Easter Branch Decor

Can you believe that Easter is right around the corner?  I know!  I can’t wait to show you my latest update for my seasonal branch.

As you may remember, here’s my hubby, so excited about my fabulous find.  He just didn’t quite understand the vision of the branch, but was so sweet to empty the trunk of suitcases so that we could squeeze it in and transport it home from Sedona.  Click here for a bit more of the story.

This year I found some hanging egg ornaments with letters to spell out Happy Easter!  It was so easy to hang the letter eggs on a thick ribbon that was strung between the branches.  Of course, I added a variety of pastel eggs, as well as several celery green crystals to fill in the spaces.

I love having this branch in my living room.  It’s so much fun to think of all the possibilities for decorations.  What would you use to decorate it?

Happy Valentine’s Day Friends!

I hope you had an extra special day with the ones you love!  I hope you enjoy these photos of my Valentine Branch.  Don’t you just love this sweet little owl.  He was a gift from my friend, Sharon.  The branch hangs in my living room throughout the year, all decorated for each season.

I also wanted to post a quick note to apologize for being MIA for a while.  I didn’t realize how long it’s been.  There’s so much to report and there has been so little time to report it.

This past weekend we were in Puerto Penasco, Mexico.  It was the first time I’ve been there.  The Catfish Hunters did a concert on Saturday night and we had a great time!  Pictures to come soon.

More big news and probably a little bit of an excuse as to why I haven’t been on my blog too much.  I just received in the mail the book that I created through Blurb.com!  It was a (mostly) photo travel book about a trip that I was privileged to take to Israel and Jordan in October with a non-profit organization that I work with.   The book is 12″ x 12″ and 200 pages (yes, you read that right).  It turned out beautifully if I must say so myself!  I’ll have pictures of that and a link soon too!

I also had the privilege of planning a celebration for a dear friend of ours…of course there are photos of that on the way too!

See, I really do have a few good reasons for not being online.  Just sorry that it kept me away from all my friends here.  See you soon.  I promise.

List #13 DIY’s I Want to Try

I’m sure there are dozens of DIY’s in my crafts binder, but right now my mind is nearly blank.  Let’s see if I can get it warmed up…

1. Tile mosaics – I have 2 perfect metal tables from Ikea that would look so lovely with mosaic tops.

2. Jewelry making – looks so sparkly…

3. Outdoor garden architectural art  – for when I have a garden.

4. Pebble patio, paths or flooring – love them!

5. Landscape design – want to re-design the whole back yard, but who knows when we can get it done.

6. Sewing tote bags out of Starbucks Coffee packets – I’ve been collecting them for a couple of years.  Hopefully this will be the year that I do it with my new sewing machine.

7. Sewing birds for my branch  (aren’t these wonderful?)

8. Mini-tin Advent Calendar – so many designs to choose from

9. Sewing lots of pillows in lots of colors so I can change things up around the house.

10. Creating wall art out of my photographs

I just visited a one of the gals from 30 Days of Lists and love what she’s listed!

Thanks for the inspiration, Chris!

So many projects…so little time…

Bring Autumn Inside!

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time you’ll know that one of my favorite decorating items is my branch that hangs on the wall in my living room.  I got the inspiration from a magazine article, then saw an awesome “decorator branch” at a Mexican restaurant in Bisbee, AZ.

I couldn’t wait to start my search!  I was determined that I wouldn’t cut it off of a tree, but that I’d find it somewhere naturally.  It took almost 9 months, but finally I found the perfect Manzanita branch laying on the ground on a hike in Sedona, AZ.  You can see the full story here.

So, ever since then I have thoroughly enjoyed finding new and fun ways to decorate this piece.  Sometimes its seasonal, like this closeup of one of my winter branches.

And sometimes it revolves around an event. (We had photos of my mother-in-law hanging up when we celebrated her 75th birthday.)

Or you may have seen in a recent post where I hung these vintage reproduction postcards there in the summer.

This is what it looks like for the Fall season.  Novel idea, huh?  To hang leaves on a branch.  If you live in a part of the country that actually has an ample supply of fall leaves you can just bring them in from the outside.  For those of us who live in the desert, we have to buy silk leaves to hang up.

Just one of the many dozens of ideas for things to do when decorating a simple branch on your wall.  I usually don’t have much trouble in the Fall and Winter, but what would be your ideas for decorating it in the Spring and Summer?

I’m linking today to…

Metamorphosis Monday

Motivate Me Monday

Making the World Cuter

You’ll love the things they come up with there too!

