Christmas in the Kitchen

    It’s a slow process but I’m getting the holiday decorations up and out.  It looks like Christmas exploded in my living room with boxes of holiday décor scattered everywhere.  Here’s a few photographs of what I’ve gotten done in the kitchen.

    Christmas Kitchen

    A vignette behind the sink.

    I have a corner sink and I built this little folding screen to camouflage dust and cob webs back in the deep corner.  ha ha  Can you see part of the screen behind all the Christmas crap.  The three little Santa's are from a craft project that I did with my kids one year.  They are made from a wooden spoon.

    Kitchen vingette

    The other side other of the sink.

    This little rooster plate was a gift from my daughter.  She picked it out and paid for it all by herself when she was 14 and had her first job!  I think she did a great job.  I will always cherish it.Christmas kitchen vingette

    Another corner of the counter.

    Merry Memories Greenleaf Candle

    This beautiful candle is from Greenleaf.   I talked about them before and can’t say enough wonderful things about them!  This is from their Merry Memories collection.  It’s smells like Christmas in a jar!  Heavenly.

    gingerbread Recipe Holder

    This little gingerbread boy came in  a collection.  It was sold as a photo display holder but I thought it would be cute to use it as a recipe holder instead!

    snowman cookie jar

    Snowman cookie jar. 

    This cutie was given to me as a gift a few years back.  I really loved him but he was blue!  If you know me at all I am not a fan of blue.  So I painted him!  I found a product {I believe at either Wal-Mart or Michael's} that allows you to paint ceramics.  The kit included a primer, paint, and a sealer.  You can not tell the difference!  I painted the scarf, hat, nose, and buttons.

    kitchenaid subwayart vinyl

    Kitchenaid Subway Holiday Vinyl.

    My first subway art!   I have had my Kitchenaid mixer for….(do I dare say)….20 years!  My hubby bought it for me the first year we lived together for a Valentine’s Day present.  (In case you didn’t know, I started dating my hubby when I was 13 years old!)   I love it as much today as I did the day I received it!  It’s a work horse.  The mixer doesn’t usually stay on my counter except for the holidays.  So I designed a holiday vinyl subway art.  I haven’t done anything with my Cricut machine in awhile I was going through withdrawals. 

    Subway Art kitchenaid

    I got the inspiration from Wonderfully Wordy.  She has three designs you can choose from.  She has a vinyl subway art but with words referencing to baking.  something that you can leave on year round.

    vinyl kitcheaid subway art

    You know how people say they keep a little piece of their holiday décor out all year long, like an ornament or candle, maybe this will be my little reminder of this wonderful holiday season.

    Christmas holiday kitchen shelf

    A little Christmas shelf.

    Bridgewater candle

    This candle is from Bridgewater Candle Company.  Can you see the little hand print in the cup?  This candle is called SOLITUDE and is from their special edition collection. 

    With every candle purchased an orphaned child is fed for ONE week!  Yes, one week.  If your in the mood to give to a good cause might I recommend you pick up a candle or two from Bridgewater.  

    What does it smell like?  Very clean, a lot like rainwater with a hint of floral and vanilla.  Very lightly fragrant. 

    christmas kitchen display

    A photo frame that I am working on putting a picture in, soon.   The other gingerbread photo holders.  I got both the frame and the photo holders from Kohl's.

    Christmas Plates

    A collection of plates my kiddos made one year, using the same ceramic paint kit that I used on the snowman cookie jar.  The best thing about this kit is that you don’t have to bake in the oven like other ceramic paints. 

    diy christmas  plate

    Very cute!  They did a great job. 

    What will be are craft this year?  I need to figure it out soon!

     ornament tassel

    My sad little attempt to make a ornament tassel.

    Hope you enjoyed my kitchen holiday décor.  I have a kitchen tree but I haven’t finished it yet.  I love Becca’s little kitchen tree and what it so badly setting in my kitchen!  Let’s make a deal!  LOL

    For some more photos of my Christmas Kitchen.

