Inspiring ideas for the handmade home.
The Christmas Porch
Pictures from Christmas past at the little white cottage.
I hope you find some inspiration.
Always,
Cindy
A Chippy Christmas Urn.
A Vintage Watering Can dressed up for Christmas
Fresh Christmas Arrangement
Pepperberries and Fresh Christmas Greens
Home Made German Glass Glitter Santa Boot with dried Hydrangeas
The Attic Faux Fireplace
The Attic Bedroom.
Winter Quilts.
Ironstone Bowls full of Christmas.
The Sitting Room.
The Guest Room at Christmas
The Christmas Headboard.
A recurring theme in my blog is always about making things easier. Around the holidays, I try to work with what I have so I got the idea to hang mercury glass ornaments of varying sizes from my dining room chandelier with vintage seam binding. Cut at different lengths, the vintage seam binding helps hold the ornaments at different heights and gives the “floating” centerpiece great visual interest.
The light itself is an oversized single burlap drum shade from Potter Barn. It has this great fabric ledge on the inside that turned out to be a great place to tuck twinkling string lights that show through the burlap to give this great softened twinkling holiday light effect. To make this happen, I found a screw in lightbulb socket with a plug and just screwed it into the extisting bulb socket, added the normal lightbulb and plugged in the twinkle lights.
The result is this great floating centerpiece with a soft, holiday lighting effect. A simple project that has maximum impact to the entire room.
I hope you find some inspirtation for your house for the holidays!
Always,
xoxo
Cindy
German Glass Glitter and Mercury Ornaments.
Pretty Twinkling Lights tucked on the fabric ledge.
Lightbulb Socket found at any home store.
A Scenic Winter View.
Country Living HOLIDAYS 2002. I have read that issue literally hundreds of times and in ten years, it continues to resonate with me, not just during the holidays, but all year long. One particular article about a family who lived in a small barn as their main house was being re-built after a fire is the one that caught my eye.
The barn had been decorated to have all the comforts of home while the family was temporarily displaced. I loved the worn surfaces and the light palette. I was drawn to the antique pieces that had a European feel to them. I admire the the utter simplicity. As a result, I have spent the last 9 years trying to emulate that style in my own little cottage.
Since this was a holiday issue, the lodging has been decorated in a really restrained way for Christmas, but feels no less festive than the most decorated homes. As the holidays have come and gone, I find myself trying to do more with less. Having an appreciation for simplicity and the reduction in stress that goes along with it.
Thanks for stopping by for my first Christmas post. I hope you find some inspiration.
Always,
Cindy
My All Time Favorite Issue.
The Winter Barn.
The Cozy Cottage Kitchen.
Where we gather.
The Well Appointed Couch.
Lovely Old Doors.
White Painted Plank Walls.
Dormers and Angles Make Cozy Nooks.
Black urn and white pumpkin dressed with gauze for an ethereal look.
My last fall post for the year…I’ll be starting on Christmas posts next week. Can’t wait! I took down the Halloween decorations on my mantle and simplified with a fall theme to bring me into the Thanksgiving Holidays.
I tend to fill the visual space in a plentiful way; showing restraint is not always easy for me with regard to design. But I started with more and played and edited the props until I got to the final, simplifed version. It was kind of liberating to keep it as simple as it ended up.
I also included some other pictures of my outdoor decor, but I am “fallready” and ready to coast for a few weeks and then start Christmas decorating.
I hope you find some inspiration!
xoxo.
Cindy
As a post blog article note, many people are using the “like” button posted above this article in order to be eligible for the giveaway. The like button on this page only applies to this article, not the blog fb page. In order to be submitted for the giveaway, please click on the Facebook icon above, which will take you to The Leaning Cottage fb page where you can hit the like button that is associated with the page. Thank you for your patience in allowing me to clarify!
I see Giveaways on other blogs all the time, so it would seem it is time to have one of my own. The giveaway period ends on October 31, 2012. There are two ways to win: add yourself to my subscriber list and confirm (subscription request is on the right hand side of the screen, in the sidebar) and/or “like” my page on Facebook. Current subscribers and current friends on The Leaning Cottage page on Facebook are automatically entered. You’ll get one entry for a subscription to the blog and one entry for liking my blog page on Facebook which means you can have up to two chances to win.
What will you win? You will win the following spice rack, which includes a handmade wood shelf, 24 spice jars with custom labels, two large and two small vintage style amber lab jars for extracts, also with labels and a pair of vintage Kerr Jelly Jars for salt/pepper storage. The giveaway does not include jar contents such as spices and extracts. You supply those:)
The Leaning Cottage Giveaway
Please pass this information along to your friends!
Until next time,
Cindy
