Share your holiday decor

[annielinz]

It been pretty quiet around here, I guess everyones been busy getting ready for the holidays. Lets all post a few pics of our decor to get everyone in the spirit.

I tried to simplify this year:rolleyes:. I went with a winter silvery white theme with a touch of gold sprinkled with natural ingredients like pine-cones and greenery.

Happy Holidays everyone!

[Heather]

Annielinz, how nice! Thanks for sharing. That's exactly how I like my holiday decorations - will you come and do my place??????

We dig up a live tree every year and replant it in the backyard. We haven't got this years' yet as we don't have it inside very long but I'm so ready for it!!!! There's a few decorations up around the house but nothing too major - we decided to wainscott the living room (I wouldn't call it BAD timing)....

[memmey]

Your home is beautiful and how do you take such great pictures. Maria(Cheapdiva) sent me a camera and I just point and shoot. The camera is capable of better shots than I am executing....LOL
Anyway your home is lovely :)

[memmey]

The photgraphy is awful....sorry:o. This is the table my Sister gave me for Christmas. Yesterday she drove( 6 hours) all the way from Dallas to bring it to me. A couple she knows from her Mini Cooper car club put it on Craigs list for $50.00. The husband said it was his Grandmothers and she brought it here from Germany when she immigrated. They are very young and the wife didn't want if anymore because it was "old". They posted on the car forum that they had put it on Craigs list and my Sister bought it as soon as she saw it.
I have to live with it a while to know where to put it. It is so so pretty in person. This was a great gift for Christmas.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/yow074.jpg

[Heather]

Oh too bad I missed that swap where you sent cameras to each other.....

[memmey]

LOL......Maria sent me one because I didn't have a digital camera. She had gotten a new one and sent me her old one. I was so excited and then the posting of pictures BEGAN! Still I do not know how to use it correctly. Oh well bad photos sent with good intent.

[annielinz]

Thanks guys. Now I want to see yours :)

Memmy that table is gorgeous! What a lovely christmas present. That was so nice of Maria to send you her old camera the pic is perfect BTW. Regarding picture taking.... I have to take alot till I find one that looks OK to post. These were with my old camera which is acting up. I got a new one for my anniversary which I'm still trying to figure out.

[yarborough house]

Well I wanted less and more calm this year with hubby leaving.
So, instead of trees in every room in the house I have one in the dining room and one in the den. The dining room is done in whites, browns and some silver. Very soothing and calming I feel. The one in the den is the family tree with years of ornaments on there that all mean something to us. Of course right now it is in shambles because it just looked horrible after we did it so we are redoing it again- yeah I know..doesn't have to be perfect. But dang it it can't be butt ugly.

Here are some of the dining room and one of the house lit up at night.

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[yarborough house]

Here are more of the front porch:

1129 1130 1131 1132 1133

[CohenCottage]

Everyone's photos are so lovely! Puts me in the Christmas spirit...

I have a wreath that my mom gave me with bronze metal fabric to make a bow. It's going up tomorrow, so I will try to snap a picture. We also have lights to put up outside, and I would like to get some small trees or topiaries to put in our iron planters at the base of the steps. As for inside, I'm so jealous of you ladies that have room for a full sized tree! Our house is so small that we literally have no room for a full sized tree in our main room. I'm thinking of doing a small one on our credenza or kitchen island with stockings over the door. The other option would be to put a full sized one in our bedroom, but that might be weird and bad for allergies. If we could move our sectional sofa, we would be able to put a tree in the living room, but I think that didn't work last year. Any other suggestions? I'd like to do wreaths and garland inside too.

[Heather]

Oh CC remember when it was "in" to hang your Christmas tree upside down?

[CohenCottage]

Yes! I think that might be a hazard with so many dogs in the house though. Tammy's post about that magnolia leaf wreath got me thinking, and I may get floral foam in the shape of a big cone and do a magnolia table top tree. Was going to try to find a faux one, but real and free might be better.

Do y'all think that could work? It's raining and gross here today, so I'm going to get crafty after I clean the house. Being a stay at home person has its benefits!

[Heather]

That would look kinda cool!

[Zuzu's Garden]

Wow, everything looks so pretty over at Mary Ann's and Tammy's homes! Mem - that table is wonderful. I can't believe they sold it for a song because it was "old". :eek:

I haven't started decorating yet. Heating the house w/ a woodstove means waiting until closer to Christmas to cut a tree, and it won't be full size.

Zu

[annielinz]

Tammy, beautiful decorations! I covet that old rusty wagon on your porch!

