Christmas Memories of the Heart

There are so many memories as I look all around.  Memories of Mom, Uncle Jack, Mammaw, my Aunt Judy, Aunt Linda, cousins...all sweet memories that I will always cherish.  Each of them had such a huge impact on my life growing up.  Mammaw taught me who God is,  how to love, truly love and to be kind.  Aunt Judy taught me how to have a relationship with God and we shared so many creative ideas in person and on the phone.  Aunt Linda taught me how to love yard sales and how to giggle at the dumbest of things...she twinkled!  My Uncle was my dad, he taught me more than any man could ever teach me.  My cousins were my brothers and sisters I never had.   Each of them twinkled absolutely so beautiful!  Of course they all taught me so much more, too many to say, but they're a part of me that live on.  How very blessed I have been to have had them in my life.

So with that being said, we'll start with the tree.  It definitely twinkles!

I'm sorry this isn't the best photo of the whole tree...you see, I never have taken a full shot of it all decorated yet...can you believe it?  

Decorated in pinks, aqua and white...we all love it!  I used tulle and a garland I made a few years ago.  With the flocking, it really is beautiful!

Under the tree is a mixture of a tulle bed skirt and a traditional Martha Stewart tree skirt.  The soft ruffles along with the satin are a perfect match.

I found these pale pink flocked Poinsettias at Michael's while on a shopping trip with a friend.  I was broke, so I had to wait a week to go back and buy them.  I was biting my nails hoping they would still be there...and they were!

I had a planter that I stuffed faux pine in and then added the mixture of Poinsettias with some pine cones and snowflakes from Dollar Tree.  It adorns the "Letters to Santa" tin that the girls used to leave messages in with their wish lists for Christmas.  Those days are long past gone.  The angel was a present from my Mom....it lights up and silver glitter blows all around.  She knows me so well.

I added the large snow flakes to the window wall windows.....see the snowflake theme?

The glass vase was Aunt Linda's...perfect for a flameless candle that centers a wreath with pale pink glass candy canes, white glass pine cones, pine and aqua ornaments.  I love this centerpiece on the coffee table.

It goes perfectly with all of the other decorations.

And I should mention, it smells like peppermint!

It's not too big either.

The flower arrangement holds a very special memory, one of the very last memories I shared with Mammaw before she passed away.  I went for a visit one weekend in the beginning of December.  There is a little flower shop in that town that I love to visit...I found this there.  When I came back home, I showed it to Mammaw and she thought it was absolutely beautiful!  Eaxch year as I bring this out, those precious moments live on.

I add ornaments to it for some color each year along with lights.  I just love it!

Each Christmas, my Aunt Linda would go crazy with pine and Poinsettias.  She lived right up the road from me and would stop in after work to show me her latest find.  

I made the wreaths from pine garland , added the glass pine cones and bows and I hang them on the armoire doors every year.  She loved wreaths and had them every where.

They definitely spruce up and add color to the mostly white color scheme.  It makes it feel like a Winter Wonderland inside!

A little ceramic lighted house she gave me was painted all white then sprinkled with silver glitter on the roof tops for that perfect twinkle.  The pine cones came from Mammaw's yard that Mom had gathered for me one year.  A large glittered ornament purchased from Home Goods years ago goes nicely with the whole table arrangement.

When I see silver, I think of Judy's beautiful hair!  It was the color everyone wants when their hair starts to grey.  She loved Angels at Christmas time, so the Angels are a sweet memory of her love.  

I tend to do the same thing here each year...now you know why.

Now, the mirrors are a living memory for my Mom who I call every day.  We lived in a home that was dark when I was growing up, so she had mirrors everywhere to reflect the light.  I know people thought she was vain, but that wasn't her intent...she yearned for light!   I do the very same thing!

I have some beautiful mirrors that have been found at yard sales, all have been painted and 

re-purposed somehow.  Mom still has many throughout her home too.  One thing she taught me well is how to decorate!

The tree looks amazing reflecting in the mirror by the armoire.  That's what I love about mirrors, they reflect what I love about our home!

The hall mirror is the best mirror...it reflects so much light down a "what could be dark" hall.

This little guy was lost one year...I could not remember where I had it stored away.  Well, he now stays out all year long not to miss any Christmases!

He sits above a lighted topiary and a chair my sweet hubby sits on as he puts on his works boots every morning.

Our home at Christmas time is a place we all love to be.  It's a place my girls have sweet memories and I hope when we are gone that our memories live on in them.

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you feel our home the way it feels to us...with lot's of love, memories and welcoming hugs.

Christmas Kitchen 2015

I'm so excited  to start sharing our home for Christmas!  We'll start in the kitchen since it's the day after Thanksgiving and that's where all of the action happened.

I really am loving our kitchen all decorated this year.  I say every year that "this is the prettiest it's ever been"....and each year it gets better and better to me!

Using what I had from the past, I filled the picket planter with lots of faux pine, poinsettias, snowflakes and glass ornaments.  

It seems snowflakes are a theme this year and I didn't even plan it that way.  They go perfectly with everything, don't you think?

