Do you like modern or old fashioned holiday decorations? Store-bought fashionable ones or home-made ones? Each year, the joy I get when I decorate the house and when sit among the old cards I've kept is the memories that go along with the decorations rather than the style of them or the shape they are in. Each year, I keep my favorite cards and either cut them up to make something out of them for future years, or just to exhibit them as they are. I have some with signatures from friends and relatives who have since passed away and those are extremely special.
Here is the piano in our living room this Christmas.
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| The Happy Mix |
The cards on the top level are hand-made by a friend and were received in consecutive years. The little ornament in the center at the top level was made by my mother-in-law (who has since passed away). I made the little art quilts on the twig easels, another friend made the mixed media piece in lower center. But my favorite ornament there is in Tara's hand on the top left. It's a little smashed up... We found it in a ditch in Chile a few years ago covered in mud on a rainy day. We cleaned up as best we could and it reminds us of that wonderful trip we had in Patagonia and we let Tara hold it each Christmas season. Most of the ornaments on our tree are gifts from other people and as I hang them up, I remember the person who gave them to us and the party we attended where they were given or the approximate year in which we received them. I have a porcelain bell with my name on it that was made for my mother when I was born that I hang on the tree, and I also hang a white bell that sat on our wedding cake in 1986. I like to think that my house is well decorated, but at Christmas, it is a mish-mash and nothing really matches. But the theme is memories. And it's a wonderful life. Thank you, Lord, for that.
I'm wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Season's Greetings. And I'm linking this
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Another card saver - especially those made by hand. We have a bookshelf in our family room used to display family portraits during the 11 months of the year. December it is transformed for Christmas with cards. The very best of the handmade ones, along with favorite notes from friends, are on shelving in my office. Love your eclectic collections of memories.
ReplyDeleteI have a group of friends who give hand-made cards and those get displayed around the house in collections. I feel like a curator when setting them up. So much fun. Aren't we lucky to be artists?
DeleteI love the old ornaments, thin glass and colourful. I have several I've saved from my childhood and a few we collected at yard sales decades ago. I put any cards received on my buffet or hanging over a decorative window that hangs in an open space between my kitchen and living room. I generally keep cards till the next Christmas in order to re-read any letters or notes, and then I keep only photos sent.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you and yours for this Christmas and the new year!
Old ornaments are the best. My mom used to hang our cards like you do in a space between the kitchen and living room.
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