A BAD WEATHER DAY BUT SOME GREAT FINDS

We are FINALLY safe in a hotel in Dallas and all our kids are SAFE in SHREVEPORT, after a horrible weather day. Tornadoes were everywhere in Shreveport and Bossier and my son actually watched one pass over the car dealership he works for. He said they had at least 50,000 dollars in damage...A scary day to say the least. We were on the road most of the day and torrential rains were are constant companion. The kind where you cannot see the car in front of you. I was getting constant phone calls from home telling me new tornadoes were spotted every few minutes...so I am hoping tomorrow is a less eventful day.
BUT, I did manage to stop and purchase a few great finds for some of my houses. Some are still in the car so I will have to show you those pictures tomorrow night, but will give you a little eye candy and maybe it will spark a new idea for you.

Really look at this tree close and you will see the results of lots of different things, different textures and different shapes that all go into making a beautiful tree.

This is my FAVORITE RIBBON FIND of this year, expensive but absolutely BEAUTIFUL

These are a few things that I bought for myself.....unless I find a house that HAS to HAVE them!

This tree is FABULOUS and going to make a GREAT FOCAL POINT in SOME HOME. The picture does not really do it justice.

THIS beautiful gold wreath can be used as a wreath or as a centerpiece with a huge candle wedged down in the middle.....I bought the cutest Santa, but am too tired to get it out of the car....will post it tomorrow night.....
TIP
Walmart is putting out their Christmas things and have some GREAT ornaments. I stopped at a large Walmart coming into Dallas and found three different ones that will work on a tree I am in the planning stage of .. They were $2.00 and looked like $10 ornaments.....Of course, I bought everyone of them as I have a 12 ft tree that is changing colors this year. I will show you those tomorrow also....
Tomorrow is a full day at market and then a SATURDAY CANTON day...and it looks like the weather on Saturday should be PERFECT.
IF any of you are a reader of my family blog you know I am a Brett Farve lover (I will just say it like it is) and the game this week, as he returns to Green Bay as a Viking will be where you find me on Sunday! We are a FOOTBALL FAMILY! If you don't love football, the sentence above will mean NOTHING!
Remember tomorrow night I will be drawing for the GREAT GIVEAWAY on my family blog.

A Short Delay

I know that some of you were waiting for me to post pictures of the first home tonight, but we had to reschedule the tree for next Tuesday. It will even be a more fun post as I am going to do a second "teenager tree" in pink and black on a white tree. That will be a FIRST.
I have to make a quick trip to market in Dallas to pick up a few ornaments for a new tree plus I am hoping to make a Saturday Canton stop. I have worked on tree stuff all day, everyday for several weeks and a Canton Day will be a fun break.
My friends think that I am the PRICELINE QUEEN and often call me to make their reservations...I may have gotten my best deal yet tonight. I have gotten a lot of good deals in past years, but I just SCORED. For $45.00 a night, I got The Westin at the Gallaria! That's a DEAL!

Be sure and stop by my main blog and enter the giveaway from Lisa Leonard. Her work is wonderful and I am honored to be able to give away some of it. The contest will go through Friday night....just leave a comment.
Thought I would give you a look at my shop during this time of the year. It is NOT a pretty site.....and though it does not look like it, it IS organized.

This is the PINK RIBBON for the TREE....STAY TUNED!!

THIS IS THE WEEK I START HOUSES...

If you read my FAMILY BLOG, you will understand why I am super TIRED tonight, no that would be totally EXHAUSTED and we still have one more day before Amanda and Micah will be home.
PLUS, I start decorating trees on TUESDAY.. Can it really be that time? Tomorrow I will spend most of the day getting everything organized. All our WORK BASKETS, RIBBONS, WIRE, WIRE CUTTERS, GOOD SCISSORS, etc., have to be with us AT ALL TIMES. Nothing slows us down like not having the right things to work with. I am excited about the first house. It is a dear friend that has wanted her tree done for several years and this is going to be the YEAR. So our first job will be a new job...we get to CREATE MAGIC.
I have received so many emails about how I keep the little man away from the tree. Here is proof that I DON'T!!!!! But the sparkle in Jack's eyes makes it easy for me to let him have a little fun....He even learned a new word tonight. RED

He REALLY is a little ANGEL!

