Friday, December 16, 2011

Our Crazy Quilt of a Tree

I wanted to share our Chirstmas tree before it gets too late in the season...Will it serve as inspiration, or give ideas to some who are a bit behind?  I hope so.

Ours has been "up" (as in the tree stand) for almost two weeks, but it took us one week to finish it!   Even though it's technically done, I'm still looking at other beautiful blogs with beautiful Christmas trees--never hurts to see one more, get one more idea to either tweak this year, or save for next year, right?

We use the multi-color lights because our tree is never a theme tree.  It's a conglomeration of US--what we love and cherish.  So in the past we've thought that the multi-color lights looked better.  But we use white lights outside, and when I saw our tree with the multi-color lights from outside, I wondered if I would prefer white inside too.  What do you think?

So here it is! 
Pretty full, isn't it?  We love to load it with ornaments that are all dear and precious to us.
My husband and I buy a new ornament each year, and we now also buy them for our grandbabies, but they
go on our tree, so they'l have the memories of their being on our tree.  Plus we have many ornaments
from those early years when you buy them to start your first trees.
And our Black Beauty... She's an antique.  We bought her right after
Chickadee was born, for her and others to come, and they've all loved to ride her.

Some special ornaments: 
I bought this Reed and Barton silver ornament in 1982.  As you can see by the pictures on the right, the bottom
comes off and you removed the rolled green paper inside and wrote down the memories of that Christmas season.
It was a s-t-r-e-t-c-h at the time, believe me--I was a young, single mom with two little boys,
but because I had those two precious babies I wanted to have it for them.
Now, as I read my notes, I am ever so glad that I bought it.
 
It's our Crazy-Quilt Tree
The ornaments range from Wedgwood and Radkos to school crafts from when our babies were in pre-school--
Gguess which are the most treasured?  :)
This one is a snowman (you could tell, right?) with only one arm left, with a poem about building a snowlady.
I love that this crazy assortment of ornaments tell so much about us:
We're a mom and a dad--no doubt about that.
We're a grandmama & grandpapa--no doubt about that.
I love sunflowers.
We love our memories of a wonderful trip to Paris.
We love Santas--the fat, old-fashioned kind with soft, round, rosy cheecks.
We love palm trees, the beach, summer.
And we love our history--together and individually.  We have ornaments on our tree from
the year my husband was born, and because I came to the USA at age 8, we have
no ornaments from my early years, but we DO have two ornaments
from our first tree in the US.

Here is one of the two ornaments from our first Christmas tree in the US:
Isn't it the sweetest thing?  The "propeller" inside moves when you blow on it--the children have all loved them, of course.  I'm glad I have two--one for each of my boys and their families someday.
These ornaments represent not only the obvious memories, but also the kindness of the people
who helped us when my parents, little brother, and I arrived from Cuba with little more than
the clothes that fit in a suitcase in 1961.  They even had Christmas ornaments for us to start our new lives!


Our 2011 ornament.
Isn't it interesting?!  It's made of strips of cardstock.
Has anyone done a tutorial on how to make these?  It looks relatively easy; I'd love to make more!


The picture of our grandbabies is actually last year's Christmas card.
They're wearing matching Lanz of Salzburg jammies--so cute!


How about that palm tree?!  Is that not the coolest?!
We bought it at FantaSea at St. Armand's Circle outside of Sarasota.
(Beach lovers: be sure to find a FantaSea! Lots of cool stuff!)
You also see a handmade snowman, an apple, candy, etc.


 
Old and new...
The ornament on the left is circa 1965, from when my MIL and FIL lived in Venezuela, where he worked
for an American company.
The one on the right, the precious NEW.

 
Significant Family Events...
Our son and his lovely bride, at their wedding in October of this year.
Above that, my stepson's little thumbprint ornament, from 1982.


The Lenox pitcher and bowl ornament is a gift from one of our sons, because we also have the
Lenox Holiday china.  And the beautiful Santa?  From my MIL. 
The thoughtfulness of others.

A Fitz and Floyd reindeer our little Chickadee loves.
She just turned 4, but when she saw it this year she said, "I remember that."
We're making memories.

"Little Angel" school ornament next to Lenox, next to a tin Santa...perfect.

I told you about this nest HERE, when I had it in the china cabinet.
But as I explained, this nest appeared in our tree one year with a very nice {small} gift in it.
So, being the wise woman I am, it's back in its proper place now :).
I hope none of the chickadees or cardinals on the tree decide to take up residence
there, because it needs to be empty till Santa arrives!


My sons' First Year ornaments...1977 & 1978.
Yes, they've been on our tree every single year.

And, although these are not on our Christmas tree, for Chirstmas Vacation fans...
Can you believe there are people out there crazy enough to have these in their homes?!
The scene where Clark and Eddie "enjoy" a bit of eggnog is one of my husband's favorite scenes,
so one of our sons found these for him.  Every Christmas since, he wants to make sure they're out
(and we don't even like eggnog!)

