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Finishing 2020 with Sparkle & Light

BRINGING JOY

I’ve been like the shoe-makers daughter in the past by waiting until the last moments to decorate my home - but not this year! My decorations went up right after Remembrance Day with the help of my neighbor and my daughter Stacy & husband Terry who arrived with a ton of new lights for the exterior. I was so grateful, and it’s brought me so much pleasure!

I’m going to share some images Past & Present that I hope will bring you inspiration, along with a TIP OF THE MONTH for hanging decorations.

I have had these beaded bells & 3-D stars for years and I always find a home for them.

The most important thing is to ALWAYS use what you love!

Here’s my tree this year. While I’ve had every type and colour of tree in the past, this year I purchased a new 7 1/2’ ‘green’ artificial one with tons and tons of ‘branch tips’. My favorite tree would definitely be a Noble Pine for it’s scent, strength & number of branches but it isn’t always possible to bring home the tree, especially when you want to set it up early December and hope to have it last into the New Year. For that you might want to go with a flocked tree that seems to last forever and looks magical.

This year I chose navy, silver and crystal decorations for the tree, and then added turquoise. It’s almost always my go-to colour. I’m hoping that you can see that I have both large and small decorations on the tree. No ribbon this year. If you want to add ribbon to your tree you need to install it right AFTER you install the lights. That way you can work the ribbon deep into the tree instead of just on the surface.

This is my sisters tree above. It is LOADED with decorations, many of which are vintage. You can see that both the decorations and the lights are deep into the tree - not all on the surface, and again…there are large ornaments and smaller ones. Here’s another one below of her tree. The ornaments are from her travels in Germany and Italy, plus old dolls from our childhood, and even one where our Mom decorated silver balls with our names in Glitter. You can see my name in the top photo on the left side…when my name was spelled with one D. :)

NOW…BACK TO MY HOUSE

Early Canadiana at it’s finest! Small snippets of vintage ribbons and stand-up figures made by my Dad from old Victorian cards on thin plywood. They’re really special and I have about ten of these.

My paper village above on the left was made by me years ago and brings just as much pleasure today. Surrounded by additional metal trees and star lights it’s pretty spectacular…and on the right are more cut-outs from Dad.

I’m a big believer in bringing Christmas throughout the house. I have a large collection of Mercury glass and am able to use it in many places. Below are two pieces of artwork. The silver foil made by my son Bob at age 6 and the colourful tree was made by my granddaughter Paytonat age 8.

Things don’t have to be fancy - just nostalgic!

That’s a little bit of Show and Tell from my home…

I’d love you to share your special Holiday Decorating! Send me photos!

Below…is a little bit of magic sent to Sherry Johnston, President of Auld Phillips. (Suzanne’s is one of their brands.) It was made by her friend David Freddie Calander and sent to Sherry for her and her staff to enjoy. Don’t you think it’s amazing?

December - Tip of the month

If you’ve ever wondered what professionals do to get that ‘tidy look’ while decorating a Christmas Tree…and which also keeps ornaments from being stolen…here it is!

You’ll notice that the silver ball and the star are tight to the tree branch. The decorator wraps the string around and around the branch until the ornament is tight to the branch. No more long strings! Try it next time!

I leave you with this quote below because I think it epitomizes everything that is RIGHT in the world…amid so much chaos. LOVE BEGINS AT HOME as we cherish all the special moments and friends in our lives. Thank you everyone for your kind words and support. You are truly wonderful!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!