A Wrapping Center

This is a great picture right out of Ballard Designs for a wrapping center.

One of the great things about a picture like this is the small ideas that come from it.  Not only is it  great idea for Christmas, but a smaller version for all year.  Number one is the use of baskets.  You can always find a shelf to store baskets.  Also available are the great metal baskets that are attached to the wall for wrapping paper, and can be placed on any wall.  If you don't have space, you can even use the back of a closet.  I love the use of the shelf to hang a roll of paper on.  If you have just a fold up table that you can use when using your wrapping center.  Let me know if you have found a great place in your house.

I am just going to hang some shelves to start this project.  It is on my New Year's Resolution List.  I am either using my art room or a spare guest room.  I will keep you informed on this project.

I now have several to do projects for 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shelf One on Bakers Rack

Remember the bakers rack of the other day, here is shelf one, finished.  I decided that I was going to light each shelf instead of putting what I used to put on it.  So I have been digging through things and things are shaping up.    I may move things again, but the Santa's are in place up on the plant shelves, and here is shelf one:

This was the Santa I bought last year after Christmas.  The trees light up and are part of my Christmas Village.  I may change those as I think I have some bigger green evergreens that will look better. 

 

This is the top of our entertainment center.  The two women are Lime' s (pronounced lee may, faceless women that are about 3' tall and are from the Dominican Republic.  As far as I know, from a friend whose family still lives there is that the factory closed and they are no longer available.  I feel honored to have two of them.  They do not sit there usually, only at Christmas so I have room for other decorations.  The vase is from Germany, my husband feel in love with it and bought it for me.  It arrived here about a week after we got home from there.  I was surprised.  He put up lights on it so the silver would shine like it was made to.  It is a piece of Rosenthal.

 

I will be doing the top of this intermittently as I am going to start my trees.  They take the longest to do. 

 

 

This little area is for my blue and yellow tree, and it is a slim tree that is 7' tall.   Watch for tomorrow and see how far I get.

 

Before Christmas Decorating

I am going to take you on a step by step tour of how I decorate for Christmas.  I will tell you all the hints of many years of experience.  I hope those of you that follow this blog will ask questions, and send pictures of areas that you would like to have help with.  Here is my e-mail: NSado44959@aol.com, please feel free to ask questions or even send pictures.

Here is the before picture of my bakers rack:

 

This is one of it's normal looks, although I change it often.

 

 

This is with everything taken off except the little lamp to provide light.  I have decided that I want things to be lit up on this rack for a change.  You will see that I have quite a collection of Christmas things.

 

So I will start with each shelf and probably change things as I go.

 

 

A bit more on Christmas

On the front of the new Coastal Living magazine, is a homemade tree.  You know I have been talking about my Feliz Navidad Christmas tree, it is perfect.  I don't know if my husband will build it yet, I just gave him the picture today.  It could be soooo cool.  I went to the Party Store today to see if I could get some ideas.  I bought some cute (long funky) necklaces to use as garland as they are extremely colorful.  I found some all different color plates and napkins on sale for 50% off, great deal.  I also bought some of those things you put your finger in one end and the finger from the other hand in and pull.  I will put a string on them and hang them on the tree.  I can't use anything that humidity and weather will ruin.  So this morning I nixed the Santa Tree for outside.

I think my next trip will be to the dollar store and look.  I need some plastic all different color balls and a couple of strings of colored lights.  I only use white lights on my trees.  One tree is prelit and the other has to have lights put on it.  I really need to find a prelit pencil tree to fit an area where this one was bought for 11 years ago.

So after you have your lights on, and the balls on the inside, you need to decide if you want ribbon.  I do not use ribbon.  If I did, that would go on now as you must start from the top and work your way down.  Use ribbon that is wired on both sides, and can be bought on sale at Michaels, Jo Anne's or Hobby Lobby, and if it's not, use a coupon.  Make a large bow (if you want to), or put your topper on and start each ribbon from the top, tucking it in areas as you go down the tree.  I have an lit angel on each tree.

There are several traditions associated with a Christmas Tree.  If you have one, this is the time to do your tradition.  The pickle is one, a bird and nest is another, butterflies and birds, or what ever you have a tradition of.

As children grow and don't believe anymore, start traditions if you haven't already.

I will do before and after pictures of areas. 

More on decorating tomorrow, as I want mine done by the end of next week. 

Decorating the Tree like a Professional

Have you ever noticed how some trees just sparkle and others look like they have hardly any ornaments on them.  Here is the trick. 

