Dining Room: Christmas Style

Do you have a favorite room to decorate for the holidays? I do, and it's our dining room. Strange, since we're such a 'family room' family (does that even make sense?!), you'd think that would be the room I focus on the most, but it's not. I think for me, it's for a couple of reasons. 1. It's a central location. We've knocked down most of the walls in our home, so you pass through it pretty much wherever you go. I probably walk in and out of it oh, about 3,753 times a day. 2. It's open to the kitchen also, and I must spend most of my day in that room. Not necessarily cooking or baking, but we're just always in there, congregating around the island, hanging out, kids are crafting, etc etc. And 3. The colors are pretty cozy - the reds and golds just seem to feel warm and inviting this time of year. (Talk to me come March/April, and I loathe the color combo! Happens every spring, without fail;). I've also become aware of what styles I'm drawn to, Christmas-wise, and I just L-O-V-E a Rustic Christmas. The pine cones, and burlap, greens, and plaids...oh my! I love it. And it also happens to work with my 'look' in the dining room. Here's what I've done for the centerpiece this year...

This cake stand was either 25 or 50 cents at a yard sale - it was the ugliest, scratched up piece of yucky wood you've ever seen. But I wasn't looking at it for actual USE of a cake stand, I just envisioned spray painting it, and using it for something non-food related anyway;) Something, like this! So I sprayed it a cream color a while back, and it was stored in my china cabinet. I plopped a glass hurricane on top, filled it with a candle and the goodies from my T-H-A-N-K-S letters, wrapped some berry garland around the base, a few strings of jute around the middle, and called it a day. I've had those place mats for a couple years, and they complement it perfectly.

Then for the chandelier...

This didn't photograph too hot. Even my husband commented when he saw the pic, that it looks much better in reality! Maybe it's my angle? Who knows...ANYhoo...I strung some gold, green, and red ornaments from jute, and hung them on the chandelier, and added some more berry garland. I like the way the shimmery ornaments play off the rustic charm of the jute and berries.

I played around some more with that mix of rustic and glitz with the buffet table.

You can't see it here, but there's a black and red plaid ribbon that runs throughout the greens, berries, and pine cones - very traditional, but the gold candles give it a little more sparkle. I love the addition of my no-sew burlap runner underneath it this year. And that angel has been in our family since I was a kid - one of those hand-me-downs from Mom that I love.

And over on the little table I have placed a quick little project I did last weekend...

These started off like this:

I picked up those little pots at Michaels for a song, gave them a coat of spray paint, and wrote the letters with my gold Sharpie paint marker. I stuffed a little newspaper in them to give the pine cones some height, and a little leftover garland tucked in there too. I think I'll add some glitter or a touch of gold spray paint to the pine cones, to jazz them up a little...

I love hanging a wreath over the china cabinet too...

...and since it's the Naptime Decorator's house, you KNOW there's a chalkboard....

I had some extra stuff hanging around, so I fancied up some candlesticks as well...

So I guess I would call my style more of a 'glitzy rustic,' now that I'm glancing through all these photos?! I just know I love the way my home feels, now more than ever...

(Remind me about this post when I'm looking at paint swatches in early Spring and wanting to lighten and brighten everything, everywhere...need I remind you about the kitchen fiasco?! Thanks;)




*I linked this up at Kissed by a Frog.
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The Christmas Mantel

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around these parts! Rather than making this a GINORMOUS post, I thought I'd break things down a little, so I'd like to share with you the thorn in my side mantel. If you read my Fall Mantel post, you know how this mantel tends to drive me a bit batty. We have our tv mounted above it, which leaves me with a problem, oh, pretty much all the time. Can't block the tv of course (especially during football season! How would we ever read the stats?!), so I'm limited with what I can put up there. I am GREEN with envy whenever I see a beautiful mantel with nothing but space and options - oh the fun!! But I'm determined to figure this conundrum out, and at least for now, I think I have...

