Kings' Chapel Holiday Parade of Homes

Last week, I was privileged to attend a blogger meet and greet at the Kings' Chapel Holiday Parade of Homes in Arrington, Tennessee.  Wow, the jaw dropping beauty begins as you enter through the gates.

Entry by Arrington Design-Build Firms Kings Chapel Community

I, along with about 30 other bloggers, toured four gorgeous homes built by Tennessee Valley Homes, Gregg & Rains, Arnold Homes, and Drees Homes.  There were so many great decorating ideas, it was almost overwhelming!  Almost ;)

Grab a cup of something and let's take a look!  (By the way, my camera/phone battery died after 3 photos so I'm sharing some gorgeous photos taken by a new blogger friend, Cindy of DIY Beautify.)

This beautiful dining room was amazing.  The wall treatment is a mix of media to achieve this unique concrete finish.  It really is incredible.  It's the creation of Bella Tucker Decorative Finishes.

The walls in this bedroom were one of my favorite.  I love navy blue.  This paneled look is on my list of techniques to use in one of our rooms.  Of course, then I'd need to get an old iron bed and those killer barn doors.

Ok, THIS room...I've got dibs on this room!  It wasn't huge but it was so warm and cozy!  Add a small coffee maker and I would be set for hours of blog work.  Sigh.   My workroom wants to be this room when it grows up.  OH!  And, it had a hidden room behind the paneling...a safe room :)

Well, I could post tons of great pictures from the Parade of Homes but you NEED to go see these homes for yourself.  Proceeds from the ticket sales are going to the Middle Tennessee Make-A-Wish Foundation.  An awesome organization that has made the wishes of so many come true over the years.

Along with the ticket sales, there is a silent auction for 4 Balsam Hill trees that have been decorated by 4 rock star bloggers, Kari Anne of Thistlewood Farms, Jenna of Rain on a Tin Roof, Kristie of The Decorologist, and Lesley of Chaotically Creative.  Each tree's theme was chosen by one of the Make-A-Wish recipients.

Kari Anne's Circus Themed Tree

Jenna's Grammy Themed Tree (check out that tree skirt)

Kristie's Greek Themed Tree

Lesley's Fashion Model Theme Tree

Tickets are on sale daily for the Kings' Chapel Holiday Parade of Homes, now until December 21st!  You can find more info here:  http://kingschapellife.com/

A great big thanks to Cindy of DIY Beautify and Candice of She's Crafty for the use of their beautiful photos.  Hop over and check them out!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Angie

Beautiful Tartan and Transferware Christmas Tablescape

Welcome to the last day of our Christmas blog tour.  Today we're sharing tablescapes and mantels.  I've put together a small tablescape for two.  Beautiful tables don't have to be for a large crowd or even set on your dining room table.

I've created a cozy table for two with tartan prints and transferware dishes.  

In keeping with the Christmas theme, I've incorporated poinsettias and evergreens, along with some vintage silver and glass ball ornaments.

Stacking a variety of patterns with your dishes creates a beautiful table.  Here I began with my wedding china, Lenox Liberty (still love it after 26 years!), a Ralph Lauren Tartan salad plate, vintage brown transferware ironstone, and a small gold monogram dish on top.

I found this little guy at an antique store a couple of weeks ago.  It's ironstone which goes with practically everything.  It was more than I would normally pay for a serving piece because I'm such a thrift store shopper.  However, at $7 it was a great deal to add to my ironstone collection.

So, go ahead, bring out that wedding china!  Set a special table using a mix of patterns and colors.  I promise, it'll look beautiful!  And, it doesn't take a lot of dishes when you're setting a small table, just for two.

Well, that's the end of my Christmas Blog Tour post but don't stop here.  Check out these amazing bloggers for more great tablescape and mantel ideas!

