White Christmas

Made this...

After this...

Wish I could find a better source.

And attempted this...

 

Just didn't create the same effect, 

especially once the marshmallows started sliding down the strands.

After this...

And a parting shot of our tree...

We'll space the lights out more evenly next year (this was the first year with twinkly white lights, it was hard to anticipate how many to buy), but the metallic silvers and golds were very elegant.

Jungle Safari Nativity

When I was a child, my grandparents made a tradition of gifting each of us a new Christmas ornament each year in addition to our other gifts.  Today, my parents carry on a similar tradition for each of the grandkids by gifting them a new nativity set piece each year, starting with the baby Jesus.  

Onyx now has baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as part of her collection.  This year we set the scene with a stable found at the D.I., and a jungle safari backdrop (received on her birthday from Aunt Whitney), complete with animals and vegetation.  Even the animals came to adore Him, right?  Why not exotic animals?

Once Onyx proudly showed off her exciting nativity grouping to Andy, he said, "What, are they in Africa?  I knew that baby Jesus was black!"  You see, ever since Onyx received baby Jesus lying in a manger her first Christmas, Andy has teased that he is a black baby Jesus because of his stained finish.  I suppose we unconsciously catered his surroundings to fit!

Put a what on it?

Dollar store trees + a mini VW bus on hand + a bed of white sugar = simple yet stylish apothecary jar filler for Christmastime.

Just like this + this ...

It wasn't until after it was all put together that I spotted this Christmas Trees on Cars roundup.

Apparently, we couldn't get enough of this trend in 2012.

What can I say?  I guess sometimes I jump on the bandwagon, even if it is unintentionally.  Take Onyx's nursery for example.  Birds ended up being a huge trend, even though I had collected things like the bird mobile pattern, leafy lamp shade, and printed paper above the crib years before we even brought a baby home.  I naturally put a bird on it to help "spruce it up, make it pretty!"

The Thankful Tree

Made this with bread bag clips...

After this with tags...

I knew I was saving those for a reason!

Mom Uniform

I like being creative, but when it comes to my wardrobe, I definitely have a go to "uniform."  Whenever I have somewhere to go, you can usually spot me in a cardigan and scarf.  These combos with double scarf and/or stripes with contrasting colors seem to be the extent of my creativity.  I like what I like though, right?

Specimen Swap

This was it, the year I was finally going to recreate the specimen jar look for Halloween that I had always admired, alongside these "potion bottles" that Andy dug up from the farm when he was young.

Oh Martha, you've done it again!

It was fun to watch the food coloring swirl.  The instructions suggested adding milk into the mix for murkiness, however, it didn't take long for these specimens to cloud up all on their own.  

After only a week or so they looked like this - totally murky with colors that had transformed into something that looked more like we had concocted our own absinthe rather than an innocent decoration.  See how the "monkey bones" (celery) and "lion heart" (rutabaga) turned fluorescent in color?  And the "elephant brain" (cauliflower) had a nice ombre effect happening.  Along with the color show came the most horrific smell that couldn't be missed even 10' away from the computer desk, jar lids in place.  I had only wanted to recreate the look of specimen jars, not the smell of a cadaver lab.  Needless to say, the science experiment had to go.  

So instead, the plastic skeletons made a comeback in an updated arrangement separated into parts.  

More like this...

All was well in the end.

Spider detail.

This last photo reminded me of the girl on Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, "don't look into the pirates eyes or he'll steal your soul!"

Rough Draft

I've always known I would decorate our home for our children during the holidays, just as I always enjoyed my Mom doing in our home growing up.  And even though Onyx isn't going back to school this fall, I thought it would be fun to decorate for the season anyway.

It didn't all come together from the start though.  Here's what I started with.  I didn't realize until after looking at the arrangement through the eye of the camera that the apothecary jars would work better in front of the low hanging frames, while the globe would better fill the void under the family picture.

Definitely an improvement from the start, but it could be better.  That's when this inspiration came along...

Surprisingly, I had forgotten how to fold a paper airplane.  Google came to the rescue, however, and things were looking more like this before too long.

Top it all of with an apple, and I think this final draft earns an A+.

Extra credit points were earned with a new bookcase arrangement.  I've always liked the look of books sorted by color, but I've been locked into sorting by genre (children's literature, text books, art history, etc.).  I finally took the plunge, figuring the worst that could happen is that I would put the books back if I didn't like it.  The other incentive of the new arrangement would be that I could incorporate some accessories within the color sort, where they would make sense, rather than being stuffed into cubbies over by the fireplace with no rhyme or reason.  

I started by piling the books by color...

The rest was all about deciding as I went, having a general idea of color order and how I wanted the larger accessories spaced.  

The results can only be described as satisfying - so much more attractive.

Looking back, I don't know why I didn't make the move long ago.  The new look is less jumbled and seems more clean, almost more restful for the eye, even though it is definitely more interesting.

Bonus:  Even Onyx gets into the spirit of decorating by adding her little touches... who says a spoon isn't an accessory?

Take-Aways

It was fun to spy the homes included in the 2012 Salt Lake Parade of Homes - who doesn't love a sneak peek into a new home for fresh ideas and inspiration!  I couldn't help but noticing a few details, and recurring themes happening in several of the homes.  Here are some notes:

Floods - not just for pants...

Form Decor follows function - nothing says "I must be in the kitchen" like giant utensils (or giant pencils for children's playrooms)...

Staging 101 - Neutralize - give the appearance that everything is clean and fresh...

Or why not add a touch of whimsy instead with miss-matched colors and sizes.

The odd numbers must be the trick here.

Staging 101 - Depersonalize - don't distract buyers with personal pictures and belongings...

One might start to wonder why there are two different mothers sharing this room.

Staging 101 - Define the space - don't leave the buyer guessing what to do with each area...  

So this is where my food goes.

Closets must equal storage space...

or shopping...

It's called a hanger, you'll need a few more of them.

Best use of space.

The bathrobe says it all - "Spa included."

Laundry baskets - are we in the laundry room or the closet?

Detergent - must be a laundry room!

I'm stumped...

Takeaway tips, or simply takeaways to leave out?