Betty Crocker Wannabe (Recipe and Mom Blog) (2024)

Once the Christmas decor came down, the top of my dining room hutch, which was filled with poinsettias just a few days ago, was looking mighty empty. It was time to change things up a bit.

I became inspired after seeing this photo in the latest Pottery Barn catalog (I'm really bummed, because you can't really see the top, but trust me, those are cameras).

Rick had a couple of old cameras, and I had some camera equipment that belonged to my grandparents in the 50s, so we thought there was enough to fill up the space above the hutch.

I added some old photographs and an old Disney movie reel (the only thing we purchased - found at Country Roads in Old Towne Orange for $9) and the vignette was complete.

(Clockwise from the left - my grandparents wedding photo from 1949, a baby photo of my dad from 1938, a photo of my dad and my grandmother from 1940, and my parents wedding photo from 1974)

From the left: Kodak movie projector & movie camera from the 50s, stack of film reels with old movies, including family trips to Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland in the mid-50s, movie reel with old photographs, two vintage cameras that Rick had, and a 1940s vintage camera from Germany on a tripod.

Now, I must give credit where credit is due...the photographs were Rick's idea. Yeah, I think I'll keep him.

The hutch belonged to my grandparents, too. It kind of came with the house. Mostly because it's just too dang big to get rid of. And I kind of like it.

Because of the ceiling fan, and the fact that it was 11:00 at night, made photographing very difficult, but I am so pleased with how it turned out, that I just had to share.

What do you think?

I've seen a lot of these in blogland, but I was really looking for one that spoke to the true meaning of Christmas. I couldn't find it, so I decided to create my own.

You can find the full post and printable download at my current blog, Simply Klassic Home.

We spent this Thanksgiving weekend like we always do...decorating for Christmas!!

I have never liked my fireplace, but I am absolutely in love with how my Christmas mantel turned out this year! Everything seems to flow, and it just makes me happy looking at it!

We've recently found out that Cooper has many allergies including many trees and grasses, so didn't want to take the chance with a real tree, or having any pine branches in the house. I used faux lighted greenery, but I love the little twinkle it adds, even during daylight.

I used the winning combination of mason jar/epsom salt/candles again, and added some small gold mercury glass tealight holders on different candle holders for some height. The bronze stars all came from Michaels.

These beautiful, large (and heavy) glass ornaments came from Marshalls last year.

I have a pretty porcelain Nativity that will probably not see the light of day for several more years, since I really don't trust my three year old around it. So, we have this super cute Little People Nativity from Fisher Price.

I made this banner in Photoshop, just like the Peace on Earth banner. I was going to be offering these as printables, so as soon as I have the time to figure out how to do that, I will let you know!

So there's my mantel. I just love how it looks at night, too!

I will be sharing my tree later this week, as well as my favorite ornaments, once I'm certain it's finished, that is! AND hopefully later this week my oven will be fixed so I can start sharing my favorite cookie recipes!!!

Thanks for visiting today, and I hope you'll be back soon! Make sure to stop by Gwenny Penny all this week and next for Haul Out the Holly. Gwen will be featuring different bloggers each day, and I'm one of them!!

I'm linking my mantel up with Layla over at The Lettered Cottage, and I'm looking forward to see what others have done with their mantels as well.

Also linking up to these great parties.

My name is Kristin, and I am a Dollar Store snob. Or I was, at least, until I started blogging.

I have found such great inspiration on so many blogs with items found at the Goodwill or purchased at the Dollar Store, that I have turned my loathing of the Dollar Tree into love. Well, "like" at least...I'm still in recovery.

***WARNING, if you are one of those people who do not believe in putting up your Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, please avert your eyes.***

I am aiming to have a simpler Christmas this year, with decorations as well as gifts. I would also like to have a little bit of Christmas in the majority of the rooms in our house. I have a very small budget this year, so I'm spreading out decor I already have or re-purposing items I have on hand.

(looking at the photo, I should probably have taken the pictures down, but I was too lazy to go back and shoot more photos)

When I saw this sweet little tinsel tree in the Dollar Spot at Target, I knew exactly what I would do with it.

