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Twas The Tour Before Christmas

December 22, 2008 3 Comments
I’m really enjoying attending all these blog parties and seeing all the lovely Christmas foods and decorations. It’s really inspiring actually. I’ve gotten so many good ideas for next year, more than I could ever actually use!

I’ve seen so many lovely things, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites with you. There are so many beautiful things, it was hard to decide which items to feature, but I managed to narrow it down to about a dozen.

Thanks to everyone for inviting us into your homes. I hope that everyone else will enjoy and be as inspired by these decorations as I was.

This yard at Chris’s Corner. I haven’t seen a lot of light displays on these tours, but I thought this was very festive! The inside of the house was very pretty too. Even the bathroom was decorated nicely!

This wreath at Our Life As We Wait for Lilly Rae. Actually the entire front of this house was just beautiful. It’s my favorite architectural style, and the decorations make it look just stunning.

This banister from Take 90 West…and Set this Circus Down. I love this garland! My mom has some little red pajamas hanging on her tree, but I would have never thought to use them like this. This page had a lot of other cute decor as well, but this was my favorite.

This mantle from Imperfectly Beautiful. I just love this! It’s so fun & colorful and very unique! I just love mantles! And I saw a lot of elegant mantle decor, some simple decor, and a lot of other things, but nothing like this one. In fact all of her decor is just beautiful and unique! You should check out her door wreath as well. Very cute stuff!

This mantle from Creations from my Heart. I thought this had a real elegance to it, and it goes very well with the tree. Just lovely! The garland on her staircase was beautiful as well. Great home!

This tree at Fiddle Dee Dee – Our Sweet Southern Life. I love–LOVE this tree. One thing I’ve discovered from looking at these tours is that I love peppermint stuff! I like this tree because it looks very elegant, but it’s also fun. And look at the topper! Great colors too, and a beautiful home!

This dining room from Beveral “Sand”hills. Her whole house was great, like something you’d see in Country Living magazine. I love the bright colors here, and it looks so cozy! The chandalier is beautiful, and I like that the table is decorated rather simply with the wine glasses and the bowl of balls in the middle. It’s a nice touch. (and also, I want to say that I have a red bird pouring picture just like hers, which I thought was kinda neat.)

This beautiful doorway from All Occasions by Cynthia. I like all the different colors used here, and I especially like the little ornaments dangling down from the garland above the door. This is a really stunning home, and all her trees and decor are so beautiful.

This doorway at Southern Fried Dreams. I just love this doorway. I like the material used, and the way the light green and dark red blend together. Very festive.

This topper at Tiaras & Tantrums. Now that is a topper! I loved the whole tree, but the topper was just the best! I love the gold butterflies, and the red balls give it a really good base. The little “chutes” that go up are cute too. I’m thinking this must be the latest style in toppers, because I’ve seen several with the chutes at the top. I wish I could find one for my tree.

This scrappy tree at Marleyblog. What a fun craft! Again, I love the colors of this, particularly all the different designs in the scrap pieces and how they all blend & contrast with each other. I simply had to feature this, not only because it’s so cute, but because it’s unique. I haven’t seen anything else like it.

This tree from A Picture is Worth A 1000 Words. You would have to see the post to fully appreciate this tree. This tree had very few ornaments on it, but she livened it up with some ribbon and some embellishments. I could hardly believe it was the same tree. The best part is the little white feathery things, and the little red bead-looking things. Again, not sure what these are exactly, but I wish I had some for my tree.


-Jerri

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating

Christmas Tour of Homes 2008

December 15, 2008 29 Comments
Hey everybody! Welcome to the Christmas tour of my home. If you’d like to show off your Christmas decorations too, you can head over to BooMama, Tip Junkie, Hooked on Houses, A Soft Place to Land and Southern Hospitality. They are all hosting Christmas Tours of Homes this week, and it’s sure to be good fun!

