Pandora has been on the Mariah Carey Christmas station, peppermint lattes have been consumed, and decor has made its way down from the attic, folks. Tis' the season around our house, and I'm excited to show you what I've been working on lately.
I got the idea for metallic "snow" on canvas from this pin on Pinterest.
Here she is all lit up.
I'm going to be honest; my "merry & bright" art did not turn out like I had envisioned. Instead, it looks more like an eight year-old could've made it. This would be fine if indeed an eight year-old really had made it. (It was also inspired via Pinterest.) I was so disappointed. I had high hopes and took pictures of the whole process, planning on posting a tutorial for you guys. Turns out, it was not as easy as I thought and just didn't "wow me" once finished. Sadly, I was truly bummed about it for a while. After this immature reaction, the husband gave me some good feedback and a new idea. I might be changing it out this weekend...we'll see.
I was pretty pleased, however, with those amazing ornaments I scored for $3 each at (get ready for this) Wal-Mart, of all places. I snatched up every last one. The snowflakes below were also a WM find: $2 a piece.
Ok, the little wooden village is one of my most precious possessions. My mother bought this on a family vacation in Germany when my brother and I were very little. For as long as I can remember, our part in helping "decorate for Christmas" was always to set up the village. We would arrange and rearrange everything until we were positive it was the "best ever". We had a lot more wooden toys from Germany, but somehow they've gotten lost over the years. This was my first year to set the village up at my house; it was the highlight of decorating. The memory of carefully placing each familiar piece made me feel like a kid again (and made me miss my brother terribly.) Isn't the Volkswagen genius?!?
I made this last year at a craft party after seeing all the gorgeous paper wreaths blog land had to offer during holiday season. It held up pretty well in storage.
Next week, I'll be posting gift wrap ideas, a DIY stocking stuffer, and my trees (yep, that's plural. No worries, I only have two.) How's your decorating going? Any speedbumps to make me feel better about my own mishap? (Ha! Really, please someone tell me.) Any holiday traditions that bring back a flood of memories for you?
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51 comments:
Your mantle is just beautiful!!! and I LOVE those dark velvet green stockings!
Wow, your mantle is so gorgeous! I think the Merry & Bright art work looks great! The gold & silver artwork looks great too, elegant yet fun.
I really like your art! But yes, I understand the frustration of DIY mishaps. I actually just blogged about our freshly decorated tree that fell over only hours after I finished getting it decorated ;-S
Thanks ladies! (I hope you're not just trying to be nice becasue you feel sorry for my inner eight year old.) Amanda, I got those at Hobby Lobby a few years ago. Jenny, thanks so much for taking the time to say "hello". Lucky Girl, that's terrible!! I'm heading over to see the damage.
I think it all looks beautiful! I'm thinking a rustic/metallic Christmas will be making an appearance at our house. I love how elegant, yet not so red/green traditional it is! Loved getting to meet you last week...you were a lovely host & so much fun to talk with :) You inspired me to get going, now I just have to do it! Let's keep in touch new friend :)
Hey! New follower here. I think the Merry and Bright looks great. Esp. for your first time. I have a lot of crap that looks like a second grader made it versus your 8th grader -- if that makes you feel any better. Maybe a do-over is in order but I think any of us out here would take your cast-off!
Love your village in a tray. Such a great tradition.
Absolutely LOVE the wooden village, OMG!! The Volkswagen is Genius!!! Bravo!!
Cant wait for the gift wrap ideas!!
http://chocolateandhormones.blogspot.com/
@shesnomartha-first off, i love your alias. ha! Thanks for the encouragement:) Ghizlane, thanks so much. I'll have gift wrap ideas up next week!
Katie, I had so much fun talking about...well, everything under the sun with you:) I'm so glad our hubbies have rekindled their "bro love" for each other. PS-Do you have your pretty inspiration notebook yet??? Maybe "Santa" needs to put one under the tree for you.
Heather! This is stunning. Everything. I am so inspired. I really love the cone wreath and the graphic art on the mantle. So pretty. Thank you for linking up!
I adore your Merry & Bright and your wreath! You little village is so cute!! How did you store your wreath? Go check my blog for the Maybelline giveaway!!http://munchtalk.blogspot.com/
Very sweet! I love that idea for a canvas...so creative. Gotta love Pinterest (: Thanks for linking up with our Christmas Cheer Link Party! xoxo
Okay, Heather..I'm totally jealous! Your home looks great! I really love your mantel. Happy Holidays! Thanks for sharing this at The Corson Cottage {Home for the Holidays} link party:) Carrie
Your mantel looks so fresh and festive! I want to go to a crafting party!
Love your mantel and the canvases! Happy Holidays!
We are our own worst critics. I have to remind myself that ALL the time. Just remember that it's handmade not machine-made. Your Merry and Bright looks fabulous. Came over from Corson Cottage.
that metalic snow pin you linked is beautiful! love that idea. so simple too.
a little constructive criticism on the "merry and bright"...I think the lights look great! It's just the writing that looks a bit...youthful :)i hate when projects don't turn out the way I had hoped. i get grumpy and sometimes let it ruin my day. (real grown up of me I know)I always think by the time I pay for supplies to re-do something 2-3 times I might as well have bought something store made and saved my time!
oh and I love those trees you posted as a tutorial the other day. they look great! I like the wooden village too. the tradition that comes to my mind is how we decorated our tree each year. our tree growing up was always decorated with hand made orinaments and each year we made new ones and bought an orienament that represented that year for us. I have all 25 of my orienaments and hope to start the same tradition with my family :)
oh and wal mart is awesome.