I'm all for thinking outside the box regarding a Xmas tree CC.

Mine is a prelit faux which is I purchased a few years back. I was so tired of paying an arm and leg for a real tree only to have all the needles fall off.
Without little ones around I would be just as content with a small tabletop, but since I have this one, I decorated it. I did however do less is more this year. DH doesn't believe me---but its true!!!! :)

[CohenCottage]

my hubs suggested a tree for the front porch and a menorah inside, but i want a tree inside too. it's too yucky to go to the store today, so i'm going to wait until tomorrow. this rain makes me want to nap instead of clean!

[yarborough house]

CC - I didn't know you all were jewish. So, do you do Hannakah and Christmas? They mentioned both once on tv and called it Chrismakah...
I think the cone magnolia sounds cool - do it and then take a pic to show us.

[vintage girl]

I just completed my holiday decorating this past weekend. I have two trees. One is bird theme and the other is cowboy, since I live in Horsetown USA. I did a little less this time around, because some of the decorations were getting old and could not be used anymore. Outside we scaled back drastically. We used to be on the tour of lit homes up until two years ago. We covered our entire roof and our fence (3/4 acre) with lights and animated characters, etc. But it just got to be too much and 2 years ago we scaled back and dropped off the tour. It is so funny, we still have people drive by our house and also on horseback to see all the lights. Last night someone was outside honking their horn. I went outside and they were at my gate. They wanted to know what happened to the "old owners" and why did we not have hardly any lights:rolleyes: I do sort of miss all the lights and animated deer, snowmen, etc., but I do not miss the work and the electric bill;) I will try and get some pics of my decorations this week.

[CohenCottage]

my family is episcopalian, and DH is half jewish (dad) and half catholic (mom). so we do christmas for real and kind of fake channuka. if we are in texas, we will do some kind of channuka thing with his grandmother and aunts. the funny thing is that his maternal grandmother was jewish by birth but was left on the doorstep of a catholic orphanage. she ended up becoming super-catholic. kind of ironic...

[Heather]

OK Annieliz, how in the heck do you mount those plates on your wall? I've seen some wire ones around but it looks like your mounting hardware is hidden.... kinda like in this pic too but they are layered:

[annielinz]

Heather I use those wire thingy's to hang my dishes.You can paint out the part that shows to match your dishes to disguise them a bit.

I've heard good results are had with the disk things you glue on the back, but I'm old school.
Love that pic you showed.
I have a few saved in my file I'll post.
They are from Tina over at Cherry Hill Cottage blog.

I'll also post a pic of the disc hangers I'm talking about.

I would love to do something like this, but it would be 1 door slam and I'd be making mosaics :)


www.cherryhillcottage.typepad.com/

[MaryK]

Heather, I love that picture of the all white room. I want that room - LOVE it.
MaryK

[memmey]

I wanted to add this.....in the world of collecting not decorating the wire hangers add stress to the china . If you love something and want to pass it down in your family you need to treat it as an heirloom. Some one asked in another post about how to tell old from new, aside from the obivious....older pieces will have a wonderful patina and crazing.
I would wire up the plates that already have a chip or crack. If you use that rule of thumb you can find all sorts of wonderful things for really cheap. Collectors don't normally buy things that are chipped or cracked.
I have this wonderful bowl that was made in the 19th century, I have moved it all over and just can't seem to find it's place. I don't want anything to happen to it. Some pieces are so wonderful they defy decorating :)

[yarborough house]

Heather - I have the glue on yellow discs. Haven't used them but they came highly recommended. I just don't like the wire spring things. Just me..

Take a look at some of these projects with china:

1152

1153

1154

1155
These all come from robolady..she has amazing ideas on her blog ..
check them out:

http://www.robomargo.com/china.html

[Heather]

Oh cute blog Tammy with all the china ideas...thanks!

[vintage girl]

Finally got some pics of my holiday decorations. I did a bit less than past years, as some of my decorations were finally getting old and could not be used anymore. I also have a pic of my christmas present from hubs. I have always wanted a church pew. I finally got one this past weekend. It is from an old mission/church in San Pedro. It is very old. The original mission/church burned down back in the 1800's and the only things that were recovered were some church pews and some religious artifacts. The church pews were put in the new church, but were recently taken out for remodeling. I was lucky enough to get one of them. It is very old, but in good condition. There is intermittent blistering of the wood due to the fire, but I am not going to refinish it. That is part of the charm of it. It fits perfectly with my dining table. It is just under 7 feet long. Anyway here are my pics:)

[vintage girl]

A few more pics. I love christmas:D

[Heather]

Very nice, very nice!
Here's some more plates on the wall eye candy:
http://brabournefarm.blogspot.com/2009/12/love-more-plates-on-wall.html

[shabbychick]

Oh, you've all done such a lovely job on your holiday decorations! I have my pink tree up and have been working on the fireplace mantel. It's been a real challenge this year what with the cast and all. I am now on two feet, sort of, but too much standing or walking is painful, and by the end of my work day I'm just exhausted, so the decorating has been going very, very slowly. Luckily tomorrow is my last day of work until January.

