It's Beginning to look a bit like Christmas on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello.. well I definitely moved into Christmas decorating... I have old stuff and new stuff to share... I am glad I got started early with my Christmas-ing,  as the energy I had 2 weeks ago has faded at bit... and that seems to be the way things go anymore. I have a brief period of manic productivity followed by a long interlude of just sitting and vegging... but I do enjoy the vegging and the cross stitching and the knitting...which I've indulged in last week.

So let's dive into the Christmasy stuff shall we... it is going to be another looooooong post... just to warn you... LOL

First off is my brand new display of Christmas ornaments... now I saw this idea here on Instagram... and I was gobsmacked... I contemplated how I could fit something like this into my small home as I am at a dearth for big chunks of wall space that I haven't already decorated... and then it hit me... I could use the space over my small shelf display that has my giant Blackbird Designs Anniversaries of the Heart... and I really like it here.

Now this is a smaller version of what I saw on IG but I think the scale works... I got the rack here at Natural Life...it was brown so I spray painted it white...the ornaments are a mix of new and reproduction Shiny Brites and ornaments from my childhood that hung on my Grandma's tree...

The gazebo,  the clown, stagecoach, the lamp and the  are at least 70 years old...

this little Shiny Brite was purchased by my Mom in the late 50s'... I just recently found out these are called "sugared" ornaments and the little piece at the top even says Shiny Brite.

I will be keeping my eye out to see if I can find anymore vintage Shiny Brites... to add to this display. Now the garland and the bow at the top add a nice touch IMHO but  in truth, they were necessary to cover up the hole from the nails I used to hang the BBD piece... oh well .. 

The small shelf display has quite a few knickknacks and a little cross stitch...from left to right a reproduction tree... I remember my  Mom made one of these back in the day... but I have no clue where it when to. The little TV came from Walmart a couple of years ago. Elliott likes to turn it on and watch the train go round and round and listen to the Christmas carols it plays. 

The cross stitch is J'Arrive by Tournicoton...and those 3 little choir girls are reproduction Gurley candles... I got mine here.  I remember having these when I was a kid.  I like having these vintage looking pieces all together...lots of memories... oh I didn't mention the Lego Snowman... Elliott and I assembled it and he put it there... and there it will stay... if I move it when he finds it elsewhere he will move it back because "it belongs here"... and now we are making more memories!

This year I put all my Santa head mugs in this display... I thought I might have room for a couple more... and if I stack them I may be able to squeeze in a couple more... 

and speaking of squeezing things in... I tucked in Jolly Old Elf by Pineberry Lane is in the pattern Merry Little Stitches ...

and this guy from Barbara Ana's  Christmas Joy...

I can never decide if he's a Santa or an elf but I'm going with Santa here... love the striped socks! 

On the bottom shelf there is Little Bits of Christmas from The Drawn Thread 

and Best Time of the Year by With Thy Needle & Thread. 

Out in the kitchen I do a gingerbread man theme... the cookie jar on the right is new this year... got him a Walmart after seeing him on a Auntie Coo Coo shopping video?  

Do you watch shopping videos on youtube?  I like the gals that go to places like Walmart and Michael's and Joann's and Hobby Lobby and show what's new... and several times they've enticed me to go get a piece that caught my eye... this year it was this gingerbread guy ... and a candle from Joanns... and those are the only new knickknacks I picked up ... which is good because I'm running out of room for knickknacks... such a tragedy... LOL

Last Saturday I went down to my sewing studio and spent the day FFO'ing stuff... started off with the 5 Prairie Schooler Santas from book No. 215  A Merry Mini Surprise.  The tray came from Walmart... you can see it here... it was too white so I painted it a creamy white... I know I know...no one else would care... but I did ... so I did it... here's the display for my dining table... it is a nice size for my table and easy to pick up and move when we eat...my son is very happy about that as he usually sets the table and doesn't like it if the center piece is heavy... anyway... 

Here's a close up of the left side....

and the right side...

and the backs...

Now I finished them by sewing around all 4 sides and then cutting a slit in the back to stuff them... I thought it would be fun to close that slit with a candy cane I cut out of fabric and used fusible interfacing on... it worked great... except for that last one... I wasn't paying attention and that candy cane is upside down... oh well ... finished is better than perfect, right??

The sunroom porch is all pink and minty and aqua again this year... I wouldn't want a whole house of pink Christmas but  I sure do like one room of it... here's the display I see from my chair...

up top is Lizzie Kate's Christmas ABC's... did this one on 36 ct but still used 2 threads... 

and the angel is one I needlepointed about 37 years ago...

I've wracked my brain to remember the designer... I think it was Petei and from what I can tell they are still producing canvases. Before I did cross stitch I was in love with needlepoint...even taught classes. I didn't start cross stitching until after my first son was born... and he'll be 38 next month... where does the time go??? Don't answer... I know where it went... it just went really fast, didn't it?  

Moving on...a new finish for this year, the tree from Quilted Christmas by Emily Call... 

used some red tinsel for the trim...and Tiny Tidings XXI by Lizzie Kate to keep my pink deer company.

On the bottom shelf,  Barbara Ana's Christmas Joy... the little pillow I showed with the Santa head mugs is from my first false start on this pattern...  

On the wall Jingles by Lizzie Kate...are we seeing theme out here?  Lots of Lizzie Kate Christmas... there are 12 parts to Jingles but I mis-calculated how long the linen should have been so there are only 10 here... oh well... 

And the pink wreath that started this whole pink decorating explosion... LOL

Okay I think we should stop here... not that I'm finished with the Christmas decor by any means... but that was a lot, wasn't it?  I'll be back next week with the big display shelf and the wall quilt and tier tray and the niche in the hall way and the TV display... plenty more to fill another post... LOL

The week ahead has some dental/medical appointments... still need to do a bit of Christmas shopping... since I was last here I stitched the second Prairie Schooler Angel, a Lizzie Kate string and an small Santa from Not Forgotten Farms... and then I said I was done stitching Christmas for this year... but I may change my mind... I did pick back up my Teresa Kogut Remember Me sampler... I want this done by the end of the year and there was more left to stitch than I remembered... but I'm making progress. Want to start the new year with a new sampler, but haven't decided which one... so many good choices... 

Hope your Christmas preparations/decorating/stitching/quilting etc etc is going well. I always wish that Thanksgiving and Christmas were a bit farther apart on the calendar... I think we could all use more time to  get ready for the holidays... never enough time...

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... weather is yuckky outside to I'll be happy to stay in my stitching chair, read blogs and stitch ... hope your day is a cozy one too!

happy stitching-

carol fun