Away Go the Mangers....

 I have been moping around the house, trying to put away Christmas decorations and fighting a touch of sadness. Not really sure why as Christmas was nice and peaceful. Maybe it's the sugar blues, but whatever it is, I'm sure this too shall pass. I have been playing around with display ideas for my smaller manger scenes. I haven't finalized my idea on the one above, but I tried displaying this one in a covered cake pedestal, with tea lights underneath to show off the iridescent color of the pieces. You can't really tell in this photo how pretty the scene really looked. I may leave the top off next year. It was a fun experiment though.

This little set is displayed in a butter dish or pickle tray, I haven't determined which. I wanted to permanently glue these pieces to the glass, but it was recommended by a friend that I not do that. I also want to turn this into a pedestal style display, but that will  have to wait until next year, as everything has been tucked away now. I do know that my dining room will be my manger room. I would love to find a pretty tinsel tree in sky blue or turquoise to sit on my tea cart in front of the bay window area. I saw a gorgeous retro looking turquoise tinsel tree at BeeCrowBee, a local hand crafted soap and body care shop here in Joseph. I wonder if I will still be on the look out next season. Time tends to change things. It's been fun to decorate my home the way I want, and I look forward to next Christmas, as I will already know where things go, and be able to get these projects finished. Who knows, I may stumble upon an even better idea! Happy New Year!

Thrifty Thursday Upcycle Tip for Kitchens

I love yard sales, garage sales, flea markets and thrift stores! You can find so many treasures and come up with so many ways to use things otherwise thrown away. I have had this lattice work for a window hanging around for awhile. I knew what I wanted to do with it, but was waiting to get it painted. I think I only paid a couple of dollars for it, and I love how it looks as a hanger for kitchen gadgets. I still have to place it permanently, but I wanted to get an idea of how it would look so I tacked it up last year. There's still more spots to hang from but I need to redo my walls before I make this permanent. What I like is that it is unique, utilizes a wall that would otherwise be blank and empty as it's in a nook in the entry to the kitchen, but close to the stove. What do you think, keep it or trash it?