Monday, December 14, 2009

Welcome to My Holiday Open House ... part one

Welcome to my Holiday open house. "Nesting Place" is hosting a Holiday open house party. I'm taking part in the Holiday Open house. So come on in and see what I've been up to. I don't know where the year has gone, and I got a late start with the Christmas decorating and now we can just sit back and enjoy all the lights. Come on in and let me show you what I've been up to for the past few weeks.
 

I love having a staircase so I can decorate it for the holidays. It takes quite a few hours to complete it, but once it's done I really enjoy it. I told my family I was cutting back on the decorating this year. My youngest son who is 16, said to me a few weeks before Christmas, "You're still going to do that THING that you do on the stairs, aren't you?" What he meant was the staircase garland. He said it was his favorite decoration. Well it's one of my favorite things and I enjoy it each time I walk up and down the stairs.




I love red and gold for Christmas and lots and lots of lights.




In the evening it has a wonderful glow.




Follow me into the main part of the house. I did cut back. We have two trees this year. The third tree is still in the box and that is where it will remain. I'm not going to put it up. Remember, I said I was cutting back! Well here are my two trees. One in the living room and one in the kitchen.

Here's the view from the foyer into the living room and kitchen....





Now you can see the mantel all lit up.


 

My kitchen tree has a snowman theme. With a topper that says, "Let it Snow". I like snowmen. They are so cheery.


 

I love to use larger Christmas accessories in my tree. Lots of ribbon and red bulbs top it off.




Lots more snowmen. You can never have enough!

 

Here's a snowman I made years ago. He is about 3' tall. He stands at the base of the tree every year!

 
Now for the mantel. I used my favorite colors again, red and gold. It works out well with the colors I have already in the room, and nothing says Christmas more than the color RED!!!

  

I added lots of items in the garland. Pine cones, gold ornaments, red and gold ribbon, glittered feathers and berry picks.



I always add my angel candle sticks to my mantel at Christmas. Angels are such a big part of Christmas and the Christmas story.




I have combined three different types of beaded garland to hang from the mantel.





Now for my big tree. It's been the same for years. I had some red and gold silk fabric that I just wrap around the base of the tree.
I always have a star on the top. It reminds me of the star that led the three wise men to baby Jesus.   This year I changed the top of it a bit.  I kept the star but added some gold fern behind the star.   Here's the top of the tree last year.
 



Here's the new look....




I have four large photos of our family in the tree. I have always used the same photos. You can see how young the boys were in the photo. My oldest was five when the photo was taken, now he is nineteen.






Here's the rest of the photos of the boys....






Yards and yards of ribbon and lots of gold bulbs and poinsettias cover the tree.




Eventhough I don't like winter, I do Love Christmas time. It''s such a wonderful time to enjoy family and friends. Thanks for visiting and stop by this week to see part II of my Christmas tour.  It's also Metamorphosis Monday  stop by to see more Christmas ideas...

 
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold,
everything is softer and more beautiful.



36 comments:

Fiona said...

What a lovely staircase! All your photos have such a lovely glow to them, your house looks beautiful. I love the snowmen! Merry Christmas!

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Your home is so beautiful!

Anonymous said...

You should very proud of your home and your creations. Very very beautiful. Thank you for sharing the photos.

Hugs,
Chris

Sherri said...

Your home is beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Sherri

DairyQueen said...

beautiful!

Decor To Adore said...

Your decorations are absolutely lovely!

Kristen said...

GASP!! I love your decorations! Your staircase garland is just stunning.

Kristin said...

I love the idea of putting pictures in your Christmas tree! Very Clever!

Anonymous said...

G.E.O.R.G.E.O.U.S!

Kim @ Forever Wherever said...

Your home looks simply beautiful and I LOVE the big snowman you made!

Essential Oil Premier University said...

Sherry, your home is stunningly decorated for the holidays!!! It's just all aglow!!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Blessings,

Sher

Connie said...

The staircase is so pretty. I also collect Snowmen. I just got a new one tonight at our small group gift exchange. I got lucky! Connie

Shannon @ Silver Trappings said...

