I'm dreaming of a White Christmas. White Christmas decor that is.

Can you believe that Christmas is almost here? 

Where did the month go?   Heck, where did the year go? 

Are you ready for Christmas?   I'm not. 

I finally got my Christmas tree up.  But I haven't had the chance to get decent photos of it yet.  So you will have to wait on seeing my tree. 

But I thought I better share the rest of my Christmas decor. 

I decided to go with a "White Christmas" theme this year. 

I live in southern California and it never snows where I live.  So there isn't a snowballs chance in Hades that we will ever have a White Christmas.  I guess I should never say never.  It did snow once a few years back.  But not enough to stick.  But enough to get everyone excited that it was snowing. 

If we want a white Christmas, we either have to drive up to the mountains, go on a trip out of state to where it does snow, or make our own.  So here is my version of a white Christmas:

We will start with my china hutch.  And don't look at the snowflakes that are not sticking to the plates.  Geez!  You'd think that they could cooperate while I'm taking photos.  I guess it is just to warm here in SoCal for the snowflakes to stick.  Ha  ha!

I used a lot of snowflakes and trees in my Christmas decorating this year.  I love these snowflakes from Dollar Tree.  I have like a gazillion of them.  But only used a few.  I was planning on putting them everywhere, just got too lazy.  

I love anything under glass.  I found the mercury glass tree cloche at an antique store in Arizona a few years back.  The small ornament cloche with the snowman came from TJ Maxx a few years back as well.  I love the bottle brush tree in the urn.  That was an accidental pleasure.  I thought the tree would look better higher up, so I plopped it in the urn.  And ta dah! Perfect match.  Plus I didn't want to have to find a spot to store the urn during Christmas.  

More trees and snowflakes.  

I am obsessed with little bottle brush trees under glass this year.  

The silver ball ornaments were a thrift store find last week for 50 cents.  They look fabulous in my ironstone dish (another thrift store find).  

Did you notice the snowflakes in the back?  Another Dollar Tree find.  I just added some sparkly iridescent glitter to them.  

The snowball & ice garland came from Tai Pan Trading a couple of years ago.  

Some more thrift store finds.  The wooden tree was bare when I found it at the thrift store for a quarter.  I painted it white and added some iridescent glitter.  The rhinestone necklace at the beaded wire necklace around the bottom of the cloche came from the thrift store as well.   

Thrift stores are another obsession of mine. I seem to have a lot of them.  Obsessions, not thrift stores.  But then again. 

I still can't buy clothes from the thrift store. At least not for me.  It's a I hate "hand me down" clothing phobia I've had since childhood.  But I love to buy decor stuff and dishes from the thrift store.  

Hubby made the candle holder for me out of a glass light cover we picked up at the thrift store.  He made about 4 of them for me.  

The felt snowflake on the plate came from Tai Pan Trading some time ago.  I added the iridescent glitter to make it sparkly.  

The small mercury glass votive holder came from a cool store in Temecula called the Western Eagle Bargain Store.  You never know what you will find at that store.  

I have an obsession for glitter houses, Putz houses, cardboard houses, or whatever you want to call them.  Surprised that I have another obsession?  

I only used two of them this year.  My white ones.

The bottle brush trees are falling off of my house and church.  Every year I tell myself I need to hot glue them back on.  And every year I don't do it.  As long as no one bumps them, they are fine for another year.  

I have a couple of tiny feather trees under glass.  I picked them up a an antique store a few years ago.  I just need one that is about 1-2 feet tall and I would be happy.  But I'm too cheap to buy a bigger one.  Remember, I'm a dollar store type of girl.   

If you look in the first picture of my hutch you will see I originally had ivory colored domino's in the middle apothecary jar.  I changed them out for these ivory bottle brush trees.  I bleached these ones myself.  I am so proud that I finally did something I have been wanting to do for the last 3 years.  

Anyone that really knows me, knows what an accomplishment that really is.  I tend to not complete projects.  

The snowballs in the other two apothecary jars came from Hobby Lobby this year.  

The glittery snowflakes hanging from the jars are a thrift store find.  

Now we will move on to the shelf in my family room.  

