Ahhh, luckygal...I always love seeing your pics ... what wonderful creations you've come up with...still loving that sheet music idea .. and love the jute/twine adornments...I think you've pegged it very well..."rustic & refined!" Your trays are gorgeous! You've done alot of work! Way to go, woman!

DH & I are feeling "human" today... 10 days now of this virus/flu/cold junk...whatever...so I've been decorating a bit each day...really getting there now! (at least I've gone thru all the totes & some are now back in the garage!) Can't believe it's 2 wks. til Christmas! I'll try to get some pics up!

TFS your lovely decor! Jeanne S.

Just lovely.
I'm enjoying the 'Simplicity' of your decorations...
much like my taste and my feelings this year too.
I like all the twine touches to your ornaments.
Years ago, I would put up a craft tree in my DR, and my DD and I would make all the decorations for it.
We made several of those twine balls like you have. They were fun to make, and nice looking too.
I like your idea with the sheet music and the frame w/the pinecones..very clever.

Hope you get to post more pictures.
TFS

jane

I don't know Luckygal, that tray with all the candles, pinecones and decorations looks sorta "over the top" to me! Very pretty, you've created some nice things. I really like how you've used the sheet music on the candles and in the frames. Even small touches here and there add the Christmas feeling to a home, and handmade touches make it even more warm and inviting. ;o) Luvs

Nice job on the twine balls!! Love all your rustic touches & you lovely trays!! Take a better pic of the pic frame with cookie cutters!! Jan

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

Jeannie, glad to hear you are feeling better. Take it easy, no fun being sick at any time, never mind Christmas. I'm just plugging along with the decorating, could do a lot more but may not!

Jane, I used to do a lot of crafts but then didn't have time for a few years, now I'm having fun with it again.

Luvs, LOL the big tray is just candles and a lot of the "extras" I didn't put on the tree just almost thrown on there! Mostly just a lot of cheap and shiny!

Jan, those twine balls are so easy, even I was amazed. I'm planning to make a lot more and do my tree in really rustic style next year. I'm a bit photography challenged but hopefully I can improve. More pics coming of the cookie molds!

Here's a pic of my dove clay cookie mold hanging from the empty picture frame. Larger shortbread cookie mold standing to the right.

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Heart and nutcracker molds hanging on hutch.

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White clay holly cookie mold hanging on lamp. This is a cookie mold made by a Canadian company. The other 4 are Brown Bag molds. I've bot them all at yard sales for very little. I don't think any were ever used but I only use them for decoration. The messy big tassel on the apothecary is my first attempt at making "messy" tassels. LOL I'm going to find out how they are *really* supposed to be made in the new year and make more!

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Love the sheet music. I framed my daughters sheet music from her first Christmas Band concert. Great idea to wrap it around the candles.

Everything looks very elegant :) Just beautiful!

Would you share how you did the seashells? Your tree is gorgeous, but I especially love those.

Thanks, ladies!

Gardener, that was a great idea to frame your daughter's sheet music - nice momento for her!

Alex, shell ornaments are very easy. I collect seashells from wherever I can and have made and sold many shell mirror frames so I just chose some I liked, painted most with craft paint either pearlized, white, and/or blue paint, then hot-glued ribbon or silver cord to hang. Some I added loopy bows. Here's a pic, as you can see some are more successful than others! ;-) If you look online you can see many styles and I was amazed at the prices! Many are embellished more than what I did but I was just using up the materials I had and didn't want to buy more.

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Thank you! They are gorgeous.

I usually just peek in for ideas,
but this time around, I have to comment.
So many of you have decorated your homes so beautifully.

I must say, you're very talented. I like everything you made.
You make it sound so simple and inspiring to do.
What a nice idea using the frame.

Enjoyed everything.
Thank you.

jenn

LG, I'm with Luvs...that candle tray is over-the-top stunning! LOL. I really, really love it. ALL your decorations are wonderful tho. You really have some neat ideas that make simple things stand out beautifully. It takes talent, which obviously you got plenty.

hugs, Karen

Okay, that little tree is sooo cool! Love the larger ornaments on it instead of little ones.

The sheet music balls is a great idea and also framing them. Wish I still had my old piano!

I like simplicity too, more understated but noticeable.

Thank you so much for the nice comments ladies.

You're most welcome, Alex, I hope you try some of the seashell decorations. As crafts go they are easy and fun.

