More than just Cross Stitchin': Keeping It Simple

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Keeping It Simple

For some reason it took me longer to get in the mood to decorate for the holidays this year. Some winter/Christmas items didn't come out of the totes this time around, so compared to last year I'm keeping it simple.

Let's start with the mantle in the sitting room. I went with a softer, quieter look...

The tree, a little more subdued...

A few accents in the kitchen...

My Santa display in the family room...

I think this Santa has to be the most favourite thing I have ever stitched. It always hangs on the door to greet our guests...

To me a big part of the holiday season is having a great smelling house, so lots of candles and my new Scentsy warmer which I got as a Christmas gift this year... thanks Anita!

So even though the decorations are simpler this year, I know it won't take away from the real meaning of what this time of year is all about; spending time with family and friends. Just being together with the ones we love...

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Tracey

7 comments:

Bonnie said...: Gorgeous as always!!

I LOVE the "Joy" on the mantle. Catches your eye right away. (you know me and my love for shiny bling things!)

The Christmas Eve reindeer stitching is a new Fave for me! I must stitch up that one... in my free time of course.

Wishing all our followers a Wonder Filled, Joyous, Effortless and Stress Free Christmas !!!

Warm Hugs from Bonnie of the 4 from Forest!; December 21, 2011 at 11:16 AM
dixiesamplar said...: Lovely, Tracey...Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you & yours!!; December 21, 2011 at 12:00 PM
jayne@~an eye for threads~ said...: Every picture is more inviting that the last and I see Santa in there looking to see who's being naughty and nice... Gotta love that grater, what a cool idear! I totally agree of having candles burning throughout the house, just kind of gives it that little extra.
Be always in stitches,,,
ps. loose the idea of me getting up in front of anyone with anything to say, just give me a piece of stitching to frame or something to hide, and everything will be good... kay,,, just say'n; December 21, 2011 at 1:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Looks really nice!!; December 21, 2011 at 4:33 PM
Catherine said...: Your mantle and decorations are simply wonderful! I think that keeping things simpler actually brings one closer to what Christmas is really all about! Hope you have a Merry Simple Christmas!; December 21, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Kerry said...: Merry Christmas to the 4 in Forest. Hope you all have a great Christmas and all the best for 2012
I love all the decorations!; December 21, 2011 at 11:10 PM
Trina said...: Everything looks so beautiful! Merry Christmas to you Fab 4 from Forest and I wish nothing but the best for you all in the New Year!; December 22, 2011 at 7:30 AM

Charlie Brown

Growing up, I had a pet monkey named Charlie Brown. Actually, he belonged to my sister and he came to live with us in 1966. You were actually allowed to have monkeys as pets then and if you can beleive it, he was ordered from an ad in the back of a magazine. Charlie Brown was a squirrel monkey (just like the ones in the Telus commericials).

Everyone in school loved when it was my turn for 'show and tell'. You will see in some of the photos (if the slide show downloads for me...) that he used to wear diapers. Eventually, he learned how to take them off. We had a rope strung across the kitchen from end to the other. We kept a piece of papertowel on the floor at the end of one rope and that's where he did his business. His rope provided many hours of entertainment. At bedtime, if mom and dad were not home when it was bedtime, he would sit on his roap and cry out until they returned.

If I was crying, Dad would put him up to my face to lick away my tears. He would dangle from my hair and lick from one eye to the next. It alwyays made me stop crying. He would play outside and every once in awhile he would swing from tree to tree and end up down the street at the neighbours.

Often you would find the monkey lying in the cast iron pan on the stove. The pilot light from the gas stove provided him a warm and comfy spot. He would also sit on top of the lamp shade for warmth, and if you ever heard a 'pop' - you knew he peed on the lightbulb. It happens...

Charlie Brown used to sit on the wall phone.... until it rang. That was always funny. He brought many years of amusement to us all and I miss him and his antics.

Bonnie

Warm hearts ... and warm toes!

Well since we are talking winter, let's talk about warm hearts ... and warm toes.

A few years ago at Christmas we had a gift exchange. Ironically, both Anita and myself had the exact same idea for a present. We always open our gift bags at the same time, and it was really hard for me to keep a straight face when I saw that Anita had had the same gift idea as me and while she explained that she thought slippers would be a good idea, that way we could carry them in our bag with us at all times. Anita had knit slipppers for everyone and made a little draw-string pouch, with our names embroidered on it, to keep the socks in.

Then they all opened my gift bag and we burst out laughing. I knew how much everyone loved snowmen, so I had stitched faces on white slippers and added a carrot button for the nose. Well we weren't finished with the laughter because I thought we should get a picture with our slippers on. So then we were all sitting on the floor trying to get different positions in order to get everyone in the picture at the same time. We tried sitting up against the wall and taking the picture of our toes all pointing up to the ceiling and then I said, nooooo - that will show the snowman's face upside down. Someone said... (and I won't say who...) "Good point, let's think of something else. What if we lay on our back with our feet in the air - you know... like if our feet were ON the ceiling"

Well then the faces would still be upside down wouldn't they. Spontanious Laughter.

We had to think of something else. It was decided that we would just stand toe to toe in a huddle and we would take the picture from above in order to get everyone in the picture. Sounded like a good plan right?

Well... not if you have a protruding belly and/or big boobs. After the inital light-headedness subsided from sucking in our bellies, we had to deal with the shadow from the boobs.

So we stood in our huddle, adjusting, wiggling and laughing with our arms around each other while we tried not to tip over. It was about that moment when Anita's daughter walked in on us, which of course added to the laughter when we saw the look on her face.

Finally the photo was taken and our toes are doubly warm.

Bonnie

It all started with a tea towel...

Quite some time ago when I was perusing the Dollarama, I came across the cutest autumn tea towel with a teddy bear dressed up like a scarecrow. It immediately reminded me of Jody and I thought 'I'm going to get that for her', and then I thought... why not get one for everybody? And so I did and it was a hit.

From that point on, it's no surprise to any of us if there just happens to be an occasional 'mini gift' exchange on Cross Stitch night. Once when Jody hosted in February, she gave us all a tiny picture frame with a 1" x 1" opening. I had no idea what to do with mine, but Tracey knew immediately. Because it was Valentines day, Tracey stitched a heart.

Mine sat for a good number of months before I could figure out what I could stitch in such a tiny area and not copy Tracey's idea. And then one day it hit me; Jody loves snowmen. I would do a snowman in the frame that Jody gave me. But.... do they make snowman patterns for less than 1" x 1"? I couldn't be bothered looking, so I winged it. And voila! A happy smiley snowman face. I think it took longer to write this posting than it did to stitch that happy face.

We'll have to get a picture of Tracey's heart posted after her renovations are complete as I expect it's packed away for now.

p.s. I wasn't allowed to Blog today unless I cleaned my house. It's half cleaned; consider this half a blog.
Bonnie

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Keeping It Simple

7 comments:

Christmas 2016