My "Creative" Oasis in the Desert

12/5/11

Merry! Merry! Mantel!

Hey, everyone! I'm back and so excited to be able to participate once again in some fun party, This time the focus is on "MANTELS!" This is extra fun for me because I have an actual mantel perched over a fireplace -- woohoo!

My mantel has very little depth, but a bit of planning & layering makes it work just fine.

The green wreath base was one I picked up at GW last year. It's really nice and full. I decided to use some of my special German Glass ornaments & a few others that I've had for years.

Love these bells that I found at The Dollar Store!

Also got the sparkly snowflakes there, too. The red mesh came from HL, on sale, of course!

I've had the German Glass ornies & the little bells for ever. I've always carefully placed them on our main tree, but they are small and tend to get lost. That's why I decided to use them on the wreath.

I love how it turned out!

Good place for some Nutcrackers.

I found some short sets of battery-operated led lights at Ikea -- love that I don't have a dangling cord!

Love my cute little framed Santa -- super-easy, thanks to The Graphics Fairy!

Cute little cupcake holder from HL with a single silver ornament & a hurricane KO that I wrapped with a torn page of music tied with jute & added some berries & greenery.

I've had the star stocking holders for years. Can't remember where I got the gold fringy swag, but I like it with the addition of the bead swag.

Bought the stockings at Walmart several years ago. I think they are very pretty. Why do we have 3 stockings you might ask? One for The Man, one for me, and one for........

Yep, Abby gets one, too! Oh, can you see her? She's wearing her cami-fur......lol! She's never been around a fireplace before & has discovered that she really likes it. She actually sits and stares at it when it's off, waiting for us to turn it on. We are so well trained......lol!

Thanks so much for stopping by. It's so much fun sharing my Christmas Home with all of my great friends in Blogland. Ya'll are all just the best & I truly appreciate each and everyone of you.

CAS

I'm happily linking to:

From My Front Porch To Yours Holiday Mantel Party

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia Mantels
Christmas Mantels Link Party
One Project at a Time - ABFOL
Ivy and Elephants

I'm a "JOYFUL" Copycat!

Hey, everyone! I'm so excited to be able to participate in this wonderful party, hosted by the incomparable duo of Vanessa & Heather from At the Picket Fence!

Christmas Blogger Block Party

This great party will be going on for "6" days -- woohoo -- with a wonderful slate of very talented co-hosts each day! Today, one of my favorite "Crazy" ladies, Debbie at Debbie's Blogging & Blabbing is doing her "Copycat" thang! Debbie is such a sweetheart, & I give her much credit & my heart-felt gratitude for guidance & encouragement through my first year of blogging. This is my first time to participate in one of her "Copycat Parties," so I'm very psyched!

I really wanted something different for displaying my Christmas cards this year & discovered this idea on marthastewart.com, but it was featured in her magazine

Martha Stewart Living, December 2002

Martha's version started with a 14" embroidery hoop, but I could only find 12" & that worked fine for me.

I already had the small clothespins.

I got to work gluing the clothespins to the hoop, alternating the direction of the clothespins.

Since my walls are a light color, I decided to paint the card holder black. I also painted the Command Hook to match. Added ribbon & a bow, and found the perfect spot to display the holder just outside the entrance to the kitchen. Here I will get to see it and enjoy it all the time! It looks a little naked right now, so let the holiday well-wishes start rolling in!

Now this next copycat project is not from a magazine, but I wanted to share it anyway.

I wanted to make my own version of this wonderful "JOY." I discovered this on Pinterest & tracked down the original creator. You can find it at Craft Goodies. Lots of fun stuff to see!

I actually found the bell, first, at The Dollar Tree! I was going to spray-paint it black, but decided

to leave it red.

I bought the paper-maiche letters at HL for $1.25 ea. with their 50% off special. Do you ever buy anything at HL that isn't on sale? I don't!

Because they are light-weight, The Man cut a wood base for me so I can glue on the letters & bell.

My next step was to choose my paper. Then I painted the base & the letters & used mod-podge to adhere the paper.

Hot-glued everything together, and.........wa-la! I'm so happy with how it turned out!

This may be its permanent home, but maybe not. I'm a "tweaker" ya know!

Tomorrow, this fun "Blogger Block Party" is all about "Mantles" or "Mantels;" so until then, thanks so much for stopping by. Hope ya'll are havin' a "HO! HO! HO!" happy day!

CAS

I'm happily linking to:

Debbie Doo's Blogging & Blabbing Holiday Copycat

Amaze Me Monday
One Project at a Time - ABFOL

12/2/11

HO! HO! HO! Just a sneaky peeky!

Hey, everyone! I'm a little late with this post, but we are working on more "home-improvement" projects -- The Man's Cave & some more work on the guest room. We have company coming in a week, so the guest room is a priority. But, The Man's Cave has been stripped of furnishings & carpet. Some of said furnishings are in the garage, but a number of things are scattered around the house -- yep, looks great with my Christmas decor.....lol! The great thing is that The Man is anxious to get moved into his new Man Cave before company arrives. Oh, and just to throw a little curve into the works, The Man is having eye surgery on Monday, with a follow-up visit on Tuesday. Heck, we have plenty of time.....YIKES! Anyway, I wanted to show you a few little peeks at what I've been doing with the Christmas decor. I know there are some great parties coming up soon, so I don't want to spoil it by sharing everything right now. I took most of these photos yesterday and this morning. Do you want to see? Well, come on, I know what a curious bunch you are!

Please come in!

Not close enough you say?

The picture & letter are finished, the envelopes addressed, & they went off in the mail this afternoon!

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

Did lots of playing with displays.

Up, up, up high on that tall ladder again!

The Man's been calling this the "House of Wreaths!" LOL

Moved my coffee center to the left of the sink a couple of weeks ago & love it here. I sprayed-painted an old tray, black -- have had the tray for years. The lamp? Would you believe Walmart?