Wreath-bedecked Red Christmas Barns

What can be better than a winter drive through the countryside

and spotting a red barn with a Christmas wreath!

So festive and cheery! Even romantic.

If there happens to be snow on the ground,

then it becomes picture-perfect!

Christmas dreams are made of stuff like this.

Moo-ry Christmas!

Spicing Up My Hot Chocolate

One of the things that winter means for me is hot chocolate!

Warm, cozy, yummy! 

Even better when I'm snuggled under a blanket.

Better still? A crackling fire in the fireplace.

With a gentle snowfall outside! I'm swooning.

Thought I'd share this chart with you, courtesy of SheKnows.

Can't wait to try a couple of these concoctions to jazz things up!

They really sound less like beverages and more like dessert, don't they?

Rich? Check.

Decadent? Check.

I think it's time for a chocolaty splurge. Are ya with me?

DIY – Making Our Own Snow Globes!

My daughter and I decided to tackle a Christmas DIY craft project

over the weekend: handmade snow globes!

We saved several glass jars from jelly, olives, etc.,

soaking off the labels and removing any extra adhesive with Goo Gone.

Thought maybe we'd use a mason jar also, but it ended up being too large for our needs.

We found some small figurines at our local

Impact Thrift Store and at the dollar store.

We also bought distilled water from the grocery store

and some glycerin, which we found at a drug store.

Sequins and glitter were fun to pick out!

We used epoxy to glue the figurines to the inside of the lids.

Allow plenty of time to dry completely.

See that cute little snowman scene on the right?

(More on that later.)

Pour the distilled water into the jars.

Adding a few drops of glycerin allows the glitter to float longer

instead of sinking right to the bottom of the jar.

Add as much glitter as you'd like.

So, remember that snowman scene I'd mentioned above?

Turns out I was a bit over-zealous with my gluing,

which resulted in an over-crowded lid that wouldn't fit back on.

2 of the 3 pieces popped off, so I was back to the drawing board. Live and learn.

(I don't think Martha is worried about me usurping her throne.)

Sigh. I guess sometimes less really is more.

This little tree looks adorable all by himself.

In order to hide the salsa lettering on this lid,

I hot-glued on some cheery red burlap

and then topped with a twine bow. Cuteness.

Excuse the blurry photo, but I really wanted to show you

the blue sequins that we paired with a white bristle brush tree.

Winter wonderland!

What a fun way to spend a Sunday together!

We decided to display our snow globes on this

vintage aluminum tray that we found at a yard sale a few years back.

Smitten With These Mittens!

ZenFrogCreations

Yes, indeed, I'm smitten with these mittens!

Every handmade one of them is straight from Etsy.

Whether knitted, crocheted, felted or up-cycled from old sweaters,

they're here to warm hands and hearts!

(Click on the link below each to take you right to its Etsy shop.) 

NordicMittens

OldWoolNew

hatsbyalyssa

MuttonsMittens

WoolenDream

reewesit

FeltedFriends

Snow Art by Simon Beck

An avid skier, Simon Beck owns an apartment at the Les Arcs ski resort in France.

One day, après-ski, he set out for a nearby snow-covered lake, and 

for the fun of it, planned out a design and walked its outline in the snow.

Deciding that snowshoes would make the process easier,

he was soon creating more intricate patterns, taking photos and posting them online.

Surely his background in orienteering and map making 

help him to plan out the geometric patterns, 

but he must also have a strong artistic side 

that encourages his creativity to take off!

He draws out a design on paper using a ruler and a protractor, then  heads outside.

His tools of the trade?

A hand-held orienteering compass, a measuring tape,

and a clothesline attached to an anchor for making curves and circles.

Plus, of course, his snowshoed feet.

(snowshoe shod?)

On average, each design takes 10 hours to complete.

That's a lot of great exercise, tromping on what he says is ideally about 9" of snow!

Some areas of concern: safety when walking out onto an ice-covered lake,
keeping warm throughout the day, and finishing with enough daylight left to take photos.

Simon would like to publish a coffee table book with photos of his snow art.

And in case you were wondering...

Yes, as a kid, Simon liked playing with his Spirograph set.

Here's Simon Beck's Snow Art page on Facebook.

Images used with permission from Simon Beck
via https://www.facebook.com/snowart8848.

Currier & Ives Winter Scenes

"The Road, Winter"

booktryst

Yes, I have a bucket list.

One of the items on it is this:

"Take a horse-drawn sleigh ride with my sweetheart."

(sigh). So romantic!

The name Leroy Anderson may not be familiar,

but his 1948 song, "Sleigh Ride" is a favorite of many.

"It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives.

These wonderful things are the things we'll remember all through our lives!"

Enjoy these Currier and Ives lithographs,
which picture idyllic life in winter's snow-laden countrysides.
Oh. And sleighs, too. 

"Central Park in Winter"

asthecrowflies-raven

"Winter Morning in the Country"

easyart

"The Sleigh Race"

harnesstracks

"American Homestead Winter"

bittsandbytes

"A Spill Out on the Snow"

passionforthepast

"Frozen Up"

magnoliabox

"Central Park, Winter"

paulasserendipity

"Bringing Home the Logs"

fineartamerica