Holiday Homes Tour 2011

Welcome to the 2011 Edition of the Holiday Homes Tour. Please, take a walk up the path and join me in my little storybook cottage.

I try to do something different with the wreath every year. This year I went with the traditional woven Scandinavian Hearts. It was a pain to make them so tiny!

I never really have a theme. I just put the same old things in new places.

We have my vintage elf collection.

Now I have a tree collection! The tree on the left I've had since I was young. The candleholder tree I found at a thrift store last year. The matroishka tree was a gift from a friend. And the pinched clay tree is a masterpiece by young Frank.

I have to display my favorite holiday photos. Look at how cute the dandelion fluff Ernest's hair is.

The nutcracker collection has grown since last year.

Frank was instrumental in lighting and decorating the tree.

He chose a cat to top the tree. It has been The Year of the Cat around here, hasn't it. Yes, that is Chewbacca underneath.

He picked out the ornaments most similar to Homer and Francine (Fifi).

But you can never have too many cat ornaments. So I hung the rest of them in the powder room  Gallery of American Vernacular Cat Art.

Last year's creative masterpiece, the Recession Wreath, has new life as a tree skirt for the Charlie Brown tree.

And the Recession Tree itself? I saved the whole thing. Stuck it in the closet, lights and all, ready to use again this year.

I went a little wild on the piano, with the leg lamp and disco balls.

Why yes, that is a theremin. Doesn't everyone have a theremin?

The tomato cage Recession Tree so inspired me last year, I painted another cage and hung some of my overflow ornaments on it. I kept it up through Valentine's Day, redecorating with a red, pink and silver motif. But wouldn't you know, I didn't take any pictures of either version.

This year I gave the extra tree a theme -- my bubble lights, which are older than Frank, and all the cute home made ornaments. We've got the jigsaw puzzle piece and cotton ball frames, the cardboard angels, and some other assorted semi-hand made wooden pieces.

I've got another tomato cage painted. I'll decorate it if I can just find a place to put it!

Thanks for visiting! Stop by any time. (If you'd like to visit prior years, here are the links:

2008 2009 2010 )