Ok, so I may have broken the height rule a little bit, but for the most part, our precious stats can be read. ;)

Remember that box from the fall mantel? My 50 cent treasure:) I simply erased Welcome Fall and changed it to Joy to the World. (Oh, I've been having some F-U-N with all the chalkboards around here these days! hehe...the choices are endless!). Then I filled it with stuff I had around the house - some pinecones, apples (those are fake in case you were wondering;), and some glasses filled with coffee beans and votives. The candles needed some height, so I flipped 2 small ramekins I have upside down, and they're sitting on those. Shh...our little secret.

I added some holly and berry garland (again, that I had), and some white poinsettia flowers here and there. I will probably be switching this out with the real deal, when we go to get our tree. Either that or hitting Michaels - they have some of the most beautiful real-looking garland right now! Have you been? If not, check it out! Amaaazing. I'm thinking of swagging it and/or lighting it up with little white lights - I'll keep you posted;)

Then I needed a teeny bit of height - it just drove me crazy to have it all so low - so I flanked the box with the glass hurricanes leftover from my Thanksgiving centerpiece (remember, I filled them with beans and lentils?). Pretty simple here- I filled one with pine cones and one with a strand of berry garland. Tied both with a string of jute and you're done.

I added that cute Santa on one side and a red candle holder/lantern-y thing on the other side. That about wraps it up!

I have a slight major tendency to switch things up, but this is the Christmas Mantel for now. I'll be posting again later this week (and throughout the month, I'm sure!) with some other Christmas Decor ideas for you. Stay tuned...and happy decorating!


*UPDATED PICS on Oh Christmas Tree post.*
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I linked up at The Mantel party at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia!

Our Christmas Train Garden: Keeping Tradition Alive

Ever since our dating days, I can remember my husband (then boyfriend) talking about the train garden he had as a child. His eyes would light up as he would describe it to me in detail. Down to the arrangement of houses around it, to the salt they used to pour to look like snow, to the fake brick paper that lined the table it rested on. I'd say it's one of, if not THE greatest memories he has of his childhood Christmases. He'd spend hours just sitting in front of it, watching the trains zoom by. Every year at Christmas, he reminisces about it, and how much he's looking forward to creating these same memories with our kids. For the past 5 Christmases, we've had at least one very small munchkin crawling around the place, and a train garden was definitely not feasible...until now.

This is the very first year we have kids old enough to handle having a train garden in the house without worrying they're going to destroy it, and so we went for it. This has been 100% Paul's project. He's been like a little kid with all the details - it's been quite fun to sit back and watch. He spent some nights doing a little googlin' to try and find the right trains. Then he spent some hours working on the right table. Then he spent some more time setting up the houses around it. And now...I have to say, it's been worth every minute and every penny spent.

Ha! of course there's a chalkboard in the background, right?! Forgive me, I should have erased or cleaned it up a bit before I shot these pictures...oops. Hey, it adds...er...character, right? ;)

Let me backtrack a little and show you how this labor of love began...
Once our exciting train package arrived, Paul set up the track to see how large it was. (And because our kids spotted the box and were DYING to test it out - or was that Paul who was more excited? Yep. I'd say Paul). Then he brought home a large piece of plywood from a scrap pile at work that would serve as our table. He picked up some 2x1s and mitered the edges, to give the wood a lip. He used a little liquid nails on it, then clamped them into place while that dried.

Once that dried, he flipped it over and drilled in wood screws to secure those pieces. Then, he screwed four blocks underneath the table. The reason for these blocks is so that the crates we're using as legs have something to keep them in place.

It was given a couple coats of white paint and that part was done. Then he drilled holes for all the cords of the houses.

Once he set up the trains, houses and all the accessories, he pinned brick paper (just like way back when) along the sides of the table, to hide all the extension cords, crates, etc.

We thought we were done at this point. But we found a large piece of white felt in the Christmas bins, so Paul laid that down underneath - he added a piece of electrical tape under the track piece that held the wiring, just to be safe. Then of course, had to top it all off with fake snow. The kids had fun with this part!

