A Merry Christmas Indeed

This Christmas will have to go down as one of the best so far. As a family we weren't harried or stressed. We weren't doing things down to the wire as in the past. We got a chance to slow down and enjoy our little family Christmas. Here are a few highlights...

We hung our Santa Stop Here sign by the door. BBC was excited when he first saw it. I think DH was even impressed with how it turned out.  BBC  informed me this morning that he thinks he heard Santa at the front door because the sign was confusing. He suggested we add an arrow pointing to the roof next year. {giggle}

We baked and decorated cookies for Santa together. Even DH got in on the fun. He's responsible for the star character on the left. 

BBC was about to bust at the seams. I didn't think we were ever going to get him to bed. I think he finally gave in to sleep around 10:30.

Santa cam caught this image shortly thereafter...

And sure enough this morning our stockings were overflowing with goodies!

BBC was so fun this year. Look at that pure joy on his face. He was gracious - thanking each of us for our gifts to him. He was also quite grateful for the gifts he received from Santa. I think he may have been a little worried about a choice or two as of late. Thankfully for all of us, Santa graded on the curve in our home this year. We are blessed.

That's a wonderful teaching opportunity. God grades us on what Jesus did in our place and doesn't give us what we really deserve. All we have to do is joyfully accept His gift!

I pray you and your family had a wonderfully merry Christmas!

Christmas hugs!

~Southern Fried Gal

Last Minute Project: Santa Stop Here

A few weeks ago I mentioned to BBC that I was planning a surprise project for him. That child doesn't forget things such as this. While he was at his Mamu's today I decided to give it a go. The end project turned out even better than I imagined!

My original plan was to take a piece of scrap wood, have DH drill holes around the edge with a spade bit and then paint the message. A bit ambitious for a last minute project, I know.

We both started brainstorming options. As I was heading to the garage to start digging I passed this in the foyer. See that frame in the background? That was a project from earlier this season that didn't quite turn out as envisioned. Perfect chance for a do-over!

I got a set of LED lights that change between red and green at Walgreen's on clearance earlier tonight. They didn't fit through the holes and I almost abandoned until I got the brainy idea to take off the bulb covers. Yay! That also got DH off the hook which made him quite happy.

With him off the hook, I decided to give myself a break, too. I jumped on the computer and used word art to quickly make the words. Next I printed them out and pasted them to a piece of foam board cut to fit the opening of the frame. I could have stopped there but wanted to jazz it up a bit more.

I grabbed a couple tools of the trade...

and it gave just the right touch of bling.

I needed to add a couple of pieces of foam board to make it tight in the frame. To finish it all off, I taped down the cords between the lights in the back so everything would stay in place.

Here it is all finished again. I can't wait for BBC to see it! We will hang it out front somewhere prominent so Santa will be sure to see.

Are you still doing last minutes projects, too? 

~Southern Fried Gal

I'm joining Donna at Funky Junk for her Saturday Nite Special!

Christmas {Back of Home} Tour

Christmas came early in the Southern Fried Home this past weekend - that is to say Momma got her way with the deep cleaning of the downstairs. I love how we are purging, organizing and simplifying! You'll notice the same theme in the back of home Christmas tour. Here's the front of home tour in case you missed it.

This is the view as you walk in the door and pass the formal living room. After soliciting your advice over a year ago I started the search for the perfect table in this space. I finally found it a few weeks back at TJ Maxx of all places! I also added a bench from there to the breakfast area to accommodate more little buns at family gatherings.

Here's how the table looks decked out for Christmas. I am mostly happy with it. It's still a little off but I'm not going to fuss too much until after Christmas.

On down the hall you'll catch another glimpse of the family room. This is the cozy room of our home and where we spend a lot of family time together. My boys love this time of year because they can cozy up in front of the fireplace.

At the end of the hall is the breakfast nook in the kitchen. I found that wooden tray for around $20 back in November. I envisioned a rustic centerpiece for the table with fresh greens and berries. The greedy birds around here picked every last berry of the bushes so I had to settle for faux. And of course I had to add a touch of whimsy with the cute Santa plates. Simple and fun!

I didn't do much on the work side of the kitchen. This mistreatment made from towels, fabric glue and a tension rod gives a nod to the season. This side of the kitchen is still a bit of a mess with half-painted cabinets. Maybe I'll get the energy (and budget) to get this project finished in 2012.

