12 Days of Christmas Day 4 Simple Advent Centerpiece

I hope you all had a Thanksgiving that was peaceful and safe and that reminded you that there is always something to be grateful and thankful for. My crew was small and the day was quiet and delightful. With turkey day behind us, I am ready to forge ahead into ALL of the Christmas things. It is fun to decorate a new house for the holidays.

I decided I wanted an Advent "wreath" or centerpiece this year. Something about mindfully preparing for Christmas that seems important and special this year. Advent is a preparation for the feast of the epiphany and lasts the four weeks before Christmas. Traditionally a candle is lit each week, so that by the fourth week all four candles are lit. I think the lighting of the candles each week is a good time to remember how long the world waited and prepared for a Savior, how people anticipated something better and hopeful coming into their lives. 

I wanted the advent centerpiece to be simple, natural, and have that boho feel I am going for this year and I am happy with this one that I created, it has the perfect look and feel I wanted.

12 Days of Christmas Day 3 Simple Snowflakes

I sure had fun coming up with my day 3 project. I love the challenge of creating something with parameters. My self-imposed guidelines for Christmas decor this year are to create items with supplies that I mostly already have or can find, to create items that don't have to be stored for the year, and to have what I make fall loosely into my simple, natural, boho style that I am choosing for Christmas this year.

These fuzzy snowflakes fit all my criteria and are super easy to create. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! We all have plans, paths that we hope to follow and stay on, clearly showing the way and guiding us. But life sometimes, many times, stops us in our tracks. Hard, horrific things happen that we want to turn from and run away from, but we can't. What do we do, how do we respond when hard life happens that forever changes our course? I am not going to tell you to be thankful for your pain, to look for the good in it. I am not going to say there is a reason for your pain or tell you to keep moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other. I do not know why bad things happen to us. But, this I do know: God weeps with us, holds us, stays with us, goes before us. God can handle our questions, our anger, our pain. His grace is enough to see us through. He is present, do not be afraid.

12 Days of Christmas Day 2 Stenciled Mirrors

I am doing my best to use what I have or what I can find for my Christmas decor this year. My goal is to not need any more plastic tubs to store my Christmas stuff. This is a challenge for me as I truly do adore Christmas decorating. 

But, I am enjoying the challenge of coming up with ways to use what I already decorate with. If you have read my blog for awhile, you know that I like to scatter small mirrors throughout my home to fill holes and to bounce light around the room. 

(affiliate links. What this means that if you choose to purchase something through my link, I may receive a small compensation.)

When some of the newest stencils from Funky Junk Old Sign Stencils arrived yesterday, I knew immediately what my first project would be--creating temporary Christmas mirrors with the stencils.

12 Days of Christmas, Day 1, Natural Boho Christmas Ornaments

It's that time of year, time for my 12 days of Christmas Ideas Posts. Except, this year feels different, right? Celebrations will be small, intimate. Huge, over the top decor feels out of place for me. Plus, I am in a new, smaller home in a new state with an empty nest and so decorating will be different. 

Here's the thing, different is okay. I am a Christmas tradition lover, but I am working at embracing less, using what I have rather than creating more stuff to store in space I don't have. I am embracing simple, but still new to me Christmas ideas. And so keeping that in mind, I am working on a natural, semi-boho theme for Christmas and look forward to sharing a dozen idea with you. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! There is something about the downed tress in the woods that catch my attention. I like seeing the moss growing on them and the critters living in them and how their decomposition is enriching the forest floor. Is a downed tree any less of a tree than one standing tall? The fallen tree has the same amount of tree DNA as the tree that is standing. In the same way, Jesus lives in every person, regardless of what we see on the outside. Friends, God is in all of us. The person preaching and reciting God's Word, sitting in the church pew every Sunday, whose children attend a private, Christian school does not have more God in her than anyone else. Yes, sometimes it seems easier to see God in others, but that doesn't mean that Jesus is any less present in each and every one of us. Let's work at and train ourselves to look for Jesus in everyone--in those we have deemed unlovable, worthless, different--he is there. Seek God's presence in ALL the people he has placed in your path.

Make a Cozy Light With Thrift Store Find and Fairy Lights

When I spied this yarn spinner at the thrift store for $3.99, I knew I had to grab it. 

I had a few different ideas for it, but as I played with opening and closing it (like an umbrella) I decided it needed to become a light.

Creating a Cozy TV Room

Decorating a new home sure can be fun, but also a challenge. I think the biggest challenge is not only deciding what to do and how to use ne spaces, but also getting ALL the projects done. I am trying to take my time and enjoy the process. I had a few different ideas for this window alcove in our front bedroom. I knew it would be a great spot for a window seat, but...

we decided to make the space a TV, lounging room. One reason we decided to put the TV in here is because our sectional was bit too big for the family room space and because I didn't want a big TV hanging above my wood stove. I also wanted the kitchen, family room space TV free for entertaining (which we may get to do again some day...).

I used many of my favorite items from our Montana house and gallery wall. I made an engineer print at Staples of a favorite photo of my kids and put it in an old window frame.

Since the sectional went in this room, a window seat wasn't going to work. Instead, I decided a shelf above the window would warm the space up and would be a great space to display a few favorites of mine.

The reclaimed wood came from a local thrift store. It is old and I think had some type of fabric insulation maybe attached to it at one time. It had lots of nails in it, some square nails. I left as many of the nails as possible, took some out for cutting the board. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! "What are you taking a picture of?" "The snow and the leaves, the two seasons coming together, aren't the pretty together?" Differences are dividing us in a way I have not seen before. Families, friends, acquaintances are arguing, disagreeing, shutting each other off and out, being mean and ugly with each other. Kindness and decency are in short supply. Kindness does not mean we agree with everyone, but it does mean we state our opposing views respectfully without name calling and rudeness. Being kind may look like driving your neighbor to the polls even though they support a different party than you do. Kindness means that the day after the election you do not gloat or shout fraud, but rather that you show compassion to someone whose candidate lost. Kindness does not mock, it does not name call, it does not demand, it does not practice violence. Kindness listens, respects, understands differences are okay and even beautiful. It is action and good deeds for all, even those who do not think like us. Kindness is love--take some extra steps this week to practice being kind, especially to those who think differently than you do. Peace. 

How to Create a Simple Wreath for Fall and Winter

Today, we are going to start with a little history lesson on wreaths because I was curious so I did some research. Wreaths date back to the Persian Empire where they were used a sign of power and authority when they were worn on the head. Over time, wreaths were hung on doors to represent victory in Rome. Later, believers hung wreaths as a symbol of everlasting life and as a sign that Christ was welcomed in their home. Today, wreaths are generally used as welcome to guests and as a household decoration. And while wreaths were typically made from greenery, today we use a plethora of items and objects to create unique, decorative wreaths.

I started with some wooden embroidery hoops in different sizes that I picked up at the thrift store.