought this would be a nice gift for my husband to put his Dad's flag and some of his medals, awards, ribbons, etc. And it also has a place for a 4x6 picture! This is such a great display I think, and my husband if very proud of it. It will hang in his office.

This year has gone by so fast, it makes my head spin, and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!! I always feel a little conflicted about Thanksgiving, as sometimes I feel the need to go ahead and start putting up my Christmas decorations (BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM) to get a head start on December which always seems to end up with me thinking that if I just had ONE more week, I would be ready. Do you all do that? I'm going to try and get some things done ahead, cooking, wrapping and such. But then I say that every year!

One more thing, I went to the Goodwill last week and Guess What? It was CLOSED because of mercury contamination indefinitely!! Wow!!. Do you suppose it was one of those new CFL bulbs that got broken? I've heard some bad rumors about Haz-Mat teams being called to clean up after those things. I do not like the light they give off AT ALL!! So, guess who is hoarding light bulbs? I buy them everytime I go to Walmart and I've noticed that the cheaper ones are getting harder to find on the shelf. Four bulbs for $.77 is way cheaper than 4 for $7.50 or more, and from what I've heard they don't last quite as long as they are saying. Oh well, just thought I'd mention it. Let me know what you all think.

Hope you all have a very happy and safe Halloween. I have made Chili and Apple Crisp today, as our kids are coming over to celebrate birthdays.

Blessings, Linda