A Stolen Day…………

My law office boss (I am a woman of many jobs) called this morning and told me not to come to work because of the impending snow storm.  WHOA!  I felt like I just heard the fire whistle blow signaling the closing of school!  (I can remember lying in my bed willing that whistle to blow so I could get up and start calling my friends to make plans for sledding!)

…………There is nothing sweeter than a stolen day………..

I started my stolen day with a pot of English Breakfast tea, making several phone calls sharing my good fortune and making a plan to finish decorating for Christmas.

This year I chose a small tree….. all the more easier to give it lots of attention.  I put it up on a basket trunk and covered it with hand-made book page ornaments,  clam shells from Hurricane Sandy (for some reason she dumped a lot of big, white clam shells on the Jersey beaches), blue balls, twine, raffia and ribbon.

(NOTE:  A nice perk for empty nesting?  You can do a THEME Christmas tree.  Finally!  Change it up.  Do something different.)

Last year my tree was big and a peace offering to mother nature.  I covered it with clam shells washed ashore by Hurricane Sandy to ward off any more hurricanes in the Garden State.  It has worked so far.  Here is a picture of last year’s tree (with last year’s green walls!).

I painted these oyster shells many moons ago.  (I visit my sister on a barrier island in Florida every year and the beach is loaded with oyster shells!)  I saw these oyster Santa’s in a store down there and recreated them at home.

Back to today………..I finished my handmade wreaths.  Over the weekend, I gathered the greens and wired them up.  Today, I gave them a few lemons, a ribbon and hung them up outside.  Here’s one…..

For me, natural greens are the best decorations for inside the house. I love everything about them – all their different textures and colors.    I lay them on mantles, wire them onto railings, pile them in bowls and arrange them on platters.   I add a few pine cones and a bittersweet vine to the greens for some color and textural interest.  Even better if you can find branches with the pine cones still attached!

I made these little trees last year with leftover book pages…..to match the wreaths and ornaments!

 

And, finally……. I chalk painted and distressed this rack to hang my mason jar lanterns near the front door.

My Stolen Day is almost over…. they always end too soon.

Until the next early morning fire whistle……Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

C

PS – If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write me, below!