    Carrie

     

Free Holiday Blog Backgrounds

    Here’s a few Christmas blog backgrounds that I made and intended to use.  Then the Ballard’s holiday catalog arrived!  I loved the simplicity of their logo on a white background.  Darn you Ballard!

    I redid my header and loved it!  I tried to leave my background white but that just wasn’t me.  I’m just naturally drawn to color!  So wanted to keep with the simplicity of Ballard, I added just a touch of color to sooth my palette.

    But I thought I would pass on a couple of backgrounds that were in my top contenders.

    Warning: I’m not a web or graphic designer so go easy on me….

    the dimensions are set up to my blog settings at

    • 1600 pixels wide total
    • 300 pixels left and right design sides (design)
    • 1000 pixels for the main wrapper (white)

    I hope that someone will be able to use them.

    Click the downloadable link below the picture for your FREE Christmas Blog Background.

    Candy-Striped-Background

    Candy Cane Background

    Holly Christmas Background

    Holly Christmas Background

    For personal use only.   The sweet and kind Summer Driggs designed these digital papers used in making these backgrounds and are intended for personal use only.  Thank you.

    Carrie

     

Southern Living Idea House, Kitchen and Dining Room Tour

    Sooo many great Before and Afters linked for yesterday's Met Monday. After you finish reading this post, you'll want to scroll on down to check out all the links! :) Thanks to everyone who linked up yesterday. You are what make MM such a fun party each week!


    Southern Living Idea House in Senoia Georgia:

    A few weeks ago, I toured the Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia. I took quite a few pics...too many to share in one post, so I'm just sharing a few more each week.


    The photos in this posts that are small are from Southern Living Online.




    All of the larger pics are photos I took while on the tour. This pic below from SL online is the view standing in the kitchen and looking into a room/butler's pantry at the end of the kitchen.




    Here's one side of the pantry... It's interesting seeing the subway tile combined with stained cabinetry. You so often see it with white cabinets... The refrigerator and dishwasher were in here...interesting, huh?




    And the other side of this room/pantry... Note the rolling pin collection...




    Isn't it fun how you can take the simplest thing and turn it into some cool wall decor. :)




    Speaking of wall decor...back out in the kitchen this preserved boxwood decoration hung over the stove.




    I'm really into preserved boxwood, though I don't have any in my home. It looks real, is real and lasts a long time!




    What do you think about the horsey head above the stove? I can't decide if I like it or not. :) Don't worry...it isn't stuffed or real. That would be a bit Godfather like, wouldn't it? HA! What a unique light fixture! Wish these pics would enlarge...but they won't...I tried.




    The tablescape below was on the kitchen table the day we took the tour. Sorry about the angles of some of the pics. The house was literally crawling with folks EVERYWHERE. It made it very difficult to get full views of rooms. That's why so many of the pics you'll see today are close-ups except the smaller pics that I'm pulling from Southern Living, online. I do love this table centerpiece! The natural mantel dressings and tablescape centerpieces were really stunning throughout the home!




    The Dining Room...




    A little tablescape on the dining room table...




    China is Lenox, Holiday...



    I'd never been on a Southern Living Idea House tour...but I'm hooked now. If you ever get a chance to go on one...I do recommend it! You can see some of the other posts I've done about this home HERE and HERE. I'll be sharing more soon.

First ever Linky Party! Amaze Me Monday #1

    I’m so excited to start this party!

    Please share all your decorating, crafting, tutorial, and other related projects!!

    Linking up is very simple.

  • Copy/paste the web address of the specific blog post, NOT your blog home page.
  • Add a title to your project.
  • Choose a picture that best shows your project.

    I only ask that you link back to Dittle Dattle in your post!

    that way more people can come and join the party!!

    here is a button you can add to your post or side bar.

    Dittle Dattle
     
  • Please take the time to enter the “Eat Something Pretty” giveaway!!!

     

Hunt-Themed Christmas Mantel! Welcome to the 97th Metamorphosis Monday!

    Deck the Halls Linky Party:
    Hi Everyone! Hope you've had a wonderful weekend! A little reminder...We have a linky party coming up next Monday, December 6th. Since Metamorphosis Monday is all about Before and Afters, that seemed the perfect day to share our homes transformed for the holiday season.