I fluffed it up, and straightened the branches. I place it in a burlap covered flower pot (stuffed some newspaper on the bottom), and covered the styrofoam with a little shredded brown crinkle paper and some silver tinsel. For the finishing touch, I tied a red gingham ribbon around the pot.

They also had tubes of ornaments for a dollar. I bought seven tubes, in various sizes and textures, and used three and a half of them here in a glass vase.

I read a post on The Inspired Room the other day about decorating with mason jars. I love mason jars, and this is something I've been wanting to do.

I filled the jars with Epsom salt and stuck a votive candle in - instant sparkle! I wanted to tie something around the jars, but haven't yet decided what that should be...ribbon, or twine, or just leave them as is...what do you think?

I created the "Peace on Earth" banner in Photoshop. I have a Joy to the World version that will be displayed on my mantle.

So there it is, a little bit of Christmas decor on the cheap.

(He reeeeally wanted to be in a picture. He does make a great model, doesn't he?)

Cost breakdown:
Tinsel tree: $2.50 at Target
Ornaments: $1 a tube at Target
Flower pot with burlap: on hand
Ribbon: leftover from the Grandma-to-be-Party
Epsom salt: $3 for a large bag
Votives: 50 cents a piece
Banner: made by me in Photoshop

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I have an awesome, cheap, and easy gift idea coming this week. Can you guess what it is?

I think we have created a monster.

I picked up a paintbrush for the first time in years. And I liked it. a lot. In fact, I've been wandering the halls of my house warning the mismatched picture frames that they're next.

As soon as I saw the Pottery Barn catalog that came out a few weeks ago, I started ripping pictures from it, storing ideas of things I wanted to knock-off for Christmas decor. I shared some of those ideas here.

This was one of them:

But with a hefty $200 price tag, I knew it was something I would never own. Then I looked to my right and saw a picture frame hanging on the wall. Sure, it had a picture in it, but this frame was just begging to be transformed. So I did.

I am so excited about how this project turned out. It's the first "big" project I've taken on in a long time.

Here's the original 16" x 20" frame:

First I sanded it down, not wanting to completely lose the dark color.

Next, I painted the frame Cottage White. I used a couple coats of Behr's Primer Paint (I actually bought a sample size for $2.94) and it worked great!

Once it was dry, I distressed the frame using both coarse and medium sandpaper.

Then I was ready to attach the wires. I purchased a picture hook kit at Home Depot that included picture wire, sawtooth hangers, picture hooks, and screw eyes for around $4.

I screwed in the eyes evenly spaced on the back of the frame.

Then I doubled up the picture wire, looped it through the eye and twisted it to secure it, making sure to hold it as tight as possible.

I kept the original hanger, and just screwed it back into the frame high enough and tight enough that once it was hanging it wouldn't be seen.

I hung it on the wall, and stood back to admire my work!

The entire project cost me about $7 for the paint and the picture hook kit. That's $193 cheaper than Pottery Barn!!

My original intention was to use it to display Christmas cards.

But then I thought it might be a great thing to leave up year round to use as holiday decor throughout the seasons.

I think that my favorite idea though, is to just hang a few black & whites on it.

What would you display?

Make sure to check back on 11/11 when I'll be posting a GIVEAWAY for personalized printables!

Linking to these great parties!

Halloween is barely over, but I've been thinking about my Christmas inspiration for a few weeks. ( I realize that some people do this all year long, but I'm not one of those people). I've decided that I don't want to buy any new decor this year, rather I would like to make some. I also plan to make most of my gifts for friends and Cooper's teachers. I've been scouring the internet, trying to get some ideas of some projects I'd like to complete, and I thought I'd share a few with you...

Home decor:

Centerpieces for the Christmas party we're hosting:

Christmas gifts for Cooper's teachers:

Be watching in the coming weeks to see my take on all of these projects. Hopefully my oven will be fixed soon, because I have an amazing Cinnamon Chocolate Christmas cookie to share with you as well!

Where do you get your inspiration for the holidays?

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Did you know that November is National Adoption month? I'll be revisiting some of my old posts, and I have a few new ones in the works, so stay tuned!