~DECORATING WITH JOY~

 ~DRESSED IN GLITTER and LACE~

(Almost Done)

Oh golly...it's 11AM here in the state of Oklahoma and boy am I already behind!  I have lots of studio work to finish up today and since I stayed up late working on our Christmas decorations I can assure you this ol' body of mine is draggin'!  Since I don't drink coffee (I'm hearing you all GASP!) and I'm trying desperately to break my addiction to Caffeine (via Diet Coke) my only consistent vice is spiced tea.

 ~SWEET COCOA TIN~

And...since I've taken to buying the kind with the good stuff taken out (again that would be caffeine) I'm struggling a bit this morning to stay focused...

~DAINTY SACHET STOCKINGS~

And so...I'll be in my little studio today working on lots of fun things and trying to catch up.  Truthfully, my neatly kept fabric stash kinda-sorta looks like it threw-up all over the place.  I'm thinking about having my girl come over to help me clean it up.  She's an organizer extraordinaire (probably comes from working in the lingerie dept at Dillard's during High School) and no doubt she'll whip it back into shape in no time.

(AdrieGirl...if you are reading this your Momma needs to be rescued!  Hurry...get over here! XOXO)

~PRETTY VINTAGE LACES~

(Old Buttons and Ribbons, too!)

Today marks the third anniversary of my Gramma's passing and I'm thinking that might have something to do with my melancholy mood.  An amazingly gifted woman, she taught me most of what I know today about sewing.  Forever in her debt, I'll always be grateful she allowed me to sew play on her old brown Kenmore Sewing Machine when I was a little girl.

"Love and miss you so very much, Grams. xo Becky"

 

Mom, Linda (Sister), Adrienne (daughter), Gramma, Me

(Happy Times in 2006)

~Mine and Gramma's Hands~

1916-2009

Hope your day is wonderful.  December is almost here!  Time for the JOY to begin!

Love to you...

~LOOKING FOR CHRISTMAS ROMANCE~

~THE TREE THAT DIED~

2010 Decorating

Yesterday my daughter, Adrienne, picked me up for a bit of shopping.  We planned to visit Hobby Lobby to look at their Christmas Trees because the one I was using last year in our dining room decided to die on me.  Although artificial the fifteen year old Tree was beyond help.  The wire branches would no longer stay in place and most of the lights (about 1,000) struggled to stay lit.  My Mr. AGPMan hand-wired the thing together so I could use it one more time and when Christmas was over it was trashed...

 ~ALL WIRED UP~

My girl and I looked around the Christmas aisles at Hobby Lobby before actually going to the Trees.  As usual there was a massive amount of ornaments, yard decor, lights, gift wrap, flowers, bags, bangles and beads.  I was overwhelmed.  When we moseyed over to the Trees I found one I 'kinda liked'.  It was originally $399.00 (are you kidding me?) but since they were running a 'sale' it was 50% off so it would only cost me $199....(???? again!).

I don't know about you but I truly hate inflated prices that are followed with half-off sales.  As I said a couple of days ago in my post about sewing patterns...just give us a fair price and forget the promo based sales.

Anyway...I left without the Tree.  

But that's not really what I want to say...

In all the years of shopping at Hobby Lobby (and I love this OKLAHOMA BASED BUSINESS!) I have never seen so much wildish, whimsical looking Christmas stuff!  Not sure what was going on with the Product Buyers or maybe what I was seeing was ALL that was being offered and produced in the Chinese Wholesale Markets for 2011...not sure.

Am I the only one who thinks the new colors and so-called trends are harsh?  All this bright, bright, bright, BRIGHT glittery red and lime green stuff reminiscent of the 60's filled row after row.  And, even though I know it's early in the season I didn't see the stuff flying off the shelves.  I left disappointed in what I saw and purchased very little.

~SAM'S TREE~

Next we paid a visit to our local SAM'S CLUB and there I found a 7ft slim Tree (which is what I need and want) for $129.00.  Not too bad a price and this one came with 250 more pre-lit lights.  Since I'm planning on painting the Tree (yes I am) and flocking it like my old one I didn't mind too much the dark, dark green of the branches...I'd rather it had been a "pine green" color but I guess for $129 that is all one can hope for.

Still...I left without a Tree.  I do have a few more places to visit before I decide on just the right one...  Right now I'm pretty much convinced if it's the softer and more romantic side of Christmas I'm wanting to see I'm probably not going to find it in the stores this year!

Bummer....

Hope your hump-day is lovely~

Love to you...

~CHRISTMAS SHABBY COTTAGE CHIC~

~WELCOME...COME ON IN~

 Just Off Our Entry

I ended up being MIA this weekend!  Truthfully...I enjoyed every single second I spent with my Miss K!  We shopped 'til  we dropped, BB&J (Baked, Bagged and Jared) Christmas goodies and we decorated until we could decorate no more!  When her Momma and Daddy picked her up this afternoon my La Chaumière de Briarwood looked as though a mini-tornado had invaded her interior!  I was toooooo tired to even THINK ABOUT Bloggin!

