Thursday, December 04, 2008

Christmas at my house


Here are a few scenes from my small-ish house at the edge of the forest. This will also be my post for the Holiday Home Tour for Notes From a Cottage Industry. When you are finished reading here, head on over and get the information for joining in.

I've been married for thirty four years (lots of time to collect Christmas "stuff") and I've been collecting snowmen for about eighteen years. There is definitely a snowman theme going on.

I did have a creche that I sat beside the front door but it finally fell apart so much that I couldn't put it out. I'll be looking for another at garage sales during the year.

The Santa sleigh is very, very old. I bought it an an estate garage sale in Detroit. It reminds me of my childhood.

The packages in the sleigh have their original paper which looks to be from the 1940s or 50s.


All my poinsettias are silk. I did this at first because I had a curious cat (Storm) who ate plants.

It is quite nice to bring them out each Christmas and tuck them in an area that needs "color".


An overview of a corner of my family room.

Many of my snowmen (and ladies) were given to me as gifts.

The little snow couple in the front with their feet dangling over the edge and cuddled together inside a quilt, was a gift from Stephanie one year. It actually stays out all year round.


The three happy snowmen in the middle were hand painted for me by my dear friend, BB, in Texas. I think of her each year when I display them.

It's hard to get a good picture where my tree is located but here are a few views. Many years ago I heard a designer give advice for people who like to have a lot of different types of Christmas ornaments on their tree.

She said it can work if you first place bulbs of one color throughout the tree, near the middle. That's why the red bulbs are placed all around the tree. It truly does work to bring everything together.

The decorated tree is beautiful and unfortunately, the pictures just can't do it justice. Good camera... not so good photographer. :)

I have parted with so many of my Christmas decorations since I now have a smaller house. However, I find myself drawn to them at garage sales, thrift stores, and antique malls where one can still find very inexpensive items. I recently found three vintage ornaments at the Mission thrift store for only 15 cents each.

It's amazing how cheap Christmas decorations are in July and August at such places. :)

17 comments:

Angela said...

Girl...I was just ready to go for the receipes and saw this,,Ok,,I'm SERIOUSLY now off to the receipe board..LOL..

Your house is lovely...I have just started collecting snowmen this summer as I was yard saling...((hugs)) I LOVE how you decorate.

Barbara said...

Thank you for your recent kind comments Brenda.
You certainly do have a great collection of snowmen.
I enjoy having a peep into bloggers homes, so thank you for the opportunity.

Vee said...

It was so much fun to see your vignettes. But I have a bone to pick with you... You said, "The Santa sleigh is very, very old...The packages in the sleigh have their original paper which looks to be from the 1940s or 50s."

Now, Brenda, come on! I'm a child of the 50s and "old" would have been good enough, but, noooo, you had to add "very, very" to it! LOL!

gail said...

It all looks lovely Brenda.

Blessings Gail

Ruth MacC said...

You do have a lot of Snow men!

the voice of melody said...

Your decorations are beautiful. I like all the snowmen you have. Now, that's some collection! :)

debbie said...

Brenda,
Your home looks lovely, very warm and peaceful.
I have a tree with different ornaments. I'll have to try your one color bulb trick.
Thanks for sharing
Hugs, Debbie
P.S. I'm still loving the Bach on your play list.

moreofhim said...

Everything just looks so pretty! It's so fun to see how other people decorate. I loved the tip about how to pull the tree together when you have different types of ornaments. That's a great idea!

God bless you ~ Julie

Tracey McBride ~ Frugal Luxuries® said...

Hi Brenda, Your decorations are all so charming and whimsical...I think that Santa Sleigh would fetch a lot on Ebay :)!! Love all your artistry and hard work. Thank you for sharing with us. I'm still a bit behind on my decor because we spent almost all of last week down at my dads (it was great relaxing fun). Now you've got me motivated...what with the festive look of your house and those amazing recipes in yesterday's post!).
Blessings to you my sweet friend.
Love, Traceyxox

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

Looks great Brenda! My Goodwill has an entire aisle devoted to Christmas decorations all year round! You are so right that they are super cheap during the summer!

Manuela

Susan B said...

I love all your snowmen Brenda! I have a collection of snowmen too. In fact, I think we have some of the same ones. I've been collecting them for years. You have a very pretty tree. Thank you for sharing your treasures!

kymber said...

Brenda,
Thank you for sharing your wonderful home with us. Your collections are so cute!
Blessings,
Kymber

Cami @ Creating Myself said...

I had a really hard time getting a good shot of my tree too & finally gave up. I love your sewing machine vignette...it's charming!

Mrs. Cherry Heart said...

Hi Brenda, Your home is lovely!
Love all your Christmas vignettes!

I am a Lisi Martin fan too!
I painted that lil girl in red on a sled one year! I am off to digg thru boxs to try to find her! :-)
It was fun to see her on your blog!

Hugz, Dolly

Darlene said...

I ended up finding the tour of homes and came by to visit you. Your home is so pretty and I love all your snowmen. Too cute!

Lena said...

I love your decorations. I collect snowment too, and I love to make snowmen, and ladies. Many of mine have been gifts from friends, and I love the memories of all the Christmases I've spent with them. Your lace curtains are so pretty!

Lallee said...

Brenda, thank you for inviting us into your home to enjoy the pretty decorations and warmth of spirit. Isn't it amazing how many memories poor out when we unpack our Christmas boxes? They really hold a lot of history. When Christmas is over, I'm coming back to catch up on everything I've missed here! DH and I keep talking about how we missed November while at the in-laws. I think I've finally caught up with the right December date now ;-)
Merry Christmas and God's very, very best for you!
Hugs,
Lallee