Trim a Tree Thursday

Hello & welcome to another Trin a Tree Thursday! Hosted by Brett over @ The Southern Hostess . Don't let the name fool you though...it's not all about trimming trees. It's just seasonal decor, from any holiday, in any form.

Today I'm sharing pictures of this year's winter look. I hate how bare my house looks after the Christmas decor is down so I leave a lot of festive silver, white & snowy accents up until the first of February, when my Valentine's decor comes out. I don't do every room up for winter ...just the main living area downstairs.

Love my mantel this year. Last year, I thought it had an unfinished look but not this year...I love it! The staples that I have kept there since Spring, (the crocheted-edge mantel scarf, the curio, the rose sheet music, apothecary jar, dried rose & cherub dish) make it really easy to update the look for teh change of seasons & take it to the max w/out having to work too hard or spend too much time on it.

(Click on any picture to enlarge)

I loaded up an ironstone urn w/ ornaments & a Friendly Village plate then hung a glittery "Let it Snow" message from it.

I used an old key & an old cameo necklace as a "bow" on this vintage crystal apothecary jar.

That same dried rose has been there from Spring, through Summer, then Fall & Halloween & on through Thanksgiving & Christmas. I just add seasonal accents to make it work. Here I've used a faux pine sprig underneath it. I loaded up all my teeny tiny white brush trees into the cherub dish.

Remember these wire snowmen from last year ? Look how good they look now that they are blinged up! I coated them w/ iridescent glitter, added embroidery floss smiles, rhinestone button eyes & pipe cleaner tiaras. I also tied a cream velvet ribbon as a scarf but it was too stark so I dabbed it w/ coffee to age it. Aren't they too, too cute? There's a close-up view of them in my post below.

I moved all my Dept 56 snowbabies to the curio cabinet & added some glitter trees.

This is my bombe chest w/ antique mantel topper. One of thse days, I will try to get a full shot of the bombe. It is so neat...it has clawfoot legs & real wormholes in the wood! I stocked it's shelf w/ tablesetting supplies...silverware, napkin rings, crystal plates & butter domes.

Love this little vignette! Although the hankie is not supposed to be there. I just stuck it there to see how it looked, didn't like it & forgot to remove it.

I treasure this heart Connor made me one year & I leave it out always! That teeny-tiny cloche fits perfectly over a mini-cupcake. Noah will be getting his first cupcake @ Easter. ;o) Coleson was so cute when I gave him his @ 6 mos. I lifted off that cloche & his hand shot for that cupcake. *grins*

Mother of pearl napkin rings.

My Staffordshire dogs. I love them...I really, really love them....I do! I've always wanted some & hubby surprised me w/ them a couple of years ago but I have such a hard time fitting them in w/ my decor so they usually spend at least half the year, in a closet. Poor things! They don't even fit in well w/ my collection of dog figurines because of their Oriental look.

My coffee table is simple but still interesting, I think. I layered 2 ironstone platters w/ scraps of lace & pine sprigs, then topped it w/ a snowbaby under a cloche.

I used more of my Friendly Village dishes in this vignette. With some snowbabies & some brush trees, it just screams "winter", doesn't it?

Didn't do much to winterize my china cabinet, just swagged some pine garland over the top & added some brush trees to the inside.

I'm really pleased w/ my winter decor this year...it has a much more polished, pulled-togther look than last year's, don't you think? Next week, I'll share photos of my Valentine decor from last year & then the next week, I'll share this year's.

Hopefully, this week more bloggers will have learned that Brett's blog party isn't just about Christmas & will share some of their wintry or Valentine's decor. Let's go see who's playing today!