~OUR CHRISTMAS DINING ROOM~

All Is Calm~All is Bright

Wouldn't have changed a thing!  That said...I'm behind again, but who cares?  Right?

Above you'll see some of the fruits of our labor.  Our two dining room Trees are finished and they look sparkly and bright.  The larger Christmas Tree holds all of our family ornaments and is always the most fun to decorate!  Of all our trees, both little and big, she is the PINKEST, but is dearly loved just the same.  Good thing I've had all the ornaments for years and years because it's almost impossible to find PINK BULBS anymore!
Have you tried?
Found any?
I saw a few at Hobby Lobby, but that was about it!

~MY FAVORITE TREE~

Demure and Sweet

This medium sized Tree is new to our home this year and was initially purchased because I wasn't sure the larger Tree was going to ever get decorated.  We've had the larger of the two Trees for well over twelve years and it holds 700 plus mini bright lights...but~about 600 of them had burned out!!!

 

~CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?~

 (About 1/3 of the burned out bulbs)

My Mr. AGPMan changed them out one by one.  A huge task, but ultimately easier than trying to remove the old lights and then re-wrap the limbs with fresh strings.  Took him about 5 hours (or more) to relight the thing...and then I yanked it outside and flocked the entire thing (FAUX SNOW IN A CAN!!)  It was TOOOO TOOOOO GREEN for me and the faux snow toned it down!

~OUR "NOEL" BANNER

The most exciting thing Miss K and I did as far as decorating goes was the making of this Sugared and Glittered NOEL BANNER!  It was easy peasy to make, too!  The scrolly frame around the lettering was taken from a vintage cabinet photo and scanned into my computer.  The background color was changed and a single letter was placed in the center!  They were printed out on heavy card-stock and then lots of shimmer and shine was added.  Each lettered card was linked to the next using vintage gold cording and draped across a vintage mirror...

For right now I'm back in my studio as I have LOTS and LOTS to list on my website and will be doing so every day this week.  Hope you'll stop by to see what's new.

Are you wondering about the winner of my FOLLOWERS GIVEAWAY?  Well...the sweet gal who snagged the prize is none other than FRANCY RICHARDS!  Francy doesn't have a blog (just loves to read them) and has followed me from the beginning!  You can find her comments sprinkled all through my posts.  Thank you to all of you who played along and for the kind compliments!  CONGRATULATIONS FRANCY GIRL!

Now...are you wanting to know about my December Giveaway?  It will be the last one I will be doing this year.  I'll be announcing it tomorrow and it's sure to be a fun one!  How about the treats my Miss K and I put together?  Would you like to see those as well?

Happy Monday and Merry Christmas!
May you bring to this day your very best!

Blessings and love...

~DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS at My La Chaumière de Briarwood~

~O' CHRISTMAS TREE~

(How Lovely You Are In Pink)

Every single year when the Christmas gets close without fail my heart skips a beat or two!  I love not only the planning of the festivities, but I'm one of those weird people who love the hustle and bustle, the shopping, the caroling, the baking, the cleaning decorating, the gift buying and the gift giving.  I love visiting my longtime neighbors and friends, and most of all I love December worship at my church and celebrating the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

 ~MY LA CHAUMIERE DE BRIARWOOD~

(Just A Little Bitty Peek)

It is never lost on me when another Christmas is ushered in how blessed I am to experience it in a fresh, new way.  I am so grateful to God for His goodness and for allowing me to continue another year doing exactly what I love.

~SOFT and COMFY~

(LOVIN' MY NEW CHAIRS)

The picture at the top is of our pretty Christmas Tree this year.  It's been a long time since I placed our glittery girl in the corner of our family room and I had forgotten how much I actually love her there.  With the addition of the vintage sideboard on the right (picture above), you can see her old place was taken making it impossible to place her in front of the window.

~SOFA RE-UPHOLSTERY IS NEXT~

 (Lovely Soft Berry Fabric Must Go!)

My Mr. AGPMan and I finished up many projects this year! One huge goal for me was to have our big, comfy chairs and our sofa re-upholstered in a softer color palette with more cottage style flair.  Well...my big, comfy chairs were finished a few weeks ago but I drug my feet getting my sofa taken in and...well...DRATS!  I have this lovely creamy white, slightly nubby fabric just waiting to be cut into, but I just couldn't get the fog out of my brain in time to get things together...baahhhhhh!

