Recipe for Joyful Holidays

 

Isn’t this the truth? :)  

My Christmas Chandelier And Other Decorations.

Hi everyone!  How are you all doing?  Are you getting ready for Christmas?  Are you in baking heaven?  I need to start my baking.   We finally made it back from Houston and I’ve been as busy as a little bumble bee.  I’d like to share how I decorated my little chandelier in my little dining room. :)

I didn’t decorate much in my kitchen.  I did make this wreath and placed it in front of my window. :)  

Well I hope you all are enjoying these few days before Christmas Day.  I am getting ready to do some baking and I will post pictures of my goodies.  :) Have a wonderful day.

Sandra

My Door of Welcome

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  Today I am joining Karen's "Doors of Welcome" over at Some Days Are Diamonds

and Susan's "Deck the Halls" over at Thoughts from Over the Rainbow.

I have  a grapevine garland that I decorate through out the year.  This is above my doorway.   I carry the theme of reds and golds just like my Christmas tree decor.    I also have clear lights on the garland and it looks so pretty when it’s lit up! :)

I am always on the lookout for huge ornaments because they fill up the garland nicely. 

I have red poinsettias, gold stars, huge ornament balls, gold bells, and gold Christmas picks.  

I found these bells at Hobby Lobby this year.  The red, gold, and silver ornaments are from Lowe’s.   

And here is my entry way.  Aw, Skipper wanted to be in the photo as well. :)  I like to display our Christmas cards on that wall.

I hope you all enjoyed my photos.  It’s time to wrap more gifts. :)

Blessings,

Sandra

My Fireplace is Decked Out!

Hi everyone! I am linking this post to Susan @ http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com for Met Monday

and The Nester @ http://www.thenester.com/2009/12/christmas-tour.html

Please visit these two wonderful blogs to view what other participants are sharing with us.

Join me as I show you my “before & after” of my fireplace! Here is my “before” picture of my fireplace. No Christmas decorations whatsoever.

And here are my “after” pictures. If you’d like to see photos of my Christmas tree, you can see them here.

Ok, let’s take a closer look at the mantle! :) This year I decided to decorate this area in cream, gold, and green, with an accent of red. I used two of those plain garlands and added clear lights to it. I found these lovely magnolia flowers at Michael’s. I love how they go with my pictures above the mantle. I also placed gold ornaments and gold Christmas picks I found at Hobby Lobby. I spray painted the pinecones in a gold color. The finials were from a sale at Hobby Lobby during the summer. They used to be a gold color and I decided to paint them an ivory color. The angel is my red accent.

Would you like to see a close up of the angel? :)

I made some bows with gold and cream ribbons for the edge of the mantle. :)

I purchased two live poinsettias and placed them next to the nativity scene. The poinsettias are a light yellowish with pink. They were 2 for 9.00! :) Great buy!

Mr. Santa is proudly standing here.

This is the reason for the season. :) The birth of baby Jesus. :) I have 3 nativity scenes but this one is my favorite. They are white in color with 24 karat gold. I purchased these years ago.

And that is my tour of my fireplace. I hope you enjoyed looking at the photos as much as I enjoyed showing them to you. :) Have a wonderful day.

Sandra

Mary Did You Know

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When your kiss your little baby boy you've kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creations?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is Heavens perfect Lamb?
The sleeping child you're holding, is the Great I Am.

Mary... did you know?

By Mark Lowry

I love this statue of Mother Mary and Baby Jesus. :) I bought this years ago and enjoy it so much that I never put it up once Christmas is over. I just don’t have the heart to put it back in the box. I display this statue all the time on that little table. :)

Such warmth in this photo. :)

May we remember “The Reason for the Season” Have a wonderful day, my friends. Many blessings to you.

Sandra

Our Stockings Are Hung….

by the chimney with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

Our stockings are hanging next to the fireplace this year. I used to hang them right on the mantle but there is no room this year. So they are hanging in front of our living room window so St Nick can easily find them anyway. The cool little rod came from Kirkland’s.

http://www.kirklands.com/p-791-decorative-stocking-holder.aspx

I added a garland, some Christmas picks, and clear lights.

This is a stereo console that was given to me after my grandmother passed away back in 1988, I believe. It used to belong to her. :)

How do you hang your stockings?

I hope you guys are having a wonderful time decorating. I love to decorate my house for Christmas. I am also creating memories for my kids that they will treasure as they are growing up. :)

I am linking this post to Susan @ http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/12/welcome-to-47th-metamorphosis-monday.html

Thank you Susan, for hosting Met Monday. :)

Sandra

How I Make My Bows

Edited to add: Try to use wired ribbon because it holds it's shape better. It is so much easier to work with.

Hi everyone! My friend Marla from http://alwaysnesting.blogspot.com/ asked me if I could do a tutorial on how I make my bows. I’m sure there are different ways to make bows but this is how I make mine.

I am linking this post to

http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/2009/12/holiday-highlights-4.html

&

http://itssoverycheri.blogspot.com/ who is hosting It's So very Creative.

Please visit these two lovely blogs I recently found. :)

This is how I made the bow for the topper on my Christmas tree. You can see my Christmas tree here. http://mybellarose.blogspot.com/2009/12/our-tree-is-ready-to-receive-gifts.html

Please excuse the quality of some of my pictures. My 11 yr old took the pictures as I was making the bow.

To hold my bow together, I use floral wire.

Most of the time for bows, I like using two different ribbons.

Loop the ribbon like this. I loop the ribbon to mid-point.

To look like this. Scrunch the ribbon in the middle.

As you make each loop, twist the ribbon so that the ribbon you started out on top at the beginning is still on top.

Keep looping as you hold the ribbon with the other hand. Don’t let go of the ribbon or you’ll have to start all over again. I’ve let go and it’s a hassle to start all over. lol

Remember to twist your ribbon as you make each loop.

And keep looping until you have enough loops on each side. I usually have four loops on each side.

Keep looping.

Yay! I have all the loops now. Like I said, I usually have four loops on each side.

I like to have ribbon hanging down from the bow like a streamer. So I cut some ribbon with the gold ribbon on top just like my bow.

Scrunch it up in the middle.

And attach it to the bow. Make sure your wire is long enough. I cut mine too short. *blush*

Separate each loop like this.

Until they are all separated. Ta da! A bow!

With the same wire you used to make the bow, tie it to the top of your tree. You might have to fold the top branch first though. If your ceilings are high enough, then you probably don’t need to. Once you place it on top of the tree, work on your bow so it looks perfect. I then placed streamers all around the top of my tree but underneath the bow and left them curled up.

Marla, I hope you understood my tutorial. *blush*

Let me know if you have any questions. :)

Sandra