My New Faux Mantle/Fireplace ~ Nativity

Who doesn't adore salvaged vintage mantles from homes of bygone eras?  Being that we are mantle-less, and certainly not in a wonderful victorian or chateau of my dreams, , I've been trying to figure out a free wall in this house on which to place a faux mantle of some sort.   Dami called me one day from Lowes during the holidays,  and he had found this 4ft white shelf, complete with cute curvy brackets for $17!  So, this was one of my Christmas presents this year and we placed it on my only free wall over the tv.   Teamed along with my $10 Nativity Set he got me last year from Anna's Linen's,  some little gold filagree looking faux pine cones to frame out the edges and the shabby wreath I made last year, I am quite happy with our new little Faux Mantle area....

The funny thing is, that not only do I now have a true place to showcase my nativity set, but it really does cozy up the entire room.  Our att uverse cable has the best holiday fun channel during the season, and it's pretty hilarious how it really did feel like a fireplace when that channel was on! lol.......talk about flipping a switch!! lolol....best part is that we're not that in to chopping wood in 30degree weather, corn husk collecting, smokin' up the place, or heating up the house just in one room, lolol...... and no chimney sweeping to be hired ;0

ooo lala chanel...lol....even comericals look great!.....

I love how you can see the mantle area reflected in the dressing table mirror when you're sitting on the couch watching tv.......another one of those "surprise decorating bonus i had not planned"....i love when that happens! lol.....

sparkly!......i leave our christmas decor up through january....and spend the month taking down more and more of the "tacky red stockings and santa clausy'' stuff till we end up with just our white lights and snowflakes for a few weeks....being that we live where it snows, it's pretty decor in teh wintertime....and usually it will snow by now, but we only had 1" so far, and it did not stick......(ya, santa's not tacky till january, lololol...life is so relative)

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Christmas 2012 - Gingerbread Men & Little Red Farmhouse Table

 My son came in from playing hockey outside to get a drink one day when he was 12.....and i asked him if he'd draw me a picture of a chef making spaghetti..meaning ''when you get time'' but he just grabbed a pencil and drew that standing there at the kitchen counter!!.....then just went outside to play again like nothing happened!......his drawing ability was always incredible like that.......12 yrs old!.......he made the gingerbread ornaments that are hanging on the rod in elementary.....and he gave me the ''mother embroidery hoop'' for christmas when he was 6.............i made the big gingerbread men to go on our front porch posts one year..............now they are all together on my little red farmhouse table.......along with the vintage embroidered linen hanging on my oven......

 

Christmas 2012 - Pink 'n Blue Cherished Teddies, Bunnies 'n Critters on dee Hutch

blogger is broken, it adds pix i didn't ask it to add.....oh well...lol...till i learn how to use this dang thing, i may as well add a caption to this photo i did not intend to add!!! (old lady ditz here)...we use this hutch for all of our snacky types of food......i figure it's prettier than just using another boring kitchen counter, lol......

 my daughter made that gorgeous pink clay vase in high school and she let me have it...very generous, creative soul she has........my mama gave me the little mother/daughter baking together music box because she said it reminded her of my daughter and i........it's very sweet <3

 at christmas time, i tend to get out more cute critters........i started collecting "Cherished Teddies" about 25 yrs ago.....so far i have 2 ;)........the little bear mama in her little red dress & holiday apron holding the christmas cookies, and her little girl bear.....i added the ''off-brand'' bear boys....they remind me of myself and my kids.....actually i got the little pink girl bear for my daughter that year....hmmmm so far we both have one whole Cherished Teddy bear in our collection!!! hahahhahahaaaaaaaaaaa.......

blogger, why are you so dang bearoken, lolololol........i wanted a pink 'n blue tree to go with my Teddies 'n critters so i made these little pink 'n blue candy ornaments from pipecleaners....cute!

ridiculousness!....2 pix of the same tree i made the pink 'n blue candy ornaments for....and blogger splits up my captions.....THEN for heaven's sake,  what's that below???!! OH MY!!.....

more pix below that i did not mean!!......ridiculousness!!....

anyways......i made these little green trees for my sink window from the wrappers that came with the Florida Oranges my dad sends me every year........he passed in august,so this is my first christmas without my daddeeee.....i know.....terrible!!....all your childhood memories come flooding back when daddeee goes home to heaven, trust me, it's not easy and i will now never ever be able to toss away these silly paper trees i made last year!!!........

count your blessings....cherished memories are among the best ones we have.......<3

 i love that basket......i found that for $1 at a 2nd hand store in town.......cheap 'n gorgeous suits my budget just fine!......lol......

dami brought home those adorable little terra cotta pots, they had herbs in them......i placed them on my kitchen sill, nurtured, watered, fertilized and loved them with tender care.......they, of course, promptly croaked!!! lololool........hence the term: "faux paper trees susie had to make to fill up those dang empty terra cotta pots".........i refuse to be undone......''tenacity'' is another name for ''refusing to die like lame zee herbs on a woman's sill'' :)


grandmommy always said "bloom where you are planted''....which is pretty hilarious, considering she, her mother, her mother's mother, and on back forever in the generations of women behind me.....and her daughter (my mother) and my sis and me......ya......WE, the women of this family more than know how to create something when the herbs decide to move on outta our cute little pots......

my grandmommy grew tomatoes on the patio of her nursing home till the day she passed.....what a gem she was, i wish i had half her talents and green thumb.......:)