I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

.....White Christmas Tree, at least.  I have 2 trees in my home, each decorated in its "own" fashion.  My absolute favorite tree is my white tree, which, after temporarily displacing the hall table and chairs to the basement for a month, fits perfectly in my entry hallway. 

I have only had this tree for about 3 years, but I dreamed of it forever! It is filled with colored lights and I know where every single ornament on this tree came from -- no two are alike.  My all-time favorite ornaments are by Christopher Radko.   There is the most awesome Christmas Shop in Olde Towne Alexandria (the Christmas Attric) where I used to work, and they sell his glass ornaments.  His ornaments always remind me of an "old fashioned Christmas".  I have always wanted a tree completely filled with these ornaments, like the first one I ever bought over 20 years ago...

However, the ornaments are pricey.  So, for the last 20+ years, I would save up and buy at least 1-2 of these beauties a year.  Since I have not amassed enough Christopher Radko's to fill the entire tree, the other ornaments are gifts, or handmade beauties, like the one I made this week with Jennifer Jangles beads:

 

I was going to give this ornament away, but I liked it too much when I was finished!  I frequently read her blog and she had some fantastic ideas for using her beads for ornaments - she has such talent!

The other Christmas Tree in my house is massive 12 footer. One full day to put this one up and decorate! 

My best friend dog Sam, likes to look at the lights at night.  He was very happy his dog bed was not moved in the decorating process!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sea of Tranquility - with Kelleys Beads

There has not been much time for jewelry making, that's for sure.  In the last 3 days, I have made double - and sometimes triple - batches of  11 different kinds of Christmas Cookies and Candy...and I am not done yet!  But, the house smells good!  For the first time in MANY years, the entire family will be together to celebrate Christmas Eve...all 17 of us at my house!  So, yes, more cookies to be made....

In the meantime, I did steal away a couple of hours to play with some gorgeous beads from Kelley Wenzel....these, to be exact:

These beads are amazing, as they appear to have texture, but are actually perfectly round!  And the colors!  My birthstone, turquoise!  They match PERFECTLY with Amazonite gemstones and chips.  So, I got out the sterling silver (lots of it) and came up with this:

I am calling this set "Sea of Tranquility", because the colors remind me of the beach! 

Thanks for stopping by!