Christmas Mantel 2012

Welcome to our Christmas Mantel 2012! I pretty much keep the same decor every year but change things up a little by adding a few new pieces. You can click here for our Christmas Mantel 2011.

 The boys were wanting new ones this year but The Hubster and I are kinda stuck on tradition since we had the same stocking every year when growing up. 

I brought back out my Cracker Barrel Nutcrackers.

This year the elves have joined in with the decorating.

I had been wanting a fairy ladder for ever it seems so when I saw this back at Thanksgiving at an antique shop I had to bring it home. I know it is not an antique but it works perfectly for what I wanted it for.

Other than the fairy ladder everything else on the mantle staid pretty much the same. 

This is my moms sled from when she was a child.  

So there ya have our Christmas Mantel 2012!

Off to join these fabulous holiday parties:
Uncommon Designs
It's So Very Cheri
The Lettered Cottage
Funky Junk Interiors
From My Front Porch To Yours

Decorating For The Holidays With Pickle Jars

 I am almost done with decking the halls around here. I just need to tidy up a few things and then sit back and enjoy. Last night I worked on the Guest "Cottage" hallway. Our "cottage" is normally booked for the holidays but this year we will have a vacancy. Even though The Nana & The Papa are unable to be with us this year I decided I still wanted to add festive cheer to this area because it can be seen from the breakfast room and living room.

I used some vintage books I had on hand and just tied them together with some twine. Then I added some greenery to the top.

I was super excited this week when my gingham rug came in from O.co. I had ordered it when I ordered our half bath faucet. At the time I ordered it I was not sure what I was going to do with it and then it dawned on me that it was the perfect holiday rug for this space.

Here comes in the pickle jars. I actually started the pickle jar and tree project last holiday season and it fell to the wayside. I am glad that I remembered where I had put everything so I could finish them off. I used chalk paint on the lids because it dries super fast and then I added some twine around the tops of the jars. I would have loved to have used mason jars but I didn't have any on hand and I wanted to spend as little money as possible. All I had to do was wait for the boys to finish off the pickles!;)

I had seen several inspiration pics on Pinterest and FaceBook of people using vintage trucks and what not to create adorable vignettes. I knew right away this little truck was perfect to use in mine. Though not vintage it holds sentimental value.

Oldest was about two and half in this pic. I remember going to WalMart and him picking this truck out and saying he wanted to get it for his daddy so his daddy could have a truck again. We had just traded The Hubster's truck in for an Expedition not long before that. In the end as you can see The Hubster let Oldest have this truck for his very own and Oldest slept with it for several weeks there after. It has been thru three moves now and lots and lots of loving. I guess it was built Ford Tough!;)

I brought back out my grapevine wreath. To add some holiday cheer I added a berry candle ring to it. 

This was one of my quickest makeovers. It came together so easily which was a relief because this year I have been hemming and hawing over every decorating decision.

Anyways, there ya have one festive little area in our home. Thanx for stopping by and hope to see ya back here tomorrow at noon for my second annual Holiday Mantle Party!

Linking up to the following linky parties:
Feathered Nest Friday
Inspiration Friday
Home Sweet Home Friday

Power of Pinterest Party

Treasure Hunt Thursday #84 & Highlights

**I have been receiving emails stating that party goers are visiting and trying to leave comments but that there are a LOT of word verifications turned on. PLEASE if you have word verification turn it off so you can receive comments from other party goers. 9 times out of ten people will just not leave a comment when they see they have to enter a word verification. It is very time consuming when you are trying to  visit with every party goer. All guidelines are listed below but I felt that since I was receiving emails about people WANTING to leave comments but just giving up I would give y'all the heads up. If you are not sure how to turn yours off let me know and I will help you out if I can!:)** 
Welcome to THT #84! I am sure everybody is busy wrapping up decking the halls that is if you aren't done already. I staid up till 2 am last night trying to finish and I am still not quite done yet!:0 Today should be the day though. I have been by to visit most everybody but I didn't get a chance to leave comments yet. I DO appreciate each and every person who comes to party. It is just really busy this time of year.
Don't forget Saturday is my 2nd Annual Holiday Mantle Party! I can't wait!!
Now on to my picks for this weeks highlights.

