Merry ChristmasTime!!!

Last year at this time, I shared a photo of our family table in my post Our Christmas.  In my tablescape, I included treasured photos of loved ones who have passed away, as a remembrance of their love and presence in our lives.

These photos included a picture of my mother and father (deceased), my in-laws, paternal and maternal grandparents and photos of our closet family friends.  These pictures brought much joy to our holiday gathering and we delighted in sharing stories about our loved ones.

This year especially, please hold your family and friends close.  Too many families will have an empty seat at their table this Christmas.  Remember those who have gone before us and celebrate their lives as you share in your Christmas dinner.

 

artistsandart.org

Merry Christmas!!!

Heather

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!!!

This is truly the best time of year for creative DIY ideas so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite DIY Xmas Things with you!!!

Sleigh Bells Ring by Censational Girl is absolutely sensational!!!

Censational Girl

From Our Unexpected Journey, Adrienne created this gorgeous holly monogram wreath!

I'm loving this DIY Rustic NOEL Decor by Melissa @ The HappierHomemaker

The HappierHomemaker

In 2009, Matt & Becky shared with us this stunning ornament wreath. This EASY and affordable tutorial was worth resurrecting and sharing with you.

And last but not least, I had to re-share with you one of my very own favorites, Musical Santas!!!

Larissa Hill Designs

Let me know what you think....

Heather

More Cheers!!!

As a young girl, I remember my father making homemade Eggnog every Christmas.  It was one of my favorite things about ChristmasTime!!!  He used real eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and milk.

So, I set out to find the best Eggnog recipes on the web to share with you.

From Tiffany @ The Gracious Pantry, we have a Clean Eating Eggnog version of this traditional English drink. It's not only low in fat but it's also clean of all the processed sugar and additives you find in the store bought eggnog.

Epicurean Mom, Katie delivers a rich, spiced 'cooked' eggnog which she prepares with par-cooked eggs and lots of spices.  Delish!!!

Epicurean Mom

Martha Stewart provides us a true twist on tradition with her Eggnog Martini. "Spreading good cheer is easy -- greet guests with brandied eggnog" 

Martha Stewart

Erica Lea from Cooking for Seven shares her Homemade Eggnog 'custard' version for us to enjoy.

Cooking for Seven

Finally, I found The Best Eggnog Ever by Jen Altman of Nectar and Light which was featured at Design Sponge.

Nectar and Light

I know my father would have enjoyed all of these!!!

Let me know what you think....

Heather

Cheers To You!!!

I thought there was no better way to kick off ChristmasTime Treasures and boost your holiday spirits with some delicious and delightful Christmas Cocktails.

Try one or try all but don't forget to leave one for Santa!!!

Candy Cane Martini @Exotic Excess

Jingle Jangle Punch @ Redbook.com

Mistletoe & Holly Cocktail @ The Joyeux Blog

Christmas Mojito @ We Are Not Martha

The French Kiss @ MarieClaire.com

Cranberry Gin Fizz @ Creative-Culinary

Let me know what you think....

Heather

ChristmasTime Treasures!!!

This will be the very first year we are not at home for Christmas! We are off to celebrate Christmas with our daughters in Whistler, British Columbia where our youngest daughter is working at The Four Season Resort Whistler.

After much debate inside my head and insider my heart, I've decided not to decorate and I LOVE decorating for the holidays!!! So, each and every day of the month of December, I am going to feature a ChristmasTime Treasure! Now, these treasures might be a DIY, a decorated room, a Christmas centerpiece, tips for surviving Christmas, recipes, traditions, guest bloggers and so much more....so stay tuned as I invite you into my 'cyber' ChristmasTime!

Let me know what you think....

Heather

Camouflage Giveaway

I recently created a Lions, Tigers & Bears wreath and over this Thanksgiving weekend,  I was inspired to create a military 'camouflage' wreath as a 'thank you' to our military and military families.  This wreath is meant solely to acknowledge and thank our military and their families for their service and sacrifice.

Military camouflage was first practiced in the mid 18th century and to this day, "Camouflage is used to protect military equipment such as vehicles, guns, ships,^[55] aircraft and buildings^[75] as well as individual soldiers and their positions." 

Like my first DIY wreath, Lions, Tigers & Bears, I decided to use a grapevine wreath as my base. The other items needed for my project were spray paint for the wreath base color and  two acrylic paints in camouflage colors.  I also found plastic military combat figures like my brothers played with when they were little.

My first step was to spray paint the wreath and then add the camouflage paint to create a realistic camouflage effect.

Next I got out my trusty glue gun and begun attaching my military figures in random fashion over the entire wreath.

And finally, I fashioned a burlap bow to complete my "Thanksgiving" wreath for all the men and women serving in the military and their families.

If you know a military family who you would like to receive this "Thanksgiving" Camouflage wreath, please leave a comment and I will be selecting a winner from your comments. 

Let me know what you think....I'd love for you to become a follower!

Heather

 

    

   

Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My!

Years and years ago, an old friend of my mother's gave our daughters a darling little wreath that she had made.  I had never seen anything like it before or since.

SO, I thought I'd attempt to create one myself and share it with you.

The list of supplies includes a grapevine wreath, bags of miniature plastic animals, spray paint, hot glue gun and finally, ribbon.

This is literally one of the easiest craft projects!!!  So, here it goes.....

I was surprised how tough it was to find affordable plastic animals but Target to the rescue!!!  I scored a 45 piece set on clearance and then a few additional sets in their Dollar section.  A variety of animal shapes and sizes make the final project more interesting.

Once the animals were out of the 'pen' and ready to go, I used my 'new' glue gun (one of the best Christmas gifts ever!!!) and started gluing the larger animals. You can glue them on however you choose....

 

I then randomly glued the smaller animals until I literally ran out of glue....

I chose Krylon Brushed Metallic Satin Champagne Nouveau Paint and spray painted the entire plastic animal wreath.  The choice of paint color is a personal one and I just like a subtle touch of glitz!!!

Add your glittery ribbon and voila.....

Let me know what you think....

Heather