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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Easy New Year's Table-Hello Winter!

     I have been busy taking down my Christmas decorations--
I'll bet you've been doing the same thing.  So does your home look dull without the shine from your Christmas decor?  I have the perfect solution for you.  Go grab your Christmas tree off the curb and read on .......
 My 30-Minute Table 
Yep.  
A Pretty table in only a few minutes!


 I gathered my materials together for my quick and easy table.  
     Several years ago, my husband started using the pruners to lop off our Christmas tree's branches.  It's so much easier to take a few arm loads of branches out the door rather than an entire tree!  At that same time, I decided to clip a few branch tips to use in my New Year's/Winter table.  The thought of going to the craft store one more time--- to look for artificial greenery, had ZERO appeal for me--who wants to go look at fake battered branches and other tattered left-overs???? Well, I sure didn't.  So, I started clipping. 
A tree that has been watered during Christmas will probably still have fresh branch tips for your to use for the project.
     If your tree is already gone...or you use an artificial tree, you can use fresh greenery from your yard (or a friendly neighbor's).  Of course, artificial branches may be used if you already have some.
  Here are my materials for
 the quick and easy table:

 Mercury glass candle holders. 
 You can use crystal, silver or a mix and have a beautiful table, too.

Clear ornaments--I already had these from another project.
I put some of the artificial snow in mine which I also had on hand.

The frosty or icy sticks from the craft store. 
 They are on sale now with Christmas decor items at craft stores.
I also grabbed a few pine cones that I had in the garage.

Mercury glass trees.
You don't have to have them, but if you have them, you can put them to good use now.  I don't use them at Christmas, but loved them when I first saw them, so I bought them to use for winter decorating.  Over the last few years, I have found a variety of these trees at great prices!

Space out the trees.
If you aren't using trees, just randomly add the
 candlesticks down the center of your table.

Add the candlesticks.

Add greenery. 


Add the icy sticks.

Add the pine cones.  These are fairly large, so I added only a few.


Add the "snowballs."  
Dust the pine cones and branches with a little extra
 "snow" if desired.
Add candles.
I love my winter table.  
I live in the south and we don't get snow down here very often, so we have to get creative when it comes to winter decorating.
I hope you'll give this tablescape a try. It took me longer to write this post than it did to decorate the table.  
These same idea would look lovely on a mantel
 or on a buffet or sideboard.  

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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Nutcracker Dining Table

I love to decorate for the holidays.  I know many of you do, too! I'm sharing my formal dining room table today.  My mom, sister-in-law and I host a Christmas Coffee for friends each year during the holidays.  I'm showing you the table--minus all the yummy treats we will make and share with our friends. 


Years ago, when we built our home, we moved in the week before Thanksgiving.  I knew I would need something that I could use to decorate my formal dining room and foyer with each year.  I love fresh flowers, but they aren't always practical.  I was delighted when one of our local stores ran specials 
on these large nutcrackers.

I place three poinsettias down the center of the table.  Our local church has a poinsettia fund-raiser for our youth's mission trips. My purchases look lovely on our table each year.   It's a predictable tablescape, and I must admit, I am ready for a new look.  I thought about doing something else this year, but decided to wait until next year.  

I decided to add some fresh greenery this years, 
so I do feel like the table has a different look this year.


 Later, I will set the table with our Christmas
    wedding china for our Christmas Eve dinner.  

Merry Christmas!

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Savvy Southern Style

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Christmas Angels

I thought I would share some of my Christmas decorations with you today.      I have been working to get our home ready for the holidays--I'll bet you've been busy, too! My mantel in our family room is one of the first areas I decorate each year.
My sister-in-law started painting several 
years ago and she now paints these beautiful angels.  
As soon as I saw her angels, I knew I would 
want to design my mantel 
decorations around her beautiful art.
I tucked the angels in among the pieces of 
greenery that I had arranged on the mantel. 
I used this carpenter's ruler to make a star.
 I added a string of white lights to the greenery.


I use a few of the red and green ornaments
 that go on our tree to complete the look.


I hope you've enjoyed my decorations!