Come visit with me as I stitch and craft my way from one Christmas to the next - I like to have Christmas projects close by me all year. I have a particular fondness for Santas and Angels. If you have the time, leave a comment so I know you've visited.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Jo's Advent Blog Hop - Day 11

11th December - my turn to put in a post on Jo's Advent Blog Hop.  The picture I have chosen is of my Craft Tree - the Christmas Tree on which I have displayed my stitched Christmas ornaments and my beaded angels.  If you want to see some angels, enlarge the picture and look carefully between the branches. My beaded angels vary from about 1 cm to about 15 cm tall (0.5" to 6" tall) , and there are over 100 scattered over the tree.  The tree itself is a 1990s tree which was rescued after it had been abandoned by its family.  It is the first time I have put up a tree just for my handiwork.  In all, I have 7 large Christmas trees in my house this year, and this one is my favourite.


More views of the tree:




Boxing Day - here in Australia there are two things strongly associated with Boxing Day, and they are hot dry weather (I'm talking high 30s to 40s C -over 100 F), and sport.  On Boxing Day there are two big sporting events: it's Day 1 of  a cricket Test match; and the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.  In my house it is also Day 1 of the unpacking of Christmas and return of the house (freshly cleaned) to its usual state.  So, I will be knee deep in tissue paper and boxes, wrapping up Santas and Angels that are like old friends, and packing them for storage until next November, and in the background will be the cricket and yachting reports on the TV. It about 2 weeks to complete the transformation.  I used to like to have the house back to its normal state by New Year's Day, but these days I am much slower.

14 comments:

FlashinScissors said...

Gosh, what a wonderful collection of decorations!
Your tree, and indeed all the other decorations look simply amazing!
Nice to read about your Christmas traditions..... especially the wrapping up routine!
But, oh dear, you are a hard act to follow ..... tee hee .... and it’s my day tomorrow! Oops!
Barbara xx

Justine said...

Wow...your house looks like a Christmas grotto! I'm not surprised it takes 2 weeks to do.

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Thanks for taking part in the Advent Calendar Blog Hop this year. I love your hand crafted tree, so many beautiful ornies on there. I am glad to see that you keep some for yourself too.

Katie said...

Hello I'm popping over on the blog hop. Love your tree. How beautiful. Thanks for sharing your tradition. Yuck that's HOT. I hope your putting things away goes smoothly and quickly for you.

rosey175 said...

Oh wow, your whole house looks like it'd be part of those Christmas tours they do around here! It's hard to imagine a hot Christmas though. Boxing Day gives new meaning to itself if you're spending it boxing away all that loveliness.

Astrids dragon said...

Your tree is amazing! I love that you saved it and made it so beautiful, filled with your ornaments and angels. I'm not sure I'd want to take it all down so soon though!
Wishing you a very Happy Christmas, and hopefully a relaxing Boxing Day.

Sheryl said...

Oh gorgeous decorations and wonderful tree with an amazing collection of ornaments, seems a pity to put everything away so soon. Here in Spain people decorate their homes around mid december and they stay decorated until after the three wise men (kings) have come with gifts on the 6th Jan. Can´t imagine a Christmas with hot weather.

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

What gorgeous decorations,and so lovely to have atree with so many stitched ornaments on it.

jocondine said...

Thanks for sharing your lovely decorations with us during the year and your Christmas trees in this post. I have a classic tree in the dining room, added a white "steampunk one" for the kids in the hall but still wish a third one decorated with handmade ornies. Before I have to reorganize the house now that kids are adults. Joyeuses Fêtes de Noël ! xxx

OhSewCrafty said...

How lovely to have a tree dedicated to your stitched & beaded ornies. It's so beautiful and how fortunate Santa is sitting beside to guard it ;) Merry Christmas

DJ said...

Your tree is simply AMAZING!! I love that you have your own tree for your lovely ornaments. I started the same tradition last year, but my tree is MUCH smaller. I think we Americans are missing out on Boxing day, I think I'll have to write to our government officials! Have a Merry Christmas!

Brigitte said...

Your craft tree looks gorgeous. And interesting to read about how you spend Boxing Day in Australia.

Julie said...

I hope you have enjoyed a lovely Christmas
Your festive decorations are so pretty.

Anna van Schurman said...

Sorry to be visiting so late, but the Christmas crush was crazy. Lovely tree! My husband was checking the match results first thing every morning! :)