2 Bees in a Pod Rustic Inspired Mantel

The Crowned Goat Winter Wonderland Tablescape

Concord Cottage Snowy Mantel

bluwaterlife Christmas Breakfast Tablescape

Tomorrow, I'll be sharing a roundup of this entire past week of blog tours!  Don't miss it!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Angie

Make a Snowflake Ornament from Keys

It's Day 4 of our Christmas Blog Tour and today's topic is christmas crafts.  Right up my alley :)

Remember the huge bucket of old keys my father-in-law gave me?

Yeah, it was a bunch.  I played around with them and came up with this idea for a Christmas ornament and I really like how it turned out.

For this project, you'll need:

6 long keys (like those used for doors)
12 short keys (like the ones used for locks and cabinets)
a thick piece of cardboard or mat board
a strong adhesive like E6000 or Liquid Nails
white spray paint
white iridescent glitter
Mod Podge
12 inch piece of fishing line

Begin by place the 6 long keys into a circle with the heads on the inside and the grooves pointing out. Next, pair up 6 sets of the 12 short keys so that the lengths are fairly equal to each other.  Now take each pair, stack the two keys one on top of the other and form a V.  Each "V" is now placed on top of the 6 long keys.  You should now have 6 sets of 3 stacked keys, 1 long key and 2 short keys.

You may want to play around with the different groupings to get a balanced look with the varying shapes and lengths.

Once you like the design, begin gluing each set with the adhesive.  They will still be 6 separate sets right now.  While the glue is drying, take the cardboard (or mat board) and cut into a circle big enough to glue the "snowflake" to but not so big that it can be seen from the front of the "snowflake".  Spray paint it white (if it isn't already).  Now that the glue on the keys has dried, glue the "snowflake" to the cardboard.  On top of the cardboard piece, place the key stacks in a circle with the small keys on the bottom and long keys on top.  You can place a small weight on top of the ring to press it against the keys until the glue dries.

Now that everything is glued and the glue is dried, you're ready to spray paint the whole snowflake white.  If your keys are rusty, you may want to use spray primer first, then your white paint.  The rust will bleed through just the white paint.

That could be the end of the snowflake but don't we need a little glitter?!

Yep, I thought so.  Much better!  Paint the entire snowflake with Mod Podge then douse with white iridescent glitter!!  Beautiful!

Now, to add the fishing line to hang the snowflake with.  I used a hot glue gun (because it's faster) to attach the fishing line to the back of the cardboard.  Here's a little trick to make the snowflake hang straight and not tip forward because of the weight.

Attach the fishing line at a second spot on the back of the upper most key.  This will be the key that will point straight up when hung.  See photo.

It's ready to hang!  Check it out!!

I hope you liked this craft for repurposing old keys!  Be sure to check out the other blogs today!

2 Bees in a Pod Casserole Carrier

The Crowned Goat White Ornaments

Concord Cottage Glittery Birdhouse Ornaments

bluwaterlife Beverage Station

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie

Make a Snow Village Wreath

Welcome to Day 3 of the Blogger Christmas Series.  Today we're featuring wreaths.  I got this idea from Martha Stewart's magazine but I've tweaked it a little to fit with the village set I already had.

I began with an artificial evergreen wreath, a set of vintage village pieces (found at a thrift store a couple of years ago), blanket snow (or you could use some thin batting), artificial spray snow, and a glue gun.  Lay the village pieces out to get an feel for the arrangement.

Next, remove the village pieces then spray the wreath with the fake snow.  Let it dry and shake any loose pieces before beginning to add snow blanket.

Pull small sections of the snow blanket and begin tucking it into areas of the wreath.  Try to keep the snow areas horizontal.

Next, begin hot gluing the village pieces.  Remember to place these flat against the wreath so that it will appear that the village is cascading down a snowy hill (wreath!)  My village set included farm animals and fencing.  Those pieces were glued to appear as though the animals were behind the fencing.

That's it!  You're done!

I added one of my vintage mason jar snow globe to sit below the wreath.  It contains some of the same village pieces.

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to check out these other great bloggers' wreaths:

2 Bees in a Pod Woodland Owl Wreath

The Crowned Goat Yarn Ball Wreath

Concord Cottage's Christmas Wreath

bluwaterlife Easy Magnolia Wreath

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