Saturday, December 7, 2013

Focusing on life:Add Some Sparkle

Sally picked a very appropriate theme this week. I am in the process of decorating my Christmas tree. Christmas trees have lots of sparkle. Last year my son bought me a Swarovski ornament. I have wanted one for a long time and I finally got one. To the left  of it you can see part of a shell tree that he brought me back from the west coast when he went on his high school graduation trip. To the right part of a beaded ornament that I made a couple of years ago. My tree is really special to me. My boys from a very young age knew that I liked Christmas ornaments so since my birthday is in the fall I often receive ornaments for my birthday.  I made it a habit to get an ornament when we went on a trip or had a special dinner out. I even go so far as to record them in a book as to who they came from and when I got or made them. In the early 80's we started making ornaments each year. We turned wooden ornaments, etched glass, embroidered, knitted, glued shells together, beaded ornament, and one year we decorated eggs from our chickens.I have ornaments as old as the 1930's and from many countries of the world.  Each year as I put up my tree I get to relive memories.
I am proud of my stocking. I got the kit for it at a car show. The only part of the kit that I used was the fireplace bricks. The rest of it was just used for patterns. I made it from white velvet. The tree is from the dress I wore in my sister's wedding when I was 13. The black in the fireplace is from upholstering the seats in our 1966 Impala. The fire is birch twigs from our farm. The flames I painted on plastic. My bulldog Rose was a cat in the kit. My husband made the picture frame from scrap teak wood that we brought home from the yacht factory where we both worked for a short time. The train my son made. I curled yarn for the girl and dolls hair on toothpicks. It is laying on the coffee table in the pic because I haven't found the hanger yet.
The angel that tops my tree I also made. I used the upper torso, head and 1/2 of the arms from a doll. I cleaned and painted the porcelain, set the eyes and attached the wig. Her dress has a lace panel that I beaded many years before beading became my obsession. Her cape is from the white velvet that I used on the stocking. It is lined with gold lame'.  The wings are from a white dove. Did you know that the difference between fairies and angels is that fairies have bug wings and angels have bird wings? Her halo is brass wire. You can see part of one of the chicken eggs that I painted. I hope that others of you are enjoying decorating for Christmas as much as I am. To see what the other participants are showing for sparkle click on Sally's blog link thestudiosublime.com

20 comments:

  1. I love it that all your decorations, and their components have stories. They are great!

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  2. Gorgeous decoration! Love your stocking - something to treasure over the years... x

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  3. What a beautiful Swarovski ornament that really sparkles on your Christmas tree! When my boys were young, we made dough ornaments and decorated them with paint and sparkles. I still hang them on my tree today, 30 years later.

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    1. Thanx Bonnie, I have several ornaments that my sons made 30 years ago also and I still hang them too. That is the best part of Christmas to me . Opening boxes and bringing back wonderful memories.

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  4. Oh, wonderful, I wish I could see your tree - it is, indeed, special! I love the story of the stocking - it's truly a piece of your family history. Thank you for sharing your sparkle!

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  5. Thanx Alicia, I would love having you see my tree. I am proud of the things that I make.

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  6. Every ornament on your tree has a special story to tell. Really enjoyed your telling how your Christmas stocking was created.

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  7. Thanx Mary. I really enjoyed making my stocking. I love decorating for Christmas. Making ornaments is very high on my list of things I love to do. Someday I may actually get the beading done on the top like I planned in the beginning L.O.L.

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  8. Gorgeous decorations! I love that your boys often give you special ornaments for your birthday. My husband and I started getting one ornament each year when we got married in 1982 and have tried to get one for special occasions like when our children were born or baptized or on trips. Our tree is quite full even though I think we missed a few years along the way.

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  9. Thanx Alice. My older son has made me many ornaments over the years. I am proud of my decorations but I seldom get company so there are not a lot of people who have seen it.On the way to a car show several years ago we stopped at a garage sale, in a really small country town, of an elderly lady who sold me a box of ornaments because she was too old to put up a tree any more. One of the ornaments was on her first tree after she married in 1934. My tree really has stories to tell.

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  10. What a lovely post and such a beautiful ornament. And even more beautiful because it was a gift from your son. My ornaments always remind me of where they came, who gave them to me, or what they represented in my life at that time.

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    1. Thanx Shel, I agree with the ornaments representing a specific time in life. I bought a Santa in the bath at Menards lumber when we were remodeling the bathroom.

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  11. What a lovely post and a beautiful ornament. And even more beautiful that your son got it for you - how special! Love your photos, too!

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    1. Hi Shel. I just found a whole folder of unposted comments and your is one of them. I enjoy hearing from you. Yes I have wanted a Swarovski ornament for a long time and I am very glad that he gave it to me.

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  12. Beautiful. I love crystal on the tree. And your stocking! I love the history of it and it's just beautiful!

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    1. Thanx Patty. The stocking is now hung on the mantle. I am proud of the things that I create. I have always created. It is a big part of who I am. I have had to made do lots of times in my life and I have gotten pretty good at it. It has helped my creativity.

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  13. I buy Christmas ornaments and fridge magnets when I travel... so decorating the tree brings back memories of long ago trips and holidays!

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  14. It's good to know that there are others out there who are like me.

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