Tuesday 30 November 2010

Nutcracker Mantel

Greetings! And, thank you all SO much for your thoughtful comments about my whimsical Christmas kitchen decor! I really appreciate it ... your sweet notes are the reason why I blog. Again, thank you!

Since we're all in (or getting in or need to be in) the holiday spirit, and the blog Christmas par-tays are beginning, I thought I'd share my great room mantel today. Like last year, I chose to embellish it with nutcrackers. However, this year, I added a few more ornaments, snowflakes and beads:

These pretty green, red and gold shatterproof ornaments are from Wal-Mart ($5 for a box of 18)! Love.

Last year, I had one simple row of gold beads (from Old Time Pottery). This year, I added more ... fun:

I added the gold, glittery snowflakes this year, as well (from a local Christmas shop):

I also decided it might be fun to add a couple of canisters of the traditional Christmas nuts. Of course, I just *had* to perch a mini nutcracker right on top.

Up above, the wreath is adorned with a few Christmas gold, red and green balls:

And, what fireplace would be complete without fresh cookies and cold milk waiting for Santa!

I leave you with a nighttime shot, with the mantel all aglow!

Thanks for stopping by! Come on over and visit the following blogs who are having fun gatherings:

The Lettered Cottage/Holiday Home Linky Party

Savvy Southern Style/Boring to Better Party

Southern Hospitality/Vignette Party

French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday

Southern in My Heart/Inspiration Friday

Bargain Hunting with Laurie/Favorite Things

The Tablescaper/Seasonal Sundays

Hugs,

Christmas in the Kitchen

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I had such a great time with my family and friends! The last few days have been nothing but eating, laughing, shopping ... repeat ... eating, laughing, shopping ... repeat! I was more than sad to say goodbye to everyone as they headed back to Virginia. :(

Soooo, to take my mind off of missing my family, I kept busy adding a few last touches of Christmas around the house. I thought I'd share a little bit of my kitchen, decked out for the holidays. My goal was to keep it fun, festive and filled with whimsy. Hope I succeeded!

As you enter through our mudroom, you're greeted by this whimsical tree, filled with cookies, candies, cookie cutters and other fun ornaments (click on pic to enlarge if you'd like):

Mr. and Mrs. Claus have fresh, gingerbread cookies all ready for you:

And, for those of you who remember my love for these cute cards from KariCraft during the Fall, I loved adding a few to this tree, as well:

I found these sweet, festive lollipops at Cracker Barrel ... thought they'd be fun tucked in the tree:

My wonderful elves are perched on top ... they are busy stringing gumdrops, which then cascade around the tree. They are such wonderful helpers:

I filled my kitchen canisters with calorie-filled yummies, except for the middle one, which I filled with fake snow, ivy and ornaments, topped with an elf:

The other counters have festive touches, as well. A polka dot bowl of *faux* fresh bread:

A Christmas cookbook tempting you to make something yummy:

This little vignette has a tiered tray of *faux* goodies sitting next to the sweetest picture of my little fella taking his first walk with Santa a few years ago:

Lastly, I topped my kitchen cabinets with garland, snowflakes and red and white ornaments. Annnnd, I added a "Holly Jolly" note to my chalkboard:

The only thing missing from my kitchen is the smell of Christmas cookies baking in the oven, which I hope Jax will help me with this weekend!

Thanks so much for stopping by ... I'm off to see everyone else's touches of Christmas!

Be sure and stop by these truly wonderful blogs to join the fun!

Dittle Dattle for Amaze Me Monday

BTOTP for Metamorphosis Monday

Southern Hospitality/Vignette Party

Hugs,

Sunday 28 November 2010

diwali Inspirations, Rang Decor Readers Creative Spaces

festive lighting...

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Diwali is long gone and it's time for Christmas with reds & greens, cakes & cookies and loads of happiness....

...but festivity can never go out of style, can it?

I received a mail, few weeks back from one of Rang Decor's readers Rama Ananth and she wanted to share some of her Diwali moments with all of us. I loved the way she has used fairy lights and other traditional lamps to bring in festivity.

Here are few captures from her lovely home.

These are truly beautiful Rama, thanks for sharing it with readers of Rang Decor!

(images by Rama Ananth)

Friday 26 November 2010

a hundred hands, Handcrafted, NGO

A Hundred Hands...

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A Hundred Hands is a nonprofit trust based in Bangalore, India.

Their vision is to create a world that celebrates the pleasure of handmade crafts in our homes and daily lives.

'The Handmade Collective' A showcase and sale of all things handmade is on and I had an opportunity to drop by yesterday and enjoy the beauty of various handcrafted work.

The gracious Mala Dhawan of A Hundred Hands showed me around and here are few lovely products that I captured from a variety of handmade goodies...

Amazing Aepan painting on tealight holder lamps...

Gift boxes...

'Aepan is a unique craft of the Kumaoni folk , where they use finger nails, originally done on walls. Intricate patterns are made using natural dyes as this craft gets a new lease of life decorating homes and office stationery.'

Christmas gift items by Flower Belles Decorators...

I just loved this idea of having fairy lights decorated with recycled egg crates by eCoexhist...

Eco-friendly Ganesha by eCoexist...

Beautiful Sanjhi Art...

'Sanjhi is an art of cutting paper on non metallic surfaces with the help of plied scissors and sharp blades. While this craft flourished since its origin in the lands associate with Krishna, in Mathura and Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, today only one family claims to be carrying it forward through it's fifth generation of artists.'

Lush green plants for sale...

Beeswax products...

Hase Chitra, a tribal art form from Shimoga and Karwar district of Karnataka. Usually done on special occasions like weddings etc, now trying to bring it into our modern everyday life by painting on canvas and metal...

It was a great to learn about some very interesting art forms of India, that are being revived by 'A Hundred Hands...'

Do drop by at

A Handmade Collective

24th Nov to 28th Nov. 2010

4, Ashley Road, Behind Hotel Ajanta

off Brunton Cross Road

Bangalore

Do check out their Facebook page for other updates.

(images by Arch

Aarohi Singh

Art by Aarohi...

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Nazar Batto Box...

Today, I dropped by at Aarohi Singh's exhibition at Pageturners Bookstore and was completely engulfed into a world of vibrant colours and Indian Kitsch.

Here are few captures of her wonderful work.