Story Behind the Tree Last year a friend, Grace Grothaus (awesome local artist, check out her stuff here) finished a show that included several full-size Christmas trees. Since she didn't need 7+ trees after her show she gave me one! I collected ornaments from my mom and grandmother and bought a few on sale after Christmas last year. Now I almost have too many ornaments!
In the background of this pic you can see Ollie's stocking (mine is still with mom's decorations and gets hung on the mantel at home). You can't tell, but I use the first quilt I made as a tree skirt because the colors and size are perfect.
You also may notice my tree lacks a topper. I really want to get an angel to go on top, but not one of the cheap ones that falls apart before you even get it home. I also don't want to spend a small fortune on it though. At work we have one of those crocheted angels, I think that would be awesome. So apparently I need to learn to crochet. And find time for it. Or maybe one of you can already crochet and is just dying to make me an angel?
Here are a few of the ornaments that I got from my mom and grandmother:
Yes that is a Santa made out of okra! And that little wooden wagon has been around as long as I can remember (there's a matching wheelbarrow as well). My great-grandma actually gave me the little tree with button ornaments. Love these!
Then I have these ornaments from Korea that I got from work. We had dozens of these so I got to bring some home for my tree last year. They come in all sorts of colors and are just adorable! Enough About the Tree
Growing up the nativity scene was one of the things my siblings and I had the most fun setting up. We would argue over where to put baby Jesus or the wisemen. Mom's stable even had little mangers that we sometimes put real straw in.
I found my nativity on sale at a little shop in Sand Springs a few years ago. I loved how unique the design was and that the pieces were wood (and therefore not quite as fragile). My set was designed by Jim Shore, who I had never heard of before I found this nativity set.
Since then I bought a few other pieces (such as the palm tree and camel). I simply love his stuff! Each piece of the set has a different design. For example: the shepherd has the scene of the angels coming to the fields to share the great news; one of the wisemen shows the star over Bethlehem and Joseph shows the trip to Bethlehem with a very pregnant Mary.
This and That
The glasses are from Pier One. Since I had the candy leftover from Halloween I put a little red tissue paper in the glasses and divided the candy between them. So far I haven't been too tempted by the candy sitting out. I keep hoping other people will eat it!I found the awesome pitcher (seen below on the dining room table) and margarita glasses on clearance. There were several styles of glasses, but I felt these would be the most useful. I scored both glasses and the pitcher for under $20.
My table centerpiece was inspired if I do say so myself. I found a package of those red and gold glass balls at Lowe's for a good price. Then I already had the gold beads and decorative wire. I kept the table runner that the St. Mary's youth made (also featured in this post). Very simple, but classy.
Oliver
Last, I will leave you with this picture of Oliver, all decked out for the winter weather. Now, let me just say that in the past I have been somewhat opposed to dressing up your pet, but Ollie gets so cold in the winter that it just seems cruel not to put a sweater on him. Besides, doesn't it look cute?
Lovely! Beautiful tree, but I don't think you can ever have too many ornaments! My little dog gets cold too, but like you I have never dressed one before.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I guess I just felt like I was running out of places to hang the ornaments. :)
ReplyDeleteSuper cute - what a giant tree and so pretty :) Lucky!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sasha! I was definitely lucky to score that tree for free. :)
ReplyDelete