The powder room gets a touch of nature and another unexpected mistreatment. That is actually a table runner turned window hanging with a few simple folds and tucks over the existing treatment. Festive, fun and easy peasy - my kind of decor!

Finally as we circle back around the stairs we get to the formal dining room.The china cabinet is topped with a lighted greenery garland. A simple centerpiece of burlap, sugar pine cones, arborvitae and bling top the table. And that's it! Simple, simple!

Can you believe we are starting the last week before Christmas? This is the first time in the last few years where the downstairs is tidy and organized going into Christmas. Usually I'm snapping pictures around blue Rubbermaid buckets all the way up until the big day. 

How about you? Are you all tidy, organized and ready for this week?

~Southern Fried Gal

I'm linking up with Nester and over 500 of her closest friends at the...

Christmas Centerpieces from Southern Fried Friends

I love getting photos from Southern Fried Friends to share on my blog. Here are three fabulous centerpieces I have received over the past week...

The first picture (above) is from my friend Katie in Pittsburgh. First things first, I freaking love that hutch! Love the nativity scene there as well. OK - getting back to the centerpiece. This is classic country charm with a whimsical touch. Classic colors, greenery and flowers have a touch of bling with Christmas kisses and candle in the hurricane. Simple and lovely!

The next picture is from my friend, Kimberly, in Little Rock. This centerpiece is super fun and whimsical. I love how she brings multiple colors and textures together so effortlessly. It has an old world charm - don't you think? Gorgeous!

The final picture is from my friend, Shea, in Little Rock. She also combines multiple textures and colors to create her beautiful nativity centerpiece. I like her special touches of the burlap bag base, lights and especially the cross.

Thank you gals for sending me these lovely pictures. I would love to showcase more from my Southern Fried Friends so keep them coming!

~Southern Fried Gal

Nativity Candle Sconce

I've gotten rave reviews on this Nativity Candle Sconce since I shared it on my front of home tour. It has a few secrets to share...

The nativity scenes are printed onto vellum paper and cut to the size of the glass cylinders on the sconce. I was inspired by nativity scenes from this art tutorial and this women's group. The candles are actually LED votive candles. I did a project similar to this with Santa photos and scripture a few years back.

~Southern Fried Gal

Christmas {Front of Home} Tour

One of my favorite bloggers, Melissa @ The Inspired Room, is hosting a Christmas Home Tour that begins this evening. I am still tweaking my decor even though I started decorating earlier than ever this year. I caught the bug to simplify around here. That has translated not only to my Christmas decor but to my home in general. I have been a purging and organizing fool! So I'm not going to fret over not having everything just so-so for Melissa's tour.

AND I'm just going to stick with a few front of home touches for this tour. Maybe I'll have the rest of our home ready for Nester's party later this week. So here we are. My favorite part of our home to decorate - the door. In the past I've done it big. I've done it burlappy. And this year I went back to nature. My goal in all these looks is to say WELCOME!

With all the simplifying I wanted to make sure our home reflects the reason for the season. I have admired the Nativity Hurricane Candle Holder Trio from DaySpring for a while but really don't have a good place to display it. Instead I allowed it to inspire me to dress up this sconce in our entryway. LOVE! It was super easy, too. I did a project similar to this with Santa photos and scripture a few years back. You can see just a snippet of the mantel in this picture.

To the left of the entry is our formal living room. The formal, type A side of me loves this room. It's monochromatic. It's highly symmetrical. And it doesn't fall prey to the clutter of every day life. This is my retreat - where I hide when I need quiet, reflection time. This year it is host to my favorite Christmas crafty moment thus far - this simple boxwood centerpiece.

To the left I have a beautiful container filled with blooming paperwhites.Simple. Pretty. Are they real? I'll never tell. {wink}

Here's my favorite spot in the room. In the middle of the sofa looking through the french doors into the family room. The boys can laugh and play while I quietly enjoy a little me time just a few feet away. This time of year is extra special because it's the best view of our perfectly imperfect tree.

Thanks for stopping over for a look into my favorite room in our home. If you are visiting from Melissa's, please let me know you were here so I can be sure to stop over for a visit.

Merry Christmas!

~Southern Fried Gal

p.s. I'm hosting a Christmas Door Linky Party all this week. I would love to have you join the fun. I'm always looking for new inspiration for my door!

