An early start to the decking of the halls, yay!

I was so happy to get my home decorated before Thanksgiving.

(For the big dinner itself, I had white pumpkin center pieces, so I did tip a hat toward the current holiday too) Our Elf on the Shelf made her first appearance on Thanksgiving day, and was part of the centerpiece.

I'm using a fairy from my Birdsong class for Santa's spy this year and we've been finding her everywhere since she got to work. Some mornings, she is just creepily watching Sugarwings sleep and is waiting on the pillow when she wakes up. Those are the mornings when Grammie forgot to pose her somewhere cute and hurriedly plopped her down.

I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. Ours sure was, and no one seemed to mind that I'd jumped the gun and got the Christmas stuff out. Personally, I was relieved that I'd got that off my list of things to do.

First of all, I had a lot going on and time was at a premium. Second of all, I've had a bad case of sinusitis and asthmatic bronchitis keeping me in slow gear and I needed the extra time.

But honestly?

I just couldn't wait!

Those boxes of sparkly things were calling out to me from the closet. I had to set them free and let them shine!

I've been making a lot of little ornaments too. But sadly, being sick and being busy, I haven't tried to sell them like I should. My shop didn't get much of an update beyond the kits that I made for others to create their own pretties.

This little shoe is one that Dewdrop wore as a baby.

This is the before shot of it. Cute as can be, but not exactly tree ready.

The first step was to paint it white, cover it in glitter, and stuff it, then embellish. I've done this with a few of Sugarwings's shoes too, I love seeing them on the tree.

The tree on my dining room buffet is filled with all hand made, or hand painted ornaments. More of the little pipe cleaner fairies, bird cages, and some family ornies or gifts.

This is from one of Beth's lessons in our Romantic White Christmas online class from a few years ago.

This is a deer I painted for my husband the year we were married.

And I've got some hand painted rose ornaments too. The sheet music star piece with Dewdrop's photo is made with vellum paper. I love the way the light shows through the vellum.

Here is a simple how-to for making these, if you are interested. Just scan sheet music and print on vellum to get this look with the project.

One thing I always do on my buffet, is to set out a mirror as a tray, or base for the holiday decor, add a string of lights onto the mirror, and then cover it with lace. The mirror reflects the lights and adds extra sparkle to the display.

And who doesn't need more sparkle???

PS- Kits from Romantic Cottage Christmas are available here and here.