New Year’s Branch Decor

It’s kind of funny that I signed up to Journal my Christmas and only managed to do one post about it.  So here’s what I’m thinking about doing next year.  I’ll go thru the list of topics that I got this year and try to write about them thru-out the year.  Then when they come around in December, I’ll already have the text and will just have to copy it into the blog and add photos.  I’m assuming that she changes it up a little each year, but some of the topics have to be repeated, right?  So, I guess that needs to go on my To-Do list so I don’t forget to write about Christmas in July.  I’m really looking forward to the journaling.  It’s just way too busy in December, so I need to do some prep work.
For now, I’ll catch you up on one of my decorating updates around the house.  While I was taking the Christmas tree ornaments down, I decided to change my branch a little.  It started out with the removal of a few more sparkly items and the addition of some heart-shaped ornaments in preparation for Valentine’s Day.  Then I decided to add a few more ornaments and such to represent various things that we’re looking forward to in the coming year…so I call it my New Year’s branch.  Here are some of the items on it now.  When we get closer to Valentine’s Day I’ll add a few more hearts probably.

• In the first photo above, it’s obviously a globe turned toward Europe.  That’s because the big news is that we’re going to Bosnia on a short term mission trip there in May (hopefully).  Did you know that it’s across the ocean to the east of Italy?  You can read a little more about our plans in our Christmas Letter, if you haven’t read it yet.  Tonight we watched the movie, “Welcome to Sarajevo“, which gives just a glimpse into the horrible war there in the 90’s.  We’re also reading some books about it and learning from those who have been there in preparation for our trip. There will be lots more news to come on that as well.

In this next photo you’ll also see:

• The car represents road trips that we hope to take.  We love adventure whether near or far.  Now you have to ignore the fact that the car is sitting in a tree.  We’re not planning on anything like that happening!
• The music note is a reminder of the new opportunities that Terry will have to play publicly with his friends Dave and Bob, as well as doing what he has always loved, playing with the worship band at church.
• The mitten behind the note represents my hope to get up to the cold country to see some snow sometime this year.
• The little framed ornament says “Be Merry” – just a reminder to be joyful in all things.
• The word tags say “Thanksgiving” (to fill our hearts with it), “lazy days” (to slow down and relax once in a while), and “flowers” (who doesn’t love them!)

• And you must have noticed that sweet chubby red cardinal sitting on the branch.  We could say that it represents our Phoenix Cardinals football team, or having a chance to get out and enjoy some nature during the year, but in reality I just think he’s an adorable little guy and wanted to see him perched on the branch.  Besides, he matches the color scheme. (my branch, my rules)
• On the right of the photo below you’ll see a camera.  Guess what that represents?

So needless to say, we’re as excited about the year to come, as we always are and maybe a litle more so, since we have some new adventures to look forward to.

Be sure to stop by again to hear about the rest of last year too!  It’s coming soon, really…

Day 8 – Journal Your Christmas

Are you wondering where the posts for days 1 – 7 are?  Well, for now they’re in my head.  I’ve been too busy to do any posts, but I’m gathering lots of thoughts and ideas.  Once we get to Sunday I should have a LOT more time, I think… and maybe I’ll try to go back and catch up on some of the journaling days that I’ve missed.

This week we have practice on Weds night (which is also our 32nd wedding anniversary), our Home Group Christmas party (here) on Thursday night, Terry has a concert in Scottsdale on Friday night, we’re celebrating our anniversary on Saturday and we will be helping with worship at church on Sunday morning.   Then I think the schedule is pretty open until Christmas.  Yea!  Oh, I still have some Christmas shopping and wrapping to finish up, but that’s easy peasy compared to these last few weeks.

I thought I could post about today’s topic since it’s about the Sights of the Season.  I’ve already been snapping pics this month, so I can easily find what I need.

I love this photo above of our cat, Shredder.  She’s trying to look so innocent, but you can see the evidence of her tail wagging if you look at the trees on the windowsill.
This past Friday and Saturday 12/4 & 5 – my hubby played in a Christmas Concert each night with some of our best friends.  (He’s the third one from the right in the rust colored shirt.)  Randy Thompson is the featured musician in this band, since many of the songs were written by him.  Terry loves playing these concerts with Randy and I love going to them!  It’s such an awesome way to start the holiday season.

Another one of my favorite sights in December is the bare branch that hangs in the living room.  It’s so much fun to change the decor with the seasons.  This winter it’s sparkly!  Silver, gold, crystal and white snowflakes, icicles and other various ornaments.  With these decorations it can stay up past Christmas and through the other winter months as well.

And here’s a little peek at our Christmas bathroom.  This year, I made the two framed pieces on the walls.  The black framed picture is filled with holiday designs and expressions from scrapbook paper and the red one, framed in white is “Merry Christmas” greetings on wrapping paper.  What a fun and easy way to change out your framed artwork for the holidays!

Be sure to click to enlarge the photos.

Decorating our home is one of my favorite parts of the holidays.  Thanks for visiting!