Use Your Drawers!

 

 After years of trying to figure out how to display my Christmas cards it hit me . . . a drawer!  I've been decorating my drawers for the holidays for a few years now . . . it's a great way to decorate if you have a small space like I do.

The drawers are already there and make a perfect spot for adding a touch of holiday cheer.  This drawer is in a buffet in my dining room.

This one is in a little side table by my sofa.

And the cards are in a small table next to an end chair.  

So how do you display your Christmas cards?  I'll be back next week with some ideas for how to use those cards so don't toss them out!

Merry Christmas!

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

At the Picket Fence http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Sisters of the Wild West http://www.sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Easy Ribbon Jar Ring Ornaments

In keeping with trying to not spend a lot for decorations this year, I took a cue from Laurel over at Chipping With Charm and her Twine Wreath Ornaments.  Hers are so cute and rustic . . .

  Believe it or not, I didn't have much twine but I did have a lot of ribbon, including some vintage seam tape so I used those to wrap the rims.  I like how the flat ribbon created this 'indentation' on the wreath.

 I also have a bag of these tiny, tiny "pine cones".  I'm not sure what they really are but they grow on small trees around here and I collected a bunch in the fall.

 After wrapping a few with different ribbons, I added some of these pinecones and pearls on one . . .

 To another, I just added a 'spray' of the pinecones . . .

 and a book page banner and vintage key to another

 I like how these turned out and will probably be making more to use up more scraps of ribbon, etc.

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

At the Picket Fence http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Sisters of the Wild West http://www.sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

 

Outdoor JOY!

 

 I have to say it's been a surprisingly, enjoyable blog break this past month.  The break was prompted by a sermon series our pastor is doing on the Beatitudes.  We were encouraged to practice fasting from a legitimate pleasure for the sake of pursuing righteousness.  I chose to give up blogging for a month and substitute that time with a study of the book of Ecclesiastes.  It's been a profitable month and I realized, while blogging is fun, it easily consumes my time so I'll continue to monitor that. That said, I'm back with a project I completed for the front of my home.  The number buckets were created this summer so I wanted something to replace the flowers for Christmas.

I have a ton of these old fence boards so after cutting them to size, I used flat white paint to dry brush them.

I chose a font I liked and printed the letters out.  I then cut them out and traced around them using a sharpie.

Red, acrylic paint was used to fill in the letters.  I wanted to mimic the dots on the buckets so using an eraser I added the black dot border.  Since I used acrylic paint, I did give the boards a few coats of clear sealer.

 To complete the project I cut some branches and sprayed them silver and added some white lights.  The glowing 'orbs'?

These are just those cheapo light globes with part of the white lights tucked inside!  I could only find two at GW (.99 each) but plan to collect more to use throughout my garden this summer for lighting.  Total cost of this project was the $2.00 for the globes as I had everything else.

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

At the Picket Fence http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Sisters of the Wild West http://www.sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Vintage Autograph Book

Recently I came across this autograph book in an antique store.  It belonged to a girl named "Bobby" and is dated 1947.  I was fascinated by the inscriptions and especially the little "diddies" that were written in it.

 Here Bobby's doctor signed her book after coming to her house to check on her when she had the measles.

 There are several pages signed by her teachers including this one (must have been an English teacher!)

 And her Homemaking Teacher (does anyone remember those??)

 I loved this one: "Two in a hammock ready to kiss.  All of a sudden they went like 'this' (and the word 'this' is turned upside down -- so cute!)

Other inscriptions included:

Look not for the color or beauty of skin

But look for the heart that is loyal within

For beauty will fade and skin will grow old

But a loyal heart will never grow cold

Who's that little girl

sitting on the fence

trying to make a dollar

out of ninety nine cents

Many of the pages include the full names and addresses and I plan to do some googling on them as they are all in Rhode Island.  Wouldn't it be fun to return Bobby's book to her or her family??

And on another topic, I'll be taking a break from blogging for one month.  Why?  Recently our pastor has been doing a series on The Beatitudes and while covering 'blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness', we were given a challenge:  Practice fasting from a legitimate pleasure for the sake of pursing righteousness.  He asked us to think about where our time was going and what the 'default' activity was when we have free time.  For me, blogging is the answer to both questions.  This doesn't mean that these legitimate pleasures are sinful . . . only that sometimes in the wrong amounts and at the wrong time, they 'spoil our appetite for holiness'.  I'm so glad that Matthew 5:6 says 'blessed are those who HUNGER and THIRST after righteousness' rather than ARE righteous because that sure would leave me out!  If you're interested in listening to these sermons you can access them for free HERE.  I'll be substituting my blogging with a study of the book of Ecclesiastes.

I will be responding to emails on my posts, just not visiting other blogs at this time but I'll be sure to get caught up in Mid-December!