The goldish mercury glass tree in the middle came from Target years ago.  The gold and silver trees on either side are Dollar Tree finds over the past few years. 

Did you notice the gold bead garland?  I found it at the thrift store for a quarter.  I knew I wanted to use more gold in my decor this year.  I guess I am drifting away from my White Christmas theme.  

Here is something white.  I hung more Dollar Tree snowflakes from the willow tree branches that I've had in a bottle on this shelf for a few years now.  

The spiders in my house love these branches.  Great for hanging their webs on.  I kicked the spiders out and opted for hanging snowflakes instead.  

I just love this wire snowflake tree.  I think I found it at TJ Maxx a few years back.  It would be really easy to knock off.  I know I originally had planned on doing so, but the lazy girl in me said "It ain't never going to happen.  So go ahead & buy the darn thing".  So I did.  

I made this paper lollie a couple of years ago.  I just change out the middle part for each season.  

Below the shelf I have an old trunk full of who knows what.  I found an old wood tray last year at the thrift store to sit on top.  It was so hard before to place anything on the trunk because it was so uneven.  The tray makes it easier to decorate.  

I added some mercury glass candle holders, a mercury glass candle that I picked up at Kohls this year and a Christmas cloche under a cloche.  The candles on the holders are FAKE!  I LOVE real candles, just have a greater fear of burning down my house.  So I use fake.  I found this set at the Western Eagle Bargain Store for $3.50 for the set of 3.  It was on one of their half price days.  Fabulous!  And they smell like real vanilla candles.  Even better!

The tin sign in the background says: Wisemen still seek him.  I guess I really should have put it with my nativity, but there wasn't room.  

And speaking of my nativity.  I put it behind my couch this year.  

I did have a bit of green in this display.  I purchased the biggest 3 green bottle brush trees from Grandin Road on clearance about 4-5 years ago.  The smaller two green trees are from this year.  As I was bleaching my bottle brush trees, I loved when a couple of them got this lighter green.  So I took them out of the bleach mixture before they were completely bleached & added them to my forest of green trees. 

The smaller cloche in the front was made from turning over a small glass candle holder I found at the thrift store.  You can find these exact same ones at Dollar Tree.  A dollar is a good price, but when you can get the same thing for 50 cents.  Even better.  Just like Christmas to a cheapskate savvy bargain shopper like me.   

My nativity holds a special place in my heart.  My mom painted & antiqued this set for my Grandma when I was a teenager back in the 70's.  It was all the rage back then to paint ceramic pieces and antique them.  Actually it was the rage to paint everything and antique everything back then.  I think my mom painted and antiqued every piece of furniture we had in our house at the time.  And then stripped off all the paint a few years later when painted furniture was no longer in vogue.  

Guess what girls?  You are going to be stripping off the paint off your painted furniture in a few.  You heard it here first!

I guess I got a little off track.  Back to the subject at hand.  My mom had done a similar nativity set for herself and my Grandma loved it.  So of course my mom made a set for Grandma.  When my Grandma passed away back in the late 80's or early 90's the nativity set went back to my mom.  

Now my mom knew how much I loved both nativities, so she gave me this one that had been my Grandma's for Christmas one year.  It has been one of my most favorite Christmas gifts of all time.  

My nativity brings me much "JOY".  And so does this little cloche.  The white bottle brush trees are from the Dollar Tree.  I love the "Brrr" rocks I added.  I can leave this out all winter.  

Here is the little cabinet in my kitchen.  

I love the "Nutcraker" ballet and all the music. Have you been watching the battle of the Nutcrakers on Ovation? 

  I purchased this swan from Pottery Barn on clearance last year.  Or maybe it was the year before.  This is the first year I've used it in my decor.  It is actually an ornament.  But isn't she "purty" sitting under glass instead of being hidden on the tree?  Such a DIVA!

I'll let you in on another little secret.  I have a swan obsession as well.  It's not as bad of most of my obsessions, but still something I collect.  

This bottle brush tree is also suppose to be an ornament.  I found it at Kohls.  It gets to have it's time in the spotlight for this year.  Next year, who knows.  It may be shipped off to the Christmas tree.    