 I wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas.  Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them!  They encourage me and inspire me.  And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post too!  Thank you!

I will be joining these fun parties; please stop by to see all the great things there!
 Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com
 Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
 Five Minutes Just for Me at http://5minutesjustforme.blogspot.com
 House in Roses Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com
 Amaze Me Monday at http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/
 Motivated Monday at http://becolorful.typepad.com/  
 Newbie Party on Monday at http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/
 Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ 
 Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ 
 Open House Party Thursday http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

From my Chickadee Nest to yours~
    Zuni

16 comments:

  1. quilt trees are the BEST! I have a "quilt" tree too. I do love the stories they tell and getting to stroll down memory lane each year as I unwrap the ornaments. Thank you for sharing.
    Please feel free to share from your home nest anytime at my Show & Tell party. It kicks off on Wednesdays of each week at mrshinesclass.wordpress.com

    Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  2. p.s.
    this is my kind of blog. I'm a new follower via google connect

    sharon

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the tree and all it's colours. I am following you now Zuni.

    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love your tree, it is gorgeous. I love the collection of memory ornaments. Ours has a ton of those also, they are definitely the favorites. Hugs, marty

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have a beautiful Christmas tree! Such great memories to pass along. :-)

    Merry Christmas!
    Dee

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your tree is fabulous! I love trees filled with ornaments that have wonderful memories.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You've got such beautiful ornaments, Zuni! To me, those that hold good memories are the ones that really make a family Christmas tree. All the others I use are just "filler". Love the eggnog moose cup ~ that movie is my favorite at this time of year!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for visiting my Blog! I love the Reed and Barton "memory" ornament! How special that will be for years to come. I am following your blog so us "newbies" can grow together. You asked how to follow me... There should be or was a button on the top left of my site that said follow. Not sure what happened but then I have no clue about a lot of this stuff!!! I will try to figure it out. Thanks again Zuni!
    Cindy @ http://beauxrevesamore.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your tree is really lovely Zuni and such wonderful stories behind them all! My family is coming today from Sarasota and I would have had them bring me an ornament from St Armand's had I known! Have a wonderful Christmas with your family!~Hugs, Patti

    ReplyDelete
  10. When I see this tree, Zuni, it makes me so sad that my son disliked craft-making. He disliked it so much that he would volunteer to do chores in the classroom rather than engage in the activity. Therefore, no handmade ornaments for me! :-( He did like ceramics, though, so I have 2 "beautiful" bowls with lids that I keep in my studio in front of a favorite photo of us. I think it is wonderful that you have all these handmade treasures to cherish for years and years. It makes the tree something really special, really significant to you and your family's history. I can't think of a better way to honor the spirit of the season! As for those thoughtfully given but hideous...yes, I said HIDEOUS :-)...moose mugs, they are one of the most fun things I have seen this season. I'm sure that if I had them I would put them out every year, too...just for the fun of it! I remember that scene from "Christmas Vacation" very well! The dog was licking the punch bowl...ugh! SO funny!!! Your son scored big time points with that gift! It shows he was paying attention! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. P.S. - I love the multi-colored lights. I have white this year because that's what came with the tree, but when I set up the one on the lower level of the house, I ALWAYS adorn it in multi-colors! Multis are festive and fun, and there are no rules!!! You can use all kinds of ornaments, and nothing will clash!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks so much for linking up at my Show & Tell party! Come back anytime!

    Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi, Alycia. What a riot--I think they're hideous too, but also fun, so into the china cabinet they mooooosssess go! Oh, well, what can I do. And here's another "secret"--and I'm whispering here--we also have the LEG LAMP from Christmas Story...I might like the finer things in life, but that's proof that we don't get too stuffy around here!! LOL (I actually thought about including a picture of that too!) And yes, it was a gift from the same son--he listens too well!! LOL All fun. Thanks for visiting!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Zuni, Hey girl, you sure do have some great memorable ornaments! Your tree is lush and full of them! I'm a clear light girl- haven't had multi-colored lights for a million years! I do add red chile lights to our southwest tree, though. (I grew up in New Mexico) I'm posting the rest of my trees tomorrow. I'll contemplate a viewing here for "special" people! LOL ~ Sue

    ReplyDelete
  15. Zuni~ I love your tree with all your family ornaments accumulated over the years! I had to chuckle at your Christmas Vacation mugs, my husband would appreciate them too :) We laugh at that movie every year like we've never seen it before, it's a tradition that we watch it at least once! I read your comment to Alycia about being the proud owner of a Leg Lamp too! We had company this past weekend my sister's friend has a desk version in his office :) Wishing you & your family a Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I came across a tutorial on making the paper ball ornaments recently! http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2010/12/diy-striped-paper-ornament.html

    I love your tree! The wedding picture frame ornament is so gorgeous! Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete

Blogging tips