Our Stockings Are Hung But What Else Can I Put on the Mantel?!

Merry Christmas, Glitterinas!

Do you have a favorite Christmas decoration?

I have a short list of favorites..... our handmade stockings definitely make the short list!

My wonderful, talented Mom started this Christmas tradition for Husband and I when we got married in 1979.

She made our stockings and gave them to us for our first Christmas.

They have travelled all over the place with us!  They have hung on mantels in houses that had one.....they've hung on bookcases and hutches, too!

As our family grew, so did our stocking collection!

We have a great mantel in our home that is the perfect place to hang all the stockings!  I'll share a picture of all the stockings in a bit......

Even though the stockings are wonderful, the silver hangers for them are lovely, too, the mantel isn't quite complete.

I wanted something else to decorate the mantel that wouldn't take away from all the stockings.

In years past, I've used greenery.... red shiny ornaments......candles......snowmen.....all kinds of different Christmas decor.  

Let me show you what I came up with this year.....

I decided to use an old picture frame that I have used over and over again to decorate with ......I thought it would make a good background for a tray decoration.

I laid everything out that I needed for the project I had in mind.

Please excuse the sunlight.....I was so very glad to have it streaming in all the windows!  

We've had a crazy, cold stretch of weather here in Central Texas.....brrrrrr.

Things I used:  

empty picture frame

silver tray with handles

two small silver creamers

wire twisties

holly and other greenery, clipped from our yard

red curly ribbon

cream, wired ribbon

scissors

I found this wide, wired cream ribbon with Christmas writing on it at Home Depot.  It's some of Martha Stewart's Christmas line.

Let's start by wiring the greenery to the tray.  

I chose a tray with handles so it would be easy to hang inside the frame.

Next, I cut a long piece of curly ribbon and tied the ends to the creamers.  

Then I hung that piece of curly ribbon over the ends of the greenery.  The greenery ends were sticking up by the twisty (like on a loaf of bread) that had been used to attach the greenery to the tray.  The creamers hung in the greenery and the red, curly ribbon was a nice bit of color.

I tied a big, puffy bow and added it to the tray along with some more strands of the red, curly ribbon.

The bow covers the ends of the greenery.

This is looking cute......

Time to attach the tray to the frame.

I used another piece of the cream, wired ribbon....tied through the handle of the tray.

This project went together very quickly!  

I worked on the ottoman right by the fireplace.

 It's finally ready to go up on the mantel......

I think I like it......it's just the touch I wanted!

The stockings hang on silver snowflake hangers, so I think they look good with this new tray decoration.

What do you think?

All the stockings.....

Hanging in a row......

OK, Santa, the stockings are all ready for you to fill with goodies!  

The grands can hardly stand the waiting.....

Some more of that wonderful, warm sunshine coming in through the window in the door!  

I think this tray decoration answers the question

"What else can I put on the mantel?"

Do you like it?  

Thank you so much for letting me share some of my favorite Christmas decorations with you!

You are so kind to spend time with me here at Pink Glitter.

Please leave me a comment so I'll know you were here!

Until next time,

Tammy

Linking up with:

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Vrooom, Vroooom~ Nascar in Vegas!

Glitterinas, do you have a need for speed?

I basically do not......however,

while Husband and I were in Las Vegas the top dozen Nascar drivers, who definitely do have a need for speed, were there for their big, annual award ceremony.

I know next to nothing about Nascar but I have some friends who are huge fans!

This post is for them!

One day while Robin, Debbie and I were out sight seeing on the Strip, the drivers were having their

"Burn Out" up and down the Strip.  

They spin, spin, spin their cars and burn out the back tires creating lots of stinky smoke and lots of screaming from fans!

While I was taking all these pictures of the cars and drivers, I laughed, and felt like all the excitement was somewhat wasted on an onlooker like me.....you know, kind of a non-fan.....

Oh well, I want to share the snaps I took.

I hope there are some Nascar fans who enjoy these......

Here come the cars.....revving their engines and making lots of noise!

I had fun watching the 2 "minions" from the movie Despicable Me.  

They put on quite a show, too!

When the drive up and down the Strip and the burn out were complete the drivers pulled their cars up near where we were standing.  They exited their cars and got into vans.  

They seemed quite friendly.....waving and smiling at all the screaming fans that had gathered to watch all the excitement!

I liked the M&M car the best but may have been the only person who did.  There was some boo-ing to greet that driver....I believe his name is Kyle.

I waved at the Number 39 driver and he smiled back and waved....kinda exciting, even though, oh well, you know my knowledge level on Nascar! 

I got to have my picture taken with the M&M car.

It's still my favorite!

Yes, that's M&M World behind me.....yes, I went in and bought LOTS of M&M's.....for the grand~darlings.....that's my story!

Vroooom, Vrooooom......

I hope there are Nascar fans out there in blogland who enjoyed my snaps.

The next time a Nascar race is on TV I may have to watch....who knows, I might become a knowledgeable fan.....stranger things have happened....right Donna, Mark?!?!

Is anyone in your house a Nascar fan?

Thanks for stopping by Pink Glitter today!  I appreciate you spending some time with me!

Until next time,

Tammy

Vegas, Baby!

Hello Glitterinas!

Have you visited Las Vegas?  Did you enjoy it?

I spent last week in Las Vegas.  I had never been there.....so I was a total tourist!

Husband was there for meetings, so he and I enjoyed some amazing restaurants, walked up and down the Strip, and were amazed by all the lights in the evenings.

I had two lovely friends to cruise around with during the day.....their husbands were there for meetings, too!

Here we were in Caesar's Palace. 

 I wanted to get my picture with a gladiator, but sadly, we didn't see any!

While we didn't see any gladiators....that may have been the only thing we didn't see!

Floors, ceilings, mosaics, flower arrangements, art, water fountains, signs, restaurants, shops, statues, and the people are all over the top in Vegas!

We walked and walked and saw....

This ceiling at The Venetian was awesome.

The men and women steering and rowing the gondolas sang beautifully.

The mosaic floors and carpeting at the Wynn were absolutely lovely!  

Butterflies, butterflies, butterflies!

The famous Bellagio Fountains did not disappoint.

They were fun to watch during the day but seemed even more spectacular at night!

Freemont Street is an interesting experience....it was a mad crush of people and even more of those crazy Vegas lights I had always heard about.

We had so many yummy food options....there are wonderful restaurants in many, many hotels/casinos.

We ate very well!

Being a lover of all things Christmas, I think we visited Vegas at just the perfect time!  

The decorations were fabulous!  

I had to keep reminding myself to look without giggling....and to stop saying "Oh my goodness, look at this!"

This guy had a very unique hair do.....Robin and Debbie are both bundled up because it was COLD!

I think my favorite thing in Las Vegas was the Bellagio Lobby ceiling.  

This is a 40,000 pound Chihuly glass installation!

Chihuly glass pieces are also available to see up close and purchase in a small shop.....small describes the size of the shop not the prices of the glass pieces!

Books about Dale Chihuly and his work all over the world were also available here.

This blue-tiful glass piece was in a small Bellagio cocktail lounge.

Crazy pretty!

Well, that's enough Vegas sharing for now.

Happy decorating, if you are right in the big middle of that fun activity!

Merry Christmas, Glitterinas!

Thanks bunches for letting me share my Las Vegas trip with you.

I am glad you stopped by Pink Glitter today.....please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of all the Vegas snaps!  Do you have a favorite spot in Vegas?

Until next time,

Tammy