More christmas at my house

One of the things I love at Christmas is Nativities. This nativity was our first, it is italian plastic, lol. I just love this set and I am always on the lookout, at the thrifts, for pieces that match. We got it at a discount store that is long gone, so I have to rely on finding them second hand. It is a great set for a kitty house, they can't break this one;) The wonderful stitched pillow was a swap present from my friend Imi, in Holland. I really wanted a piece like that and didn't have time, so I was so happy when I found that in my goodie box.



I found this wooden horse at the thrift store. I do like brighter folk art toy items, to decorate too. It cost me a whopping two bucks.



I love this sled and wish I had gotten another. I got it from a post Christmas sale. The snowball and crow was made as a gift, from my good friend Jacque.



And from Christmases past, this hand carved Santa. Yes, I carved him myself. I am not a great carver, but I have made a few things and enjoy making things with wood.

"All is Calm"

The Holidays are over and today I stayed home and rested, well some what. For me resting means doing a hundred things instead of a million, lol. I had a wonderful Christmas with my kids, DIL and future SIL. Because of my allergies, I do most of the cooking, but my son made a few special dishes to add to the feast.

My husband did his usual last minute shopping and I got a pair of polka dot pj's and slippers that are just butt ugly, lol. They are comfy though. We got a tv this year for our present, so we just got some silly gifts to open.

Today I got to do something for me finally. I have been wanting to do some new projects and had put them aside while I made presents for friends and family. I decided to start a runner for behind the couch area and later I will make one of the other end of the hallway.

I have no idea how long it will take me, but it is big. It is 85" x 26". I took designs from old rugs and put them all over. This way I can use scrap wools and not worry about having enough of one color. I plan on doing the background in black. I still haven't decided on the border, I may just go with a simple hit or miss type coloring, we shall see. Here is the pattern. There are a few spots that I will add items to later, but I wanted to start hooking and then I can decide if and what it needs.

I will share my progress as I go along. Tonight I worked on one of the horses, but it is slow going.

Christmas Decorating

I am one of those who starts dragging out the christmas items, the minute my guests leave on Thanksgiving.
This year we have the new kitty Dora and my sons cat who seems to have decided she lives in the cellar.
Every year I find new cat collectible ornaments and my tree is covered in cats, even the tree topper. Well, with Dora, I decided it was not a good idea to put my collectibles up with her and the hard wood floors.

So, I am going simple this year and using what I have and a few found items. I am trying to keep it simple and prim, but there are just some items that sneak their way into the decor;)

I thought a cheapy walmart tree would be easier and smaller to fit in the space. Now of course I wish I had gone with an alpine tree, but for this year it will do. I added a couple of my ornies and some old ones I made years ago, along with ones from swaps and friends. I put my vine wreath on the wall for now, but I would like to find or make a skinny ladder to go there. It is still a work in progress. I still need to make some vintage ornies from print outs I found on the web. The decor is based on cat proof prim, hehe. If you notice the rocking horse under the tree, that was a repro I bought years ago. The sun has faded the colors and the cats ate off most of the tail, so it looks like a real antique now, lol. The kitty doll is one I made. Someday I will get back into making dolls again.



Here is a simple setting I did with poinsettias and an old cat, I just can't seem to get rid of. The beautiful quilt topper was made for me in a quilt swap.



This is one of my favorite finds. I found it in a plastic bag in a salvation army. It is an old childrens nativity and the tree was with them, so I always put them together. I still need to put up my nativity sets. One my son bought me and I have added to it and the other is a plastic set that we bought after we got married.