Beautiful! I love your trees and mantle. And I love, love, love your staircase!

Shannon

Beca said...

WOW! You have talent that's for sure. I love your mantle, your staircase. Everything looks perfect. Merry Christmas!

Trudi said...

Very Pretty. Love all your snowmen. Your did a lovely job on your living room wow.

Robin @ The Rendered Nest said...

Your home is gorgeous! Your trees and garlands are beautiful and so full! And I love the photos on the tree...very creative! Bless you!

Unknown said...

I thought I had been here, I guess not! Beautiful, beautiful garland, I love everything! So festive.

stephanie h said...

Everything is so beautiful!

Lindsay said...

Your home is gorgeous! I loved your staircase & mantle! Thanks for sharing.

Merry Christmas!

Carol said...

Gorgeous! The staircase is amazing. The trees...everything! So glad you joined in the tour. Thanks for sharing your beautiful home with us.

Merry Christmas from She Lives!de

King Family said...

Fine home. The decorated items are dazzling. Best I've seen thus far.

To The Moon and Back said...

Sherry, your home is beautiful and your trees are amazing! Thanks for sharing

Jennifer said...

Beautiful!

Lesley said...

You should really be on a true parade of homes...they are amazing...

Anonymous said...

This is SPECTACULAR! Are you related to Martha Stewart? :)

This is only the second post I've read on your blog, and I can't wait to see what else there is. LOL

Corinna
www.myscrapbooklife.com

Jessica said...

Beautiful!! I LOVE all the red! :) I love all your snowmen too!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous- I'm a big fan of red too. My fave is your staircase- really beautiful! Merry Christmas!

Unknown said...

Wow wow wow! Congrats on your win from Blissfully Domestic :-) (Fellow Winner Here) your decor is beautiful!

Heather said...

Your home is beautiful!! Everything is stunning! I love your garland, love it!! It all looks great! Merry Christmas!

Hootin Anni said...

BEAUTIFUL!! Everything is so festive.

mY tOUR iS nOW sHARED....come by, if you can, to visit. Happy Holidays!

CLICK HERE FOR DIRECT LINK

GwendolynKay said...

Your home is beautiful, magical, enchanting and gorgeous!! Thanks for the wonderful tour. Blessings!
Gwen

Carrie said...

Well, for getting a late start, I'd say you did a pretty great job catching up!

I love the open feel of your house. And the snowman Christmas tree is really cute.

Thank you for inviting us in.

Merry Christmas!

Linda said...

You have done such a beautiful job. I miss having a two story house whenever I see a lovely staircase.
Thank you so much for sharing your home. Merry Christmas!

Unknown said...

BEAUTIFUL !! Your home is absolutely gorgeous ... love your garland and your hanging beads on the mantle garland. I'd love for you to stop by my new blog sometime ... we have very similar tastes!! Take care, Becca
(http://www.adventuresindecorating1.blogpost.com)

Anonymous said...

You have some really cool ideas! I love the new topper. That banister is amazing! It all looks so festive! I am stopping in from Nester's Tour. If you would like to see my tour posts you can click on the 'Christmas 2009' tag on the left sidebar of my blog. Have a great holiday season!

Simply Debbie said...

DEAR SHERRY,
YOUR HOME IS GORGEOUS AND ELEGANT AND VERY ROMANTIC...IT SHOULD BE IN A MAGAZINE.
I LOVE THE WREATH ON THE DOOR....SO BEAUTIFUL....IT WAS REALLY MADE FOR MY DOOR...I LOVE IT SO MUCH
I SIMPLY ADORE THE 3 STRANDS OF DIFFERENT BEADS ON THE FIREPLACE.JUST HOW THE LIGHT BOUNCES OFF SOME OF THE BEADS AND DANCES SHADOWS WITH THE OTHER BEADS...A SILENT WALT....SO VERY PRETTY
BEAUTIFUL JOB.
WISHING YOU A BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
ANGEL HUGS
DEBBIE

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