Top Decoration: J.O.Y.

J.O.Y.

Today was

"project day"

for me around here.

Finally!

The boys were at school and Will took Ellison out for the day so that I could get some things accomplished without the endless interruptions that occur when everyone is here.

I was alone.

In my own home.

(I was giddy!)

It's a rare occurence, so I took full advantage of it.

One of my projects was to get the built-in-cubbies in the entryway ready for Christmas. Since this is our first winter with our newly built organization system, I went through each of my boxes of Christmas decor looking for just the right items to dress them up.

Garland and berries were a given.

Pinecones too.

And red Christmas balls.

But I didn't have anything to fill the empty space in the display cubbies.

So I added a little...

J O Y

I had Will cut three 4 & 1/2" x 12" strips of pine board that I could lean against the back of the cubby. I wanted to add more green to the decor mix, so I painted them an apple green and then washed the boards with a watered down mix of black and brick red craft paint. (This was a use-what-you've-got project, so I made do with what I had)...

I painted on the letters the same way that I did on the oar in our Master Bedroom. I wanted these letters to have a hint of sparkle, so after the white paint dried, I went back over it and painted on a thin, white line of paint following the right hand side of each letter. It acted as my glue for the glitter...

It took no time at all and I think they turned out great!

The apple green ties in perfectly with the ornament wreath that the boys and I made last night...

I'll be posting more about this in a few days, but for now I'll say...

if you follow Sarah's instructions to a T, you won't have any problems.

If you don't, well...you may end up just as frustrated as I did!

Don't get me wrong, the wreath is super cute, inexpensive (a pack of 5 shatter-proof ornaments for $1.00 - nice!), and easy (I use that term lightly) to make, but if you don't take the necessary preparations, it ends up being a huge pain...

I'll be making another wreath, for sure.

This time following her instructions...

I would love to make a pink wreath for Ellison's room.

A blue one for Owen's room.

William would love a green one of his own.

They're addicting, I tell you! You can't buy a wreath this cute for this cheap!

I had other plans for this wreath when I began the project, but it turned out much smaller than I had anticipated. I had about 40 ornaments to work with, so if you're going for a big wreath, you're going to have to get lots and lots of ornaments!

This one found it's place hanging on a hook in the entryway...

As for the overall look...

I like it...a lot!

I did another project in the entryway today.

A big one.

But it's not quite finished yet.

I've been wanting to do this for so long...

but I had to be sure that I was making the right decision.

Turns out...I did!

Can't wait to show you!