Christmas Decoration Tour

Wow, I can't believe it's already the end of 2013. When I started this blog I had high hopes for it. I really wanted to put a lot of effort towards it and share so much with all of you. Well as you can see the last time I made a post was the beginning of November. Things have really changed for me. When I started, my youngest started kindergarten and I was a stay at home Mom leaving me with a lot of free time. So I decided that I would blog to keep me busy while the kids were at school. Then I made a sudden decision to start college. With that being said I haven't had a whole lot of time for anything. My once spotless house is lucky if it gets vacuumed once a week lol. It's been good for me though, my "OCD" has now turned into "I hope I can pick up the house before the day ends." I now realize how much time I spent on cleaning the house vs precious time. It really has been and eye opener for me, and a good one. So when I do get time I spend every moment with my kids and if I get lucky, sneak in some cleaning time. College break started for me December 13th and I have taken full advantage of catching up on some things.

Anyways my last post I promised a tour of my Fall decor, well that never happened. Maybe I can sneak that in while I'm on break (better late than never, maybe or maybe not). Because I have been so busy I have a lot to share, but before I get to that I wanted to put this post up first...my Christmas decor. Although I kept it simple, I thought it turned out nice.

 Here is the top half of my fireplace mantle. My favorite Christmas decorating colors is red and gold with white lights. I added some greenery to it and here is a simple yet decorated mantle.

 Here is the middle of the fireplace. I have a Merry Christmas sign, 2 decor trees, 2 glasses filled with ornaments & a touch of sparkle decor, and a vase filled with pine cones w/ a bow for added touch. 

 On the top of the mantle I made this lovely overhang decor piece.

 In the middle I have this decor glass filled with sparkle decor.

 Here's an individual picture of the pine cone filled vase, with a bow.

An individual picture of a simple glass with ornaments and a touch of sparkle decor.

 This piece is displayed on each side of my mantle.

 Here's a red glass filled with greenery decoration flowers.

 

 Another simple glass decor filled with ornaments and sparkle decor for an added touch.

 

 A glass turned upside down with ornaments used as a candle holder.

 A glass filled with decor rocks and a pine cone for a simple touch.

 In the background I have a simple lighted garland with added decor.

 Here's an up close shot of the added decor to the garland. This lighted garland is also in the front of my mantle for an added touch.

 On front of the mantle on each side I have these bells with a bow above it.

 Here is the bottom half of my fireplace.

 I have these cute little wooden decorations on once side of my fireplace. I didn't really like where they where, but I never got around to finding a better place for them.

 On the other side of the fireplace I have a simple display with some candles for added decor.

 My daughter insisted that we buy all the Christmas Village Displays at the dollar store. Then she seen the bigger displays at a store, I have a feeling that next year we will be upgrading to more than just dollar store village displays.

 Many years ago my Mom got me this little Nativity set, I usually have it on a certain display stand but was to lazy to get it out this year, so this was it's new home, but I didn't like it.

 Here's our decorated Christmas tree. I am in desperate need to buy a new Christmas tree. I've had this tree for 10+ years, again I found myself to lazy to get a new one. 

 Here is a simple garland wreath with lights I made and put a bow that matches my tree skirt on it.

 This is a German Nativity Pyramid. My Father~in~law was stationed in Germany when my husband was little. I had seen one my Mother~in~law had and just loved it, so she got me one! I love it.

 Here's a closer look at it. I display it on my coffee table with some candle holders on each side for added decor. The German Nativity Pyramid is also a candle holder (but I couldn't find candles to fit), but you light the candles and it spins.

 I filled my crate with a Nativity set that my kids painted last year. I didn't really have a home for my snowman and Christmas tree so I put it on top. Hopefully next year I can put a little more thought into my decor.

 This is my entryway table. The decor consist of my nutcrackers, homemade Christmas trees, Gingerbread houses that we all made as a family, and candy cane decor.

 Here's a side view of the display... I also have large Christmas boxes for decor.

 We have a bunch of pecan trees, so putting them next to the Nutcrackers was an easy decision. Beside the Nutcrackers I have homemade Christmas trees for an added touch of decor.

 Here are the homemade Christmas trees we made as a family.

 Here are our many Gingerbread houses we made as a family night. It was fun and of course was a nice touch to my entryway table.

 Last my candy cane display. In one vase I have a candle in the middle surrounded by candy canes making it a candle holder as well as a candy cane display. Beside it I have a jar full of peppermints and a simple candle holder.

Thanks for stopping in even if it's a little late. I didn't do as much decorating as I would have liked this year but I was still able to keep it simple but still enhancing the room with a Christmas look. I hope everyone had a very blessed Christmas.

Fall Mantle Sign

It's Fall Friday!!! Today is a great month, it's my anniversary, it's Thanksgiving, and I get to share all my fun fall décor with you!

I thought I start off by saying "Did everyone have a blast for Halloween?"

Our kids got way more candy than they should have. Our business is in the mall so we always start the night off by passing out candy to all the kids there. We then made our way to our church where the kids played games and got their bags filled with candy. We then drove around to some scary houses and let the kids do some trick~or~treating. It's always fun to see all the kids dressed up.

Here are my kiddos for Halloween. Jaden and Cameron both decided they wanted to do Wizard of Oz when they seen the outfits and we talked Zane into too! I thought they looked so cute, but I'm their Mom I'm suppose to say that right?

Cameron was having a 'Fall Party' at her school today (her teacher was gone yesterday) and of course I was recruited by Cameron to make cupcakes. We got home late from trick~or~treating and so I got a late start on them but I got them done. I then go to the school this morning and I was stopped saying that it is now district policy that we can't bring anything homemade to school. WHAT??? Isn't that the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard? I got home and sent an email asking to see where this policy is written because I couldn't find it anywhere. I got an email back saying there was a reason but that was it. That wasn't a good enough answer for me so now I'm waiting on a phone call. Sorry about that I just had to vent.

