My Dining Room Fireplace Christmas Display This Year

One of the things I absolutely love about my house is the living room rumford fireplace that I like to decorate for the various seasons and holidays. This year I decided to once again utilize some of the Christmas silk florals I had made a couple years ago.

I also decided to utilize some of the Nutcrackers and cross-stitch shadowboxes I had made as well as a few new decorations.

This year I found two bright, cheery, red and green glittery metals trees at Michaels this year. While I prefer handmade the trees were as glittery as the red bows I was using and I thought they'd be a good compliment. I placed one on each end of the mantel.

Next to the tree on the left end of the mantel I decided to add a beautiful handmade wooden Santa and sleigh that my brother had made.

Next to the Santa wood sleigh I added one of the mixed media houses I had made during the Tinytopia Artful Gathering class I had taken this summer.

In the middle of the mantel I decide to place the three glittery nutcrackers I had bought years,

In between I placed two of the Victorian Village shadowboxes I had cross-stitched and made years before.

Next to the white nutcracker I added the other mixed media house I had made during the Tinytopia Artful Gathering class I had taken this summer.

Next to that I added the other four Victorian Village shadowboxes I had made.  On the end was the other  bright, cheery, red and green glittery metal tree I had found at Michaels this year.

In the middle of the mantel hanging off one of the wood pegs I hung a new "Joy" wooden ornament I had also found at Michaels this year.  I love finding items that say "Joy" as this was my mother's name and I like to think she's smiling down at us when I display them.

In the front of the fireplace I once again placed the four Christmas silk floral decorations I had made.

I placed the BIG Santa and Mrs. Claus dolls I had made a long time ago to the left and right sides of the fireplace opening and placed one of the large Christmas silk floral baskets I had made in 2003 on a table in between the two.

My BIG Santa and Mrs. Claus wood and cloth dolls (shown in the picture above) were actually made to decorate the area just outside my mother's apartment.  They were both created based on Shari's Country Classic patterns by Shari Johnson.  Santa was supposed to be holding a bear and a list and Mrs. Claus was supposed to be holding a doll and small bear in the pocket of her apron.  I opted to have my Mrs. Claus holding a basket filled with Christmas cookie molds and Santa just holding a "naughty or nice" list.

When my mother lived in an apartment building for senior citizens each and every year my mother and I would decorate an area just outside her apartment for Christmas. She loved it as did all her neighbors. Many of them commented to her about how much they loved our display.

Santa and Mrs. Clause have their place in our dining room at Christmas time. Sometimes Mrs. Claus even helps me bake the Christmas cookies. Never Santa. He's too tired.....

Hubby and I made the large Santa and Mrs. Claus dolls in November of 1998. They both stand 36" tall.

We had a problem with the large Santa. When he was finished he seemed to be a bit top heavy. He kept falling forward. So we decided to add a black platform for him to stand on and then nailed his feet to it. It's not the most attractive to look at, but it works. He doesn't fall over anymore.

In the right hand corner of the fireplace sits "Theo."  He is very BIG bear and is the master of ceremonies every Christmas now.  He came to us during a magical Christmas season several years ago. 

Theo would love to stay out all year, but he is just too big for that. So we lovingly put him away every year and bring him out for the holiday season.

I love how the dining room fireplace turned out this year and hope you do, too.

My Family Room Fireplace Christmas Decorations - Gotta Love The Cross-Stitch

For the past several months I've been working on some Christmas cross-stitch kits I had bought and thought you'd like to see what I did with them.

I wanted to make four of the kits to include on my family room mantel this Christmas along with three other shadowbox cross-stitch kits I had made previously.

To this I added two of the Terra-Cotta Santa's I had made decades ago as well as a large red bow.

I made the Terra-Cotta Santa's as Christmas presents and recently decided to offer them as a free e-pattern.  If you would like to learn how to make the Terra-Cotta Santa's my free e-pattern is here.

I wrote about the two cross-stitch kits shown in the picture above in the following posts:

My Review of Sleigh Ride Beaded and Buttoned Cross-Stitch Kit From Mill Hill

My Latest Cross-Stitch Project - Joy Of Christmas Cross-Stitch Picture

I wrote about the three shadowbox cross-stitch kits shown in the picture above in the following posts:

Queen Anne House Cross-stitch Kit From Mill Hill Buttons and Beads

My Home For Christmas Cross-Stitch Shadow Box Picture

My Latest Cross-Stitch Project - Winter Chill Cross-Stitch Shadow Box Picture 

I wrote about the two cross-stitch kits shown in the picture above in the following posts:

My Review of Ho Ho Ho Santa Beaded and Buttoned Cross-Stitch Kit From Mill Hill
My Latest Cross-Stitch Project - Christmas Collage Cross-Stitch Picture

Standing guard over the cross-stitch pictures are my BIG nutcrackers which I wrote about in the following posts:

I Should Have Known Better

Gotta Love Nutcrackers

Two of the pinecone baskets that I wrote about in the following posts add to the decorations in front of the fireplace:

The Pinecone Baskets - Now That's A Good Idea!

