christmas house tour!

christmas house tour at the pleated poppy

although i’ve had my house decorated since right after thanksgiving, i am just now getting to posting pictures!
when the busyness finally lessened, the rain came and shoo’d away the sun, so getting decent light for taking pictures was tricky.  so on the brightest gloomy day i got as many pictures as i can.  of course, as i’m typing, the sun is shining brightly and would be perfect light.  of course.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
while i changed up so much of my decorations this year, this little rudolph is in its same home as last year.  i just love it!  i bought it last year at the queen bee market from misfit menagerie.  i am dying to get this little doe for the rest of the year.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
this feather wreath is also an oldy but goody.  i’ve had it since i used to decorate for christmas in all white and silver (12 years +).  its just a feather boa wrapped around a grapevine wreath.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
and speaking of wreaths, here’s my wreath that i made a couple years ago that was featured on the chew.  if you do attempt to make this, i HIGHLY recommend you follow my directions rather than theirs as mine is much less time consuming.  their’s is really cute, but much more difficult.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
  i love what i had done the last few years for decorations, but i was ready for a change.  i’m not a huge fan of buying tons of christmas decorations each year, so i haven’t for a couple years.  so with wanting to do something different, i had to get creative with what i already had – which was actually really fun!
christmas 2011  2010  2009  2008
i also wanted to tone things down a bit.  past years have gotten very colorful (nothing wrong with that), and decorations everywhere, so i went a little bit more mild and just not everywhere with the decorates.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
my tree usually has the kids ornaments (my mom gets them each a snowflake, reindeer or star each year), ball ornaments, and also tiny picture frames with pics of friends and family.
this year i opted to only use the ball ornaments and went for a kind of ombre/rainbow look, and i am so happy with how it turned out!  the only bummer:  when people come over and ask the kids if they had fun decorating the tree, i have to duck my head in shame since i did it when they were out of the house!  in my defense, they didn’t seem to care too much and have a tiny tree in the playroom that they decorate themselves.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
i love how well grace’s version of michelangelo’s horse fits into our everyday decor.  with a little wreath slipped over it’s head, it works perfectly for christmas, too!
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
yep, our tree is fake.  i gave in years ago since sean is allergic to the real deal.  poor guy would get sinus infections every christmas!
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
the ornaments are a mix of yarn wrapped balls, glittered balls, glass and plastic balls.  most of the ornaments were from target, but a few fancy ones were bought years ago from crate & barrel (pre-kids).
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
the pillow was a recent find at the stitch market, and the blanket over the ottoman was one of silas’s hand knit baby blankets.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
i love the nativity scene by willow tree.  i know there’s more to the set, but i kind of love it just like this.  this year i added the stars.  its a little much, but still fun.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
i have a little start punch and then sewed the punched stars with my sewing machine – so easy!  then i just randomly cut the strands of stars and taped them to the top of the shelf.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
i am so happy with my mantle this year!  i bought the stockings when sean and i had our first christmas.  they were from kmart and were so inexpensive, i just grabbed a bunch!   every year i say i’m going to add some ribbons with names on them, but never do…
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
the wreaths are a new addition here.  they are usually hanging over our back windows with different decorations on them.  i stripped them down and just added a bunch of tiny pompoms i made with my pompom maker and extra yarn i had on hand.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
i’ve been doing the trees for awhile now and am so tempted to just keep adding to them!  maybe one year i’ll make enough to go all the way across the mantle…  this year i elevated a few of them on silver footed dishes and mint julep cups.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
my favorite addition this year are the antlers i bought from ruby rose.  i bought a wooden plaque at michael’s and painted it coral and gold with some deco art paints.  then i added some cut glass crystal strands i had from back in my flea market days.  the “joy” banner was a gift from a friend ad the ornaments were a random addition to fill space.  i don’t love them, but i don’t know what else to put there.  maybe a big star…  i can’t do a wreath since i already have one on either side.
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
this is quite possibly the prettiest ornament ever.  it belongs to one of the kids, but i had to steal it to put it on display.  its just too pretty not to!
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
i’ve never done much in the kitchen, but i had this old wreath in my decorations box, so i made more pompoms in various sizes and tied them on.
i also stole a scrappy wreath tea towel from my shop for my stove!
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
christmas house tour at the pleated poppy
a few extras for you:
- the cart filled with games is an old  laundromat cart
- the wall color in the room is called silver sage by restoration hardware
- the sofa table is painted mermaid’s net by behr
- the entry way mustard dresser is painted french pale gold by behr

jewelry storage made beautiful {series}

jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy

 does your jewelry sit in a pile on a table, or tossed in a tangled mess in a drawer?  well this week will be full of inspiration for you!  i have gathered some of my favorite bloggers together to open their homes to us, and share their creative ways to store jewelry.

to kick things off, i thought i’d share my jewelry storage ideas with you:

jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy

 i keep my jewelry displayed in our bedroom, out in the open.  i’ve found that if i tuck away my pretties then i am way less to wear them, and then what’s the point of having jewelry if you don’t wear it?  so out it sits.

jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy

a friend gave me this frame as a hand-me-down a few years ago and it is perfect for displaying my necklaces.  it is a vintage frame with a cork board backing covered in a cream damask fabric.
my statement necklace collection has, um… grown over the last few months, so i started my organization with them.  and what is happier than hanging them up in rainbow order?
then i collected my smaller, more dainty necklaces in groups and hung them on some of the openings.
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
i love that having this board in my room, all framed up pretty, is like having a piece of art on my wall.
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
 i love how pretty my “every day” necklaces by lisa leonard are framed by my rosies by allora handmade – i have really talented friends!
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
each piece is simply hung by a sewing pin, pushed in at an angle.
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
i love that my little gold collection is growing – so happy lisa is now creating in gold!
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
but i have more than just necklaces to store…
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
this sweet birdbath bowl was a gift from a sweet friend, and it holds all my posies and petal pushers and poofs… everything pinnable!
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
no, this little heart collection isn’t jewelry, but its sits happily alongside my other collections in a ring bowl by lisa.
i thought i was so original with my idea to use the anthro egg dish to hold my rings and earrings, but no.   pinterest has advised me once again that i am not original.
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
i have found that bracelets are really hard to display, but using vintage bottles has worked for me!
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
i have one special piece of jewelry that sits on a nearby framed picture of sean and i when we were dating.  sean bought me this vintage rhinestone necklace while we were engaged, and i wore it on our wedding day.
jewelry storage made beautiful at the pleated poppy
how do you display your jewelry?  are you short on ideas?  join me the rest of this week for lots of fun inspiration!