Pick the color theme of your tree.  If you have a tree of all colors, then you can choose a theme.  One of my trees is red and white and silver.  So to decorate this tree I choose red as my dominate color.  Starting on the very inside of the tree, next to the center post, I hang only red ornaments.  They are of medium size, and they are the shiny glass ones, that are inexpensive.  Once you have that whole part covered, stand back and light the tree.  See how shiny it looks.  You can use any color, or combinations of color.  The trick to decorating a tree is to start from the inside and work your way to the outside.  Then use anything you want to make the tree turn into a wonderment of Christmas.

The first time I had a Christmas party moving to Florida, my tree was right in the middle of my room close to the front door.  As one of my friends walked in, she stopped and said"  Oh, Oh, It Looks Like Bloomingdale's".  I have never seen such a beautiful tree.  That was all it took to continue doing trees.

I have collected ornaments every year since I was 18 years old.  I have some of the most beautiful ornaments I think in the World.  As a matter of fact, I have many from different places in the world.

I would like to start a new tree this year, that just has Santa's on it.  I am not sure yet as I am going to put one up for my after Christmas Party, the theme: Feliz Navidad.  I have to start hunting for those things first.  Perhaps, a good idea is to mix it with Santa's.

See just in writing, I have made a decision, a Santa tree, with a little Mexican mixed in.  Perfect!!!!!!!

A Peice on Traditions

Talking Christmas. 

When my children were little, I let them help with a lot of the decorating.  Besides the Charlie Brown tree, we always had a manger scene and a little village to set up under the tree.  There were little plastic elves under the tree around the village. They were constantly re-arranging the village and the elves. Then  of course the advent calendar.  That was our custom.  I know that many of you have your own customs.  It is great for the children to take part in so they can carry on traditions.  I love the elf on the shelf from Hallmark idea.  I bought a bigger elf who could bend and sit on lampshade,  could hang from chandeliers, be upside down on the fireplace and always somewhere where you might think he was causing mischief.  We called him Mr. Elf.  This was for my great grandson who was living with us.  Then when he moved, of course Mr. Elf went to Michigan.  We have had several Mr. Elf's as children visit for the holidays.  I saw a beautiful one at Dillards yesterday.  I am thinking I should just go get it.  Remember, if you love it, buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another tradition was that I bought each child a collectable ornament to keep for when they had their own tree.  To this day I do it and for my grandchildren and great grandchildren.  They are always special ornaments. I try and buy them after Christmas each year and save them for the next year.

An old tradition was to go as a family and pick out a fresh green tree.  Now everyone has artificial trees, or almost everyone.  Here, fresh ones just don't last long.  Lucky are those of you who live in the north and can get beautiful trees.  The smell of them is Christmas.

Tomorrow, how to decorate an artificial tree to make it outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bit on Holiday Decorating

Let's start now with some Holiday decorating.

I was shopping today, and low and behold, Christmas decorations are on sale.  So are Thanksgiving  decorations.  That is one holiday, that I really never decorate for.  Maybe a few gourds in a wooden pumpkin and  a cornucopia.   I usually start my Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving as I have so many decorations.  And what did I do, yesterday at the church bazaar, I bought a few glass Christmas pieces.

The first thing to do, or I should say that I do, and so do people I have worked with over the years, is to put away all my accessories in each room that I am going to use Christmas decorations in.

I must make room for everything, so I have to get all the decorations out of the cupboards first then I wash everything and put it in where the Christmas things are stored.  I really have to be careful as I really don't have that much room.  I happen to have an air conditioned room in my attic, so it is easy to store the Christmas things up there.  Fortunately for me, I have grandsons that can get the things down as we can't do it any more.  This is also one way to get everything cleaned and some of your cupboards.  Two jobs done at one time.

I will start with pictures of what my room looks like, then take it apart.  I decorate every room, so I do have a lot.  Again, I will tell you that I by an awful lot after Christmas, so it is like having new things right away this year.  I tell myself, I don't need another thing and I by it anyways.  I love Christmas.

Today, Macy's, Dillards, J.C. Penney's and JoAnne's, I got some new ideas for an outside tree.  Now I need to buy a tree.

When my children were little in the 70's and 80's, I made a Charlie Brown tree.  Long before they came out with them.  We cut a barren small tree in the woods, spray painted it white and put on little white lights on it.  We used a board for the base and hammered nails in from the bottom.  We painted that  and put an old sheet under it.  All the ornaments that the kids made in school, shrinkey dinks, beaded ornaments that the kids made to keep them busy until Christmas.  When they got married, I gave each one on them their box of their own home made ornaments.  Many people we knew then all made them after they saw ours.

It was our start of the Charlie Brown Tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!