Getting Mail

One reason I enjoy December is the arrival of Christmas cards. It's wonderful to open each envelope to see the art designs and messages...then to read the handwritten notes and signatures. This year I folded book pages to make a card display. Pinterest, thanks again. 

WOW!
A spectacular card was delivered today...a real beauty from Mary.
It's another keeper.

The advent calendar has been one of my favorite decorations this year.

a new bird ornament

 

Can you believe how close Christmas is to being here? 

Project Update

I am still working on my advent calendar project. Had some bumps in the road. To get the number of tags I wanted on the board I had to turn it sideways rather than up and down. Ran out of white push pins. Also final decorations are still being considered. But I believe this will be very close to the final version.


Dollar Tree ornaments, vintage ones, and those with special meaning comprise  the calendar. Below are explanations for five.

pewter one purchased soon after daughter Lauren Ashley was born

 tiny vintage one found at an antique mall

paper rose made by friend Mary

angel wings from a figurine of my mother's

little silver bells from a strand that belonged to Geneva Clowes, a special aunt

Before there were Pinterest boards I had saved the clipping below. It is a lovely advent calendar that made me want one. It is still my favorite!

  

New Project

Finally I am working on a project I've been wanting to do for a long time. It's an advent calendar using ornaments and other Christmasy items. A few days ago I was in Goodwill and came across a 15x21" nickel bulletin board covered with tiny pinpoints. This Umbra product seemed well made and cost me only three dollars. A few magnets came with it.

This afternoon I started to stencil numbers onto tags.

I am eager to test out different decorations to hang from the pushpins and tags.

Of course, I'll be sharing my finished board. I hope to use gold, silver, cream, and white decorations on all the tags. Looking forward to going through my stash and finding most of what I need. At Dollar Tree I was happy to find a white snowflake with a tiny silver ball in the center. 

And a glittery white reindeer! Hope number will fit between the legs.

I am excited about this project. Are you already thinking about how you will decorate for Christmas? I certainly am. Will I stay with the same decor or try new ideas? Probably both!