Never to late to wish all a Merry Christmas!

I hope all who find themselves here enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Day with family and friends.
After all the chaos of finding gifts and wrapping them until fingers were numb from masking tape or paper cuts.....we're almost headed to the finish line people!
Happy to report....I think my fingers will recover LOL.
But before I forget completly, I wanted to share a few pictures of our Holiday decorations.....it will take a while to find the right pieces or create them for this home, it's size is just to much to try to do in my first year in this home.

Anyway, its fun to check other creative Bloggers and try to re-create some delightful decor for next year.
So before I wrap them up....here are a few pict's.

Dining buffet with a few vintage AnnLee dolls.

The Den mantel decorated in whites and Mercury glass

Formal Parlor Mantel, decor in Golds and Glitz

Foyer Table decorated with Silvers and Whites....frosty.

Fall Mantels

Well with the change in the air and colors starting to swirl in the Fall hues, it was time for me to try an bring a bit of Harvest decor inside my own home.

This will be my first time decorating my new abode in this historic home, a bit of getting used to but willing to try as I gather ideas from other Bloggers.

The 1st picture is the formal living while the 2nd White mantel is in the Den.

Being older mantels, the depth is not large enough for bigger foliage like I'm used to, so smaller and longer floral picks is what I went with.

I used an a square gray and red bird McCoy vase as my center piece for the white mantel since it fit just right on the depth of the mantel and added the picks on each side.

Free Graphics

I know many Blog surfers like to find "Free" goodies whenever possible. Whether it be Tips, Contests or Graphics they can use for their personal crafting or business use.
One of my recent Garage Sale haunts gave me the opportunity to share some pictures of vintage Christmas wrapping paper....a real colorful example of what our Grandparents might have used. These came from a box Labeled Good Housekeeping....from the late 40's or 50's, but they were so colorful I couldn't resist them and brought them home.
So here you have a couple of pictures of these papers to use with your crafting...maybe use for scrap booking, making tags, mat boards for pictures, cards, or any other creative ideas you might find useful. Just click on the picture and create.
If you like these: let me know....I do have a collection of vintage cards and books I would be happy to post in the future, if you all would like to see them and collect as well.
Enjoy.....

Happy New Year!

Well to all those who have finished their Champagne...ate their 12 Grapes ( a Latin Tradition I grew up with...& tasty to boot! ) and made their perfect wishes for the New Year...I send you all the good vibes that 2009 has to offer.
May it bring you all the prosperity, good health, happiness, creativity, great antiques finds and plenty of smiles all year long.
It's been kind of scary how quickly the last couple of weeks have gone by...but I think I'm starting to get the hand of writing "09" on the bill statements...not that I want to, but reality of the season... is not ignoring that those Bills, will eventually find their way to my mailbox...YUK!
Even so, 2008 has been a wonderful learning experience, made new friends on the Blog, and 09 should even be brighter... now that I'm getting used to fact the world is not as large as I thought it was ...especially when connected to the world wide web.
Again, Feliz Ano Nuevo from San Antonio !!!!

Fall

These large Roosters came from Kerrville, Texas... from one of our weekend trips a couple of years ago...they too get into the Festive spirit...adorned with additional roosters, chicks and twinkle lights...just a bit more fun while we have our morning cereal. Thanks for letting me share my pictures...and hope I can be a bit more ready when Christmas comes along.
So enjoy your Fall decorating...and know that there are some of us who just finished setting up this weekend....finally!

The Mantel was found and purchased over 30 years ago...never really knew if it would be used...until we decided to build our Hill Country house 8 years ago. Now it proudly welcomes guest to our home. So now its decorated as well...with Birds..made from ceramic, metal or painted on plates...and as you can see those who saw one of my earlier posts, Mr Dryfuss ( our family dog ) sits proudly in his Matador outfit portrait....can you tell he is the focal point of our family.

The large Armoire that holds the entertainment area...once had large mirrors on the doors. Didn't much care for the look for the Living area...so I removed them and replaced with fabric & padding and covered MDF panels.

This piece is also a favorite area for Holiday decorating...so I finally pulled out my Fall colors and adorned the top with Antique Fishing Baskets...Deer antlers, wooden Bird houses and of course the foliage & pumpkins. A favorite part I like to include is a light timer with little rice lights that come on just as it starts to get dark...just a little twinkle makes us feel happy.

Well I hope most of you are doing better than me...I can't believe how quickly the year has gone by and we are now closing into the heavy season of Fall decorating and Holiday decor.

I for one...have been very slow to accept the reality before me...but with my neighbors and homes decorated with such beautiful and colorful Fall colors...I finally woke up and decided to join in the fun.