Christmas Cheer

Hello, Dear Friends! 

Can you believe that Christmas is just

a few days away? 

I know that you all have been very busy

and I want to thank you, once again

for taking the time to visit and leaving 

me such sweet comments. 

I have been busy, too, but I think

I am catching up finally. 

I promised you a tour of my kitchen, 

so grab a cup of tea and come along.......

As we enter from the living room, 

my red floors and green chairs

make decorating for Christmas very easy!

I have sewn new pillows and table runners 

out of some lovely reproduction French grain-sack fabric

that I found over the summer. 

I knew the red striping would be perfect for Christmas! 

The checked pillow was sewn from woven dish towels. 

I just love the feeling of the heavy, textured fabric. 

I have been admiring the French-Nordic Country decorating style

that I have seen all over blogland, and also in some magazines,

and that was my inspiration. 

The sweet Santa doll was sewn by my Dear Sister

and given as a gift one year. 

A greenhouse ornament gets center stage

 atop some galvanized containers. 

I've added fresh greens to the top of my hutch. 

Some of my vintage finds....

the card was from a dear friend in Scotland last year. 

It's nice to have this little alcove as part of my kitchen. 

It has come in handy for extra seating during large gatherings,
and also serves as a bright spot for crafts, drawing,
or simply to read the paper with a cup of tea in the morning.

Hanging on the beam....

another gift from a dear loved one. 

The snowman was hand crafted by my Dear Mother and Father
one Christmas as a gift.

Have a seat and I will show you the rest of the kitchen.

My new table runner that I sewed to match the pillows.

Every year I craft something to give away as
favors for Christmas Day.

This year I made decoupage candles
using wonderful French napkins.

I lined the rims with silver glitter glue
and tied a pretty sheer ribbon.

So simple - the candles are storm candles
found in the home goods store.

My captured Chick-a-dee......

I saw a similar idea in Better Homes and Gardens.
I used a pretty holiday wreath pick, some fake snow,
and a ceramic bird my Mr. bought me on my birthday:)

The Kitchen Queen is bright and glittery
for the season.

A milk glass compote holds some holiday pretties.

The silver star has been my Mr.'s since he was a child.
I found this idea in 'Jeanne d' Arc Living' magazine.
Have you heard of it? It is swoon-worthy!
It is only sold through shops,
but there is a blog....
www.jdlblog.dk
The website to find out where to buy the magazine is:
www.jeannedarcliving.dk
I found my copies in a favorite local shop.

Silver and white and candlelight...

I made the cotton-batting Santa long ago.
His face is a sticker!

My son, Dustin gifted me with the beautiful
Fenton Angel a few years ago.

I saw the idea of putting the bottle brush trees
in the silver baby cups on this beautiful blog:
http://mysalvagedtreasures.blogspot.com/

The cup on the right was mine as a baby.

My hardworking little cottage kitchen has
open shelving and white appliances
to complement my beloved vintage stove -
(a 1961 Hotpoint that still works perfectly).

I've added some simple holiday touches here and there.....

Just some touches of red using candy, things I had on hand,
 some vintage finds and special Christmas ornaments.

Glittered 'strawberry'  walnuts
 and an autographed apple
are treasured gifts from my children when very small.

A recent vintage 'find' - a Prince Albert tobacco tin.
The beautiful milk glass vase ( a birthday gift from my
sweet Sis), will hold red roses for Christmas day.

The Santa 'shelf sitter' was another hand sewn gift from my sister.
Vintage tins and candy canes brighten up the corner.

My hanging fruit baskets hold cedar sprigs and tiny red apples.

The heart of my kitchen...

The beautiful vintage crocheted potholder was another recent find.
The spice tins were long ago gifts from a dear one.

It's amazing how many ordinary things can be used to add
some Christmas cheer!

Even the stove gets some snowman friends.

This little one was captured in a canning jar :)

The shelf above the stove holds last year's favors....
What is left of them.
I made dozens of these little graham cracker
 'Gingerbread Houses' to give away.
I wrapped them in parchment and stored them in large tins
and they survived the year.

I've added some holiday touches to the deck, too.
The garland has white lights at night.

Even the hummingbirds are in the spirit!
We have Anna's hummingbirds that winter over here
 in Western Washington State.
We usually have very mild and wet winters here
 due to the moderating Pacific Ocean.

Although....we can also get fierce storms
 out of the gulf of Alaska and Canada.
Thankfully, these are not frequent.

Can you see Ling-Ling under the table?
She is still trying to catch a hummingbird.
They just laugh at her :)

Thank you for visiting me in my Christmas Cottage Kitchen,
Dear Friends.
I truly wish we could sit at the table and share a little cup
of Christmas Cheer together!
I will be stopping by in the next couple of days to catch
up with all of you and I hope your week
is full of love, light and laughter in
those rare special moments when you get to relax.

Take good care.

xoxo