Adding to all the rest of the stress, my cat (the one who had cancer) took a turn for the worse (not from the cancer, but from kidney failure), and after trying multiple things for a week to try to make her feel better, I finally had to have her put to sleep last Saturday. It was pretty harrowing at the end. Between the cast and the sick cat, this has not been one of my better holiday seasons. It's been hard to feel very festive...I really just want a nap.

I'll try to remember to bring home a digital camera and take some pics of my tree. I know pink isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I do love it. And for once, my holiday decor coordinates with my everyday things, so I don't have to put everything away. I'm liking that!

Do any of you coordinate your wrapping paper with your decorating theme every year? I see that done in magazines, but I've never actually done it.

[annielinz]

Shabby, I'm so sorry you are having a hard holiday season. Between your cast and the loss of your kitty that is a lot to handle (((hugs))).

I can't wait to see your pink tree. Maybe you can find a special kitty ornament to honor your feline friend.

[yarborough house]

Shabby sorry to hear you lost your friend. I know it is hard. Our kids have an ornament that looks like our dog toby we lost and it means so much to them.

On the tree front my kids have trees in their rooms. They were both green but we needed a green one to send with daddy to afghanistan so sophie ponied up hers as she wanted a pink one. It is a soft thick pink tree with white lights and she has all her ballet and tea party decor on it. It is adorable.

As for presents since we have two trees I wrapped all the kids gifts in fun kid stuff and put it under their tree. But with my all white tree this year I wrapped all the grandparent and sister gifts in brown craft paper with white ribbon or just ties and some snowflakes on top. It looks so nice under there.

tammy

[vintage girl]

I am so very sorry to hear about your kitty. At least she is now out of pain. Take care and I will be thinking of you. I am also looking forward to seeing your pink tree. I have always wanted a pink tree:)

[ChapterTwo]

My condolences on the loss of your kitty, Shabby...I've gone through that too, and it's especially hard during the holidays. I'm sorry you're still in pain and struggling to get things done. Thankfully, today is your last day of work so you can slow the pace.

No, I've never been "matchy matchy" with wrapping paper - I have a lot of different kinds and use whatever suits the giftee; I try to make it all about the person, not about me and my decor. For example, I have friends with a lot of pets, so their paper has cats or dogs on it.

Your pink tree will be wonderful and I look forward to seeing your pics. Whatever floats your boat! :D

[memmey]

Shabby I love pink. I am a pink girl too. Your pink tree will suit me just right :) No apologizing for pink.....

I feel bad about your little kitty, at the old site I had posted about losing my little old dog Skeeter. The girls were so kind and it was a great comfort to sorta fall apart here. If only they could live forever. It is like losing a little child. I'm gonna go a retrieve a song I found to remember Skeeter by. It will make you cry BUT that is a good thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y-h1iImHQI

[shabbychick]

Thank you all for your kind condolences on the loss of my kitty. She was an interesting cat, to say the least, and I'll miss her. My remaining cat doesn't seem to notice her absence, but they never really got along. It's going to be interesting to have only one cat for awhile. I haven't had just one pet for years. But Cobweb is an elderly kitty and doesn't take kindly to strangers (though she does better with dogs than with other cats) so I will probably either wait until she passes or get a dog instead of a cat.

Attached are pictures of my pink tree and other holiday decorations. I'm happy with the way it all turned out. I'm no interior decorator, but it looks fine to me. I know it's all way non-traditional, but I'm sure there was at least one chicken in that Christmas stable, right? :)

[annielinz]

Shabby your tree is pink-a-lious! My DD would covet that tree for sure. She is a pink fan thru and thru. Love your holiday decorations, who says they need to be red and green to say Christmas.

In fact DD is coming home tomorrow from college, better get her pink tree up to welcome her home!

Heres a couple pics of DD's tree in years past.

Thank you for sharing Shabby, happy holidays to you!

