Decorating for Christmas . . .

Is also a trip down memory lane! Sometime in late September of every year, I start noticing Christmas ideas, fabrics etc., and start dreaming of how I'd like to decorate my house for Christmas. This year I really started to dream after I discovered a website Pinterest.com (do NOT go there unless you are willing to lose MANY hours of your precious time) I even created a board there, titled "Christmas" and started pinning my favorite ideas. I noticed that I was leaning towards ideas that were red and white, and I thought, it would be really pretty to do everything in red and white, I even bought some mesh to do a red and white wreath . . . Then we took the tree from the garage (real trees are too aromatic for me) and the decorations from under the eves . . . and then I remembered, sigh. Every box I open, every ornament I unwrap is a memory. Especially all of the ones that the children made - I love those more every year! Among my favorites are decorations or cards made from the hand prints of my children. Some, like those below, were made at my children's daycare. Dated on the back, they are perfect time capsules.

Others, like the wreath, I made for relatives when my daughter was 1 year old, but I remembered to dip her fingers in red paint to make berries in their wreathes! The tree was a brother/sister combination, with the little one's prints for the top, and big brothers paw prints for the base of the tree. Another year I used plaid fabric and heat n bond ultra hold for her hand print. It is plaid on both sides, I just fused the fabric together and used a permanent marker for the year and her name. I wish I had thought of that one when they were both infants, it would have been nice to have one for each year, just different fabrics. I also wish I had invested in better quality paper and paint to do the projects, but the ideas were kind of spur of the moment and I just used what I had on hand, I'm grateful to have them! So, I guess until I get a bigger house, I'll just stick to decorating with my memories!! Happy Quilting!