WELCOME TO THE HOLIDAY BLOG PARTY!!

Thank you Bella-dreams for hosting this holiday blog party!

Welcome to our home. We live on beautiful Lake Champlain on an island called, Isle La Motte, in a small log cabin.

We thought we would share with you some of the ways in which we decorate for the holidays.

This is our porch that we enjoy so much in the summer months. The door behind the tree is the door to the house. This artificial tree was ready for the garage sale pile but I decided to decorate it, one last time. This is for you dad!

We love everything outdoors and anything adirondak with an antique flare. The tree has a bunch of different things from the things we love. It has bee hives, fishing jig poles for ice fishing (which we will be doing soon!)

The tree also had baskets, bird nests, birch twigs, driftwood from the beach, teddy bears and more. On the table is an old watering can, an old tin bucket from my great Aunt. The bucket is full of pinecones and a deer made from twigs and vines. Finished off with beautiful pinecone ribbon I had left over from prior years. I love to use what I have, and try not to purchase anything additional. The washboard is also from Aunt Ida, this belongs to my daughter when she decides to take it home. Next to the watering can is a large piece of driftwood we found on the beach several years ago. I embellished it with more love from the outdoors and holiday items. There is sprigs of green, iced covered springs, berries, trains, birch bark, red cardnials and a wonderful santa head. This was one of the first driftwood pieces I embellished. I love to embellish things!!

I think nature, adirondak and antiques all flow nicely together, don't you??

Like we said, we love nature. This is our tree inside the house. Again, the same theme applies here as well.

We know you can't see in the pics but the lighting on the tree is a little different than what we usually do. This year we decided to put strands of red lights deep inside the tree with amber lights towards the outside of the tree. It is really pretty at night. There are several teddybears tucked in this tree, along with porccupines, red birds, feathers, berries, baskets, lots of pinecones and much more.

There are also wooden candycanes, glass birds, black birds made of felt that we handsew and sell at local craft shows, dried flowers, some ornaments (not many), Johnson Woolen Mills wool of handsewn stockings, mittens and gingerbread men (we also sell these at craft shows).

We have taken an antique riding runner sled and hung a stocking, an old pair of iceskates and some ribbon on it for more decorations. Makes us want to go iceskating, as soon as the lake freezes though.

This is a coffee table centerpiece. The bottom is an antique black rotiron flat griddle with a handle, covered with pinecones, pipberries and a candle of butterscotch, yummy!! Makes the house smell like we have cooked all day!! Oh, and some antique bells with anglehair inside, these were my dad's grandmothers. Great hah??

This is a rusty tin filled with more antique Holiday bulbs, moss, bells, pinecones, a wooden santa and a snowman just for fun.

Here is one of my most favortie items in the house, this large canoe made of white birch bark. My husband purchased this for me for our wedding anniversary. I get to decorate it for each holiday and then some. For this holiday I have filled it with poinsettias, a birds nest, pinecones, dried flowers and a beeskep to boot!! This arrangement sits on the diningroom table. I LOVE THIS!! This is an old wooden barrell decorated with dried flowers, iced springs, a white owl, birds nest and more. This is an everyday item I have in the home, I just add the winter elements to make it holiday. Like I mentioned, I like to use what I have. My pleasure is turning something old/used into a different item than it's intent.

Finally we wanted to share with you some handcrafted gift tags. You can find these tags in our shop on etsy. http://www.nookcrannygifts.etsy.com/

You can also find papermaking items, vintage ephemera, and other great supplies in our supply shop on etsy http://www.aclosetoftreasures.etsy.com/

These are vintage bingo cards embellished with a variety of items. Vintage buttons, beautiful vintage lace, satin ribbon, vintage sheet music, cutouts from holiday books, and more. We think you will find these to be unique.

Each one is a one-of-a-kind gift tag. You can also use them in your scrapbooking, altered art projects and more.

Again we use items and themes to create the adirondak feel and our love of the outdoorsWe thank you for joining us in our home today. We have enjoyed decorating and getting ready for the holidays.

Don't be afraid to bring the outdoors in. If you go out walking and looking around I am sure you can find things in the area you live in to bring into your home and decorate with it.

Decorating doesn't have to cost alot of money. Take a look around your home and in your cupboards for items you can use to do your decorating, you will be surprised at what you actually do have. Get a plate, a bowl, a vase, a box, an old kettle and fill it with something.

Happy decorating and specially HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Michele and Minyele