Pop! Fizz! Clink!

It's almost here - are you ready for the toasts?!

With the help of my friend Scott Carlson, wine specialist for BevMo, 

I'd like to share some helpful info to make your night the BUBBLIEST!

Continue Reading for some sparkling tips...

Tidings of Comfort and JOY

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, 
so this is the last post in my holiday 2016 series...

Finding this vintage book at the thrift store last summer
inspired our theme for our Christmas decorating:

  I've enjoyed sharing how we have embraced it in our home this year.

( Click to see all Holiday 2016 Posts )

JOY has been my Word of the Year for 2016,

and in so many ways I have found it again, lived it, and shared it...

for that gift, I am profoundly Thankful.

I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people in my life,

including each of you who visit my blog and social media pages...
your visits, comments, likes, shares, re-posts, pins

and enthusiastic support and encouragement mean so much to me.
Thank you all, from my heart, for finding value in what I share with you.

It's not rocket science, and it's not as BIG and as WOW as many other bloggers post,

but you've let me know that it's helpful, useful, and inspiring to you - 

and that just makes my heart sing!

I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 

- no matter what holiday you celebrate this time of year! - 

and a New Year filled with hope, faith, love, laughter, and yes.... JOY

With Gratitude, 

Deb

A Christmas Tablescape

Okay, I'll be honest... we really don't use this dining table much.
Even after I gave it a snazzy makeover! 
It serves as a big crafting surface a lot of the time, 
but is currently set & ready for Christmas Day dinner with some very special guests.

Everything here is coordinated with our daily decor palette
and the deeper tones that we brought in for the holidays...
And it has a few ideas that are simple to replicate:

Continue Reading for more...

Folded Book Christmas Angels & Trees

My Mom and I have been crafting and making things all of my life...
long ago, she and I created angels, choir boys, Santas, and snowmen
out of Readers Digest books with folded pages.
Back then, we painted ours gold and white and red, 
and the heads were round styrofoam balls.

Well, this year, Mom got the idea to make some of those again!

Continue Reading for more about our creations... 

Orange You Glad You're Here?!

While much of our home decor this Christmas is in neutral tones
(ivory, cream, tan, rusty brown, bronze, copper, and gold),
we decided to leave the bright orange decor already in the entryway.
(click to see more about the Joyful sign)
This happy hue brightens that small, dark space right up!

The addition of a tall, skinny tree in the corner added some light,
and a chance to create a fun, lighthearted feeling...
yet very different than the fun tropical tree decor that we created at the old house!

Continue Reading to see what we did... 

Vintage Paper Ornaments

When I was in my frenzied flurry of paper crafting last month, 

(see my vintage paper poinsettia wall decor post)
I also created some ornaments for the tree...

Using a trusty old paper slicer that I kept from my Dad's warehouse,

I cut dozens and dozens and dozens of strips of paper from old books and hymnals.

With scissors, a stapler, a glue stick, and a pencil to create rolled edges as tools,

I played around with shapes until I came up with these: 

why, yes, that IS a hidden Mickey!
I put those on the tree in my studio because.... well, because!

Continue Reading to find out where I put them all!

Vintage Paper Poinsettias

My love for old book pages and vintage paper shows itself in many ways,

and I love finding new ways to use this material all year long...

so this Holiday season, I used paper as a major theme for our Christmas decor.

I created tree ornaments, garland embellishments, and other elements

that are in use all over the house.

While I created the flowers you see here to go on the tree,

they worked out much better forming a wreath on the wall in our entryway!

Tucked into a simple garland of greens and a strand of mini lights that surround a round mirror,

the paper poinsettias add the perfect touch of texture and style:

The centers of the flowers are made from vintage jewelry -  

old earrings, shoe clips, and lapel pins.

They add more texture and some sparkle, along with a touch of nostalgia.

Continue Reading to see more details...

Vintage Lace Christmas Tree

 Sometimes, projects just come up out of nowhere... that was the story with THIS one.

Not in the plan. Not on the schedule.
But the Muse called, as I was rifling through a bin of linens

and tossing them on the chair next to me.
When I reached over to pick them up and put them back in the bin,

lo and behold: the pile of linens looked like a Christmas tree!

I stared at it, thinking about how I could present it here on the blog.
I can get away with some pretty crazy ideas, 

but presenting a pile of linens - basically, a pile of laundry - as home decor

might cause you to run screaming from my pages!

After a few minutes, it dawned on me that I have the PERFECT armature for a tree.
I use them all the time, and there was one in the garage not being used:
A wire tomato cage!

In about ten minutes, I had the thing done...

continue reading for my 'Fast, Cheap, & Easy'TM tutorial!