Another ornament that I found at Kohls this year.  Since I have a gazillion ornaments, I have to find other places for them, other than the tree.  This "JOY" one found a spot hanging from the apothecary jar.   This would be another ornament that would be easy to knock off.    

Well I hope you have enjoyed my White Christmas decor this year.  I really enjoyed using white, cream, gold and silver in my decor this year.  And I still managed to have a vintage feel.  You know how I'm obsessed with anything that looks or feels vintage.  I seem to gravitate to a vintage Christmas look. 

It seems like each year that I get older, the less I decorate.  I only decorated my family room and part of my kitchen.   

Maybe age has nothing to do with it.  And maybe it has everything to do with the fact that I'm lazy and a procrastinator.  Can you imagine what I could do if I weren't?  Maybe in my next life I'll get to find out.  

In case I don't post again before Christmas (I do plan on posting about my tree, but in case I procrastinate it) I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  

Or if you prefer, Happy Holidays!  Heaven knows, I don't want to offend anyone. 

And in case you missed my Snowflakes and Silver Trees vintage style mantel, you can check it out here.  

Merry Christmas everyone!

Spooky Halloween Hutch

I am on a roll this week. I've posted more times in one week than I think I did all Summer. Probably as I finally have something to blog about.

Today I'm sharing my Halloween hutch.  Seems all I ever blog about is my mantel or my hutch.  But they are my two favorite things to decorate. 

I'm calling this years version: My Spooky Halloween Hutch.

Oooooh, so original. 

I decided to go with a black, white & silver color scheme this year. 

I am again using my "Happy Halloween" sign that I made a couple of years ago. 

I picked up a few magnifying glasses from Dollar Tree and the 99 Cent Only Store to make my Spooky Magnifying glasses.  This one has a "31".  I got the print outs and the idea from Family Circle website. 

The mercury glass pumpkin was found at the Western Eagle Bargain Store in Temecula.  I think I paid $3.00 for it.  It was the only one they had.  So I had to get it. 

Hubby & I found this antique rusty lantern at Granny's Attic antique store in Old Town Temecula a few years back.  I only use it at Halloween.  I put it out in my graveyard in my front yard on Halloween night with a battery operated candle inside.  

The mercury glass votive holder was another Western Eagle Bargain store find.  It was a buck. 

The jingle bell spiders came from TJ Maxx a couple of years ago. 

The white vegetable/gourd thing was a freebie from a friend of my son.  I have no idea what kind of vegetable/gourd thingy it is.  But I thought it would make a cool Halloween decoration.  If you know what it is called, let me know.  I need to be enlightened. 

I made this "Spooky" garland a few years back.  I pieced together a couple of different free printables I found on the Internet.  I think this is the first time I've displayed it on my hutch. 

The black & cream striped plates came from Target this year.  I thought they were too plain.  So I taped some Halloween coasters that I also found at Target this year. 

If you have followed my blog for very long, you know I love my cloches.  I love to find glass items at the thrift store that can be used as a cloche.  I have a skull sitting under this one.  There is an almost identical one on the right side of this shelf as well.  The skulls are actually salt & pepper shakers that I picked up at Tai Pan Trading last year.  All of my ironstone came from thrift stores. 

The larger black plates with the cream pumpkins came from Target this year.  I love anything that has a vintage look to it.  I was afraid these wouldn't look good up against the black background.  But I think they still stand out.

The cream pumpkins also came from Target this year. 

 

Another spooky magnifying glass.

The owl came from Dollar Tree.  I got 2 different versions (one for the left side, and one for the right)  I wasn't digging the orange, green and purple color they originally came in.  So I spray painted them Heirloom white.  Much better. 

I found these stacking skulls at the 99 Cent Only store. 

Here is the other owl I made over and another spooky magnifying glass.

We have finally reached the bottom.  I used another of those vegetable/gourd thingies.  This time I put it under glass.  I think everyone has made a cloche out of a cheese dome.

The other cloche is made from a light cover.  Another thrift store find. 

The mercury glass owl came from Marshall's last year or the year before.  I still love mercury glass stuff.  How about you?

I used a vintage image I had.  I just printed it out in sepia tone.  I use an old flower frog to hold the print. 

