It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Well, my decorating is done.  I always love decorating the house for the holidays and I do a lot of it!  This photo is of the hutch in the family room.  It contains all my mother's blue willow and ironstone.  The blue willow dishes were our everyday dishes when I was growing up.  My mom would pick up pieces wherever she came across them.  So, the set was not matching and I love the fact that everything is a different shape and size.  Some of the pieces were "new" at the time and some she found in antique stores.  My mother and aunt used to go antiquing before it became the thing to do.  Consequently, they found some real bargains.   The ironstone is one such bargain.  They would buy pieces for a few dollars.  Now I see those same pieces in magazines and the prices are so high, at least for what the ones I own cost!  I love this hutch because it's home to so many memories. I would go on a lot of the antiquing excursions when I was a child and I remember when and where some of the pieces were bought. 

I always take great care in getting the hutch ready for Christmas.  Over the years I've decorated it in many different ways.  I've begun to simplify my decorating the last few years (my family and friends will laugh when they read that!), but I really have!  I also have discovered the joys of using the small Christmas balls that you can find in boxes at Michael's.  I have quite a collection of them in all different colors and finishes.  I use them all over the house, in arrangements of greens and in candy dishes on tables.  I also love to lay some fresh greens on a table or shelf and put a group of the ornaments on the greens.  So, right now that's my method of choice for the hutch.  This year I didn't even remove any of the dishware.  I just put greens in some of the bowls and added different size ornaments on top.  The greens are a nice cushion for the ornaments.

I don't get much accomplished in the studio once Thanksgiving comes, but decorating the house and wrapping gifts is my creative outlet for December!  I love doing it and my family loves seeing the results!  There are so many ways of being creative at this time of  year.  I hope you enjoy your days leading up to Christmas.  Make time each day for a break, have a cup of tea, look through a seasonal book or magazine, and enjoy the sights and smells of this wonderful time of year!