If this is your first visit to Simply Sweet Home, Welcome to my blog (and home). I hope you’ll take a look around my site. I’ve been hosting a festival of Christmas posts this month, and there’s a lot of great stuff to see. And please leave me a comment so that I can come and visit with you too.
A lot of my Christmas decorations are buried in the attic at my dad’s house, so I didn’t get to decorate as much as I would like. I was most looking forward to setting up my Christmas villages in the new place, but it was too much trouble to dig everything out. (Hopefully I’ll get it all out next year.) But I did manage to get some good pictures of the stuff I did put out. I had the post finished and then I added a few more…hopefully I didn’t go overboard too much w/ the pics! I hope you enjoy!

Here’s the front door (obviously). I know a lot of people despise colored lights. But I love them. They remind me of my childhood, and they’re just fun.

And here’s our tree, filled with mice ornaments and other fun things. My pictures don’t really do it justice, but it’s really cute. If you’d like to see more of my tree and some of my favorite ornaments, you can go to my Christmas Tree post.

Making the stereo a little festive here. I’ve been calling this the silver & blue corner (even though there are a couple of red things at the bottom). You can’t really see it too well, but there’s a couple of snowmen, some figures from “Rudolf & the Island of Misfit Toys”, and some wintery flowers & ribbon thingys. And the silver tree was actually the center piece for our table last year, and the bear & penguin came from Kay Jewelers last year. I just stuck it up there b/c it matched.

I decided to hang our stockings over the china cabinet. There’s also flower arrangement of poinsettas. And up top is small red/gold Christmas tree, and placed some little gift boxes and bags around it to make it a little more festive. And to the left, is my mouse wreath.


Another picture of the tree & stuff on top of the curio.

And here’s my mouse corner.

This is our coffee table. I just put a couple of snowman place mats on each end. And in the middle is a Christmas bowl, and it just has some little garland arrangements with pinecones & apples on them. (I wanted to get a pic from a better angle but the cat kept jumping in.)

The kitchen. The stuff is described below.

I strung some garland above the cabinets. And on the counter is a snowman cake pedastal (left). And on top of it is a homemade-antique Christmas tree that my greatmother made. Next is a Santa box tin, Christmas salt shaker set, a Christmas tree platter that my husband bought me, a couple of Christmas bowls, like the one from the coffee table, and an arrangment of poinsettas. And some snowman pot holders are hanging from the drawers.

Christmas Candy dishes.

Snowman Cake Plate.

Christmas Tree Plate.

Salt Shaker Set.

On the window sill above the sink is a snow man plate that my stepmom painted. And on either side of it are some snowman figurines and some s’more figurines.

And this is the dining room.

Here’s our table.

This is a close up of the flower arrangment on the table.

And this is a close up of the flower arrangement on top of the antique sewing machine.

Well, that’s it. Let me just “show” you to the door here.

Thank you for visiting my site and home. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you’ll leave a comment and come back soon! Merry Christmas!


-Jerri

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating

O Christmas Tree , O Christmas Tree

December 14, 2008 9 Comments
Hello Everyone! Tip Junkie is having a Christmas Tree contest on her blog, so I thought it would be fun to participate and share my tree and some of my ornaments. She’ll be picking her favorites, and then there will be voting on the 20th. There’s also a tree decorating contest going on at An Island Life. The deadline to enter is up, but they are still voting. You can also share your Christmas tree with everyone at We Are THAT Family and Thrifty Decor Chick.
There are some other carnivals & events this week that I’m thinking of participating in too, which I’ll try to tie into the “simple ideas” theme that I had planned for the week.

And by the way, if you’re visiting via Tip Junkie, Welcome! Please take a look at all of my other Christmas posts and leave a comment so that I can come visit you too. Enjoy!

My tree has a bunch of ornaments from my mouse collection, as well as some additional misc. ornaments that I’ve collected over the years. I purchased a lot of them myself, but many of them were gifts. Below are some close up shots of some of my favorite ornaments.