Who Doesn't Love A Walk In The Woods Adventure and Woodland Crafts - Pinecone Baskets

If you'd like to learn how to make a pinecone basket of our own please see my "How To Make A Green Painted Pinecone Basket - Free How-To" post and e-book.

I like how the family room mantle turned out this year and hope you do, too.

Gotta Love Nutcrackers

  

This year I decided that my BIG wooden  nutcrackers would stand guard in the kitchen/family room, one on each side of the fireplace.  In putting them out I thought about what happened when I bought the BIG nutcrackers several years ago and brought them home without consulting the "dollies."  What a brouhaha that was.

I had to apologize to the "dollies" not for bringing home dollies that weren't handmade, but because I hadn't consulted them ahead of time.  It's a long story.  If you'd like to read it again I've re-posted it at the end of this post.

Well, after putting the BIG nutcrackers out I decided that two small nutcrackers and one nutcracker snowman that I had bought at a Hallmark store a year or so ago (I think) would look nice on the dining room fireplace mantle with the Victorian Village cross-stitch shadow boxes I had made many years ago.  They were totally adorable and the cutest nutcrackers - even if they aren't handmade.

 

I was a little hesitant in putting them up as I had also purchased these 3 without consulting the "dollies."  I was hoping that since they were so small it really wouldn't matter to the "dollies."

However, the "dollies" can be so unpredictable that I just didn't know what would happen.  It's been a week now and, so far, everything seems to be okay.  Then again we're talking about my "dollies." You just never know with them....

Here's what happened the last time I brought home the BIG nutcrackers without consulting them:

I should have know better. I had a feeling that they were going to cause a stir, but I bought them anyways.

I always prefer handmade items - especially dolls and silk floral arrangements. However, every once in awhile you see something that is just perfect and that you just couldn't make for the price. Such was the case with the BIG wooden Nutcrackers I saw recently at JoAnn's.

But, I should have know better. You see, I had decided this year not to decorate my mantels for Christmas, opting instead to use some of the big dolls, pine-cone arrangements, and silk floral arrangements I had made. Well, after finishing the decorating and being satisfied with the way everything looked hubby happened to mention that he thought two candles framing the sides of our large family room fireplace might look nice.

In thinking about this, I agreed and mentioned maybe large Nutcrackers would be nice, too. I, of course, knew I'd never find any that were affordable and knew that I couldn't make two in time for the holidays.

Well, I just happened to be at JoAnn's the other day buying some Christmas fabric at 50% off and just happened to walk down an aisle of Christmas decorations at 60% off. Well, standing guard in one section of the aisle were Nutcrackers of all different shapes and sizes. I saw some small ones, some medium sized ones, and then I spotted the LARGE 3 foot wooden Nutcrackers. And, they were 60% off.

I thought they would be perfect for the sides of the family room fireplace and, well, how could I pass up a  bargain like that? So, I bought two.

Well, during the ride home I started to think about the Nutcrackers that were standing (or I should say seated) in the back seat of my car and wondered how the "dollies" were going to react. All the BIG dolls in the house were handmade and these two were not. I wasn't sure the "dollies" would like it. I started to get so hesitant about it I almost turned the car around to bring them back.

Then I said to myself, "That's ridiculous, Linda." It was only two dolls after all. What's the big deal?

Well, I should have know better. To put it mildly, the Nutcracker reception in the house was stone cold. Nothing. Not one of the "dollies" came out of The Dollie Storage Room to greet them.

Plus, it was eerily quiet. Not a sound coming out of The Dollie Storage Room. Hubby said, "Do you think they all left?" I didn't know. Would they really resort to such measures? Given that the "dollies" think they're human I just didn't know what their reaction would be. It seemed highly unlikely that all 1,796 of them would just leave over this. After all, the Nutcrackers really were cute and really were perfect for the family room fireplace. But, it was eerily quiet.

So, I went to check on them in The Dollie Storage Room. Well, two of the BIG dolls hubby and I had made were standing guard outside The Dollie Storage Room. When I tried to open the door they wouldn't let me. They blocked my entrance and said, "What's the password." "Password," I said. "What password?"

They responded, "Well, Linda, without the password we can't let you in."

"What," I said. "Are you out of your minds?"