I FINALLY GOT HIM TO CALL IT A DAY But we do have a WINNER of A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SURPRISE.......I HAD the little man above DRAW TONIGHT and the WINNER IS Jackie at Fresh Oil Today! I just visited her blog and its great, so stop by for a visit. It may be a few days before I post again, as I try to get in tree MODE. The first few day always bring aching muscles and a tired body. Later in the week I will have a cute GINGERBREAD tree to show you, plus I am hoping to have my Disney Tree finished.

Remember you can always email me if you have specific questions and I will answer as quickly as I can. annah99@aol.com.... .a little confusing with my name being Teresa....but Annah was our sweet dog for 17 years and I just cannot change it.

The Stages of a Tree, Some Great ORNAMENTS and a GIVEAWAY

THIS is a TREE!...A NAKED ONE....A LOOK I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH. Now I am ready to CREATE some MAGIC....

A look at the TREE, as it begins to take shape!

This tree is NOT finished. Still needs lots of sticks and stems to give it another dimension...hopefully that will come this weekend.

Just a look at all the colors I MIX to tie the tree together. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF COLOR...THIS IS A CENTERPIECE, MINUS a CANDLE (it did have one) that I used on my tables at Bunco last night, trying to mix fall and Christmas....as I have a few trees up! Now I will add some glitz of reds and golds to make it become Christmas!

A close up look at all the textures I use and as you can see I cram the ornaments in to create a FULL look. Remember, wire or somehow secure the ornament to the branch...NO DROP.....Look at both these pictures up close...you will see I mix many different shapes, sizes, textures and colors....

Now I am adding some berries, some leaves, some stems, all at random places...DO NOT try to get things PERFECT...I hear people say they are afraid of putting two of the same color ornaments next to each other...I may put 6 of the same color ....IT DOES NOT MATTER with the finished look. I PROMISE. When finished, this tree will have more than 2,000 things on it... I am hoping to finish it this weekend and get started on my Disney tree.

I told you I would share some great ornament buys at Hobby Lobby...All these were half price and GREAT BUYS. If you live in my town few would be left. If I find a great filler, I buy all of them and then ask them to look in the back to see if they have more.

I made these with the tree lit, so the quality is not the greatest....I will do better next time. Below, are some of my favorite finds. They have several shades of red and green and then a raised texture that adds yet another look. These were 1.00 as they were 1.99, regular price...SUPER good buy!

I love this iced berry ornament. It was 2.50...another good buy!

If you collect nativity ornaments, this one was 2.50 and really beautiful. I am going to add these to several homes this year. It actually gave me an idea to do an entire tree of different nativity ornaments. I probably have 30 different nativity ornaments, but am thinking I could find many more....I think it would be a neat tree.

And just because I do not want you to think I totally leave FALL out.....This is a little fall arrangement in my kitchen that I love!

OK, you know NO POST is complete without a GIVEAWAY!

This one is going to be a SURPRISE, as I have worked on trees for 12 hours today and am too tired to get up and make a picture.....All I can tell you is it will be a HOLIDAY TREAT to add to your HOME!

The boys are spending the weekend while their Mom and Dad attend an LSU game. ALL comments from this week will be entered, ending on Sunday evening. Parker or Jack will draw on Sunday night. A comment is ALL it takes....Nothing hard, you don't have to follow, you don't have to post about it, and you do not have to send anyone to the blog. You are welcome to do any of those things, but it is NOT necessary for entering the GIVEAWAY.

Have a wonderful weekend. I will be having sleep overs with my best little buddies and working on trees and wreaths every chance I get. I actually START decorating homes next Tuesday. Did I really say that? Where has this month gone?

WINNER and A FUNNY POST ON MY MAIN BLOG

I am breaking a promise. I just do not have the energy to download and edit all the ornaments I bought yesterday and today...I bought two new trees for my house today and my plans are to decorate them tomorrow...so I am hoping to show you the before and after along with lots of great ornaments...but I did want to post the winner of the TREE SKIRT below....I am giving you a couple of pictures....one a green color that one of my clients is using this year...and a good fireplace look IF you like glitz.

Before I announce the winner, you must go to my

FAMILY BLOG and read the REASON, I am so tired tonight and definitely confirmation that I am NOT superwoman....nor SUPER family.

