Christmas Decorations III

Welcome back!

These are my nativity sets.  

Two of them belonged to my mother in law.

She bought the Lladro when she visited Spain.

The wood manger scene is made from olive wood and my mother in law bought it when she visited Jerusalem.

The others were given to me by some dear friends.  

My daughter made me the tablerunner for Christmas one year, it's my favorite one!

I keep my "Thanksgiving Dinner" quilt up throughout the Christmas holidays.  Someday I will make a Christmas one.

There is a wet bar next to the dining room table.

I have this holly garland which I just drape over this clock.

This is the table behind the couch in the family room.

A close up of cute little children with Santa.

The photo in the middle is of my youngest son, Sean.

He was 7 years old at the time.  Now he is 19 and serving a two year church mission in Brazil.  This will be the first Christmas that we have spent apart.  The other photos are some of my precious grandchildren.

I bought these glass stars at Pier One Imports, years ago.

I put little tea lights in them and they glow.

Back to the dining room table.  Any excuse for sparkle!

Finally, our Christmas tree.

It is fresh from the Sierras, it's called a Silver Tip.

It's kind of different, sort of like a Snoopy tree!

I had to decorate it differently because the branches are in rows.

I added the silver beads this year, and added tinsel, or icicles.

The tree is much prettier with the pearl lights on.

I really love decorating for the holidays.  I don't even mind putting it all away, either.  Thanks for letting me share it with you.

Christmas Decorations II

This is a continuation of our Christmas decorations.

I love this little Santa head with the sparkly beard.

When I took this photo, we hadn't received one Christmas card.

People really do love us!!!

My mother made the Santa, it's ceramic and made out of clay.

The two little stockings are antique!  They were handmade in Czechoslovakia and they belonged to my brother and I when we were little kids.  My daughter bought me the snowglobe when we lived in Calgary.

I love the look of sparkly Christmas ornaments in glass jars.

I bought this little house at Home Goods.

There is a switch that turns the lights on and off.

I especially love this house, it has a pastel pink roof and the switch lets you keep the light one color, or five different colors, switching from one color to another.  It's a "Fancy Nancy" house.

My mother is really talented.  She made the stain glass lamp, and the ceramic base and also did the electrical work.

I've had this silver Santa bowl for years, and have always put candy in it.  This year I put some vintage ornaments in it and it looks sparkly.

I took all the photos at night because I think it is so cozy to have all the Christmas lights on when it is dark.

Next to that table, is this little end table.  The silver and pink ornaments are little picks that I bought at JoAnn Fabrics last year, at 75% off.  I thought they were so pretty and knew I could use them somewhere!

I made this vintage looking garland last year.

I bought an old book at the thrift store, tore out the pages and folded them accordian style.  I had to staple three pages together to make the circle. I found the idea on pinterest.

I bought cardboard letters at Hobby Lobby, covered the top of them in "tacky glue" (it doesn't drip), and immersed them in silver glitter.  It would be a cute idea for any celebration such as a wedding reception, baby shower, birthday, etc.

I bought these snowflake picks at 75% off at Joann Fabrics.

The blue bristle brush tree is from Home Goods.

The little Santa bell has lost its bell. It used to be painted in traditional Christmas colors.  I thought it was dated, so I spray painted it white.  I think it fits really well with the grouping.

Garlands are so expensive and after Christmas, all the pretty ones are sold.  I bought a cheap garland and dressed it up myself.  I added pine cones, red berry picks and sparkly aqua Christmas balls.

I think it really dresses up the banister.

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I forgot to show you this adorable kitchen towel. 

My daughter made it for me a few years ago.

I have threatened everyone's life not to wipe their hands on it!

It's for decorative purposes only...

I hope you have enjoyed the tour, I will show you the rest at the end of the week.  See you then!

My Christmas Decorations

I thought I would show you the Christmas decorations I put in my house.  As you know from experience, it is an enjoyable but strenuous job.  It is nice to have someone to share it with!  I need to mention that we lived in a different house last year, it is both

exciting and a challenge to decorate a new home.

We have a cubicle in our family room that is meant to hold our television.  It's too small for our TV, so I have a lot of fun decorating it for different holidays or seasons.  I needed something tall for this space and bought the silver tree at Hobby Lobby, it was half price.  I love the vintage village buildings.  I bought the church at Home Goods, and put some white lights in the back.  The windows shine red just like cathedral windows.

I really like the glitter!

I love how the light shines at night.  I haven't unplugged the lights since I set it up!  I wonder how long they will last before burning out.....

Last year, I hung these decorations from a chandelier.  I had to be creative this year and found a light.  I used blue painter's tape to attach the ribbons to the inside of the light frame.

