Calm and Bright

All throughout the month we've slowly decorated our house filling our hearts with excitement and anticipation waiting for Christmas Day, Jesus' birthday.

 We start out with Advent and light a candle for each of the four weeks leading up to Christmas. The four weeks represent the 4000 years that the Israelites waited for Christ to come. This year I did something a little different for our Advent wreath. In the past we used a brass wreath with candle holders on it and wrapped it with greenery but for some reason a candle holder always breaks off and we find ourselves replacing it. again. This year I found this footed bowl at Ikea, placed candle holders down in it and filled it with greenery. I love how it turned out. And since it sits on our island in our kitchen, it made it easy to move when we were all gathered around cooking or decorating cookies.

I also spent a good part of the month knitting this beautiful scarf for my Mema's Christmas gift. It was so easy and fun to make that I'm working  on one for myself, too!

I love changing out the decorations on our red wall hanging hutch each season. Christmas is my favorite. I really do it up! This year my Stampin Up! Christmas box found a home on the top shelf.

After our Fall centerpiece constantly needed "fixing" all season between homeschooling and every day life, I knew I wanted our Christmas centerpiece contained. My husband built me this simple rustic box out of old pallet wood. I filled it with greenery, put our glittered reindeer inside and strung some lights around it.

I love how this vignette turned out. I still want to add a banner that says "WINTER" across the star and wall but absolutely love the color scheme. Did you notice our star is missing ALL of its light bulbs? The grinch stole them. Yep, that is my story and I'm sticking to it! Okay, we had some lighting issues with our tree and in a crunch had to use the star's lights. How's that for "keeping it real?"

 This pretty little number is a new addition this year. I've been wanting to do something like this for all of our bags and coats anyways but it also worked out nicely for our stockings since we don't have a mantle. I saw something like it at Pottery Barn so we did a little DIY version. The wood is pallet wood and the hooks are rubbed bronze coat and hat hooks from Home Depot. The picture below was my inspiration from Pottery Barn for $99. Ours cost way way way way way way less!

You can't really see it with the gifts in front but this year we put our tree in a metal bucket. With little ones crawling and running around the bucket meant no more pretty tree skirts getting shoved this way and that. The garland was a new addition this year, too. It was for sale in an etsy store and sold out pretty fast. I wasn't able to get my hands on one so I made my own. Some of the names of God were ones she used but many we brainstormed on our own.

I love how when we look at our tree, we are reminded of God and the true reason for the season.

Santa's Cookie and Carrots for the Reindeer

Our Nativity Scene

Every year our kids watch Yes Virgina while they wait to open gifts.

The gifts are open and the paper in the trash. We have a house full of excited children playing with their new toys and over all a very calm and peaceful day. In a short while we are off to Christmas Mass- a wonderful way to end our day!

From Deep in the heart of Texas, I wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

 

Craft Studio Makeover

Good Morning Everyone!

I've been up for a while...like since 5:30 am. That is early for me, not by much but earlier than normal. My smallest rascal woke up upset and it took a while to settle her down so I decided to just stay up. I'm gonna be tired today! Thank goodness for coffee.

Once upon a time ago (if feels like that!) my husband offered to build me a craft desk. OKAY! Well, as time went by and we no longer needed our breakfast room table I decided a hutch would be perfect. I started sketching plans, figuring out my needs, flipping though magazines for inspiration and making plans. Hubby drew up detailed drawings, took measurements, all that good stuff and got to work. 

It has been a long wait but the day has finally come. BUT, you are still going to have to wait to see all of the make-over pictures. I just have a teaser for you today. Why? Because I'm still getting things organized, picking out baskets and bins and cleaning up. 

My brand new custom hutch is complete with paper dividers and marker storage and so much more!

Wanna see some messy room pictures? Oh I've got them!

 Do you ever feel like when you are cleaning up one room that you just move piles of STUFF to another? That is how I felt cleaning all of this up, except my piles were just getting moved around the room. At one point I had most everything off the day bed, which doubles as our guest bed, onto my sewing desk.

 Don't think I could have fit much more on it do you? I did!

Look at this mess. Not so bad at the top but as you move to the floor- HELLO MESS. At one point I sort of gave up putting things away knowing that as soon as my new hutch was done, I'd do one big clean up.

One more pretty picture to calm your nerves after those messy ones. See that cute chalkboard label? Yep, they are in my shop now! I saved empty baby food jars and stashed them away knowing that I'd eventually find a use for those cute little jars. I peeled their label off and stuck the chalkboard label right over the sticky adhesive left behind. I now have several in my studio to house all of those little things.

And don't forget- for my readers, though the end of December you can save 20% off your entire purchase in my shop. Use code MERRYCHRISTMAS

Time to refill the coffee cup- bye :)

Pretty Makes Me Happy...

So I'm really smiling about this sweet bundle of goodness on our front door. The outside of the door has a red berry wreath. Simple and classic. I didn't plan on doing anything on the inside. I never have before so the though didn't even cross my mind.

After I finished up our Advent wreath and table center piece (pictures will come another day!) I had a few branches of greenery left over. At first I wasn't really sure what to do with them but quickly came up with an idea. 

 I grabbed some ribbon that I saved from one of my boy's Pottery Barn bedding purchases (do you save stuff like that?) and tied a pretty bow around the branches and hung it on the door. 

Done!

And it makes me so happy every time I see it! It really is the simple things in life for me.

And a quick side note about my Christmas "hours" (hehe) for my etsy shop... December 14th is my last shipping day before Christmas. All orders placed  by December 13th will ship on the 14th (with the exception of custom and made to order items). Orders placed on the 14th or later will start shipping out January 2nd at the earliest. 

I've been so busy the past few weeks filling orders so I'm really looking forward to this down time spent with my family, preparing our hearts for the coming Christmas Season (did ya know the season of Christmas actually starts on Christmas Day and ends on January 6th, the day the wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus? Now you do!) and not having deadlines. 

Need a little home decor or gift for someone? Stop by my shop and save 20% at checkout with coupon code "MERRYCHRISTMAS" now through the end of December!!

Have a Blessed Day!