Monday, December 21, 2009

Delights of the Season



For those who do not care to have a tree in the house this time of year, you might enjoy just filling a silver bowl, perhaps one inherited or bought at a second-hand store, with ornaments of your favorite colour, and adding some of the soft sparkly snowflakes from Dollar Tree. It gives a delightful bright spot on a table in your home.  I do not keep many seasonal things in my home. I like all my things to be useful all the time, so if I want things to be more up-beat and bright, I just add lights or something glittery.


You can see where the trim has been torn away from the entry way to the dining room, and the floor has been installed up to this carpeting. I tried to work around it when cleaning up the house for company the other day. The walls will be painted, also, but in the meantime, I wanted to cover an especially unattractive scratch on the wall, so I hid it with this little box, and topped it with an electric candle from the dollar store, which has a candy-light pink bulb in it. You can get these silicone dipped scented, colored bulbs from several shops online.





An ice-scape, from a table-top birdbath. In water, I placed green branches, a few silver plastic bells, a large plastic ornament, nd soft flexible snowflakes, all from from the dollar store.

Another part of the floor, so far. The walls will be wallpapered or painted.

Here is that pre-lit tree, without the lights,( the lights are already wired around the branches,and it can come apart and be packed in a narrow box, easily stored) showing  the styrofoam ornaments from the dollar store. 

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your tabletop arrangements are charming & lovely, Mrs. Sherman. I do something very similar, using a silver tray; I also use a tall, clear vase, which shows off everything so well.....even broken ornaments (without their little piece for hanging) can be salvaged this way. My mother used to do this, only her arrangement was in a huge brandy snifter, which was very popular at the time.

Brenda

Anonymous said...

I took some blue, pearl white, and silver ball ornaments in different sizes and placed them in crystal bowls in different areas of our home. My husband was just telling me last night how he's impressed. I like the pink ones you display as well!

Anonymous said...

Very pretty!!!

candy

Anonymous said...

Very pretty! I especially like the trunk with the candle on top and the idea of using silver containers for Christmas decorations. I'm going to make up a container like that now.

Anonymous said...

Love the pink ball ornaments. They are so pretty!

Thank you for sharing these wonderful, economical ideas!

Anonymous said...

I have 4 porch-rail flower boxes on my front porch and two on my back porch. I tear out the old dead petunias and stick cedar boughs in the dirt for the Winter.

Then add a few red silk mums, roses or poinsettias in a nice arrangement in the center of the boughs. This arrangement can be seen from quite a distance as one drives up the long dirt road to the house.

Sometimes I add old shiny Christmas ornaments in with the silk flowers to give the arrangement a little sparkle.

The silk flowers and the ornaments stay nice all season and can be rinsed, dried and put away.

The dirt is moist and the boughs stay green and supple all Winter.


The same thing can be done with silk daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth flowers in the Spring if real flowers aren't your thing.

Anonymous said...

I have a very big china bowl I keep in the front room always filled with that seasons fruit. During the Christmas season I fill that bowl like you do, with my favorite old ornaments and some pinecones. I have put some very old beautiful Christmas cards in small used frames. If there is one with especially beautiful verse inside flip it and use that in the frame. You can spray paint the frame red or gold or even silver. To give it more inportance choose a frame with a mat so it is bigger. Try to get one with a Bible verse or a nativity picture. Something inspiratiional. I keep cards like this placed throughout my home all year. With animals and children around the house I have choosen to use the battery candle and tea lights. They add sparkle to the home too. I had some older silk white roses and put glue around the edges of some of them and added dipped them in glitter and put them them in a vace with some pine branches. Add a big red bow around the vace. These flowers minus the pine could be used all year. Add a few red or pink ones or the red bow for valentines or fourth of July? I just put my red and white old crocheted kitchen pot holders and such out to pretty up the kitchen. I do put a little pine pieces here and there. It doesn't take much to give our homes the light of the season. Always keep and remember the reason for the season through out. Tell the stories of why wreaths, candy canes, candles and many other things have meaning to the season and point back to the real reason we celebrate at all. Please keep that the central theme at all times.