Sweet Gingerbread 2023 Kitchen

Hi Friends,

How are you? I hope you are doing well.

Welcome to our Christmas kitchen. 

As I looked over my photos from 2022, I realized that I went pretty minimal. I'm sure traveling last December had something to do with that but I wanted to pull out some of my favorite gingerbread decor. It's my favorite theme for our kitchen so I started working on a few new things back in October. 

I'd found a big gingerbread house after Christmas a couple of years ago. I can't find it in any of my old photos so it must have gotten on my nerves. It was very glittery so I gave it away this past summer. I wanted to craft some smaller gingerbread houses to fit on the shelves instead. I set about painting some. 

Bill cut me some wood houses a few years ago. I grabbed one and rounded up a few others. One of my thrift stores has Christmas out starting in July. I was able to grab a little ceramic tea light cottage to repaint. 

I found the darling mushroom pick at Joanns. 

A rotund gingerbread gal was found at Hobby Lobby. I thought her face was darling and she was only $9.00. Her clothing however was very cheap looking. She was worth trying to give her a primitive makeover. 

It took some self control to pack her away until after Thanksgiving. 

What a cutie. 

We have had a small wooden cabinet for years. I so wish that it would snug under the cabinets but it won't. I've struggled to find a place for it and finally decided to place it behind the sink in the corner. 

I knew it would be darling with one of my vintage Santa mugs. 

If you have visited with me much, you know that I love switching out my valances for the seasons. 

These red and ecru checked set was found on eBay. 

One window sill got a pitcher of holly and a white Santa mug. I used to see these everywhere. Not anymore. They are so hard to find. 

An estate sale gingerbread man also got a primitive makeover. He hangs out in the antique salt box. 

A cute Etsy gingerbread man with no eyes was found this fall. I like the crafts that I make but I love finding crafts by other people. 

I started the little guy in the centerpiece two or three years ago. He finally was finished for this year. 

This year the kitchen is a good mix of handmade and store bought. 

I'll show you our darling garden room soon. There's more gingerbread to see in there. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

See you soon. 

Katie 

Christmas Laundry Room

I wanted to do this post last year but the tree I used was a sad little thing. 
It didn't look so bad in real life but the pictures were not good. 
A new tree made all the difference. 

 

I've downsized my collection of gingerbread ornaments and kept only my favorites.  
These cuties made the cut. 

This little tree was $18.00 from Tuesday Morning. 

It was not pre-lit but a small light set fixed that.

Some of my favorite gingerbread men came from the craft fair at the local high school.

 I bought several pieces from an awesome crafter because I love her work so much. 
Sadly, I didn't make it to the craft fair this year because we were out of town. 

The open shelves deserve a trinket or two for the holidays. 

The other side of the room got some red and white gingham aprons.

I'm so glad that I took the time last spring to bathe this room in a coat of white. 
It looks so fresh when it's all cleaned up and the laundry is put away.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

Laura @ Adore to Decor had a wonderful Christmas luncheon for Texas bloggers yesterday. 
It was so fun getting to know these wonderful ladies. 
I'll have more to share about that in another post.
I also need to tell you about our trip to Disney World. 
See you soon.    
Katie  
Linking with,
From My Front Porch to Yours   
 The Best of the Weekend 

The Rescued Gingerbread Man

My daughter popped in at my favorite thrift to check out the books.

She has her own place now so she went into the Christmas section. 

She stopped by the house on her way home and brought me something she had rescued.

Just about every year for the past almost 30 years of our marriage I have made ornaments for our tree and some to give away.

They are fun to look at because they chronicle all the moods I have been in each Christmas.
When I first started putting up a gingerbread tree, I made some gingerbread men.

She saw this little guy at the thrift store. She thought that someone had discarded one of my creations. 
I have given them to teachers and friends throughout the years, so it seemed entirely possible that someone got rid of  one.

It was so sweet of her to rescue it for me

but...

it wasn't one of mine.

Oh, it looks like one of mine

and

the initials on the back are the same initials as mine.

In fact they looked just like my initials.

 I am glad she rescued it.

I will treasure it.

Someone took the time to make him and he's a cutie. 

Katie   
Savvy Southern Style  
French Country Cottage  
Funky Junk Interiors

"Flocked" Christmas Tree

I've been wanting a flocked tree.

We have never had one and I was in the mood for something different.

We shopped for one for the living room but I wasn't impressed. It didn't look like flocking technology has changed much since the genesis of the artificial tree.

I have seen many, many flocked artificial trees at junk shops that have yellowed. 
Not pretty. We didn't get one.

I saw something on Pinterest that made me want to give painting the tree a try.
She painted her tree and then sprinkled it with glitter.

Dealing with the aftermath of glitter is one of the hazards of my job so I didn't think I needed to add glitter into the equation.

But I was willing to give painting the tree a try, so I pulled out the white primer.

This job is messy! 

Dabbing seemed to work best.

Brushing the paint on the branches caused splatter.

I got it all over my shirt before I realized what was happening.

I wanted it lightly flocked so I didn't go nuts.

I did hit it with spray snow after it was dry.

 I wish I hadn't  because all it did was shed.

Spray snow hasn't changed much, either, since I was a kid.
Where is the commercial flocking that is sprayed on picks and garlands?
I notice more of the flocking during the day.

At night you can't really get the effect as much. But It seems like the lights are brighter and I like it with the Urban Putty  (by Sherwin Williams) walls in the sunroom. 

It looks cute with the candy and sweets and frosted gingerbread cookies.

You can see what else I have done in the sunroom. 
Sprinkled with artificial snow,

Katie

Linking with,
Savvy Southern Style  
The Brambleberry Cottage