Category Archives: Christmas

a few things we’ve been doing this week

After Thanksgiving dinner, we went to work on the living room tree. Buttercup slept near the tinsel. Julie decorated the box grand in the living room. I replaced the lights on this little tree. All better! We decorated the front porch. And Buttercup slept on ornament storage boxes. I made chocolate creams. I wrapped my […]

silver and blue

The Christmas tree in the guest room has a silver and blue theme, with a lean toward a vintage feel. The tree has white LED lights that have a bluish cast. The tree rotates. So much prettier in person, but you get the idea. 🙂 By the way, this is the tree I spray painted […]

dining room window sills

When my DDIL helped decorate a few Saturdays ago, she put together one of the dining room window sill displays. I wanted to do something different than the blue vases I used last year. I love those, but am trying to take the cobalt blue out of the room. This is what they looked like […]

date balls

One of my favorite Christmas not-a-cookie treats are Date Balls. They are delicious. Thanks, again, to my friend Mellanie who shared this recipe with me. Date Balls (Makes about 90 pieces.) 1/2 pound butter (2 sticks) 1 pound dates, diced or chopped 2 c. sugar Cook over medium heat 10 minutes, stirring constantly. DO NOT […]

living room mantel

This weekend, Genny and I finished the living room mantel decorations. The pictures are framed Christmas cards that tell the story of Christ’s birth. I added a little detail to the gold cloth on the mantel by using the hot glue gun to attach a bead trim to the hem. It added a nice extra […]

sugar cookie crisps

Sugar Cookie Crisps I found this recipe (called Sugar Cookies X) at allrecipes.com in November of 2000, and I’ve been making it ever since. They are sugary and crispy delicious. Preheat oven to 350*F. In a large bowl, mix till creamy: 2 c. white sugar 1 c. vegetable oil 1 c. butter 1 tsp. vanilla […]

Christmas prep

Last weekend we got a lot of decorating done. My daughter-in-law and my sister came to help. The dining room was finished, with the exception of one window sill. I need to paint a flowerpot white to complete that project. DH and our daughter-in-law put up the snow tree. “Snowing” it is the final (and […]

Christmas card putz houses

Putz houses, also called “glitter houses,” are little houses that make up a Christmas village. Popular from the 1920s on, they can be made from cardboard, card stock, and even old Christmas cards. I drew the pattern for this house based on the pattern for the Stone Cottage on the Little Glitter House site, which […]

it’s snowing in the kitchen

The snowflakes are up in the kitchen. Fifteen or so hang from the 12′ ceiling on mirrored strings and my snowflake ornament collection hangs on the window garlands. Hanging the ceiling snowflakes. Snowflake ornament collection. Looks so festive! ~~Rhonda 🙂

building a putz house

I am back to working on the little Putz houses I have planned for a Christmas display. I’m hoping this post will work as a sort of tutorial for walking you through making your own Putz house, if you are so inclined. The pattern I am using is from the Little Glitter Houses site. This […]