My Christmas Home

I decided to join in on a few Christmasy blog hops and would like to thank Hootin' Anni' for hosting the Home for the Holidays" Blog Parade; Jerri for hosting the "Holly Bloggy Xmas Bash" being held from Dec. 14th to the 18th and to The Nester who is hosting the Christmas Tour of Homes 2009. Stop by these great blogs and have a great time!

So.....I'm still decorating and most likely will right up until Xmas Eve! But, for now, enjoy my simple home with its simple decor'. Thanks for looking!

This Santa is the oldest and beloved of all ornaments on my tree. Why? Because he was made by my simple hands when I was a girl of 11. He has moved many times with me over the years and is still unscathed! It's a miracle! He is made from a hollowed out egg, a cotton ball for the beard and trim and a chin piece from my baby brother's hat at the time. I look at this and remember the day that I created him so many years ago....

The tree isn't quite complete. I need to add my beaded garland and more ornaments. I wish I had added more lights as well, but it's too late now.

A recently acquired ornament that was handmade by Sharon Kyser. I just LOVE it!

The next two paper ornaments were also created by Sharon for a swap in which we were partners:


Below is a Santa standing by an antique coffee cart on which sits my vintage nativity set:

Ornaments in a cut glass bowl:

An antique side table covered with my collection of Snowmen. Below the table are my soft dolls--santas and snowmen--each of them holds their own story as well.

My Santa collection:

A snowflake garland in my dining area:

My Nativity Set is 25 years old. My mother bought it for me and my husband for our first Christmas.


This angel watches over me in the scrapbook room:



My husbnad loves to fish and this is his contribution to the tree every year!

This ceramic tree and angels were made by my sister years ago. They sit proudly on my hutch in the dining area:





This gingerbread house sits on the dining room table proudly made by my daughter.



That's it for now. I'll be posting more soon. Thanks for stopping by,

Getting Ready to Attend Some Blog Hops

I just love blog hops. I find them so inspirational and it's a wonderful way to make new friends. Just a few days ago, I received an email from The Inspired Room and saw a "Holiday House Tour" blog hop going on. So, I clicked on that and found so many gorgeously decorated rooms for Christmas. From there, I discovered more "hops" happening and decided to join in.

At this point, I want to thank you for visiting this fairly new blog of mine. I created it several months ago to show off and talk about my love of vintage and repurposing antique finds, flea-market discoveries, etc. I'm usually at A Scrapmoms Musings Click Here --my first and most beloved blog. I'm an obsessed scrapper and that blog is where I spend 95% of my time, hence the neglect to this blog. But, I plan on changing that. It's a New Year's Resolution.

Well, I'm off to create a Holiday Post and upload some holiday pics. Check in tomorrow to enjoy the tour.

Have a great day!

I'd Love to Share My Tree With You

My Christmas Tree has had many different looks over the years and after I decorate the tree each year, I always ooooh and aaaahhhh over it, thinking it's the most beautiful tree in the world. It's a simple tree really, but what makes it beautiful to me are the ornaments. Each ornament holds a special meaning and when they are unwrapped each year, I stop and think about where it came from, who had given it to me and if I had bought it for myself--why?

My tree is an eclectic mix of whimsy and classic. My girls are grown now but I have most of the handmade decorations they made in school. I also have a Santa that I made when I was 11 years old. It's made from a hollowed out egg, with hand drawn eyes and the beard is made from a cotton ball. It's the oldest and most beloved ornament on the tree. I have several paper crafted ornaments made by some special scrapper friends as well. There are ornaments that pertain to the personality of each child--such as Tweety for Val when she was around 10 when she had a "thing" for Tweety back then. There's a cookie jar for Jackie because of her penchant for sweets. Another has hand painted penguins for Zachery because of his love of penguins at the time (around age 7, I think). Each day I add more ornaments and each day, my tree becomes more special.

I LOVE Christmas and all the comes with it and I especially love decorating the house for the occasion. As of today, Christmas is only 13 days away and I'm still decorating! The tree is not quite done, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway. Enjoy!












Thanks for looking! And I wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas!

Christmas is 3 Weeks from Today!

I'm almost done with my shopping but then there's the baking and the umpteen projects I've committed myself too with very little time to complete them!!! Aaarrrgh! I'm happy to announce as well that I'll be featured on Craftaholics Anonymous as part of the Reader Tutorial Week. My tutorial will be shown on December 16th. My tutorial is on creating a papercrafted Pinecone Ornament. It's fairly simple--just a bit time-consuming. If you'd like to create one of these ornaments, stop on over to the blog at Craftaholics Anonymous on December 16th. Thanks!

Ahhh, It's That Time of Year!

And what time of year is that, you might ask? It's nearly Christmas! It's only 6 weeks away and as always I'm stressing over what handmade gifts I can make. I LOVE making things for family and friends, but I never leave myself enough time to complete the projects! The first thing I have to do is create an ornament for a swap I'm in at Etsy Cottage Style. I know exactly what I'm making, just have to get off my butt and do it! I've got other ideas of what to make just by browsing through some other blogs on re-purposing objects to make something else that's quite unique and personal. This is just a short post to let everyone know that I'm here (although I'm usually at A Scrapmom's Musings. Will post something when it's done!

Looking for New Treasures

I'm heading out this morning to do some errands and will try to get to the local thrift store and see what I might find. Who knows? I'm looking for vintage children's books right now. I'm always on the lookout for anything I can use for home decor as well. There's not much out there. I don't live in an area that's 'overflowing' with 'treasures', but I always keep my eye out. Have a great day!

I've Been MIA

Yes, I haven't been on this blog in a few weeks and I apologize. I haven't found a thing to add to my vintage collection/flea market finds. I have been busy and am usually on my scrapping blog. I just created an altered rolling pin for a Trash to Treasure Swap. I've tried to upload a pic, but am having trouble