Christmas 2013

This Christmas I kept our decorations simple:  I utilized what we had or I made it myself :)

I decorated the boys' presents with black, white and silver paper and used blue, green and turquoise washi tape, ribbon and bows.

Josh calls this my hippie tree.  Last year we purchased a live tree and a flower pot.  I put the tree outside on our back porch and it's still alive, so I decided to use it again. :) After clearing out all the dead foliage it was pretty scrawny.

Also, if we ever do this again, I'm not purchasing a cedar -- too prickly.  But it was what we could afford.

Last year, Jeshua decided our star needed a tree.  And glitter.  So we made this star, painted it yellow (his favorite color), and added gold glitter.  I haven't found a star I like better, so this works great for now.

Once again, the llama made his appearance in our nativity scene minus one ear thanks to our outdoor cat.  I haven't quite figured that one out yet.  Elias made the yellow star at MMO -- it's the perfect size to add to our nativity.

The only thing I purchased this year was a new stocking for Corban.  With everyone sick I didn't have a chance to get it monogrammed -- I will before next year.  I love hanging them from the curtain rod, but they don't support ANY weight.  I've heard adding a third in the middle helps, but then it'd be in the middle of the nativity.  After Christmas on 70% clearance I purchased six new stocking holders that are flat.  They need painted -- they're an ugly gold.

I painted this "JOY" sign on a scrap of wood from our pile. After Christmas was over, I finished distressing it.

Josh helped me make these book page Christmas trees.  I added lime green glitter to one.

I made this hurricane vase a couple years ago from a flower vase and a candlestick.  I filled with green and blue ornaments and stacked it on top of yellow and blue books for some extra height.

Finally, my mom made this red and lime green mesh wreath for our front door.  I love the green stripes in the red mesh!