Twas the Days After Christmas

Hello fellow bloggers! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. Though things have calmed down, we are still in entertaining mode here. We are hosting a small family gathering today and a small gathering on New Year's Eve. Thankfully I have the week off from work! Santa was very good to me and it was wonderful to spend time with the family. Looking forward to visiting everyone and catching up in between parties over the next few days!

I did have an opportunity to sneak a few craft projects in right before Christmas. I wanted to try bleaching the bottlebrush trees as so many have been showing. I can't remember where this idea originated but yay to the blogger who discovered this trick! After bleaching I used some glass and silver glitters to spice things up. I also had these fun cutouts that I hadn't had a chance to use. This piece became a perfect fit for our powder room, which was lacking in holiday decor.

I used a vintage jewel to top the center tree.

As I was running around the day before Christmas Eve, my good friend called and asked if I could make a Victorian style ornament for her to give as a gift. I couldn't pass up the opportunity - good thing I had more of these cutouts! This is the piece I came up with for her. It was fun to take a break from cleaning and baking and sprucing to get one more crafty thing in!

I like to have unique place cards every year. This year, I took an idea from Kari and Kijsa and gave each dinner guest a Christmas quote tied to an angel ornament. As we started dinner, each person read their quote aloud. I tried to use quotes that spoke to the true meaning of the holiday.

This little guy was a big hit. It is a tree made entirely of cheese with parsley and tomatoes used to complete the look at topped with a yellow bell pepper star. It tasted good and made a cute presentation!

Have a wonderful day!