And, yes, this IS a little Christmas at my house. Tiny, but more than I've done in several years. It's difficult to want to decorate for Christmas, even now, a year later. I told myself it was an effort I needed to make. Just for the making...for putting my mind somewhere else...somewhere it hadn't been in quite a while. So, I made the effort, I guess you'd say, to make things a tiny bit Merry and Bright. I'm not good at it, but I made it anyway. I made myself find things in the attic.....things so recently moved into the attic...and now, out of it.
I thought I'd go find a four foot tree at Walmart, but, lo, the shopping locusts had invaded and left with every small tree in the store. That turned out to be a good thing, because the base of a four foot tree would never have fit in my 'so very cute' little red wagon, which I was intent on using to hold whatever tree I could get my hands on. So I took this thin 'slice' of a tree from that attic and brought it downstairs. My friend, Jim, had given me that red wagon years ago....it's held lots of things in it's time in my home and I wanted it to hold this year's little tree, in THIS home. Determination. I have that if nothing else.
Everything here except a couple of Walmart ornaments has been with me for a long time. The Santa, the bottle brush trees, the ornaments I made, the basket the tree is in, the crocheted and Battenburg lace, all from other years. The two little houses, were given to me by my friend, Bibi. She decorated the large one several years ago, and made the small one from paper after that. It's delicate. There's more about that further on in this post. Turns out all these things made an 'ok' little arrangement on the living room table. I call it the living room table, because I do have a dining room...I just wasn't going to get rid of this table when I moved. I figured I'd need it for my little monthly group meeting and once a table is gone...well, that's when you will need it...so it moved in with me.
Here's a closer look....Oh, Bibi made that little Snowman up there by the basket too! She's really good at making tiny things! He is actually a box that holds another tree.
Here's old St. Nick. I bought this one years ago when my grandson was small. He leans a little, but, hey, so do I.
You might recognize this ornament from my recent Christmas Giveaway, although this is not the same image as the one I gave away. There are several here on this post. Just for you to see...one of the things you can do with old Christmas cards and some fabric. If you didn't read that post...this image was printed onto fabric using an old Christmas card and a printer, then embroidered and made into a tiny version of a 'quilt.'
And here's another.
And another.
Like I said, more on these houses further down.....
I found this stocking at the flea market last week for $3. It made me laugh, as I knew the old navy man would think it was funny. It says: "Fill-er Up."
There's really not much that says "Merry Christmas" on my mantle. Mostly stuff I had there already, just rearranged with a couple of extra things. (Oh, and these candles aren't yellow, they just look that way in a couple of photos....weird.)
So...yes, the canvas...does say "Merry Christmas." So, there is at least the ONE thing!
And, an old Christmas Card....
Can you call two Cardinal Salt Shakers 'Christmasey?"
Prior to putting that little skinny tree on my table, this glass vase of rocks and twigs was on the table. I couldn't bear to get rid of it, so it became part of the mantle decor. So, here is the list of twigs in it....some Rosemary, Crepe Myrtle branches complete with the seed pods, dried stems from some irises which are growing on my back patio, and some tree branches from the old house. I love them!
My friend, Bibi and I, both love twigs and we gather them whenever possible. I won't have any at this place, except for the Crepe Myrtles, so, when I moved, I brought with me many twigs I gathered from the my old house. I have extras in the garage. And, my daughter has some in her house too...only hers look lots different. I'll be showing you her house in my next post. (Talk about opposites...you will wonder about us when you see her house!)
I love this print. It's larger than it looks and wonderful. There are tiny Cardinals on the twigs by the fence, cows way off in the distance, a barn, another outbuilding, and a very ancient old house. I am inspired by it...thinking of embroidery, applique and such. And, it's a great Winter scene!
Two more of my Santas! Well, actually, four...another riding a toy horse, and one of my favorites, given to me by my friend, Susan. She bought it for me in Germany. It's old-fashioned looking and you can put it in lots of places as the hands are magnetized and will grip around a post or on a stocking, anywhere. So cute!! See, right there by the bear's head. I made that bear a few years ago. Also a great sequin covered box with a few beaded cherries on top. Then, there is also that vintage high chair. I had it on the porch at the other house, brought it in here for Christmas. More on this a couple of photos down.
Yes, I can hear my friend, Sherry, asking about this mantel banner of crocheted doillies. I found it in Texas when I went there for my birthday. It fit this mantel just perfectly! I'm very, very fond of it!
Then, there are the birds flying across the wall. Eddie, a quiltmaker in my guild, sent them to me a couple or so years ago. They flew in my kitchen at the other house. I asked my grandson to hang them, as these ceilings are eleven feet tall and I have been forbidden to climb ladders, since I fell and broke my tailbone in January. So, he put them just as I wanted them without me even saying - just perfect!
So, there you are...a peek at the grand total of my decorations. It's a cozy place, which is all that matters to me.
Remember, I said there would be more about the Santas and the Bear. While up in the attic, I remembered I had this beautiful framed calligraphy of "The Night Before Christmas," so I brought it down also. It was made especially for the old navy man and me by Calligrapher, Mary Lackey. It's quite special. There is really nowhere to hang it right now, so I just sat it by the Santas. Next year, I will find a better way to see it.
It's inscribed with our names and the date, 1994.
One more photo of the mantle..........
I said there was an addition to the story of Bibi's little paper houses. She came over today and brought me another one....right there in the foreground...look at that cute tiny little house! Adorable.
And, then there were three!
Look how big it looks up close to the camera.... and see, she even made a tiny little Snowman!
So, here is the front porch. Just brought out more stuff I already had.
I will probably put these Nests on that porch in every possible scenario I can dream up. The bird in the nest is from Bibi, the two other nests from Jim. Apparently, everyone knows I like nests!! Aren't they sweet though!
My little porch blackboard, one of my birdhouses made by a local guy long ago, one of my 'kid' chairs, the Santa that has sat on my porch at Christmas for a very long time, and a wire bin of rocks holding up the blackboard...the rocks gathered long ago by my late mother-in-law.
And, now the end....another of my old birdhouses, a nest (not real, of course) and a little Christmas tree.
This is what I managed to do, simple as it is....and I have to say...I do feel better having done it.
Christmas is coming....stay warm, Merry and Bright!!
Until then, ♥ pat
