This years Christmas Decorations

Just sharing my furry, cozy home in Michigan.  This year I decorated early..Veterans day weekend.  I wanted to not be rushed and I have to say this is my best year ever. I am all done.  My gifts are bought and wrapped.  They have been completed for a week.  I was never one of these people, but I gotta say I love it!! Now I can just sit back and enjoy the season.  Do fun Christmasy things and watch Christmas movies and not stress.  Hope this becomes a trend with me.

 

We don't do to many lights outside

as I prefer to enjoy them inside.

 

 

This year we did add some deer.

and I put light on my metal garden orbs

 

 

  

 

 

The view as you come in.  We keep our shoes

in these bins so it's neater.

 

 

and the Tree.

 

The banister decoration..  I added more accents

this year and new bows plus the little ice skates.

 

 

Jake lays next to his dog pillow, not on it.

 

 

My Nativity that I love with the barn

 that I built to fit it

from sticks I gathered in the woods

 

 

my Santa collection 

 

 

Yes the parrot cages don't look

so pretty but they are part of the family

 and I refuse to stick them in another room.

All my animals bring me joy.

 

 

the view with things lit up

 

 

 

 

I love cozy lighting.  Turning on overhead lights

is a no, no in my house.  It's kind of like nails

on a chalk board to me.

 

 

 

I love candles and lanterns.  There's

nothing better in the winter.

 

 

the view out my kitchen window with our first

winters snow

 

 

The side board in our little dining area...

which displays my painting and

the Santa plaque I made.

 

 

This year I did an orchid center piece

since I found them on sale

for $5 each. 

 

 

I also decorate my bedroom

 

 

I ordered this comforter on Amazon

just because I was sure it would

look so cozy this winter.

 

 

As you can see the cats are quite comfy

 

 

I am so happy with the doors I

put in on the fireplace this summer.

I couldn't wait to use them this winter..

 

 

Henley lives in my bedroom.  She has free run of the bedroom,

bathroom and walk in closet all day.  At

night she sleeps in her little area. She has become a

chewer.  Although I try to rabbit proof she has still

got a hold of a cord or two,

a comforter, a shoe and towels, 

So I have gotten better at bunny proofing everything.

 

 

 Hope you enjoyed taking a peek at how I decorate

for Christmas.  I love my cozy space and I have worked hard

to redo this entire house since I moved in 10 yrs. ago. My home is my haven.

I'd like to wish you a warm, cozy Merry Christmas!

 

It was nice having you come by!

Getting it done!

Got my bowls back.... I am planning to use them in my garden as bird baths.

 Also I had a nice long weekend so I was busy decorating...the earliest I ever have for Christmas.....

A peek at a new ornament

And a favorite my husband bought me

I had a helper....

Although I know it is so early it is a big relief to have it done. I don't feel stressed and like that. It's hard when you work full time and then have a horse and many other animals to take care of. Not to mention chores and fun artsy stuff you want to do. I have that Christmas spirit and I am going with it! I want to have time for fun christmasy activities this year so I am opting to get stuff done early. I will share decoration pictures later.

I also made homemade bunny cookies. They adore them. So every time I get low I have to make new ones.

Henley likes cat toys

Just a short post this morning of early morning playtime as I get ready for work!

Leaf bowls

Just a quick post while I am finishing up tonight glazing a few leaf bowls.

The little stone pebbles you see should explode into color variations. I hope they come out well.... fingers crossed !

More Cushion...

Just to show you the last of my

home summer projects....

 

 

I had this antique bench and it

was looking it's age.  The springs creeked

so I looked for a new one.  When I didn't find

anything I liked I decided to redo it.

 

 

I was glad to be able to do this outside.

Kind of icky and dusty.

 

 

Many layers to get to the springs.

 

 

Some of them were broken and

I opted to take them off.

 

 

I was thankful my husband pulled

a zillion old carpenter nails
for me!

 

 

I then attached a top to the wood frame

I felt like this would sturdy it up

 

 

We have a foam factory close by so

I bought a nice thick foam pad

cut specifically to size.

 

 

I then covered the foam with batting

 

 

stapling it underneath

 

 

I then applied the upholstery fabric I bought

 at Hobby Lobby. I went with

 something neutral that would

go with different colors since it goes

at the end of my bed.  This way it would go

with different color schemes when

I change out my bedding colors. 

I decided to put trim

on it to break up the space visually.

 I used masking tape as a guide to

where I would apply my decorative trim.

I just hot glued it on.

 

  

and tada the finished product at the end

of the bed.   I think it looks more up to date

and is comfortable to sit on with more cushion.

Not to mention all nice and clean and

practically all new.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ugly Suitcase Reno!

So I've had these ugly suitcases for so long I don't even remember where or when I got them. My intention was always to do something with them...and I finally did.

This is them now after being painted and more to my liking color wise. I used chalk paint to cover the suitcases in the red. I had never use chalk paint before and I'm not sure I would use it again. I guess it would depend on the project. It just seemed like it took a long time to dry in between coats and I didn't like the flat finish. I ended up putting clear acrylic satin polyurethane over the chalk paint. I modge podged the scrapbooking floral decorations that I found at a dollar store.

C

I attached deck post toppers to the bottom to use as legs. Quite a good deal at three dollars each! 

I used drawer knobs for the suitcase at the top. If you can notice in the first picture the one suitcase was not level so these drawer knobs make it level when they are stacked on top of each other. This way they both still open and I can store items in them.

And the top is level so that if I want to put something on top of it I can.

I feel like I had a pretty productive summer and completed several projects that I had been meaning to do for years. In the future I will post another project I completed. For me personally I really take pride in the fact that I usually finish everything I say I'm going to do. It might take me several years but eventually it will get done. I like the feeling of personal satisfaction that ok I finished that. I'm not sure why I am like that, but I am just driven to do these projects that I create for myself. I have a hard time sitting and doing nothing. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but at least I'm getting some things done. I guess my sitting still time is my cuddle time with my critters! 

Hope you are enjoying your fall!