Something Old, Something New For The Holidays

Holiday decorating in a new home takes a little finesse.

What worked in one house might not necessarily work in the next house.

I found that to be the case when I began decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving. It went something like this:

1. Pull out plastic toters filled with holiday decorations.

2. Remove decorations and try to find a place where they will look like they belong in the house.

3. Quickly realize that half of it does not belong here.

4. Pack it back in toters and think of a new plan.

Here is the new plan:

I convinced my husband that his grandmother's antique mirror really did belong over the fireplace mantle. So he got out his tools and special drills and hangers and voila! We now have a beautiful vintage mirror hanging in its rightful place. I really love how the age of the mirror reflects the age of the home.

But the shiny pretty mirror looked sad on its own. It needed shiny pretty things on the mantle to go with it.

A trip to Target was definitely on the agenda. I found some lovely "vintage-looking" mercury glass candle holders for cheap. I've priced these in other stores and boutiques, and couldn't believe the great price! In the dark of winter, I need candles and white and sparkly things to brighten up the long dark nights.

I pulled out some greenery, but it needed something extra.

That's when I got my craft on.

I had been collecting pretty pinecones from our yard that week, letting them dry on top of the dryer in the laundry room. But what to do with them?

And then my mind wandered to those tried and true girl scout crafts from girlhood days.

Yes! Simple glue and glitter!

I spent a good hour carefully brushing glue on the tips, coating with glitter, shaking off glitter, and pretty much getting glue and glitter all over myself and the kitchen. But the results are definitely worth it!

I told my mom about my craft project, and do you know what she said?

"You know, another thing to try is putting the pinecones in a big cardboard box, spraying them with adhesive, shaking glitter into the box, and lightly coating them. That way, you don't get glue and glitter everywhere."

Huh.

Well, I guess you could do that....if you wanted the job to be easy and mess free. :)

Moms really do know best.

After the mantle was finished, I knew that I wanted a skinny tree to go next to the fireplace...something that would bring light to the dark corner, but not take up too much space. I found a cheap tree at Walmart, added the burlap and hydrangeas from my stash, and kept it simple.

Something old and something new for the new old house.