CHRISTMAS IMAGES AROUND THE HOUSE 2016

 

Welcome to the Christmas Home tour.  The house looked great for the holidays.  Let's take a walk through the various rooms.  Soon it will be time to pack all of this away for another season.  The pictures don't need much explanation.  Enjoy!



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Thanks for hanging with me for a few minutes.  It is time to recoup and get back with the projects. 

BERRY FOYER

I'm trying to wrap up the Christmas decorations so I'm posting the last few holiday posts.  Bear with me.  It always seems like I have more posts during December then any other time of the year.

Right inside the foyer, I have a small black bedside table.  This year, I brought a silver plated coffee pot out and filled it with a branch full of berries, a pine cone and some frosted branches.  To the side, I placed old fashioned hard candies into a small cute cut glass vessel and laid the lid to the side.

A silver plate wine coaster brought some more glitz to the scene.

I tend to do a color theme for Christmas, but using the traditional reds and greens this year just seemed to fit well in this corner of the house.

This view makes for a comfy, cozy step inside the winter wonderland.



HAPPY NEW YEAR WITH A NEW APPETIZER RECIPE

Happy New Year to all!  I apologize for my not posting this week.  Between helping out with family members and trying to host a spectacular Christmas weekend has worn me out.

But, I'm ready to start the New Year off with a new recipe for you all-time tested and approved.

Here are the ingredients.  I forgot to put the salt in the picture.

 

I believe I found this recipe on Pinterest.  I retyped it to fit in my binder.  Sorry for the misspelling on the word 'large'.

I received this great tool last year and try to find recipes that use the zester.  I cannot tell you how easy it is to zest lemons or limes. It is unbelievable.

The clear cover to the bottom right of the tool is the cover.  Cleanup is a breeze.

 

Once your sour cream mixture and avocado mixture are ready, put your shrimp in the oven.

Once the shrimp is done, pull from the oven and assemble the bites.

 I placed the guacamole first in the shell, then adding the sour cream. On the first plateful, I placed one whole shrimp.  It was WAY TOO much shrimp. 

 After eating the first batch, I used a scissors and cut the shrimp in half.  Once I assembled the second batch, their taste was much more balanced.

I liked this recipe because it had a different twist.  I was getting tired of dips.  If you love shrimp tacos, try this recipe.

And Happy New Year again.



FRONT PORCH MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Here is wishing all of you a blessed Merry Christmas from our house to yours.



NOEL PLAQUE MADE FROM CABINET DOOR

For some reason, the spacing in this posting is skewed. I tried to fix it but to no avail, I could  not.  I apologize in advance for this.



When I found this cabinet door at Habitat for Humanity, I grabbed it as fast as I could.  I know most of you  would say, who would want a single cabinet door that had peeling paint? 

Well, I saw a new life in this once cast aside treasure.  I went to my go-to box of cabinet pulls and knobs and pulled out a pair of pulls.

Next, I asked Mr. Thrifty if he could drill the holes for the pulls.





Because there were layers of paint, I decided to go to my trusty Klean Strip stripper.  I know it is  messy, but the door came out very clean.

This photo shows before I did the final sanding with the mouse sander.



I did find a nice bit of beautiful gray green paint left on the surface. Because I wanted to show it a bit chippy, I left some behind.  You'll understand once you see the final product.

I then placed clear bumpers underneath the door so the screw would not scratch the surface of any table that I would place it upon.

 

I picked up this vintage Christmas image on the after Christmas sale for 90% off a couple of years ago.  While picking another scrapbook paper, I layered the 3 papers together.  I then placed them in the center of the door.

I went to the glass company and had a piece of thicker glass with buffed edges to lay over the design.  Because of this, the image can be replaced with other seasonal designs so the tray is multifunctional.



I added a cute holly branch to the handle to add a bit more Christmas cheer.



CHRISTMAS 2016-BIRDCAGE FOLLY

Since receiving this beautiful birdcage from my dear friend, I was hoping to use it as the base of my displays throughout the year.  After the Christmas holidays are over, I am sad having to put all the glistening ornaments away.  This year, I decided to extend the holidays into winter and keep some of that spirit in the house.

For autumn, I filled it with faux gourds.

After Christmas, I was excited to bring some holiday cheer to the fixture.   I removed the autumn gourds and replaced them with my crystal embellished ornaments.

Very carefully, I took off the top tower in order to place the ornaments inside.  After taking the tree down, I take the handmade tree skirt and lay that as the first layer on the dining room buffet.

Next, I take all the crystal and silver ornaments and  carefully start stacking them inside the birdcage.

Close the top and I'm done.

Notice how the natural light catches all that glistens.

Putting the two mercury glass candle sticks on each end of the buffet.

I love the fact that I can use the Christmas ornaments in more than one way.