What I Love About My Holiday House.....

Welcome to Quill Cottage where we are enjoying an old fashioned country Christmas! I'm glad the gate was opened when you arrived, even though the pine cones were closed due to our wet weather!.....




The greeting is painted on an old board from my Grandmother's kitchen table. If you were to look closely, you would see knife marks where she, my mother and her sisters prepared food.

I trust the angels ushered you through the arbor and up the walkway....
I made these two lovelies a few years ago out of some old tomato cages, garland and a vine ball and swag. She is embellished with twig arms, garland, white twinkle lights, silk flowers and golden wired ribbon! I hope my wreath gave you a glad greeting and tickled your nose with the smell of fresh cut Christmas greens..... Come in and warm yourself by the fire.....
I am so glad your here! Won't you join me for a cup of tea or do you prefer coffee or maybe some cocoa? Perhaps we can be a bit naughty and indulge in some homemade fudge!

Why thank you for noticing my Christmas decor. I love this season, so festive and so meaningful. I've always thought that celebrating Christmas is a wonderful way to close out the old year and to usher in the new one. This year I decorated with my 19 month old grandson in mind. All the ornaments on our memory tree are totally touchable. Almost all of them are hand made of wood or fabric, take a peek.....

I did reserve a few areas that are more adult in taste, such as the area above the sofa and the hall table. My husband built the shelves above the sofa for me last year for Christmas. I saw them in a Southern Living decorating magazine and loved them. This year they house our Nativity, an angel my husband gave me for our nineteenth wedding anniversary, and a few items I handcrafted..... In the hall I displayed a pink poinsettia, some garland, and my favorite Willow Tree Angel, a gift from a friend, and some delicious vanilla candles. We use the decorative iron pieces to display our Christmas cards by simply placing a magnet inside the card to attach it..... Oh, so you noticed my teeny tiny tucked away Nativity! I have had this since I was a child, it was my very own Nativity and I always sat it on my dresser..... Come on into the kitchen while I refresh our cups. Oh, you love that china pattern too? Yes, I'm still working on the dining nook, I have not had time to set a proper table but I did have time to put up a few things. I inherited the china from my Great Aunt Sylvia, it is the Old Moss Rose pattern and was made by Ballerina. I almost always choose to use this particular set at Christmas..... The angel hanging at the window? She was an unpainted yard sale find and I painted her folk art style many years ago, she always celebrates Christmas with us in one place or another around the house. Her crumpled horn is result of a bit too much Christmas cheer from my children but we love her just as Christ loves us, imperfections and all.....
I went really traditional in here, red and green, Santa, candy canes, reindeer, and gingerbread men with lots of fresh cut greenery! I wanted something cheerful and delightful to a child's eye (and mine!) Even the pot rack got a touch of Christmas. My daughter loves to use those huge hand made copper cookie cutters each year.....
My green upper cupboards do fit in with the season nicely don't they? I added a touch of red and green by using doilies, most of which were made for me by a very dear friend....
Clever window treatment don't you think? I got this linen piece at a flea market and it too has traveled all over the house from year to year. This year I simply stitched a rod pocket with some embroidery floss and hung it on a tension rod. Below it rests another family favorite, the tiny plastic Nativity scene. I purchased this when my son was quite small so he could have a touchable scene. The year my daughter was three she became fascinated with the little baby Jesus. She took him everywhere she went and told every passerby that she had baby Jesus in her pocket. I prayed that some day he would be safely tucked into her heart, and he is..... The Santa mugs are just a fun touch, the one on the bottom in the middle was mine when I was little. Every year my mom would take it down for the month of December only and she would make me hot cocoa, not the kind from a package but the real cooked kind, and serve me cinnamon toast for breakfast, what a feast!..... The wreath and apron on my pantry door are two of my favorites. The wreath holds some of my cookie cutter collection and tucked into the pocket of my vintage apron is a little gingerbread man that my daughter-in-love gave me.....
I just love this area, it was built from what used to be a closet that housed our washer and dryer, still does, they are tucked under the counter top! There is a story behind this remodel, but I will save that for another visit. I wanted this area to look a bit like a candy store at Christmas....



This area is full of Christmas cheer, fond memories, and beloved pieces of Christmas past. By the weekend it will be filled with home made goodness in all manner of sweets and treats! The linen piece on the top shelf and the burlap ball tree were my mother-in-law's. The two sawdust stuffed leather reindeer were mine as a child. The tiny wooden shoes, the nesting Santa's, and the iron and clay gingerbread man were gifts from friends. The painted barn wood Santa was a gift also, he is painted on wood that is over 100 years old! That cute glittery Santa holding the bottle brush tree is a recent addition, the little guy followed me home from the flea market last weekend, so I kept him!.....Let me show you our other tress and then we will sit an visit awhile. My daughter claimed the aluminum tree this year. This tree, the color wheel, and most of its ornaments were purchased by my parents on their very first Christmas together back in 1960. My mom gave this to my husband as a gift one year because he had such fond memories of the one his family had. We chose to tuck it away in our daughter's room so that it could be shut away from the hands of tiny grandson as the tree and its ornaments are very fragile. The tree topper is an old Christmas corsage that was found at a flea market last year.....


And last but not least is the tree I chose for my room. I used only the top section of our four foot off white tree and put it in a shabby tin in floral foam. I added some ivy to the base and decided to create a frosty feathery bird filled creation. I added tons of white twinkle lights and scattered them across my hand painted dresser and covered them with an old crochet table cloth. I added more ambient light by using the silver candle shields and flanked them by my two angel friends, Hope and Joy. I can't remember a time without these two at Christmas. I am told that one of my Grandmothers gave them to me on my first and second Christmas'......

I added iridescent beaded garland and bows to the wee tree, as well as a few glittery colorful glass ball ornaments. If you look closely you will see some lovely delicate snowflakes, these were all tatted by one of my dearest friends. She gives me a new one every year! I also added various little birds, some old and a couple of new ones and then the feathery goodness came in. I bought a bag of feathers at a local craft store and poked them into the tree and topped it off with a pink jeweled bird!

Why do I love my holiday house you ask? Because it fills my heart with joy and blessing at all the fond memories it brings. I love my holiday house because it is where love lives, sorrows are shared, laughter abounds, and a family is built. I love my holiday house simply because it is home.

I am sorry you must leave so soon but I know you have much holiday cheer to spread and visits to make. Thank You, Karla, for hosting this event!

Leave a comment to sign up for a Christmas give away! Tune in tomorrow to view the goodies and see who the winners are! (Yes, there will be more than one!) The goodies will go in the mail on Friday.

Christmas Blessings,

Miss Sandy

P.S. May each of your homes be filled with the Christmas Spirit where love abounds, peace, joy, and happiness reign.