all-a-sparkle

I really had fun with the Holiday decorations this year. This will also be posted over at The Inspired Room as well so make sure to go over there and check in on some other exciting Holiday inspiration as well.
I tend to get a bit more romantic for Holiday decor. I seem to need a little sparkle - maybe because it gets dark at 4pm? We decided not to get a tree so I just came up with other ideas to build some vignettes in our home. Here is the mantelpiece over our fireplace. It's a sparkly wonderland of different textures. First I set the palette of aqua and silver. I worked with evergreen branches as a base and nested simple white lights inside. It gives the house a Holiday smell without having a whole tree. On top of the mirror is a snowflake garland from Wendy Addison (a true glitter guru) for Season's of Cannon Falls.

Off on either end you can see white feather trees that I bought locally but you can get them here.

Of course, the star of the winter wonderland show was my new-found deery friend - a vintage cement garden ornament. He even dons a vintage turquoise velvet bow for the occasion.
and to add some shine and color, I used large apothecary jars filled with vintage ornaments in my color story. These were from West Elm several years ago but you can get similar ones here. This really would work with any color story - red and gold, green and gold, silver and pink (for those of you with non-objecting beau's).
and here I have more of a footed fishbowl container filled with ornaments.
And now onto the dining room vignette... here I brought in more of sense of nature. It is a large tableau created from many elements. In the center is the  "tree". I used 8 very tall mossy branches in a vintage tarnished metal urn. The urn adds some charm and drama.

the palette is shades of green, brown, pale aqua, gold and silver. The ornaments are a combination of vintage balls as well as new acorn and pinecone ornaments from Martha Stewart for Macy's (my sis and I kind of went nuts in there the day after Thanksgiving trying to round up our loot before the kiddies came to see Santa after the parade).
Here is a closeup of how this was constructed. The branches were all set deep into the container and decorative rocks were piled around the branches to anchor them. Then reindeer moss was added to the top of the container for color and mood.  
and down below the "tree" was more evergreen branches - these had brown berries which added texture. I also kept my Blue Hubbard squash as I felt they still fit the scene. People tend the throw pumpkins away the minute Halloween is over but I enjoy keeping them as long as possible. I have found the green and white varieties far outlast the orange and I keep them for Holiday decor. I moved the white ones to my porch!
And here is a vignette at either side of the tree. I used vintage column pedestals and built on top. I then added an apothecary jar filled with moss. I poked into it these clusters of wired glitter ferns (bought locally but available through Michael's) and added silver balls to create a vignette. Behind these are bold silver stars (again by Wendy Addison)
and a final little vignette on a side table...a mini wonderland with a vintage white deer, a sparkling tree, and acorns. It is all set atop a vintage silver bowl filled with live moss. Cheers and thanks for coming to see it all!

Comments

[le petit cabinet de curiosites]

I love your christmas decoration . Every year I try to make this kind of natural decoration ..It seems the forest is at home ..I love this feeling

[carlene]

That is just breathtaking!

[evie s.]

I love it! It's so beautiful and special.

[Leah]

Beautiful.

Leah

[erin]

wow. that's whimsical and classy and just beautiful. you've inspired me to really edit my colour palette. the dining room is amazing. i hope you're planning on having a lot of guests over to enjoy it all!

[Kathryn]

Those branches turned out so incredibly! The whole thing is just beautiful.

[Neutral Dwelling]

I decided to pop over from Melissa's blog--- You have a beautiful blog! Thanks for sharing!

[Mrs Branham]

Hello there- I love the dining room "tree" so pretty! I am hoping to make a centerpiece using branches- did you collect yours outside, or did you purchase them somewhere?

[laura]

i love your deer. everything is so lovely!

[robyn]

Really natural and festive looking, love all the green and blue!

Nice job Pam :)

[erika]

so pretty!

[ready2spark]

As usual...simply stunning!

[lilie]

These are all incredibly beautiful and winter-wonderland-y. Thank you for the inspiration!

[melissa @ the inspired room]

Pam,

Your post was SO inspiring to everyone. Including me, I was decorating yesterday for a party I am having and thought to myself, if only I had a garden deer to put a bow on. If only I had branches with ornaments, if only I had new ornaments and colors ... Yep, you've inspired me. I didn't have any of those things this time, but next year I know I'll find myself using some of those ideas.

So glad you were a part of this week! Looking forward to more inspiration in the future!

xo

[Chelsea]

Love the deer. I have to say there is a striking similarity between your decorations and an article in December's Domino. Not sure which came first.. but it's great!

[test]

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[At Home with kim vallee]

My tabletop theme for our family Christmas party includes birch bark vases, squirrel ornaments, deer and live moss. I will take cues from your vignettes to make the centerpiece.

[erinn]

This really inspired me to get my butt in gear this past weekend and decorate. I love your color palette. Thx! E