The icy feeling is carried to the chest that sits in front of the window wall.

But the warm glow of candle light melts away any cold.

I've had this jingle bell wreath for almost 25 years.  It is  pale pink wrapped in pine with pink glass candy canes on either side.  The cement dove is the perfect centerpiece to adorn it.  It's funny how some creative juices and being on a tight budget help nudge one into making their own centerpiece instead of buying one.

A few years ago, I made these stockings.  Never have they hung by the mantle.  The little blue bird ornaments give them a touch of color to tie them in with the mantle dressing.

Keeping it kind of simple definitely makes it light and bright.

The scrolly stands on each side of the mantle are decorated with simple pine draping downwards with glass ornaments and poinsettias along with snow flakes.  Eating dinner here is a true pleasure to the eyes.

I wanted both rooms to tie into each other.  I'm quite pleased with the results!

I truly love our kitchen and how it flows nicely into the living room.  I decorated before Halloween, so I couldn't use real pine.  I am, however, adding touches to the faux pine now since we are almost into December.  The smell is wonderful!

I'll be sharing more photos of our kitchen as the days go by.  Come back on Saturday to see the reveal of the tree.  Until then, have a blessed Friday!

Gobble Gobble

I am very thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Last year, my sweet Hannah was hospitalized on Thanksgiving day and she didn't get to enjoy her favorite time to eat.  So, this year is a very special one to all of us!

May yours be blessed with family, friends and a great meal no matter where you are.  Oh, and the most important....LOVE!

Snowmen Ornaments

This time of year, I love to craft!  I remember Mom and I sitting at the kitchen table making wreaths from foil.  They were absolutely beautiful!  Mom would save every little piece of anything that would look lovely on the wreaths and now I do the same thing.  

Saving hair things from the girls, the little delicate flowers on the hair bands, the ribbon and lace that Mammaw saved from dress making, even some of the pieces Mom saved back then too, are all apart of my crafting somehow.

Fond memories go through my head as I sit and paint the faces on these snowmen.  I think about how my Aunt Judy thought this was the cutest idea.  Sadly, one that I had made for her for Christmas, never got to be gifted. 

I know they are smiling down upon me from heaven as I sit and craft.

A few years ago, I stumbled upon a photo of a light bulb made into a snowman ornament.  That's when the "light bulb" went off in my head!

This was the very first one that I made....

I was so excited!  And amazed that I could paint a cute face, lol!

I had a sweet lady ask if I could do some for her in these colors, so that's what I did.  My spare bedroom looks like a fabric bomb went off!  I save little scraps for this very reason...

Once I start crafting, I do not want to stop.  Just like when I sew...I look for things to keep sewing.  I enjoy it so much!

I saw where light bulbs were made into just the heads also...so I had to make one this year to see if I could do it.  This one is mine!  Aunt Judy told me to always keep the very first thing you do...I'm so glad she shared that with me because it's nice to go back and look at how far you've come.

As I was looking for a place to hang this one, I sat it on a candle stick and fell in love!  Just look at how cute that is!  I had already had the fabric bow on it so it looks like I intentionally did it.  Perfect mishap!!!

Now Mom put hers in her candle holders too and look how cute they are!  See, a perfect mishap!

If any of you are interested, please check out ~Sweet Melanie Creations~ 

Thanks so much for letting me ramble on.  It's almost Friday and I see more crafting happening this weekend!

Have a blessed rest of the week and enjoy this weekend.  Don't forget that God has blessed you with all of it.

A Girl can DREAM

I am sick...great opening line, right?  Well, I am and have been playing around with some PicMonkey editing. I want snow so bad, so I thought I would make it!

This is where my dreaming comes in.

Spending the day outside two days in a row sure didn't help with this cold I caught from my oldest.  But I sure was happy when I was out there.  Finishing up with all of the Christmas decorations makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Wait, I'm in my warm and fuzzy bath robe...maybe that's it!

Wreaths seem to be something I am attracted to this year.  I wanted them on each window and thankfully I had just enough.  

I saw a photo on Pinterest that inspired me.  You know me...I love Pinterest!  It's my virtual magazine!

Dollar Tree ribbon and ornaments fit my budget perfectly.

You should have seen the hubby and I up on the ladder adding lights to these trees....and I'm scared of heights!

Maybe people drove by and said, "that Melanie, she's been at it again."  

I guarantee if they saw me out there like this, they would think I had lost it. 

(My girls caught me taking a break and my glasses were all fogged up)

It was just a tad bit nippy to be working outside at night, but that's how I roll.

I love Christmas lights, so working with what we had, I made them work.  I should have taken a photo of the pile I had to throw away that didn't work.  I think of that song about the 12 Pains of Christmas every year with those blasted Christmas lights!  I know it's a money market because the fuses do not EVER work!  The old lights used to last for years and years.  Not anymore!

King Louis loved watching me through the windows.  All warm and cozy while I froze to death, lol.  But he cuddled with me when I came in....oh how I just love this cat!

Well, I think the Nyquil has kicked in and now I must go to bed.  I pray everyone has a blessed week and stays healthy!