Most Viewed Projects of 2013

As 2013 comes to a close,

 and I head into my first full year of blogging,

I am amazed by the world I have encountered.

I have discovered so many beautiful and creative people out there.

I have discovered a world where sharing and supporting are the core principles.

I have been incredibly inspired by so many new ideas from others for 

the house, home, family and personal life.

Blogging has been such a blessing to me and 

the people I have "met" through it have inspired me more than they will ever know.

"The Christmas Scale"-Good News of Joy

Merry Christmas Day!
This video says it all -
and the symbolism of the simplicity of this day
makes it all the more beautiful!

Some of you may have seen this already...but it is worth sharing.
A great video visual and audio treat this season!

Is it time? Hurry up Santa!

It's time!

It's time!

One day left!

Oh Joy!

Sunday Sentiments-Joy

Joy to the World....

 The Lord is come...

Nana's Jewel Memory Tree

Have you ever kept something long enough 

that you begin to see it through different eyes?

For example...

I remember as a little girl seeing this blue velvet, 

homemade Christmas tree in my grandmother's home every year...

and thinking that it was clever, but a little "tacky".

Christmas Decor-Livingroom tour

Oh Christmas Tree,

Oh Christmas Tree,

How lovely are thy branches...

I love decorating our Christmas tree.

It is a culmination of almost 20 years of collecting special white, silver, and crystal ornaments.

Each ornament telling a story from where we lived or who gave it to us.

Christmas Decor-Dining room tour

There are so many wonderful Christmas Home tours out in blog-land lately.

I just had to jump in on the fun.

Still working on finishing my tree...

it just seems that there is so much going on 

that decorating the home front has a quality of "divide and conquer" as I have time. 

{anyone else feel that way?}

LOL!

We moved into this home Dec 1st of last year and threw up everything as fast as we could unpack. 

 It was fun this year to really have time to find new homes for all my favority sparkly things.

I invite you to tour my dining room.

 Most of my decor is silver or white.  

I have stuck to that theme from the beginning of my adult years of decorating! 

I love the magical effects of white and silver and crystal!  The more sparkle the better!

Three Ways to Up-Scale Poinsettias

There is no easier way to get into the spirit of Christmas than with Poinsettias.

Just having this plant in the house...with its bright red leaves...transforms a room and says,
"It's Christmastime!"
Not only are pointsettias relatively inexpensive,
but they come in an assortment of sizes and varieties to address every area of your home.
The one problem is, however, when you buy them,

New York holiday adventure

My girls, mom and I were blessed to take a trip to New York over Thanksgiving.
It was such a an amazing week!
New York is certainly full of fun energy during the holidays.

We had a wonderful time.
Who knew you could spend three hours in a Toys-R-Us store?

Repurposed Cabinet Door signs

Oh Joy!

It's December and I feel swamped.

Staying focused on the "joys" of the season can be a challenge 

at times with all the "stuff" that I want to get done in this month.

I made this sign a few months back in anticipation of what word 

I would need to remember the most this Christmas.

It is out of a re-purposed kitchen cabinet door from house #2.

 We took off all our cabinet doors and replaced them.

How to create an upcycled mercury glass centerpiece

Have you looked at the shape of the glass bottles 

you may be throwing away or recycling?

You might consider up-cycling them with Looking Glass Paint.

Book Review-Country Living Decorating With White

I received this book in the mail last month--a gift from my wonderful Aunt.
A book on White decor...Does she know me or what?

Disclosure:  The book was a gift.  But the review and opinions are all mine.

{I was not compensated by Country Living for this post.}

I honestly love everything in this book--
It is both a coffee table book and a great go-to guide
for ideas and helpful tips in designing a room around various elements.

Two Easy Vintage Wreaths with paper decor printables

My favorite Christmas decor all has similar white and creme features.

This year I wanted my wreaths to have some vintage charm.

Adding simple paper elements to two grapevine wreaths made vintage easy.

Simplicity is the name of the game for these wreath projects.

A "less is more" touch, along with easy cut-out paper elements,

is what creates their vintage feeling.

Sunday Sentinment-Re-joice

"Rejoice in the Lord

always, and again I say, Rejoice!"

Philippians 4:4

In otherwords...upcycle your joy with the Lord!

happy week!

Nostalgic Snow Globes!

Christmas and Winter Snowglobes.
They just go together.
 

This DIY version of a nostalgic snowglobe
is just about as simple as it gets--involves upcycling,
easy for children to help with,
and can be done in less than 15 minutes!

The results are awesome.  

Just looking at it makes me feel happy and winter-y.

Sunday Sentiments-Gratitude

grat·i·tude

: a feeling of appreciation or thanks

 ...gratitude and gratefulness--

this one attitude has proven to do more for our 

health and happiness than any drug or therapy in existence. 

learning to live with a heart of gratitude is challenging.

 It is not surprising that God's word 

prepares our hearts for precisely this daily challenge...

Give Thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father 

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 5:20

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,

 giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17

October highlights

October came in slowly but seemed to speed up as we rounded the end....

I have a feeling the next months will be moving 

even faster as the holiday energy begins to burst onto the scene.

October highlights

started with my Stamped Burlap Banner

Vintage Postcard decor

Looking Glass Paint

I started with an old window.

This one is especially crusty.

It has a wonderful story to tell...

 This window was from Miss Mary Love's home in Auburn, Alabama.  

Our ninety year-old next door neighbor.  

She replaced all windows back in 1999 and put the old on the curb.  

Our first home in Auburn... visiting 8 years after we moved away.
(Mary Love lived to the right of us.)

Horrified those amazing windows were heading to the dump...

I lost all of my newly acquired southern manners, 

rushed her door to ask her if she would mind if I took them home. 

  

"Really,"  she said to me.  "Do you really want those junky ol' things?  

They won't work anymore..."

Inspiration Anthro-style

Did you see these?

Hand-cut books in the shape of letters.

Letter books!   Who thinks of this stuff?

Brass Bowl Containers-Sparkle for Holidays

A little green goes a long way to make a home feel cozy.

But if you are like me and you can have a tendency 

to forget the water until it is too late, then succulents are the perfect solution.

Planting succulents in a container that reflects the seasons 

is an easy way to update your decor.

Halloween 2013

Candy.....

{check}

Festive Decorations.....

{check!}

Pumpkins Carved...

{check!} 

Chili and hot cider brewing...

Pumpkin Crunch ready...

{check and check!} 

 It must be Halloween open house!

Have fun everyone!

Sunday Sentiment-Believing....is like being a Pumpkin

Have you heard this before?  

I can't take credit for the comparison--but I love the message!

Believing…is like being a Pumpkin

Take your pumpkin from the patch, wash off all the dirt. 

{we come just as we are—Jesus does the cleaning up.}

Cut open the top of the pumpkin. 

{We we open our hearts to Him-

He knows all our hidden thoughts and inner workings.}

Scoop out all the yucky stuff from inside.  

{Christ does the same to our hearts—

scooping out all the greed, hate, doubt, fear…

stuff we don’t like to touch…etc.}

Carve a smile in the pumpkin. 

{He lives in our hearts and gives us a new smiling face.}

 Place a candle inside for the world to see.  

{God is the light in our life. He lights up our path and purpose. 

His truth is the light in a dark world. 

He desires for our light to shine out to the world 

that others may know His saving grace too.}

Are you His pumpkin?

May God bless you richly during this beautiful fall season!

Burlap Canvas Art-jewelry display

Have you seen these cute little canvases made out of burlap?

Perfect for a quick gift or decor project.

I pick up a set of two for less than $4 at Walmart 

and had fun making this easy art/jewelry display for my daughter.