They responded, "Like you were when you decided all on your own to bring two BIG manufactured Nutcrackers into a house of handmade dolls to stand guard without consulting us."

Then I knew. The "dollies" were angry at me and they were taking it out on the Nutcrackers. It wasn't the fact that the Nutcrackers were manufactured dolls. It was that I hadn't consulted them first. They were mad at me not the Nutcrackers.

Since I knew there would be no peace in the Walsh household until I apologized for this slight to the "dollies" I decided to do just that. I said, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I should have consulted all of you first, but I just couldn't resist them. They were just so BIG, so perfect, and such a fantastic deal. I just couldn't pass it up."

To which the "dollies" responded in unison, "Just don't let it happen again."

I couldn't believe it. Here I was - a 58 year old woman being chastised by "dollies." I just shook my head and moved aside as 1,796 "dollies" left The Dollie Storage Room to greet the new Nutcrackers. The "dollies" after all did have manners and well, it was only polite to greet the new additions.

And, greet them they did. The party went on into the wee hours of the morning.

I Should Have Known Better!

I should have know better. I had a feeling that they were going to cause a stir, but I bought them anyways.

I always prefer handmade items - especially dolls and silk floral arrangements. However, every once in awhile you see something that is just perfect and that you just couldn't make for the price. Such was the case with the BIG wooden Nutcrackers I saw recently at Joanns.

But, I should have know better. You see, I had decided this year not to decorate my mantels for Christmas, opting instead to use some of the big dolls, pine-cone arrangements, and silk floral arrangements I had made. Well, after finishing the decorating and being satisfied with the way everything looked hubby happened to mention that he thought two candles framing the sides of our large family room fireplace might look nice.

In thinking about this, I agreed and mentioned maybe large Nutcrackers would be nice, too. I, of course, knew I'd never find any that were affordable and knew that I couldn't make two in time for the holidays.

Well, I just happened to be at Joann's the other day buying some Christmas fabric at 50% off and just happened to walk down an aisle of Christmas decorations at 60% off. Well, standing guard in one section of the aisle were Nutcrackers of all different shapes and sizes. I saw some small ones, some medium sized ones, and then I spotted the LARGE 3 foot wooden Nutcrackers. And, they were 60% off.

I thought they would be perfect for the sides of the family room fireplace and, well, how could I pass up a  bargain like that? So, I bought two.

Well, during the ride home I started to think about the Nutcrackers that were standing (or I should say seated) in the back seat of my car and wondered how the "dollies" were going to react. All the BIG dolls in the house were handmade and these two were not. I wasn't sure the "dollies" would like it. I started to get so hesitant about it I almost turned the car around to bring them back.

Then I said to myself, "That's ridiculous, Linda." It was only two dolls after all. What's the big deal?

Well, I should have know better. To put it mildly, the Nutcracker reception in the house was stone cold. Nothing. Not one of the "dollies" came out of The Dollie Storage Room to greet them.

Plus, it was eerily quiet. Not a sound coming out of The Dollie Storage Room. Hubby said, "Do you think they all left?" I didn't know. Would they really resort to such measures? Given that the "dollies" think they're human I just didn't know what their reaction would be. It seemed highly unlikely that all 1,796 of them would just leave over this. After all, the Nutcrackers really were cute and really were perfect for the family room fireplace. But, it was eerily quiet.

So, I went to check on them in The Dollie Storage Room. Well, two of the BIG dolls hubby and I had made were standing guard outside The Dollie Storage Room. When I tried to open the door they wouldn't let me. They blocked my entrance and said, "What's the password." "Password," I said. "What password?"

They responded, "Well, Linda, without the password we can't let you in."

"What," I said. "Are you out of your minds?"

They responded, "Like you were when you decided all on your own to bring two BIG manufactured Nutcrackers into house of handmade dolls to stand guard without consulting us."

Then I knew. The "dollies" were angry at me and they were taking it out on the Nutcrackers. It wasn't the fact that the Nutcrackers were manufactured dolls. It was that I hadn't consulted them first. They were mad at me not the Nutcrackers.

Since I knew there would be no peace in the Walsh household until I apologized for this slight to the "dollies" I decided to do just that. I said, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I should have consulted all of you first, but I just couldn't resist them. They were just so BIG, so perfect, and such a fantastic deal. I just couldn't pass it up."

To which the "dollies" responded in unison, "Just don't let it happen again."

I couldn't believe it. Here I was - a 58 year old woman being chastised by "dollies." I just shook my head and moved aside as 1,796 "dollies" left The Dollie Storage Room to greet the new Nutcrackers. The "dollies" after all did have manners and well, it was only polite to greet the new additions.

And, greet them they did. The party went on into the wee hours of the morning.