Christmas Decorating ~ Take Two......

I thought I would do another "Christmas Decorating" post before Christmas. This is the final, for sure. No more decorating. I hadn't shown pictures of my old dry sink or the mantel decorated in the last post. These are close ups of what is inside the dry sink. I lined everything with buffalo snow and then this new snow that I found at a local gift shop. It is the texture of buffalo snow, only little balls. You can see it in the pics. It is great to work with. I then printed out some of my favorite Christmas card pictures and some "words of the season" that I absolutely love and edged in silver glitter. Hope you like the results.

The birds are in honor of my Dad as he loved the birds. This is the third Christmas he has been gone. I know he is celebrating with us....

I don't usually do alot with the mantel, as it is small, but, I cleared it all of except 2 sets of candlesticks. Put more of "the snow" down, and added my collection of sheep, and more Christmas cards. Wish you could see the glitter of the cards. They are so pretty.

A full picture of the mantel. I used vintage tinsel to loop underneath with some very sweet Bethany Lowe ornaments I found at T.J. Maxx.

And finally, a few shots of ornaments that I love on the tree. I have vintage mercury glass bead garland on the tree. And, I usually add "more snow" (LOL!) on the branches, but decided to "go green" this year.

The year my Dad died, I decided it was time to hang pictures of family that had passed, on the tree, in memory. This is just to show you what I did. This is my Dad's parents. They have been long gone, but not from my memory. I look forward to the day I get to see them all again!

I started a new tradition this year. I have many pictures of my family at the holiday gatherings, pictures of "all of the trees" we have had in the past, and of course, the infamous "snow pictures". I collected as many as I could, quickly, and put them in a red scrap booking album. No fuss, just put them in there, randomly, and will add to the collection when I print out more, or find more in the old photos. "I LOVE" the results. I LOVE sitting there and flipping through all the old photos, remembering (and sometimes not remembering), the time of the picture and what was occuring in life then. And laughing, too. I'll add a nice cover to it that says "Christmas At Our House".

God Bless You all this holy Christmas season. May you remember all who have passed on, and hopefully start a new tradition of your own this year...

Merry Christmas

Kitty

xox

You'd Better Watch Out.....You'd Better Not Cry!

I thought it would be so much fun to show the Santas and German Sheep I've collected along the way. It's taken me about 15 years to get this collection together, slowly, very slowly. But I love each and every one. The two little Santas below are the oldest that I have. I believe the red suit Santa was originally sitting on a sled. His buddy to the right is very old. Very fragile. I believe he is made out of felt and he is light as a feather! His suit has faded, but not his Christmas appeal!
This little flock of sheep are just so dear to me. None of them are perfect. Some have bumped ears, and some are dirty, some have no collars, but they all look so wonderful together. I only have one that has a bell. He's seen in another picture. Behind them is some of my ironstone collection that I will share with you at another time....These little Japan santas are just too cute. The little guy in front has one of the sheep beside him. An old postcard in the background.
Just a mish-mush of Santa collectibles. The little plastic Santa mug is very small and I just love the tiny Santa pick inside of it. Don't you just love the beard on that little Japanese santa to the left?
I guess I got this picture a bit fuzzy, but isn't that how sheep are anyhow? lol! The big sheep is the only sheep I have with a bell and he is perfect. He's the grandaddy of them all!

I got this sheep a long time ago. He is affixed to an old wooden bridge and it looks like someone may have repainted his nose just a little too much! If there's a rudolph for sheep, he's the one!
Don't ya just love their little faces. The little celuloid face for the Santa in the right foreground is jut amazing, isn't it?
We certainly can't do without elves? Don't you just want to smile?
These are the only 2 old snowmen I have. They seem harder to find. But I love the 2 I have.
These are those German putz sheep. made out of plaster (or something like it).

And these 2 guys are German lead reindeer. Love the antlers and boy are they heavy! More postcards in the background.
I bought these about 10 years ago from an artist who had an ad in Country Living magazine. The artist was moving to the Oregon area. At that time, at Christmas, they had severe flooding. I hadn't received my Santas in time to display for Christmas and was a little bummed. But never fear! She had them delivered Christmas Day to me! Can you believe how thoughtful she was? A very nice Christmas gift, indeed!
Well, now you are looking at my attempt at creating my own Santas. I had such a good time creating these. I made the faces out of clay and baked them. Painted up the faces just a bit. Made clothes out of felt and beards out of real lambs wool. Just a fun project!

And yes, I even tried my hand at creating the sheep. He's too cute, isn't he? Not a German sheep by any means, but he's loved just the same.

Hope you've enjoyed our little journey through Christmas. I'd love to hear your comments and any experiences you've had making Christmas items. I just love it when I have time to compete these projects. Life is so busy (as we all know). It's been fun reliving my collecting/creating with all of you! Have a wonderful day!

Kitty