He has thought of everything - he keeps a straw next to the table, and blows the "snow" off the track when we want to turn it on. Smart AND handy - lucky girl, right? ;)
And our very first Train Garden is complete!

The kids are in HEAVEN, but I think Paul's enjoying it the most this year. The smile on his face as he turned the train on for the first time, and watched it zoom by was priceless. He said it's just like the one they used to have. I can picture the little boy in him, spending hours just watching and watching...probably looked a lot like this...

My husband has brought his family's Christmas tradition back to life once again. If our children look back at their childhood Christmases with the same fondness and magic as he does, well, I can't think of any better gift. Well done, Paul. Your mom would be so proud.



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DIY and Free (to me) Desk

My little girl is growing up (sniff sniff). Suddenly she is this reading and writing machine, which is amazing. The first time your kid reads YOU the bedtime book is a moment no parent can ever forget. And in every spare second she has, she is writing books. I can't tell you how many times a day I hear, "Mommy, can you staple these papers together for me?" She's written probably close to 40 so far, in her ripe ol' age of 5. So we decided this budding author AND illustrator, needed a space in her room to write her novels (and draw, and color, and craft, and...you get the point). She had one of those adorable little tables, with the itty bitty chairs, but it was outgrowing her (again, insert the sniff sniff). And since I am kind of totally obsessed with trying to make things happen on a dime, especially since the Budget Bathroom Makeover, I got the wheels moving...are you ready? My girl has a cute little kinda big girl/kinda little girl desk for her room - actually, an entire CORNER of her room that I created and spent less than a BUCK. Here it is:

She is tickled pink! (Obviously - the girl loves her pink;)

Here's how I did it:
If you've been reading ND, you've seen the Book Nook. The original book nook used those white storage shelves horizontally. They were sort of a makeshift bench/book storage solution. Well, my trip to IKEA happened, and I got rid of them, and replaced them with the spice racks (as seen in the Book Nook Update post). So I had those 2 white shelves hanging around in the laundry room, with no place to go. I told my husband about my plan to make our girl a desk using those shelves, and that I needed to pick up a piece of wood to screw into the top. Get this - he said he had some scrap wood at work that they don't need and cut it to size - we chose 15x48in. We wanted it long enough so she could fit herself and chair under it, and just deep enough to give her some room to work, but not too deep that if she leaned on in, it would topple over. So all in all: F-R-E-E!! And as if I could love him any more, he sanded it AND painted it for me - what a guy, right?! He flipped the painted side over, placed the shelves on top (upside-down), and measured to make sure they were even.

Then he screwed in 4 of these guys in each shelf. (Make sure to measure the height of the surface, so you use short enough screws - don't want them poking through the top!)

I think the ND is rubbing off on him - he was on a ROLL last weekend! He has a major project up his sleeve too, I'll be blogging about it when it's done. It involves trains. And a garden. No more hints;)

Now, if I had painted it, I would have done both sides, but hey, when someone paints something for you, especially your darling husband, you don't complain. Besides, no one will see underneath anyway, so it doesn't bug me. Too much;)

Flip it around and voila! A desk out of 2 shelves and a piece of plywood!

Notice the eyesore on that inside corner? I had an idea. Here's where my buck went. A few sheets of scrapbook paper - on sale: 6 sheets for $1! I brushed some mod podge on the side of the shelves, then placed the paper (cut to size first) on top, brushed the paper too. Worked like a CHARM, I tell you!

I highly recommend using a busy pattern when you're doing something like this. I didn't freak out about matching things up, or if there was a little bubble somewhere - it all dried perfectly, and I kept my sanity. Win-win!

I added bins that she already had, but now there's a nekkid bookcase in her room. I plan on collecting more diaper boxes from her brother (I just need 2 more), and doing something fun with them to fill these guys. Maybe covering them with fabric, or pretty paper or something...oh, and in case you have these shelves, Target diaper boxes (the value pack) fit perfectly - I've checked;).