I love this plate, so I use it as a decoration at Christmas and throughout the winter season.  My daughter gave me the idea to use cupcake wrappers as decorations.

This is the centerpiece on my table.

Notice the log cabin table runner?  It's not Christmasy, but I love it.

These red balls didn't fit on the Christmas tree this year, so I displayed them in a basket, under a lamp.

We have a fireplace again!  I showed you how I painted the mantel here.  It is really white and my dark colored ornaments just didn't match.  I went to TJ Maxx and Home Goods and bought some new things to add some glitter and sparkle.

I've had this jar for years and love putting sparkly gems in it at Christmas.  A good friend gave me the silver ornament.

I saw these snow globes at West Elm and they were really expensive.  I found these ones at TJ Maxx 

The candleholder pedestal was a dark metal color.  I haven't used it in a while.  I spray painted it silver and love the new look!

I had to give away all of my candles before I moved, so I bought this one with Jingle Bells music on it.

I made the red and green stocking for my husband and myself when I was pregnant with our first child.  I gave my four oldest children the felt stockings I made for them.  I still have Vanessa's, she and her husband are coming to spend Christmas with us.  Sean is in Brazil, serving a two year church mission.  This is the first Christmas that we will be apart.  The nutcrackers remind me of Sean, most of them belong to him!

This is the open space above the cubby where the TV was supposed to go.  It is a really tall space, so I leave it this way all year and just change the flowers in the trunk and the ornaments.  My daughter's parents in law gave us the bell and the Jim Shore Santa.  We have become close with them over the years.  My son in law's mom has really good taste.

Well, that concludes the sharing for today, I will post more on Wednesday and Friday.  See you then!

Doll Quilt

I made a doll quilt to go with the doll bassinet and the dolly diaper bag that I made for my 2 l/2 year old grand daughter Maisie.

I wanted to keep it simple, so I sewed 9 charm pack squares together.  I quilted it with swirly swirls :)  It's a good way to practice my machine quilting.

Whenever I bind a quilt, I put the leftover binding in a box.  

I use the leftover binding for doll quilts or for a scrappy binding.

There are four different fabrics used in this leftover binding.

I just attach whatever binding fabrics I think look nice together.

Do you see the four different prints in the binding?

I think it adds interest to the quilt.

I hand sewed the binding to the back of the quilt.

I made a little pillow that fits into the doll bassinet perfectly!

I just cut two pieces of fabric, sewed around the edges making sure to leave an opening.  I stuffed the pillow with fiber fill and sewed the opening closed on the sewing machine.  Very easy!

I don't have the doll to show you how he looks in the bassinet.

I used a porcelain doll, but she's a little long.

You get the idea....

I would have loved a gift like this when I was little!

I wish I could watch Maisie open her gifts on Christmas morning.

I would love to see her reaction :)

Dolly Diaper Bag

Well, it's Christmas and there is so much to do!

I made a dolly diaper bag to go along with the doll bassinet and the baby doll for my grand daughter Maisie.

Here is the link to the tutorial, it is on my pinterest board, stuff to make for the grandkids.

The diaper bag is the perfect size for a 2 l/2 year old little girl :)

Isn't the print cute, sort of vintage looking?

I made a little burp pad for Maisie's new doll, so she can feel just like a real Mommy!

I bought a little snack cup with a lid and a spoon, and a teether for her diaper bag.  I even bought two doll baby bottles, one with milk and one with juice.  When you feed the doll, the liquid actually disappears.

I forgot to mention that I added two pockets on the inside of my dolly diaper bag.  One is on the side and one is on the center panel.

Doll Bassinet

My husband and I bought this cute doll for Maisie, one of our grand daughters.  It is a Corolle doll from France and has a soft bean filled body that is fun to carry around, hug and snuggle.  The doll always smells like baby powder too, even after being thrown in the washing machine.
Maisie's baby brother was born eight weeks early in September.  He is a little over nine pounds now, but we thought it would be fun to get her a doll that looks like her brother Benjamin.

I made a doll bassinet for three other grand daughters last Christmas, you can see them here, in an older post.

The bassinet takes a little time to make, but is still quite simple.

The tutorial tells you to machine quilt the body of the bassinet, like the hatching on Moses' basket.  These are all the pieces used to make the bassinet.

The tutorial can be found at Pinterest, on my "stuff to make for the grandkids" board, found here.  The link for the tutorial can be found here.  I made a mistake and quited the bassinet like a quilt.  I had to cut extra fabric for the lining again and resew it!!!  I was watching Hallmark Christmas movies and got distracted....Lol....

This is the finished doll bassinet.  I really like the baby blue rick rack trim instead of lace.  I think it is more baby boyish :)  I will show you the rest of the accessories I made for Maisie's baby boy doll in my next post.  Stay tuned!