Jenn, you're very sweet and glad to hear from you and hope you will continue to post! Most crafts are very easy. Of course most of us don't always mention hot glue on the fingers ouch! and sticky glue all over with decoupaging! Messy! LOL

Karen, you are too kind. I'm just an old crafter who copies many things I see that others have done. Of course I have years of crafts filed away in my head so just pick something and do it.

Oakley, I used to use the tiny battery lights on that little tree (actually had 3 of them but must have given them away) but found the battery lights didn't last long. I've sometimes wished I had my antique piano again also but it was a bear to move. Thinking of getting another.

For those who haven't been around much I should mention that many of my crafts use yard sale finds so are very inexpensive. I keep trying to make that old sow's ear into a silk purse! LOL My DH is very helpful as he spray paints anything I ask him to. There are far more 2nd hand things in these pics than things I've bot new. Love yard saling!

Love just the very simple nature of your decorations. I usually tend to go overboard and something like this just rests the eyes and presents a very peaceful serene setting. As I get older I am opting for that setting too - thanks for sharing ......

Lynne

Thanks Lynne, I've gone overboard at times too, but this year I just couldn't face fluffing all those garlands and wreaths. So just kept most things simple. I'm liking this look. Might simplify my tree next year.

Woo...so beautiful! Many ideas are so creative.
:) Merry Christmas!

Here is a link that might be useful: Christmas gift, DIY DVD photo show for Xmas, share Xmas video online

These decorations of sheet music are splendid! I really love them! And I heard of shells as Christmas decorations but never saw them "in action". It's definitely a kind of items I'll look into for next year!

Luckygal,

Thanks so much for posting more of your decorations. I'm so into the music too and have alot somewhere here. I play the accordian and DM played the piano so we have alot of music from the past and this makes me wanna go find some and copy some of your ideas.

One of my dearest friends just brought me 2 bags of pinecones to make crafts for Christmas and I didn't have time to make anything. Your pinecone wreath is beautiful and might be what I need to get me started.

Your jute covered balls. shekks, decorated sideboard and everything just looks so nice. Keep your talent working, we love it. TFS Punk

Properity, thanks, and I hope you try some of the sheet music crafts, there are so many ideas on the net. I'm in the process now of doing more but not in Christmas theme but more general and maybe Valentine's. Have been "sharing" my morning coffee with sheet music to age it!

Thanks Pumk! Hope you do some of these crafts. I was so lucky to be given that stack of music books as I gave many of mine away and am reluctant to use what I have left for crafts. Might get a piano again and need it. The pine cone wreath was made on a wire frame but I've seen them done on plywood frames also. I'm on a big crafting spree to use up some of my stash. I figure it'll be easier to organize my craft room if I use up a lot of the stuff in boxes.

Luckygirl, don't forget that you could just make photocopies of some of your music pages to use for crafts--that way you could keep the originals.

I had seen where someone framed some sheet music like you have, but they had painted a ribbon and bells on top of it. I picked up a couple sheet music books at our library store thinking I might want to give that a try sometime. I'm adding it to my very long "wanna do" project list! LOL

I sure know what you mean about using up some of the already on hand craft supplies--seems I'm always buying more when I need to be using up what I already have.

Luvs

Luckygal, I forgot to tell you one of my favorite pictures was your antique family Bibles and prayer book. It shows how much they have been used. What a tribute to your family.

Thanks for sharing info on your wreath. I can use all the help I can get and hadn't thought that far ahead. I need to use what I have and help declutter too.

Punk

Luvs, when I first thot of using sheet music/music books for crafting projects I planned to photocopy them then read somewhere that they are all copyright property so decided to use the originals. These are all old books I got free that would have been thrown out anyhow so I don't mind using them. I have kept some I really like as I might want to actually use them to play from. I hope if you do paint pictures on music sheets you will show us. I'd do that if I had an ounce of talent! :-)

Punk, two of those books (1 Bible and 1 prayer book) belonged to my DGF who was born about 130 years ago and are in Norwegian and the English one was my DF's. The are all so fragile I have to be careful moving them.

I probably have more years of collecting craft supplies than most here so really feel I need to use what I have rather than buy more.

BTW for frugal crafters there are lots of good craft supplies still in original packaging very cheap at yard sales and altho I try to resist buying them I sometimes do! All the styrofoam balls I am using were still sealed in original cello and were so inexpensive I just couldn't leave them!

Your style of Christmas simplicity is beautiful. I especially like your sheet music display (I need to remember this one as DD sang solos in our church's childrens Christmas play this year and I plan to keep the sheet music - I can frame it for decor next year!) Also your buffet tray is lovely.
Marann