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!

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From my Chickadee Nest to yours~

    Zuni

A Haiku for Roses

Our son and his bride's wedding flowers came to our home to give us the final days of their beauty.  As you will see from the pictures below, their final days were in fact days of beauty, as they softly and gracefully faded away...

Their beauty made me think of the beauty in aging, and of haikus.

Here's a description of a haiku, from http://haiku-poems.50webs.com/nature-haiku-poems.htm:

If you follow Chinese and Haiku poems, then you believe that poetry is in the unity of a person and Nature. Thus, an indication, direct or indirect, of the season is an essential requirement of haiku.  Also, a haiku poem should evoke human emotion, and it should be suggestive, meaning that by itself it does not contain any interpretation. The interpretation, or more than one, is provided by the reader.



Their gentle beauty against the wood and wrought iron.

  

Seeded eucaliptus, alstromeria and twigs complement the roses for texture and color.



Clustered in a rough basket...



Gracing the wedding invitation in the silver frame our son and his fiancee gave me
to commemorate their marriage. (So sweet.)



On my jewelry chest, next to some of the jewerly I wore for the rehearsal dinner
and wedding.  The amethyst pendant was a gift from grandmother many years ago.



Then...it was time to dry them, as they aged {beautifully}.

Aging Roses
A Haiku

by Zuni

Petals soft and new

Like a woman fade with time

The beauty remains.

On a silver platter, to dry individually on our china cabinet.



Gracing the wedding invitation, again joined by the alstromeria.



On our bathroom vanity...





The Queen of them all...another bathroom vanity.



Their beauty, whether new and fresh,

or showing the passing days, remains.

Waning...

Share with me how you've enjoyed the afterglow

of a child's wedding. 

The flowers?

The pictures?

The guests still visiting?

Lenox Jubilee Pearl silver frame - new

Anchor Hocking Berwick juice glasses, vintage

Martha Steward juice glasses - several years ago

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encourage and inspire me.  Thank you.

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Hanging Votives Tutorial

I wanted our son and his fiancee to have hanging votives in the large arrangements for their wedding.  Rather than looking to buy them, I thought I'd make them myself.  It wasn't hard to do, but it took some time.

(Post update:  As you read this tutorial, think beyond weddings and backyards, as Bill, from Affordable Accoutrements (http://affordableaccoutrements.blogspot.com/) did.  He envisioned these in a Christmas tree!  What a great idea!  So these votives could be made simply with ribbon instead of wire, and they could be filled with a variety of things, where the battery-operated candles can be nestled.  Or how about candy?  Or shredded paper?  Or tinsel?  Or Canadian Hemlock pinecones?  Or dried rose hips?  Or....  now we're ALL thinkin'!  Thank you, Bill!  Your ideas are always wonderful!)

Here's how to make them:

These are the supplies you'll need:
Needle-nose pliers
Scissors
22-gauge wire
Votive cups
Decorative wire or other trim
I already had these two styles of votive cups.  I thought the
"flower pot" one would be easier to work with, but I really wanted
to use the one that looks like a cloche because it's more formal.
I saw both styles at Hobby Lobby recently.

22-gauge wire worked very well.  I bought it at Jo-Ann, and found a huge array
of colors, so you can choose which one will work best for your project.
I used a silvery/pewtery color that I blended well with the twigs.



I bought this beautiful wire (and many other varieties) at Pier 1 several years ago.
As I made the votives I remembered them, and was thrilled when I
found this one--hearts and pearls!



You'll wrap the wire around the votive at least three times, pushing it down
(toward the top of the votive) as far as possible.  Wrap the loose ends
around the rest of the wire and trim remaining wire.



Measure the length you'll need for the drop you want, and add two inches, so you
have enough to wrap around the circle you've already created around the votive.
Do that on both sides, making sure they are equally spaced.



The wire will be loose, so you'll need to be careful that the cup doesn't fall out, but
once you hang them they will be fine.



Work the deocrative wire or ribbon (ONLY IF YOU ARE USING BATTERY-OPERATED "CANDLES"!)
around the hang wire, twisting it in a few spots to keep it in place.



And there you have them!  I recommend battery-operated "candles" because they are safer,
even around the twigs.

Have you used hanging votives before?  Where have you used them?  My next project is to make them using pretty jars to hang from our birch by our patio (next spring/summer, of course... :)  )

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Fall Porches

My outdoor fall decorating has been a work in progress for several weeks...I think I'm done now, just in time to shift into Halloween.  I started with the front porch, then moved to the screened porch.




Welcome to our home!
Our wreath isn't really a wreath...it's a beautiful garland that I simply shaped into a circle,
because our storm door doesn't allow enough room for an actual wreath.  It's worked great!
I added the ribbon, and DONE!






Details of the "wreath."

Another garland.  At night when the porch light is on, the leaves seem to glow.



Left of the door, this old wicker table holds an old crate full of pumpkins, lit at night to add a bit of color to the porch.

I purchased these pumpkins years ago, and I absolutely love them, because of the leaves, stems, and tendrils they have.
I tucked some mesh fabric and orange lights in to finish this vignette.

Remember I said it's been a work in progress?  This picture shows the detail and texture, but no lights yet!

Ta-dah!  Pumpkins aglow! 




This slate painted pumpkin is one of my favorites, as are the metal ones on the porch. 
The metal ones hold a candle.



Does anyone remember the grocery store A&P?  See the logo on this tin "thing"?

It's not fall until the mums are on the porch!

AND NOW FOR THE SCREENED PORCH AND BACKYARD!

We had lots of flowers from our son's wedding (that's another post), and they were
perfectly happy to be out in the cool weather. 
They were the most gorgeous roses ever.



A little corner of the screened porch.

 


Meet Wilbur...he's been around for years, and once I told my husband
Wilbur was part of the family and he was quick to tell me MY side of the family.  LOL

 


We had a casual dinner the day after the wedding for family members
visiting from out of town.  (That I gave in to paper napkins is
representative to the limited time and energy left.  :)  )
  

 


An old hand plow tucked in the landscaping also got a little dress-up for fall.
I bought it for $5 at a garage sale years and years ago...I've always been glad I did.

 


Our Knock-Out roses and hydrangeas are still holding strong here in Ohio,
as the tree in the distance acknowledges that fall is here.



This twig chair has moved from house to house to house (yes, 3 houses) with us.
I guess that could qualify it as part of MY side of the family too!

 


Happy fall to all!
Thanks for strolling around the outside of our home. 
Next time let's come in! 

 

So are you like me, that you never feel like you're done decorating and tweaking?

I've never decorated the plow before, but I saw a neighbor's and thought it was a fabulous idea that I had to steal!  Off to Hobby Lobby, right before the wedding, when I had absolutely no time

to be shopping OR decorating a plow! :)

And tell me what you think of leaving the grand ole flag out with fall decorations.  It makes me think "summer," but gosh, it's our beautiful flag!

Love to hear your comments.

I invite you to follow me...I have lots more coming!

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Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri monthly party celebrating AUTUMN