[shabbychick]

Ooh, I love your daughter's pink tree. Beautiful! She has exquisite taste!

[yarborough house]

Shabby - my daughter would move in with you this instance if she saw your true love of pink. She doesn't understand why everyone isnt a pink lover of everything. She would love your pink tree. And I know she'd insist that the two of you sit down at that little white table and have a teaparty while looking at the tree.
I still love that chair you redid...

tammy

[vintage girl]

Your tree is adorable. I absolutely love it:) My daughter wants a black tree. They have a small tabletop one at walmart. I might surprise her and get one this weekend. They also have the same tree in pink. I wonder if I have room for one more tree??;)

[shabbychick]

Thanks, Tammy. The cat has decided she likes that chair, too, which is unfortunate since she sheds. The chair was really the inspiration for the colors on the tree. I have an afghan in the same colors that I found at Value Village for like five dollars. It covers the whole back and seat of the love seat. It's fun when look starts coming together. You can send your daughter over anytime for a cup of tea. I'd love to talk pink with her!

Vintage Girl, I think a black tree would be cool as well. You could put up a black tree with pink ornaments next to a pink tree with black ornaments. That'd be neat.

[CohenCottage]

Shabby,

I'm so sorry about your kitty. Your pink tree is fantastic! Thanks for posting pics.

[shabbychick]

You're welcome. Everyone I know rolled their eyes when I told them I was buying a pink tree for my shabby Christmas, but I knew you guys would understand!

[Heather]

That's why we're here, Shabby.

I was over at our next door neighbors last night for some Christmas Cheer and I was telling them about how we installed board and batten wainscoting and they said, "why would you want to do that for?" Most people are like that and I don't even bother to explain anymore.

That's why I'm here with you gals!

[ChapterTwo]

That's why we're here, Shabby.

I was over at our next door neighbors last night for some Christmas Cheer and I was telling them about how we installed board and batten wainscoting and they said, "why would you want to do that for?" Most people are like that and I don't even bother to explain anymore.

That's why I'm here with you gals!

Oh, boy...I SO agree!
Not a single one of my friends is into "our" style of decorating, and they don't enjoy trash to treasure (although I've tried to drag them to a flea market now or again...MISTAKE!)

Anyway, I'm here to say I appreciate you all too. Even if I sometimes don't have the energy to add to the conversation, I'm reading, and smiling, and enjoying your company!

[MaryK]

Shabby,
I LOVE pink and your PINK tree is wonderful.
MaryK

[shabbychick]

[QUOTE=ChapterTwo;10385]Oh, boy...I SO agree!
Not a single one of my friends is into "our" style of decorating, and they don't enjoy trash to treasure (although I've tried to drag them to a flea market now or again...MISTAKE!)

We're obviously too cutting edge for them. :) We can only hope that someday they'll be able to catch up with us. :p

[shabbychick]

Shabby,
I LOVE pink and your PINK tree is wonderful.
MaryK

Thanks, Mary. I love that there are so many different colors of trees out there now. I wouldn't mind finding a bright yellow one someday.

[rubyslippers]

I just put up my tree yesterday. I am still working on a few things. I just added a pinkish-purple orchid to the mantle; however, that is about my extent of pink. I am much more of a blue and red gal. With that said, it looks like we might have the same yellow chair at our respective tables - - too funny!

Anyway, while pink is not "my thing" ... I love the all out glorious whimsy of the whole thing ... very shabbily-fabulous.

On another note, these boards mean a lot to me - - especially with the loss of Cottage Living - - I am still incredibly thankful to Hillary and the C & B gang adopting us over here. I recently visited the homes of many co-workers during the weeks leading up to the holidays. Each home was beautiful and welcoming expressing the personality of each home owner in some unique way. With that said, the "cottage" look is just a little different. Many times, people drop by my home simply exclaiming that they just couldn't imagine something this cute was tucked away here.

They traditionally ask a lot of questions about my decor, the history of everything from my light fixtures to my furniture. Remember, "our" style of decorating involves a creative eye and a sensitivity toward "hearth and home" - - many of our homes have smaller footprints; so, every inch has to count. So, we fret over little things, but we love collecting (and rotating those collections).

I have been posting on these boards (or the CL boards) as I have "grown-up" into a homeowner. However, we always talked about cottage being a state of mind. So, I am thankful to have all of you here as we enter this holiday season. I look forward to seeing more pictures from everyone. I'll post some of my own as well.

Thanks to all of you for being out there in cottage land.

G'night,

Jenny