One of my favorites is this little mouse sitting on a cookie jar (shown above).

Here’s the same mouse on the cookie jar. And below it, is a Santa-mouse in a gingerbread train, and two mice with a Christmas tree, which says, “Our Christmas Together.”


And here is two mice sitting on a xylophone that says “love” on it and a mouse on a box of candies.

Here’s a mouse on top of a box of jell-o (left) and mouse sitting at a desk (right).

This overall-wearing mouse is hanging out of a pack of strawberry seeds and holding a shovel and watering can.

And this is a handpainted birdhouse ornament. My best friend’s mom painted 2 of these for me and all of our friends when we were in high school. Above it is a mouse wearing a birthday hat. In this picture it kind of looks like they’re attached….they’re not, but come to think of it, that would be a cute ornament idea.

And here is our Under-The-Tree Cat Ornament.


-Jerri

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating

Deck the Hall With These Christmas Balls

December 6, 2008 5 Comments

There is such a wide variety of colors, designs, styles, and themes for Christmas tree decorations these days. Even if you discluded all other decorations and just looked at Christmas balls, you’d never run out styles to choose from. Today’s post takes a look at just a few of the many styles of Christmas balls that you can make yourself. You can also find some of these for sale on etsy, as well as countless other Christmas ornaments and crafts. Enjoy!

[Reminder: If you want to submit one of your ideas to my Christmas festival, send an email to simplysweethome@hotmail.com or leave a comment on any of my posts, saying you’d like to be featured. I’ll get back to you later! Remember that next week, Recipes/Food will be featured. And the following week (Dec 14-20) will be simple ideas/tips & misc. And then Dec 21-25, will be Christmas memories/traditions/stories, etc. For more info, go to this post. Thanks!]

One of my favorites out of all the things I’ve found are these quilted Christmas ornaments. Aren’t they lovely? These were made by Larissa at Mmmcrafts. She has a wonderful blog, full of great ideas. I highly recommend it. You can also search for these on etsy. I saw several different colors & designs.

This is an Etched Vinyl Monogram Christmas Ornament. I think these would make lovely Christmas gifts. Personally I’d love to have one to go in my curio cabinet. These are for sale on etsy at the store of Paperazzi. Very nice!

Here’s somethig a little different. The maker calls it a Bright Colorful Beaded Ball and Chain Christmas Ornament. It’s defintely not your average Christmas ball. slvilov sells them on etsy. I love the bright colors and funky design.

I found these Decorated Glass Ornaments on etsy. I just love the bright & beautiful colors of these. And look at the variety of designs. Very pretty! You can purchase them from MandarinMoon, along with other ornaments and items.


I found these beaded ornaments at a site called CraftBits. The mother of a friend of mine used to make Christmas balls similar to these. They were very nice. The CraftBits site also has some other projects that you might be interested in for Christmas and other occasions.


-Jerri


Filed Under: Christmas, crafts, decorating

The Santa Craft

December 4, 2008 5 Comments


Here’s a cute and fun craft you can make this Christmas. This Santa was made by a friend of our family about 15 years ago, and it’s been a part of our Christmas decor ever since. It hangs on a door or wall. It would make a great gift for your craft-loving friends or something cute for the kids to give the grandparents. Or you could make one and keep it for yourself. It’s a great conversation piece.

It’s made with yarn, felt, a pom pom, plastic eyes, pipe cleaners, and a Clorox Bottle that’s been cut in half. Since I’ve never made one myself, I wouldn’t be the best person to instruct on this one. But I did find find a site that gives you the basic instructions. Here it is. Have fun!