    Your home doesn't need to be fully decorated for Christmas in order to participate. You could share something as simple as your mantel decorated...or a little tabletop vignette. Or, give us a tour of the whole house. You know we love house tours! :)

    Between Naps On The Porch

    Please mark your calendar for our "Deck the Halls" party on Monday, December 6th. InLinkz will go up by 9:00 PM the Sunday evening before, so come on by and link up your beautiful holiday decor!


    Mikasa Give-a-Way:

    Thanks to everyone who participated in the Mikasa Give-a-Way recently. There were 346 entries submitted for the giveaway which includes, 8 place settings of beautiful Italian Countryside, along with 8 holiday accent plates. If you didn't win this time, take heart...there will be more giveaways in the future.


    The winner, selected by Random Number Generator is:


    Tyla, who blogs at Tire Swings and Fireflies. Congrats Tyla! Please e-mail your address to me at betweennapsontheporchatgmail.com and I'll forward your info on to the great folks at Mikasa. A BIG thanks to Mikasa for sponsoring this awesome Give-a-Way!


    Metamorphosis Monday:



    Christmastime is such an easy time to find a Before and After to post with all the holiday decorating we have going on in our homes. This week I'm sharing some changes I made to my mantel in the family room today.

    Here's a Before pic I took earlier today:




    I usually wait and decorate the mantel a bit closer to Christmas using scraps from a local tree lot since I now have artificial trees. Below you'll see a pic of how my mantel looked last Christmas. I just decorated around the books and mantel clock that are on the mantel year around.  Last year I used Christmas tree scraps, nandina berries from my yard, pine cones and a few gold ornaments. The wreath is one I bought about 15 years ago and continue to use each year. I love how the two "hunt" horns tucked down inside of it have aged over the years.  They have a nice patina now.

    Christmas 2009:




    I decided this year to do something a little different. I took my inspiration from last week's "wildlife/hunt themed" Thanksgiving tablescape .




    Instead of using Christmas tree scraps for my greenery, I cut a branch off the magnolia in my front yard. I've been needing to cut this branch for some time because it sticks way out into the driveway making it hard to get by.




    When I finished, this was all I had left...




    And here's the After: A Hunt-Themed Holiday Mantel




    I left the clock on the mantel since I would miss it if it were gone. :)




    We're going to pretend like the horns in the wreath are hunting horns. ;) There are two...one at the top and one at the bottom.













    Deer from last week's Thanksgiving Tablescape... nandina berries are from my yard...




    Added a few of the glitter pine cones from last week's tablescape...










    A few weeks ago, a friend and I toured the Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia. On the way back home, we made a u-turn to head back to an antique shoppe we zipped right by. I found these little fox hunt guys there and couldn't resist bringing them home. Had no idea what I'd do with them when I bought them...




    I know these guys look like bears, but they are actually foxes. :) That Mr. Fox's furry little tail across the top of the clock.










    So, that's my mantel for this year. :)

    I'm linking this post to The Lettered Cottage for her Holiday Home Mantel Party that begins on Tuesday. Be sure to visit Layla to see lots of beautiful mantels.
    Also linking to Hooked on Holiday House Tours at Hooked on Houses. Thanks, Julia!
    Looking forward to seeing your Before and Afters!


    Metamorphosis Monday:
    If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday: Please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, it will not be visible to anyone.

    I'd love it if you would include the MM button in your post, to make it easy for others to find you MM post. To do that, just copy and paste the Met Monday button to your computer or grab the html code from underneath the MM logo on my sidebar.

    Please include a link in your MM post back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. Why is this important? When you include a link back to BNOTP, it ensures your regular readers/visitors will find the other awesome "Before and Afters" linked for this Metamorphosis Monday. If everyone links back, this maximizes the visits for all participants.

    Please do not add your link below, until your MM post is actually published to your blog. Please DO NOT type in all caps...it spreads the links waaaay out. Thanks! :-)

    Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course. :-)

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