Christmas Doors Linky Party

This year I decided to go all natural on the front door. The only hint of faux is the wreath and there are still quite a few natural elements there.

A local nursery was having a clearance sale a few weeks back and that provided the inspiration I needed for the door. The tall arborvitae were just $9 each! I was planning to stop there but DH really liked the bird's nest spruce. I'm glad I went ahead and got those, too because they are darling! They were also a steal at $9 each.

I wrapped the arborvitae in burlap and dropped the spruce into metal buckets to hide the ugly black nursery pots. We will plant these either in nice containers or the back yard in the spring. I love that there will be minimal mess to clean up after Christmas and there are only a few things to store!

I was originally planning to do my same old fake garland around the door but several of you inspired me to go fresh there, too. I got a few extra branches from the throw away pile at the tree lot and used that to wire together the base of the garland. I tucked those into the screw hooks I have around the top of my door.I'm such a good citizen, too. I pruned a few hollies around town to add color. I like to help others out as much as I can - especially this time of year.

I got the base of the wreath on clearance for $20 in the fall. It had the pine cones and greenery plus pumpkins and gourds. I ripped those off (to used in next year's fall decor) and added picks of berries and the burlap ribbon with rusty jingle bells. Then I hung it from the door with jute twine. I love the random funkiness of it!

Here's how it looks all lit up at night. It turned out really cute and was relatively inexpensive to pull together. I'm so excited! I could sit and gaze for hours.

I'm even more excited to see more door inspiration. Please link back to me in your post with a text link or manually link the button below so others can join in the fun!

Rustic Christmas Mantel

I'm trying to simplify this year but for some reason my mantel was harder than ever. I've tweaked until I can't tweak anymore. I'm so thankful Beth @Home Stories A to Z is hosting her annual Christmas Mantel Link Party this week. It gave me the motivation I needed to finish this one up.

I found this guy a few months back and knew I wanted to feature him here. I love how he looks like he was carved from wood. He was a splurge. I didn't have a nice Santa figurine and I wanted to get one before BBC outgrows his obsession with the jolly ol' fat man. I think this one is classic enough to last through the years.

I originally bought this to put on top of the tree but the boys didn't want to stray from tradition. That was a win for me because I love my star and this allowed me to feature it here. One day on a whim I threw a piece of styrofoam into this pot, stuck in the star and filled with reindeer moss. Perfect!

I needed something to tie the two sides together and I didn't want to pull out my faux garland. So I crafted one of my own (from the tree scraps - good thing I over snipped). I originally wanted this burlap ribbon with rusty jingle bells on my door, but you couldn't see the detail from the street. I like it here even better!

Finally, I needed something in the middle where the garland switches directions and the burlap comes to a point. This sweet little bird's nest does the trick!

And of course we had to go with our traditional stockings. BBC wouldn't have it any other way! I like the pop of color they bring to this area. I'm pleased with how it finally came together. 

I'm also joining the fun at Rhoda's Mantel Party. If you are visiting from a party, thanks for stopping by. I can't wait to see what everyone else has done this year!

~Southern Fried Gal

p.s. I'm hosting a Christmas Door Linky Party here this Friday, December 9th. I hope you'll join me!
 

Christmas Centerpiece

This year I'm trying to incorporate as many natural products as possible into my Christmas decor. Here's a quick (and fairly inexpensive) idea for a Christmas Centerpiece. I started out by purchasing three small boxwood bushes that were similar shape and size. I got mine on clearance for $3 each at a local nursery.

I wrapped each plastic, ugly black pot in burlap and ran a red ribbon around the center of each pot. You can use hot glue to secure the burlap and ribbon to the back of the pots.

I made the burlap a little long on top and frayed the edges a bit. Then I covered the dirt with reindeer moss.

I scattered a few shiny, red ornaments here and there to add one more layer of interest.

I dropped mine into my Charles Street Planter and placed on my coffee table in the living room. Beautiful! If I were going to use this as a true centerpiece, I would put down a runner, drop a few ornaments down to the table and add a few votive holders here and there.

As an added bonus, I can easily switch out the ribbon after Christmas to change the look for late winter/early spring. Then I'll have three bushes to add to our landscaping in the spring!

Do you use natural elements in your Christmas decor?

~Southern Fried Gal

Linking up with Amanda for another round of weekend reading!

Joining Melissa's party over at The Inspired Room.