-Jerri


Filed Under: Christmas, crafts, decorating

A Wreath of One’s Own

December 3, 2008 5 Comments

To begin our Christmas crafts & decor week, I wanted to post about wreaths. Everytime I go to a crafts store, I’m amazed at all the beautifully designed wreaths. But some of them are a wee bit pricey. For this reason, I recommend making your own. You can get the wire frame and cover it in garland yourself or just buy a simple, plain wreath, and add whatever you want. There are so many different possibilities! Here are a couple of examples and some ideas.

My mom is a dining room manager at a resturant. And she’s also in charge of special events and seasonal decorating. Last year she made the wreath pictured here to display in the bar at the resturant. It has some little wine bottles, martini glasses, and a shaker on it. All she had to do was make the bow and attach the ornaments on it. The ornaments were either tied on from the back with ribbon or tied on with wire.

This year my mom was told that they were limiting their decorations to just a tree in the lobby, which means she got stuck with a bunch of extra decorations she didn’t need. She gave me the wreath and told me I could change it however I wanted, so I gave it my own little personal touch. (see below)

A lot of people don’t know that I collect mouse ornaments and little mouse figurines. (I know, strange thing to collect, huh? But I just think they’re cute!) Anyway, I took a handful of ornaments and attached them to the wreath using green ornament hooks. Once I got the bar ornaments off, it only took me about 10-15 minutes to attach my own. A very quick & easy project!

I wanted to share these with you because I think making your own wreath really can save you money, and it gives the wreath a more personal touch. And the best part is that I can take the ornaments off if I want to and make an entirely different wreath for next year. The possibilities are endless, and you can get a variety of materials for fairly cheap.
This is also a great gift idea because you can do so many different themes for various interests/hobbies/professions. Here are some things you may consider adding to your own wreath:
-Christmas balls
-plastic fruits
-misc ornaments
-pick a particular theme of ornaments (Disney, Precious Moments, Teacher, Nurse, Sewing)
-letters, such as your sir name
-cookie cutters
-flowers
-stuffed animals (my mom has the cuted Beanie Baby wreath!)
-little figurines or toys

Related Posts:


-Jerri

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Simple Solutions, Wreaths

My Fall Decorations & Happy Halloween

October 30, 2008 6 Comments

We got the house all decorated for Halloween/Thanksgiving. I was very happy with the way everything looked. I used the 2 scarecrows/leaves/pumpkins I bought last year. (see last years post on fall decor tips here.) I also added 3 more scarecrows, a couple more pumpkins, a wreath, and some potted chrysanthemums. And I have an electric jack-o-lantern to put out on Halloween night.

Oddly enough, it was my husband that actually suggested that we get more scarecrows so we’d have one for each post. I had no idea how festive he could be. But when we got the scarecrows home, we realized that we actually needed one more, but we may just wait till next year for that.

I also have to brag on my husband again, not only for helping put up all the decorations but for coming up with the idea of how we were going to stand the scarecrows up against the porch posts without them falling down. (Bungee cords/tie downs. They work brilliantly, and the colors of them blend in well. From a distance you can’t even see them. And up close, it just looks like the scarecrows have a belt on.)

And finally, I have to ask that you please excuse the look of the actual porch. The previous owners painted the concrete a few times, and we still fix it, and we also have to install some new rails and paint the shutters. I told my husband laughingly, “The porch rails are missing, and the concrete looks terrible, but we have scare crows!” lol. Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Immediate right of walkway/step. Behind this scarecrow, you can see the new wreath we got, a small scarecrow and string of leaves on the window.

Immediately to the left of the walkway/step.

Front of the house. I wanted to get the whole house in the picture, but then you can’t see the scarecrows as good.

This green one is my favorite for some reason.

Happy Halloween!

Filed Under: decorating, fall, Halloween

Links to Fall Wedding Ideas & Items

October 2, 2008 1 Comment

During the summer I kept meaning to do some posts on wedding ideas, but I never got around to it. Then yesterday I found out that my best friend from elementary/high school is getting married next summer. This inspired me to do a post on stuff for fall/autumn weddings. Some of the most beautiful weddings I’ve been too were fall weddings. Fall colors are so pretty, and they create such a soft, romantic, and elegant atmosphere.