I've had these apothecary jars for years.  Didn't change anything out for Halloween.  I still love the items I have displayed in these jars.  Which translates to, I was too lazy to change them out. 

And the right side.  The cheese dome up top is filled with vintage casters/wheels.  I found all of them either at the thrift store or at the Habitat ReStore. 

I love this little pumpkin.  It came from Target this year.  I wish they would have had more in different shapes and sizes like they did the past few years when they had the orange ones.  There is just something about a cream pumpkin that I can't pass up. 

I found this little glass jar a couple of weeks ago at the thrift store for like 50 cents.  I thought it would make the perfect little cloche.  And I was right. 

The Witch is In sign came from Tai Pan Trading a few years back. 

This grave stone actually has candy inside.  It came in a set of three at Dollar Tree.  It was just the right size to fit under this cloche. 

A complete shot of the bottom. 

And one final shot of the hutch. 

I hope that you enjoyed this years Halloween hutch. 

Before I let you go I have to tell you a little story.

I just love Halloween.  I already have way too much Halloween stuff.  But does that stop me from buying more?  Heck no.  So while I was at Target shopping for new Halloween stuff, I ran into this woman.  No I did not literally run into her.  I do know how to drive a shopping cart.   But she was shopping and I was shopping.  And I just happen to mention that I don't know why I am buying more stuff when I already have too much.  She said she does the same thing.  Imagine that?  Anyhoo, she says about 15 or more years ago she said to her hubby that she would like to open a Halloween store.  And sell nothing but Halloween stuff.  But her husband talked her out of it.  He said, "Who would buy Halloween stuff besides you?"  She thought he was probably right, so she let her dream die.  And now she is kicking herself. 

Do you have a dream that you have let someone talk you out of?  Do you like Halloween as much as me and this woman I met?  And are you a Halloween hoarder like me?  Do tell. 

Linking to:

SNS-Funky Junk Interiors

Weekend Wrap Up Party-Tatertots and Jello

Love is all you need-Valentine hutch

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! The day is 3/4 of the way done and I am just now posting. That's what happens when my real life gets in the way of my blogging life. Seems to happen all the time now.

Anyhoo, since today is Valentine's Day, I thought I better post about my Valentine hutch.

This years version is very frugal.

I started off with this chalkboard I picked up at a flea market for a buck. I just wrote "Love is all you need!" and instant Valentine decor.

My Valentine theme this year is heart doilies from the dollar store.


The larger heart doilies actually came Walmart. But I think they were around a dollar. Maybe a little more. The smaller white ones came from Hobby Lobby.

Did I ever mention how excited I am that we finally have Hobby Lobby in southern California? And that one is 20 minutes from my house? Doesn't get much better than that. Unless it were less than 5 minutes away. I'm just happy I don't have to drive to Utah or Arizona anymore to shop at one.

I just taped red & white heart doilies to all my plates.

And tied some to different size Mason jars with some bakers twine. The "XO" circle was a free printable from The Diary of Daves Wife.

I have a stash of Valentine cookie cutters that I used under some of my cloches.

I like the vintage ones the best. But I take what I can find.

It's hard to see in this cheese dome. But I put more of my vintage heart cookie cutters inside a larger newer one.

The "Be Mine" banner I made last year. It was a free printable that I found at Very Merry Vintage Style.

I added a red background to mine.




I just used stuff I already had on hand in a couple of my small cloches. This one has some paper hearts I made last year from my Dollar Tree thesaurus. There are some red glitter hearts at the bottom. And I could not for the life of me, make my heart stand in the right direction.


The "Hugs & Kisses" sign was picked up at TJ Maxx last year or the year before. I didn't change out my apothecary jars this year. Too lazy.

And finally a sweet cherub with a lonely heart.

All I decorated for Valentine's day is my hutch and my mantel. I never did decorate anything else. Partly because I'm too lazy and party because I can't get to the cabinet in the garage that houses all my cherubs. My hubby is a hoarder. He would call me one, but we all know he is the real culprit. I'm just a closet hoarder. He's the garage hoarder.

There is always next year!

Maybe I should clean out the garage as hubby's Valentine's Day present. Nah! Too much work. And we all know how much I hate work.

Now go and enjoy what's left of your Valentine's Day.



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