Anyways I'll no longer keep you in suspense about what I am going to share with you today for my fall décor. I always have more Fall décor so I can have September, October, and November to display my décor. If I only put up Halloween décor I couldn't display it as long if you know what I mean.

Here it is! A lovely wooden sign that screams it's FALL!!!! I made this sign to hang above my mantle. I am so glad I did because I love it so much I'm not sure I want to take it down once it's time for the Christmas décor to go up lol. I can't wait to show you more of my Fall mantle!

Thanks for stopping in!

Halloween Treats, Fun, and Decor

I'm a little mad at myself for not being able to blog as much since college has started. I thought this term would go a little more smoothly for me, and it has except it seems like I have had more going on than I ever could have thought was possible. So because I didn't get all of my "Halloween stuff" up to share with you all, I figured I'd just do one big last Halloween post since it's Halloween and I won't get another chance. So I'm going to share on here the last of my Halloween décor and all the yummy fun the family has had this month!

Let's start with Halloween treats! Yummy!

My younger daughter Cameron and I whipped up some yummy ghost and mummy cupcakes

I let the kids practice their frosting skills ....it's not about the looks it's about the fun!

One morning my little guy wanted "special" pancakes so I made him a pumpkin

I know our family eats a lot of sweets.....anyways we whipped up some Halloween chex snack mix

I'll have you know I have never had a cavity, I'm not sure how but it's the truth.

Anyways my Mom used to make these every Halloween for us kids. Although popcorn balls are yummy they are still hard to eat, but it's worth it!

Cameron loves her sweets as well! Like Mother like Daughter :)

I finally got the oldest in on some fun! Jaden is always so busy I almost don't get to see her anymore. The life of a teenage girl!

Now onto the rest of my Halloween décor!

This is my spider and his web. I made the web with Elmer's glue and glitter. My spider was made from pom-poms and pipe cleaner. (I did a guest post over at Blissful and Domestic and you can find more about this spider over there...10 Frugal Halloween Decor Ideas)

I seen these "feather trees" at Hobby Lobby and tried to make my own. I don't like how they turned out and I'm going to make another attempt next year and take my time, but for now it added some nice décor to the house.



This is my witch's table. I made the witch's hat from cardstock. The potions I put some paint inside little jars. For the witch's brew I used some foam sealant and added some parts to it. I made the little clothes from felt. (You can also find out more about this witch's table over at Blissful and Domestic also on the same post...10 Frugal Halloween Decor Ideas)

I added some bats to my light for a little fun. (Again to see more about this decoration hop on over to Blissful and Domestic and check out my guest post 10 Frugal Halloween Decor Ideas)

For my ghost mirror I used frosted glass spray. (To find out more about this lovely ghost mirror head on over to Blissful and Domestic and my guess post 10 Frugal Halloween Decor Ideas will give a little more detail)

Who could forget carving pumpkins!!! My son wanted Sponge Bob...I guess he turned out o.k.

Cameron wanted a haunted mansion...this is a little more my area since I stink at carving pumpkins!

Jaden wanted ghost...I'm kinda sad because I couldn't get a good shot of this one so it actually looks a lot better in person!

Well thanks for letting me share the rest of my HALLOWEEN FUN with you all!

What have you done for the month of October??? It's always a fun month!

Cheesecloth Ghost In Style

Today I'm going to share with you my "Haunted House" table. The star of the show is my cheesecloth ghost and in the background we have a "scary haunted house," with dead tree limbs, felt owls and a sign as added décor.

I really wanted to spend more time on this entryway table and make it pretty awesome upon entering the house....unfortunately this was one of my last projects I got too in my living room and I didn't have a whole lot of time to spend on it. Since I moved into a larger house this year most of my decorations are new and mainly DIY projects. Since I didn't have a whole lot of time I decided that I would focus mainly on the fall décor this year.

Anyways what Halloween décor I do have I love especially these cute little cheesecloth ghost. To make cheesecloth ghost you need cheesecloth, liquid starch, and something for the cheesecloth to drape over while it dries like a bottle and a ball. You can find many ways to do this online. I decided I wanted 3, one for each of my kids. My middle daughter helped me decide how to make the ghost. She wanted them to look like they were dancing so dancing ghost we have.

 This ghost is my oldest daughter Jaden and we decided to put a tutu on her. You need a dress to go dancing right? Since my daughter has entered high school there are dances and they have to have fancy dresses, so it seemed like the perfect idea for her ghost.

Now this ghost is my middle daughter Cameron and for a dance you need beautiful hair and what hair would be complete without a pretty bow? This was the perfect idea for her ghost because Cameron is known for her hair bows. I make all her hair bows and people always tell me they look forward to seeing her bows each day.



Now this little ghost is my little man Zane. When going to a dance you need a suit and tie right? Well this was just the perfect touch to this little ghost. Now go get your groove on!

Now here is the background behind the ghost. As you see I have some light up candles, dead tree limbs, felt owls, a sign, and a "scary haunted house."

 I made this sign because our last name is Secret...so here lies many Secrets at this haunted house.

For the owls I just made them from felt and hung them in the trees. These also represent my kiddos :)

They find it funny when I make stuff of them.



Here is the final product, my somewhat scary, haunted house. I know my table is a little boring but I think the ghost add a nice touch to it especially since they came in style!

So how do you decorate your tables for Halloween?

Thanks for stopping in, until next time...