Skating Snowbabies

Call me a romantic and storyteller. I love the images of old-fashioned Christmases and the tales they seem to tell. I'm not adverse to adding new pieces to my displays however, or even objects that seem out of proportion. In this scene, the snowbabies that my grandmother collected, are skating on a mirror (frozen pond) around a crystal ​paperweight that we can imagine is a sculpted piece of ice. The newer, larger snowbaby I imagine as a snowbaby angel overlooking the little ones.

​from Home of the Heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Linda

We have no fireplace, and consequently no mantle at our house. I'd love to have a fireplace, but we simply don't have room. But in truth, we rarely used the one we had in our previous home. What I missed most was a mantle for display. My solution is to treat the top of this china cabinet as a mantle. It even allows a place to hang our stockings. I change the display according to the seasons.

If you too are missing a mantle, open your mind to a piece of furniture or a shelf that might do just as well.
from Home of the Heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Linda

My husband jokes about this scene calling it my wildlife preserve. It all started when I spied the silver raindeer in the window of an antique shop. I bought him before I realized he was missing a foot. Never mind. He started my herd that has slowly grown since that fateful first purchase.

from Home of the Heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Linda

Pottery Nacimiento

When I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I became acquainted with the pueblo tradition of making pottery nacimientos or nativity scenes. I loved them so much, I began my own collection

starting with the holy family. Over the years I've added other animals, people, and angels to the scene, never knowing where I'm going to find another one. I've used rocks to elevate many of the figures and have the scene on permanent display. I s;how it off with rope lighting.
​     Do you have a collection that you put on display all year or for special occasions? Please share if you believe you have something my readers would enjoy.

​from Home of the Heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Linda

​Our front porch and door decorations hint of what might be found inside during the weeks leading up to Christmas.

​from Home of the Heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Linda

The elves are waiting for their "dressing." I love filling our home with the scent of fresh gingerbread. Getting out my special cookie cutter brings out the little kid in me.

from Home of the Heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Linda

Family Christmas Table

Truth be told, our family would probably be happy eating off paper plates, but I believe a beautiful table elevates the occasion to something extra special. But who says all your china has to match? Jackie Kennedy was famous for mixing old pieces together at state dinners, and I subscribe to the practice for my Christmas tables.

My husband had eight Christmas dish settings when we married. To accomdate our expanded family, I found similar pieces at a thrift store. Likewise, my first Frosty Pines stemware pieces came from buying Arby's sandwiches. The rest? Thrift stores. All combined, they make up what I call my "Family Christmas Table."

Sometimes I like to pull out all the stops for a more adult-oriented meal. Again I rely on thrifty shopping to carry it off. I bought the chair covers at an after-Christmas sale. The deer centerpieces came from a thrift shop which are

Formal Christmas Table

​surrounded with angel hair and papery silver dollar stems. The cloth napkins are tied with gold-colored rope I purchased by the yard at the fabric store..Some nice china pieces had been passed down to me, but I was missing dinner plates. I found inexpensive gold-rimmed plates at...say it with me...a thrift shop. (Just once I had a guest turn her plate over to inspect its maker. Need I explain why she will not be invited back?) The gold rims on the Frosty Pines stemware coordinate beautifully too. 
My point is, if you take what you have and display it as if it's something special, you'll be pleased and surprised at the results, and so will your guests.

from Home of the Heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Linda

Decorating for Christmas

Welcome to my Christmas house. Can you tell by this photo I love to decorate for Christmas? I especially have our young grandchildren in mind as I set up the scenes because I'm hoping they will carry memoires of my husband and me and our home well into their adulthood.

     Over the years I've collected several boxes of decorations, and gained even more when I married. The challenge was how to display them in a coherent fashion. The key has been to develop a theme for each scene, much like I develop a scene in my writings. 
     Take this scene for example. The little wooden trees on the back of the piano echo the tree cutouts of the railing. If you were facing the piano, you would see Santa as a fisherman surrounded by wooden woodland animals. There's even a moose in a canoe!      If you take a moment, I bet you could come up with a little story about their adventures. Hmm, that might make a good picture book. So on it goes. You'll find story ideas throughout my house.
     Do you enjoy creating scenes at Christmas? Feel free to share.

from Home of the Heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Linda

Grandma's Kitchen

Give your rooms personality by giving each one a name. I love looking at home design photos in magazines, online at Houzz.com, and on Pinterest. I find the images I most enjoy are the ones where the owners' personalities shine through.

     Over the years I've collected several boxes of decorations, and gained even more when I married. The challenge was how to display them in a coherent fashion. The key has been to develop a theme for each scene, much like I develop a scene in my writings. 

Home of the Heart Hint: I've discovered the easiest and best method of creating individuality is using names for the rooms in my house that reflect the theme and style I'm envisioning.

     I even have name plaques for some of the rooms. As you can see from my kitchen photo above, I love the idea of being in my grandmother role, cooking for the grandkids and even teaching them a few cooking skills. Their photos on the fridge is a daily reminder of these dear ones. My collection of vintage cookware harkens back to my  grandmothers' kitchens, reminding me that I'm carrying on their legacies.

Bath House Bathroom

As you may have guessed, I love images of the past. When I discovered several beach photos from an old family album, I knew immediately what theme I would use for the hall bathroom. I printed six of them up and hung them in white frames.

To emphasize the beachy theme, I attached beach glass knobs on the vanity drawers and glued beach glass around the mirror frame. The white vintage-looking wainscot brightens and freshens up the room.       What do you think about using themes for the rooms in your home? Have you tried it? What have been the results?

Bathroom Mirror with Beach Glass Frame

​     I've posted a couple of other photos here of objects that hint at the theme of other rooms. Can you guess what these themes are?

Master Bath

Guest Bedroom/Library

from Home of the Heart, my best to you.
Linda