~SWEET "BELIEVE" SIGN~

(I believe in JESUS)

~MY PRECIOUS "NOEL"~

(A Sweet Gift From 'Da-Man')

Many years ago I saw a couple sets of hand cut letters at a high-end Christmas Store in Dallas.  One said "Merry Christmas" and the other one simply said "NOEL".  They were far out of our reach financially at the time so my "he-can-do-anything-man" made me as set of each and today I love them more than ever (literally cost him pennies to make...but loads and loads of time!).  When my girl married I gifted her with the larger set opting to keep the smaller NOEL set for myself.  Once berry-red, I repainted the letters last year using my favorite cottage white paint!  

Can you say YUMMO?

~SHABBY COTTAGE CHIC~

(Little Bitty Trees Rule)

I have a weakness for "Little Christmas Trees".  I love decorating with them and finding new ways to display them.  The one above (on the left) was made using vintage millinery flowers married together with newer florals, old laces and tiny glass bulbs.  She sits inside one of the garden urns once used for our girl's wedding day centerpieces!

I'm totally excited today as my Miss K is spending the weekend here at Nana's house.  S he will be helping me decorate our front Christmas Tree as well as BB&J (Bake, Bag and Jar) our Christmas Treats this year.  Tomorrow I'll be back with more pictures of our home for Christmas 2010 and some fabulous graphics you can use in your own holiday and Christmas gift giving projects.

If you'd like to see what my home looked like last Christmas just click here!

Thanks for stopping in for a peek today!  Don't forget the GIVEAWAY DRAWING for my FOLLOWERS ends tonight!

Love to you...

~A TREE IN THE MAKING - How I Decorated My Tree~

HOW I DECORATE OUR CHRISTMAS TREE

I promised yesterday I'd share with you some of the tips I learned from attending a "HOW TO DECORATE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE" Seminar several years ago at Dallas Market. I have always LOVED the Christmas decor in the Showrooms and Boutiques and wondered just HOW they got regular old (and sometimes UGLY!) Trees to looks so fabulous! Here's what I do.

First...as you can see...my Tree is GREEN. It actually has some bits of brown in it and it's a little wild and scrappy looking! It is not a pre-lit Tree. I've actually wanted to spray parts of it white (don't faint) but I didn't want to paint over the lights which we do NOT remove year after year. (If repairs need to be made then my Mr. AGPMan does that part!)

So...first off place your lights on your Tree (duh!)

Next I wrap my Tree with WIDE Ribbon. Round and round you go! You don't have to do this in any particular way but do be careful not to wrap it with too much ribbon or you'll run out of room for other things!

DRESSED IN LIGHTS AND RIBBON

Below is a close-up picture for you! As you can tell you can see the wires from the lights peeking out and about...

CLOSE-UP OF RIBBON

ANOTHER CLOSE-UP WITH BERRIES

Next comes twigs of flowers, berries, stems, roses, etc. You don't have to be matchy matchy here! I once bought a flower arrangement and ended up not liking it after I got it home. It was relegated to the garage for over a year. I needed more fluff to my Tree so I pulled out the flowers and stuck those into the tree. If they are too dark in color then dust them lightly with that spray snow. (Spray it outside though...it can be messy!). Below is a close-up of the tree with flowers added.

PRETTY FULL AT THIS POINT

If you are filling your Tree in like I do it should be getting fairly full at this point. I often use springs of greenery (sometimes frosted) to fill in the gaps and even flowers you wouldn't think of as being for Christmas (like silk Geraniums!)

TIME TO ADD FAMILY KEEPSAKES

Once your Tree is to your liking you can begin to add your keepsake bulbs, ornaments, tinsel, bows (I never skip adding the bows...never!), etc. Last but not least I add a big ribbon bow with several long tails to the top. I twist the tails around and tuck them in and out to add fullness.

AND HERE SHE IS AGAIN

In a few days I'll show you the Family Tree I have in the front of my home. It is red-based (don't faint!) and it holds most of my keepsake ornaments and special mementos we've collected over the years. It is decorated in the same manner I just used different colors of flowers, ribbons, etc.

Hope this gave those of you who needed some direction a little help!

Blessings to you as you decorate with joy and love...Rebecca

"IF NOT FOR THE MIRACLE...O' Christmas Tree"

~My La Chaumière de Briarwood
CHRISTMAS TREE~

Christmas 2009

MY CHRISTMAS TREE

Proudly dressed in glitter and lace
Shimmering pink she takes her place
Ribbons and Roses, she's clothed to the nines
Filling the room with the fragrance of pine

Bedazzled with ornaments
Twinkling and bright
She shines through the darkness
A beacon of light

Carefully holding
Her memories of love
She stands representing
The One from above

For all of her beauty
For all that we see
If not for the Miracle
She'd just be a Tree.

(c) Rebecca S. Nelson/2009

Blessings to you as your prepare your heart and home for CHRISTMAS...Rebecca