Merry Christmas

Luke Chapter 2 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

The Magnolia Garland

I hosted a Christmas luncheon on Wednesday and the night before I thought the stairs needed a little decoration. So I pruned the magnolia trees in the front yard and made a garland. Who needs to finish cleaning the rest of the house if the stairs look beautiful?

Glitter, Glitter Everywhere

A few years ago I found a huge box of the old Christmas lights with big blue bulbs. I always thought I would make one of those huge trees with lights, but my husband informed me how not energy efficient these lights were. So they have sat in the barn for a while. This year I grabbed a bunch of the bulbs and glitter them.

I then filled vases of different sizes with the bulbs and added them to compliment the displays on my china hutch and buffet.

SO find some old bulbs and glitter away. Use Martha Stewart glitter of course.

The Display on Top of the China Hutch

Just a quick post to show you the top of the china hutch. A big floral arrangement and glittered French hens and roosters. I used Martha Stewart's new glitter paint. It takes several coats to get good coverage but it is a beautiful result.

The Cards are Finished and in the Mail

I have been making my Christmas cards by hand since I was in college. They are now an expected part of the holiday season. This year I had a chance to a Paper Source store in Georgetown, a crafter's delight. Here are the "ingredients."

I found the Third Day image on Etsy and printed it on crinoline fabric. All the tutorials I read said to affix the fabric to cardstock but I just sent the fabric through the printer and it did just great.

Here are the finished cards.

Each day of Christmas is supposed to have a biblical meaning. The Three hens are faith, hope and love with the greatest of these being love.

Homemade Vanilla

I try to find a homemade gift to give each year. This fall has been so hectic I needed something simple. I found this great post at Whipperberry for Homemade Vanilla Extract. It really is quite simple. All you need is vodka, vanilla beans and time (about 60 days)> Here is my finished product.

Head on over to Whipperberry. She has a great tutorial for the vanilla and the packaging.

My True Love Tree

Yes, I have a brown Christmas tree. It goes perfectly in my dining room that is painted a color called Cowboy Boots.

In keeping with this year's theme of three French hens, I decorated the tree with feathers in red and brown and "love" glittered in red.

I used the upholstery webbing for the ribbon and topped the tree with brown velvet hydrangeas.

Many more trees to show you. I just have to take the pictures.

The Wahoo Tree

Each year, I create a small tree in the hallway that has ornaments from my alma mater, the University of Virginia. I have thought many times about doing an all blue and orange holiday theme, but I think that's probably a bit much.

I also created this wreath to match. It hangs above the tree.

I created several of these for our tailgating friends at the end of the season. I found the mesh ribbon at a site called Trendy Tree. You can find lots of ribbon choices, wreaths, garlands and other holiday decor.

15 Identical Wreaths

I love that our house has so many big windows. That is until I have to create 15 identical wreaths for the holidays. But I did create them once again.

The ribbon is burlap upholstery webbing. Since my theme this year is three French hens, I am going for a French shabby chic look with lots of burlap and red. I found all the glittered words a couple years ago at Michaels for $1 each. Here is a detail shot of one wreath.

Hope you have hung all your wreaths!

Frankly, Miss Scarlett

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Some of the first ornaments I put out every year are my Gone with the Wind ornaments. Gone with the Wind is my favorite book and movie.

The box that holds the ornaments are actually old post office boxes. Our property once had an old country store that served as the local post office for our area. The store was burned about 10 years ago. But as luck would have it, someone had put the mailboxes out in the chicken coop years ago to serve as nest boxes for the chickens. My dad took the boxes, cleaned them up, fixed any holes and sealed the wood. It makes the perfect display for ornaments. And this year I filled the last box with this year's ornament.

I hope you enjoy the first look at my holiday decor. I'll share more each day.

Not a Big Fan of the Pot Roast

I have never liked Pot Roast, even as a child. A dry, stringy, tough piece of beef is just not what I want to have for dinner. Then I found this crock pot recipe on Pinterest. BTW are you addicted too? I just love all that I can find on Pinterest and create boards where I can actually find what I liked and then be able to recreate it. Now back to the Pot Roast.

3 Packet Crockpot Pot Roast 1 beef roast, any kind, sized to fit your crockpot 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix 1 package brown gravy mix, I used Lawrys 1 package Italian dressing mix, I used Good Seasons 1/2 cup very warm water Directions: Place roast in crockpot. In a bowl combine the envelopes of mixes together. Sprinkle on top of the roast. Pour in 1/2 cup warm water. Cook on low for 6-7 hours. I did not have a package of Italian Dressing mix, so I just used regular Italian Dressing. I also added some cubed potatoes about 4 hours into the process. Everything was delicious.

You Know You're Martha Stewart When.....

I have followed Martha Stewart and subscribed to her magazine from the beginning. I admire how multi-faceted her life truly is, from the designer clothes to the sheep, chickens and horses. I found this post from Liz Logan at Make It Better that I thought was really great.

You Know You’re Martha Stewart When … We put together a checklist of “Martha” characteristics after meeting the domestic guru at a recent Evanston luncheon for the American Cancer Society. Martha shared stories from her everyday life and her new book, “Martha’s Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations.” You know you’re a Martha wannabe if … 1. Your children could make a living by making fun of you. 2. You have “never ordered a pizza.” 3. You have never sipped wine by yourself. 4. You raise your own chickens at home. (Martha brings the farm-fresh eggs with her to the office to distribute among her co-workers—“only four per person!”) 5. You’ve been to jail and talk openly about your time there. 6. You own multiple homes. 7. You can feed your family almost entirely from what you grow in your all-organic garden. (And your green house is as large as many people’s homes.) 8. You treasure the ceramic nativity scene you made and painted yourself (in Martha’s case, while incarcerated). 9. You do yoga nearly every day. (Martha has private sessions with the head of the Iyengar Yoga Institute in New York.) 10. You believe it’s okay to indulge in dessert every once in awhile, “when the flavors are fresh and pure.” 11. You simply could not function without your personal chef. (Martha’s chef is Pierre Schaedelin, who worked at the famous restaurant Le Cirque in New York, and he got her through her house arrest.) 12. You rarely eat anything that comes out of “a can or a box.” 13. You enjoy horseback riding. 14. On Christmas Eve, you eat caviar. 15. Before leaving for work each morning, you have to feed all your animals (for Martha, 5 cats, plus dogs and birds). 16. You consider Julia Child your hero. (Martha’s actual words: “a mentor.") 17. You love being a grandmother and cherish every moment with your grandchild. 18. You are open to an artificial Christmas tree, as long as it’s beautiful. (This seemed unorthodox for Martha—might it have something to do with her Kmart line of artificial trees?) 19. You make your own eggnog from scratch. 20. You have no plans to retire from reigning over your empire … EVER. I can check off quite a few of these. But how can you live without Papa Johns.