Liz from Savvy Seasons by Liz shared with us how she uses ribbon and ornaments in vignettes around her beautiful home. 

Vanessa over At The Picket Fence shared with us her Ballard knock off table runner. If I find the time I would love to make one of these.

Shenita from Embellishments by SLR  showed us her beyond beautiful mantle. 

Susan from Uniquely Yours...or Mine shared with us how she made over this fabulous frenchy chair! 

As always thank you to all who partied last week! I am so truly honored to have such talent partying at my place! If you were featured please feel free to grab the "I've Been Featured" button!:) I have the newly updated button with html code on my sidebar! 

 What would be a HUGE help and encourage more comments not just from me but others as well would be for everybody to take off their required verification codes for leaving a comment. This seems to take just a few seconds of time but when you have to do it on 30 or more blogs it takes up a TON of time. Last week most everybody had turned off their Word Verification which made it so much easier for me to stop by everybody's links! Thank you!
READ THE RULES PLEASE!:)
Now on to this weeks party! As with all parties there are the normal rules. You must link back to From My Front Porch To Yours in your THT POST. Just common courtesy. If ya don't link back ya don't get to party. Only link up to your Treasure Hunt Thursday post and NOT your blog homepage. Please No advertising and PLEASE NO MORE than 3 links from the SAME party goer. Also NO MORE linking up to your own link parties. I am seeing more and more link ups of just people promoting their own linky parties. I know it takes time to go back and make a separate post to join the party but it is just the polite thing to do. If you find your post deleted it is not because I am a meany, I just have to make sure the rules are being followed. You can save some of your posts for the following weeks party!Please only link up new posts and not posts that you linked up the week before.
Also be sure to visit at least the link before you and after you to just say Hi! It makes partying all the more fun and remember if your link has had the most visits you will get featured on Tuesdays! If you are new around here I would love it if ya become a follower!:)

Treasure Hunt Thursday #83 Most Viewed Links

Hey everybody! I am still in full decorating mode which loosely translates to my house is still a mess. I hope to be done soon so I can share some more with y'all. I am just going a tad slower this year. The Hubster says it is because I am "thinking" too much about what to do instead of just "doing". I agree so now I am just doing!;) 

Anyways, here are the top most viewed links from last weeks Treasure Hunt Thursday. 

The Rusty Hearts came in first place sharing their fabulous Dollar Tree project creating JOY frames.

Next up was Pricillas who shared with us some of their fabulous trees. This one looks HUGE!

Debbie-Dabble came in third with her fabulous outdoor holiday decor.

 See y'all back here tomorrow for Treasure Hunt Thursday #84! Hope everybody's week is going well. Hard to believe Christmas is only three weeks out!:0

Holiday 2012 Dining Room-Simply Elegant

Welcome to our Holiday Dining Room 2012! If you would like to see our dining room last year you can click here. There was a big change in the space this past year. I purchased a french hutch to make over and sold our buffet.

With the new hutch came new ideas for decorating it. I purchased this cloche set back in November and I could not wait to use it.

I used a lot of fresh greenery and gold jingle bells. 

I wanted to keep things simply stated in here.

 This beautiful wreath came from Lowes and the two faux cypress trees came from a shop back in Ga. 

I just love our french hutch in here.

Next up I created another simple display for the table top. You can see here how I made this angel centerpiece.

I just love her chippy goodness.

I added a little fresh greenery and jingle bells to my everyday topiaries.

I then of course had to pull out one of my gold frames to add to the mix. I am such a sucker for vintage gold frames. 

The large gold frame that is above the hutch use to hang here. I had plans of turning it into a chalk board but have not had the time. Then I decided it looked fab above the hutch for now so I pulled out my small collection of Federal Mirrors to display on this wall so it would not be bare. 

 I wanted to keep the color scheme of the space intact with the holiday decor and I am so glad I did. Everything flows so nicely together.This room makes me smile every time I walk by it.

Thanx for dropping by to visit!

I am joining the following linky parties:

Savvy Southern Style A Homespun Christmas-Vignettes & Mantles

Metamorphosis Mondays

Stilettos In The Mud- Home For The Holidays

Sunday's Best