RJ Treleaven

Showing posts with label Christmas Crafts. Show all posts

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Ivy topiary in our kitchen

Happy Thursday, My Lovelies!

I thought I'd pop in this morning and share our Christmas decor. I like to use a lot of living things, from potted plants to greenery cuttings. I tend to bring in the holly and evergreen cuttings a little closer to Christmas, so I'll share them later. I'm lucky that I'm not allergic to Poinsettias because I love them (so many people are allergic). Let's take a look at three of this year's varieties:

This little pink one lives on our kitchen island which is painted pale pink.

Displayed in our foyer, this one is surrounded by ivy.

This one is also in our foyer, and it's the first bit of Christmas decor guests see.

Another little ivy topiary; this one is angel shaped.

We like Christmas cacti, and we love the red in the one below:

Another plant we enjoy during Christmas is cyclamen.

It's also fun to bring in houseplants that are red and green: You don't have to limit yourself to Poinsettias.

We also have a couple of artificial arrangements we enjoy displaying every year:

These work nicely until we bring in fresh cut greenery.

Here are a few vignettes in our kitchen and family room:

Christmas village

Coffee table

Normally I use my work table to arrange flowers, but this time of the year I use it to wrap gifts.

You can see our stocking stuffers in the bowl.

A little arrangement from Oak Street Garden Center

I bought several of the beaded green candle bobeches at At Home in Homewood. I've used them all over the house.

Our dining room is decorated with plants and bowls of glass ornaments.

And in case you missed it, you can see my Christmas tablescape HERE.

I'd never leave out the art studio: I love playing in there!

This is my Daphne's Diary Advent Calendar. I'm having way too much fun playing with it! You can see all the fun things in it daily on Instagram. There's a follow link in the right-hand side of my footer if you'd like to follow me (and of course I'll follow you back!) :D

Speaking of Advent: I styled our Advent wreath a little differently this year. I used moss, cinnamon-scented pinecones, and snow.

Please read my Advent posts every Sunday during Advent!

Our youngest daughter works for Starbucks, and this little tree with the Starbucks Been There espresso ornaments is a fun way to celebrate her hard work. Each ornament represents a favorite state.

We also include a few decorations in our bedrooms which include plants and special Christmas pillows.

Finally, we use a slender artificial tree due to allergies and room constraints.

I got a little heavy-handed with the tinsel! ;P

That's pretty much all the highlights of our decor before the last minute greenery is brought in.

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Deck the Halls

Thursday, December 7, 2023

...that I'd like to do next year!

Happy Wednesday, My Lovelies! There are several things I wanted to do around the house for Christmas that I didn't do since I wanted to keep things simple. I thought it would be helpful for me to write a post for next year, and I thought y'all might like to see what my plans are for next Christmas.

First of all, I did NOT put up a tree this year. There were several reasons I didn't, but the main one is my grand dog will be visiting, and he is TROUBLE! Hopefully he will be out of the puppy stage next year.

I love the one from The General, above, and below:

I would like to purchase a similar one I found at Balsam Hill, and it's flocked! We might buy one when they go on sale after Christmas.

You can find this tree HERE.

Sometimes I make menus for our family meals. I saw these cute ones from Daphne's Diary. You can download this menu and print several for your Christmas dinner. They have some festive downloads for all seasons, y'all.

I was inspired by this photo from Shabby Chic:

I like the small bowls with the floating roses. Instead of roses, I'd like to use the pretty camellias we have on our property. They are in bloom this time of the year, and they are also pink. If we have any left after the very cold weather expected over Christmas, I might try this look for New Year's Eve.

I did not participate in a cookie swap this year. Next year I'd like to host one.

Southern Bourbon Balls

Here is the recipe.

At the cookie swap, I'd like to make something like this for party favors:

This pretty craft is from Donna Hay. Do you watch her on Disney+? I enjoy her shows and videos. I also follow her blog.

Here is the link to this project, along with other Christmas styling tips and tricks.

You might remember my review of her latest cookbook, The Fast Five, HERE.

Although it's a pared-down Christmas this year, I'm having a lot of fun, and I'm finding a lot of joy. What is bringing you joy this week?

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Things I Didn't Do For Christmas This Year...

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Happy Second Sunday of Advent!

The second candle represent peace.

Happy Sunday, My Lovelies! How is Advent progressing in your world? Ours has been a bit busy, but things are about to slow down, thankfully. I was so busy last Sunday that I forgot to write a post about the First Sunday of Advent. Oops!

Here is today's Advent Chrismon:

The chalice represents the Lord's Supper.

Artist's note:

When painting any metal, always start with a dark, transparent color. We think that gold and silver are "light," but the reflections are actually light.

Since all the Chrismons are gold, the best way to mix the perfect gold is with transparent orange and dioxazine purple. I painted the chalice with this mixture, then added opaque yellows, golds, orange, and white.

Today's scripture:

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

Luke 1:5-10

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Advent Day Five

Sunday, December 5, 2021

This is a repost of my review a couple of years ago of Scandi Christmas. Emily requested it, so I thought I'd recycle it today. Enjoy!

I have!

If not, I have the book for you: Scandi Christmas by Christiane Bellstedt Myers. I confess that I've accumulated way to many Christmas craft books over the years, but this one might be my very favorite. There are over 45 projects and quick ideas for beautiful decorations and gifts inside this little gem. For 2018, I've decided to begin making the crafts and many of the gifts starting in August because I love the natural simplicity of the projects.

There are so many projects I love in this book like clove scented ornaments, tea light apron (how hygge is that?), and embroidered tea towels.

Let's look inside:

All of the Christmas decoration crafts are beautiful in this book, and the pretty quilted and embroidered stockings are a favorite of mine.

I love the simplicity of the glitter paper trees.

For those of you who sew, the adorable fabric and ribbon-covered spools attached to a wreath would be pretty in a variety of colors, but I admit that red is my favorite.

I decided to make the felt and button mistletoe wreath. Instead of placing it on a round willow wreath frame, I used a heart-shaped frame because the mistletoe plant encourages kissing. :D

This project, one of the most time-intensive in the book, only took me two hours from start to finish. Keep in mind I made it on a Sunday afternoon, so I had several distractions and disruptions!

Do you like Scandinavian design? What about for Christmas?

For more Advent fun, check-out my Advent 2020 Page!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

RJ Treleaven

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