Very awesome! I love all of the metallics and bling, great job!
Sorry ladies: I've been out of town and was so excited to login and see all your sweet comments. Courtney and Michaela, I'm loving your link party! Thanks for hosting. Brit, "youthful" is a euphemism, ha! I'm growing to like it a little more. (AND my to-do list is growing, so I'm thinking it's sticking around.) I think the ornament tradition is such a great to have. @lameonewithmuchope-I hung it in our attic. Andrea, so true! Good to hear. Carrie, thanks for hosting! Latoya, Casa de Luna, and A Lived in Home, welcome and thanks.
I'm a big fan of the Mariah holiday station too. Your mantel is fabulous. I love hte idea of a canvas and your metallics are so festive.
so beautiful!
Everything looks amazing!! Love love love the canvas with lights...I need to do that soon! Thanks for sharing!
Love the white! It's beautiful!
Thanks Kara, Lili, SCW & Kerri. So glad you "stopped by" today!
I LOVE your DIY art! I can't believe that's a mishap! So fun and fresh! Your mantle looks so pretty.
I am so excited to feature this tomorrow! LOVE.
Wow I LOVE your mantel! Such a gorgeous idea...the fact that it lights up makes it that much better!
Darling! I love the lights. Enjoy!
xo,
cristin
I think it's absolutely gorgeous! Don't switch out that art, it's so cute! I think you did a great job and plan to feature as part of my favorite mantels from the link up party. Thanks for participating!
Hi Heather! I saw that your post was featured on Houzz.com today! Congratulations! ~ Carrie
Thanks so much Lisa and Cristin:) Courtney and Michelle- wow- I'm flattered! Really enjoying the link party so far. Can't to post more. Carrie, I was pretty excited about it too! SO sweet of you to stop back by and mention.
I came over from A Thoughtful Place after seeing your mantle featured. It is just beautiful and so creative! It really caught my eye. I love your artwork and would not change a thing. I think it is perfect! Your color scheme of whites and metallics is gorgeous. The velvet green stockings are beautiful. Your story of your wooden village is so sweet and special. I love to be surrounded by sentimental things at Christmas. Thank you for sharing your mantle. I enjoyed my visit to your blog and will be back!
What is the wallpaper pattern behind the wreath? It's beautiful. Laura
Thanks so much Allison:) After all the great feedback I've gotten from other bloggers, I guess it was the confidence boost I needed to leave the art how it is! I'm so glad you found so much that you enjoyed. Welcome!
Laura, it's actually paint pen that I stenciled on for $15. (A lot less than the wallpaper I really wanted.) You can check out that post here:
http://www.thelovelycupboard.com/2011/07/diy-stenciled-wallpaper.html
Hi Heather! I'm featuring you tonight at our {Home for the Holidays} Link Party at The Corson Cottage:) Thanks so much for linking up! Hope you'll stop by again this week ~ Carrie
Great Mantel and cute blog too! I hope you don't mind I featured you on my blog tonight - oh, and I see above me to Corson Cottage is feature you too! Congrats! Take care, Laura
Carrie and Laura, thank you both so much! It makes my night to hear that.
You are crazy - it looks amazing!!
I love your merry & bright canvas! (I came over to see if you had a tutorial on it so i could include it in my steal this idea series!)
I think it all looks, even your Merry & Bright sign - honest!
I love those white ceramic jars you have near your fireplace - I've seen them at Hobby Lobby and always debate getting them...but never do because I'm not sure how I'd display them. I love how you have them next to your fireplace and think I may have to do the same. Thanks for the inspiration. :)
AMAZE!!!! LOVE that art!!!
OMG. I am in LOVE with the art!!! come make me some, pretty please???? WOW. Now THAT is talent. You should be incredibly proud of your mantle, looks SO chic and creative and all of the things I wish I was, lol. Great job and thanks for sharing and for linking up!! xoxo shelli
I am crazy about metallics this year!
this is so beautiful and makes me smile! i saw it at ten june!
Gorgeous! Love it all!
Well, the pictures do it justice because the sign is really pretty and I love the whole thing!
Your mantel looks wonderful! I love how it lights up.
Dee
I think your sign looks great, but if you aren't happy with it, I saw an idea on pinterest that might help. You put little stickers or decals (stars in your case?) all over your canvas then spray paint white over it. Remove them and put white lights behind, but not poking through and it will glow from behind. This is actually what I thought you had done until I saw the second pic. very pretty :)
Your home looks wonderful decked out for Christmas. Following you. Diane
wow!! I'm so glad you linked up to our Holiday Party so I could find your lovely blog. I really love your Merry & Bright sign :O)
Coastal Christmas Hugs,
Marie
Your little German village is interesting. My Mom always sets up a village, complete with train, ice, and skaters! She lays out quilting fibrefill, and the whole display sits on the 'snow'. Little grandchildren & great-grandchildren are always fascinated. Your set is definitely a keepsake worth keeping!
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