Christmas Home Tour!

Christmas conjures up sooo many different emotions and feelings for me and unfortunately near the top of this "emotion" list is stress and panic...so much to do, so little time, so many little and big people around I hope to make it wonderful for and no matter how hard I try I always seem to fall short of expectations, which are for the most part MINE and no one else's!

Don't get me wrong, I know the real meaning of Christmas and completely get that.  There is no other time throughout the season that I feel more centered than standing in church on Christmas Eve, candlelight glowing, Hymns being sung, Scripture being read...particularily if my own little "angels" have chosen to cooperate during these moments...a true blessing all in itself!

I've also read and heard and been told all about simplifying for the Christmas season, but find that no matter how hard I try I'm just not so very good at that!  I LOVE to decorate and I have a thing for Christmas trees, glittery, rustic, big or tiny, I love them all but natural and quirky are my favourite, hands down!  So, since I've started blogging, I've started to follow other's blogs and have seen many gorgeous homes, vignettes, ideas, etc... but realize I cannot do it all, and I likely wouldn't be true to myself if I copied other concepts, so for this year I'm decorating more or less like I've always done which I admit is kinda country, (even though I hate labels!...see previous post!)  a bit rustic, pretty informal and I hope just a little bit fun!

So without further preamble...Welcome to Jen's house tour!...I apologize for subpar photography, I entirely blame the camera, but I fear I haven't been quite good enough this year for Santa to bring me a fancy schmanzy one!




 


Little kid creations are a must on my Christmas tree!...

  

...even if they are sometimes gaudy!


















This was made by me when I was 4...does that classify as vintage or antique??



























My lil bro always groans when he sees this, he's 30 now and getting married!...but I love it, reminds me of when he was an imp, running in and jumping on me to wake me up on Christmas morning!  (by the way...he's still an imp!)
  

















Another favourite decoration, anything natural and free!


















About as "glam" as I get! 


 



















A cardinal crafted by my 2 year old...I just love how he stuck the wings on his tummy!



 



































Outside garland and a preview of that unfinished porch ceiling!

 




































some cute and cuddly snowmen crafted by my daughters...
 






















 ...the Seuss tree too!

 

And...since this is an art blog, my favourite art of all...my kid's!




 















Tiny village handcrafted by mommy and kids...kinda compliments the painting in behind don't ya think?   I'm sneaky like that!

And in case you didn't know, I have a rather large home, so don't worry, this is all spread out, it doesn't look nearly as tacky in real life, at least I don't think so!

By the way...did I mention, right now, while writing I'm just procrastinating? 
            I have commissions to complete,
presents to wrap,
                  cards to write,                                    no baking done,
         church pageant to help organize
                                                                 (how long could it really take to make a camel costume?)
                          and then all that daily stuff too!

Oh yeah...life is good!  I really do mean that, so blessed with so many choices that I simply can't choose!

Have a wonderful day! Jen

What's the Point in making Plans?

Well, I took a much longer break from posting than I had anticipated!  Wish I could say that during this lengthy departure I have been ultra productive and have created a plethora of paintings to sell and display...unfortunately real life has a tendency to skew any well intentioned plans I have!

I had originally walked away because here on the home front we were going to tackle completing the underside of our porch roof and fascia before snow came...well, we started!  That was 4 weeks ago.  "We" soon turned into "me" and although I pride myself in being able to accomplish quite alot with a hammer and other assorted tools, when you're installing 16 foot long tongue and groove ceiling boards sometimes 2 people are better than 1.  Unfortunately, sweety decided to fall from a stepladder after the first evening on the job and land flat on his back on top of a power drill.  In my exasperation I was unable to muster up loads of sympathy beyond the first night since I had very persistently questioned and cross examined him before we ordered our supplies to ensure that he was indeed going to help me and we were definitely going to finish this job, instead of just start.  Anyway!- 3 days later he decided to go to the hospital where it was determined that he had indeed cracked a rib.  So there he was, ensconced in warmth by the woodstove resting and repairing and no doubt in pain and there I was looking from the outside in while balancing precariously on my ladder, nail gun in one hand, boards in the other, wedging things in place solo for all 72 feet of porch length while shivering in the bitter cold for over a week.  I found all this very hard to swallow and I like to consider myself a sympathetic sort, but truth be told, sometimes I think life just sucks and SOMEONE is testing me and I'm so not getting a passing grade!!  (did I mention I managed to get pooped on by a seagull in the same period of time?, coincidentally right after asking for "a sign, anything?"...next time I'm going to be more specific!)  Good news:  the ceiling is up.  Bad news:  the soffit and fascia is not and now we've got snow and Christmas to contend with!   Oh well!  I'm sure it'll look pretty... someday!

Below is my latest painting.  This lady is going on the Silent Auction table this Friday evening for a Christmas Fundraiser.  Proceeds will go to our local food bank.  Painting her was my happy amongst all the annoying that's taken place recently...hope someone loves her enough to take her home with them, 'cause I will be sad to see her go so soon, I really quite like her and wouldn't mind sharing my space with her for a little longer!

"Searching for Greener Pastures"  Acrylic on canvas 20 x20

...by the way, Sweety is on the mend, recouped quite nicely, but he doesn't fancy the cold anymore than me and work beckons, so our improvements will wait...I'm not a complete troll...just almost!  Cheers!  Jen