Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas 

As this year  is drawing to a finish

remember to praise the Lord for

all His blessings.

 

 

~ Amelia ~

LED Lights

On our Christmas tree we have two short sets of lights  - the kind that that uses a flicker type bulb. Replacement bulbs at Wal-Mart are $1.25 each – don’t even price them at Lowe’s  - we did last year and seemed like they were about $2.75 each. We bought these sets of lights about 4 or 5 years ago after Christmas at Hobby Lobby. Each year we have continued to look for more sets – not really deep searching – but just would look when in Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby – but to no avail.

 

A couple of weeks ago we decided to start looking for something else that would be different for the tree…which by this time was completely decorated. With the flickering lights we have used another set of crystal looking bulb lights (but they died – not just one light – but the WHOLE set.  Anyway, when I decided to decorate the tree I wanted to do it then and there…not wait to get another set of lights we really liked. Yes, sometimes I am short on patience – usually to regret it later.

 

Back to the story at hand…when in Wal-Mart I spotted some LED sn0wflake lights…really liked them – but at $11.00 or $12.00 (can’t remember which) I thought they were too pricey…not my sweet man – he liked them and insisted we get them. There were 60 lights on the 19 feet line…and when I plugged them in  to test them I was immediately smitten. They were going on the tree right then and now….so just a bit of moving things around on the tree we were able to put them on the tree….wonderful- wonderful-wonderful looking. There are two colors of white in the LED family – I have cool white on green line (to hide in the green tree better) I have seen other LED Snowflake that use a white line….I am sure it would not look as great on the tree as the green kind.

 

Then while we were at Hobby Lobby several days later picked up another string of LED lights…these are the C-9 style with crystal type covers over the LED lights. Also picked the cool white on the green line. These are the ones I used on the mantel. The usual kind of lights were on sale – but not the LED. Being that I am a coupon user as much as I can I whipped out the 40% coupon and used it.

 

Some definite “pluses” when getting the LED strings….they save up  to 80% on energy costs…also you can string up to 43 strings together. The old style suggests no more than three (3) strings plugged into each other. Also these LED babies will last (according to the boxes) from 20,000 to 25,000 hours.

 

On the flip side these are certainly more expensive than the ordinary kind sitting on the shelves. You can be assured when the “after Christmas” sales hit with 50% or more off I will pick up several more strings.

 

These LED wonders certainly have my vote in the saving energy department.

 

 

♥Amelia♥

Copying

Ballard Designs has some beautiful Christmas items in their catalog.  Along with the great looks comes the great price. I admired their frosty looking pine cones – but at $15.00 a pop for three – I passed on that to use as part of my annual decorating in the house.

 

So what is the next best thing – try to copy – what is the old saying about “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. So I raise a toast to you Ballard Design.

 

 

 

I think my frosted pine cone looks as great (if not better) than theirs. I first tried the spray on snow from a can…no deal – looked bad.  Then today the idea struck me to try kosher salt…the grains were large like ice crystals would be. To get a bit of sparkle too I added some cheap silver glitter.

The method I used was to spray the pine cone with clear paint and immediately put it in a large plastic bag of the salt/glitter mixture…shake it around until all covered.

 

Here is the wreath using them – I am going to hang it in the picture window – just used this door for picture taking.

 

While I was running thru some blogs this morning I came across some “creations” made from coffee filters. Most were trees or complete wreaths – that did not sound like something I wanted to do…but decided I could make a flower that resembled a carnation. Thinking the bright white against the green of the wreath would be a great color combination…then throw in some red berries and the frosted pine cones…I would have accomplished something different.

Here is a close shot of the “coffee filter carnation”. You can see the ruffle like petals in this picture.

 

As usual decorating was done “my style”.

 

Amelia

and the rest is yet to come….

Most all the decorating is complete – both in and out. Oh, yes, I will be tweaking from time to time.

 

These pictures are just a tease before showing all the pictures. This year I am pleased with 90% of the way everything turned out…Seems like there is always one place that just does not have that “special” look.

Used these fancy tailed cardinals in several locations…they are so colorful and add a bit of whimsy.

Crystal and silver – sounds rich – doesn’t it?  You know I am on the frugal side…I believe this silver/crystal vase (I have two of them) must have come from a yard sale trip. The contents were the glass balls removed from a string of lights that bit the dust. As the lights from the room and tree dance off them just seems to add something special to the display.

Every sleigh needs packages…even if they are one inch in size.  This is sitting on one of the shelves  of the computer table.

 

More pictures of the rest of the house will be coming soon.

 

Amelia