Moving onto the rest of this free corner...That chalkboard - I know, I know, I said I'd quit it with the chalkboards, but in my defense, there is NOT ONE to be found in the upstairs floor, so I figured it was justified. Besides, this girl's a mini-teacher - loves her chalkboards, so I wanted to give her one. It started off with a picture my mom was getting rid of. She's had it since, well, forever, but has been updating the house and of course, no one gets rid of anything without checking with me first! lol.

She said she always liked it because there are 4 girls, and 1 boy, just like my siblings and I. Course, we never had a horse, or a dog, but I see where she was going...it was a little bit special. But not really the look she's going for now, so she sent it my way. I sprayed the frame pink first.

I waited a day, then taped it with painter's tape, and gave it a few coats of chalkboard spray paint.

And that's it. She now has a chalkboard hanging above her desk, which will be fun, the older she gets. I'll leave her messages: CLEAN YOUR ROOM! or DO YOUR HOMEWORK! ;) hehehe...

Here's another freebie project I did:
I got this piece of wood from my cousin's yard sale - she gave it to me, for free, and it's been sitting in my stash. I figured it'd be just the right touch above the chalkboard, since I hung it kind of low.

I sprayed it white, then painted yellow acrylic paint on the inside. Used my stencils to trace the word 'create,' filled it in with different color paints, and done!

And the chair was an old chair we had from my hub's bachelor pad days:

Funny what a little paint can do, right? A few coats of white and it looks great!

Those purple corkboards have a cute story behind them. My 11 year old niece likes to go into this second-hand store we have around here, and she always picks me up something she thinks I'll like - and she's ALWAYS right! She's picked me up some of the cutest little things for me, that I can spray paint, or do something fun to. It's so sweet. She knows her auntie very well:). Well, those 3 corkboards were actually already purple, and I thought they'd fit well in this space. Didn't have to do a thing to them. I hung my girl's calendar/season/weather thing-a-ma-jig there as well. This was a Christmas gift last year, and was never a big hit until she started school. Now the girl is ALL about it. She literally wakes up, half-asleep looks outside, goes over and changes the date, day, weather - it's adorable. She never forgets either.

I also took an old ugly gold frame I had, removed the glass, and sprayed it yellow for the letter R.

So that's that. What started with a desk, turned into a complete work station corner for my growing girl. And all I needed to buy were a few sheets of scrapbook paper. Not too shabby. It's nothing huge, but she's 5. She's not exactly writing book reports or college essays. She'll outgrow it soon enough, and who knows what I'll have up my sleeve by then. But for now, it fits her to a T.

I'm just so glad she has a little sister to hand her table down to. There were quite a few marvelous tea parties on that table and I'm not quite ready to part with that yet...

P.S. I linked this up at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia's Tuesday's Treasures!
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Thanksgiving Place Cards

My parents are hosting Thanksgiving this year. It's a big job - we're no small family. My siblings, their spouses, and kids add up to 18 alone. So add a few aunts, uncles and cousins into the mix, and it becomes an event. Naturally, Mom delegates jobs, and one of mine was place cards. I came up with the easiest, cheapest solution: spray painted leaves. Even got the kids in on it  - we went outside and hunted for leaves on our walk. I had some gold spray paint on hand, a string of jute and a slip of paper, and now I have place cards:

Piece of cake. First thing I did was flatten my pile of leaves under a bunch of books for a day or so.

 

Then sprayed them all with my trusty gold spray paint - took seconds. The leaves need just the slightest coat and they are transformed.

Then I just cut out little pieces of cream cardstock I had leftover from my Thankful Tree project. I used my fancy-shmancy scissors to pretty them up a bit, punched a hole and tied a little piece of jute through it. Tie the jute around the stem of the leaf, and you're done. Easy peasy.

Now if you'll excuse me, I better get to work on the rest of them! ;)


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