For today’s post I’ve compiled a list of links to fall wedding ideas. Some of these are retail sites which sale wedding favors and other items, while others provide information and/or photos about wedding flowers, decor, etc. Even if you, yourself, are not getting married, you may still want to consider these sites if you’re planning a wedding shower for a friend, or if you’re looking for some ideas for home decor or party ideas for the fall. Happy looking!

Simply Elegant Favors – sells a variety of favors for fall weddings and other occasions
Favor Ideas – more favors for weddings/showers
Fall & Autumn Wedding Accessories – candles, serving sets, guest books, favors, and other accessories
Wedding Flowers and Reception Ideas – ideas for boquets, flower arrangments, centerpieces, and cakes in beautiful fall colors
About.com: Fall Wedding Ideas & Themes – ideas for fall wedding locations, decor, dress, etc.
BHG – candle centerpieces
Martha Stewart Weddings – fall bridal boquets and a ton of other wedding planning tips and ideas
BHG – Centerpieces – BHG has a ton of ideas for fall centerpieces, many of which would be beautiful for wedding reception or shower


Filed Under: decorating, fall, party ideas

Party Themes, Decorations, & Supplies

June 4, 2008 3 Comments

Summer is a great time for kid & adult parties and family reunions. Decorations, party favors, and a theme can make the party very fun, especially for kids.

Some popular themes include:

Patriotic
Hawaiin Luau
Under the Sea
Beach
Flip Flops
Safari/Jungle
Western/Cowboy
Fiesta/South of the Border
Pirates
Finding Nemo
Little Mermaid
Lion King
Olympics
Sports

You can buy party supplies & decorations for fairly cheap at party supply store, the dollar store, or online, and you can make great use of every day items for decorations, as well.

Consider decorating with the following:

Flowers
Palm Trees
Flower Leis
Beach Balls
“Donut”/”Lifesaver” Floats
Strings of lights
Balloons & streamers
Sand buckets & shovels
treasure chest
beaded curtains

Here a few links some summer party ideas & supplies:

Celebrate Express – They have supplies for various party themes, including Hula, Flip Flop Fun, Sunny Days, Luau, Ocean, etc.

MN International – Supplies for a variety of party themes from Patriotic to Luau, Safari, and Western Themes

Shindigzparty Blog – Party ideas & tips for just about any party theme

Oriental Trading – A ton of summer party supplies

Oriental Trading – Fourth of July Party supplies

Filed Under: decorating, party ideas, summer

Lighting for Your Backyard Parties

June 2, 2008 1 Comment

I’ve been looking up different party ideas when I found these really cool solar lanterns. These look very nice, and unlike a lot of alternatives, you don’t have to deal with bunch of ugly wires, and you don’t have to go through a huge installation process. You simply hang these outside in the sun so that they can charge, and when the sun goes down these handy little lanterns will give off a nice glow.

But if you live in a shaded area, or you’re just looking for something of a different style,there are a lot of great choices when it comes to lighting for your outdoor party. Some popular choices include Candles, Flaming Torches, Strings of Christmas lights or novelty lights, Electric wall laterns & post lanterns, strings of paper lanterns, etc.

Here are a couple of cute choices, followed by some links:

Flower Lights

Flipflop Lights

Sunsetter Patio Lights

Colored Lights

Cherry Blossom Lanterns

If your in the market for some party lights, here a few links you may be interested in:

Ivillage – for more info on solar lights

Offthedeepend.com – They have a fun variety of light strings

Nextag – cool lights here

Japanese Lantern lights

If you get creative with the lighting and decor, you can create a fun & unique atmosphere for your summer barbecue or pool party. And if you shop around, you can usually find some good deals on this stuff too! Have a good day!

Filed Under: decorating, Home/Garden, party ideas, summer
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