The winner of the TREE SKIRT is Kim, The Real Me at Homesteaders Heart.....Congratulations....email me your information and I will ship it to you soon....

Working on a Post

Tomorrow is Amanda's birthday, so I am going to extend the drawing for the tree skirt until tomorrow night.

So all comments on this post and the one below will be in the drawing...We may even let "Jack" do the drawing!

...

I was in Hobby Lobby this afternoon and in the next post will show you some pictures of some GREAT ornaments that are GREAT prices, that will make GREAT filler for a SPARSE tree. Now is the time to buy, before all the good buys are gone..

I have loved hearing about your favorite Christmas songs...Tonight I am listening to Mandisa's "Its Christmas", Kenny Loggins, Alan Jackson, Point of Grace and Barbara Streisand. You have probably figured out that I love Christmas music.

I will post the winner tomorrow night....

Have a GREAT weekend.....it's finally getting cool here.

And The Winner of The Snowman IS

************This is going to be so much fun hearing about everyone's favorite Christmas music...There have already been a few responses tonight and I have enjoyed each of them. Tonight, I am listening to an old one by Kenny Rogers...Christmas in America along with a great Michael W. Smith one, and then a little Kirk Franklin...How's that for a contrast...After everyone posts, I will try to make a list of all the favorites...

This was a fun giveaway...and so many comments.....I hope the person that wins, really loves this little snowman.......He needs a HOME!!! AND THE WINNER IS MEGAN at ITALLWORKEDOUT
Stop by and visit her blog. Her profile says she is a PICU nurse and those nurses have blessed our lives in the last few years as two grandsons have spent time in the NICU.
I want to have lots of holiday giveaways and bless many bloggers.....so stay tuned and keep checking the blog...
This will be the perfect post for you to tell me your FAVORITE HOLIDAY CD. I will leave this post open until Friday night and then have Parker do another drawing from just comments on THIS POST!
Send a new person to the Christmas blog and I will add your name twice...Nothing hard...I want my giveaways to BE EASY! I had an email from another blogger that said she thought I had SO many readers and followers because I gave so much away! Hey, I will be glad to be known for GIVING, though I am not sure she meant it as a compliment.
This is an absolutely GORGEOUS TREE SKIRT...It could be used as a table topper or a tree skirt.....and it NEEDS a HOME. The picture really does not do it justice, it is even more beautiful.....and fabulous material...

A FRIDAY NIGHT GIVEAWAY

I am going to give this elegant Snowman away this weekend in honor of all the followers that this blog now has. I will draw on Sunday night and all it takes to win is a comment on this post. That should give you a good chance to win. How easy is that! I would love for it to be YOURS!
As you can probably tell, I am constantly working on Christmas right now. That's my JOB and this is preparation month.
I have had comments and emails that some don't like the glitz....Hang with me...I will do some non glitz in a post soon. I do some very Southern Living looks, just happens that the houses I am getting ready for right now want GLITZ and GLAMOUR. I feel like it is such a privilege to be able to give you tips, but I don't want to give you more information than you want. In this post I want to show you some new color combinations, just variations of shades of greens and reds. I also want you to see that the more different ribbons you mix the prettier your bow looks.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO MIX COLORS

BUY BERRIES In ALL COLORS and SIZES

THEY ARE THE BEST FILLER and YOU CAN STICK THEM IN THE TREE and HIDE ANY HOLES or COVER LIGHT CORDS.

THESE WERE SOME THINGS I PICKED UP AT HOBBY LOBBY. THIS STAR is LIGHT WEIGHT and ANOTHER GREAT BUY and a

GREAT FILLER.

SEVERAL VIEWS OF A WREATH THAT HAS LOTS OF COLORS AND LOTS OF BERRIES

ALSO A SMALL TABLE TOP TREE WITH BEAUTIFUL RIBBON. MANY TIMES WE MAKE TWO OF THESE, MADE JUST ALIKE and USE ON EACH END OF a BUFFET. We ADD THE PEARL LIGHTS and ITS an INEXPENSIVE WAY to GET an EXPENSIVE LOOK

It is a very dreary and rainy Friday night here in Shreveport.....a great night to stay in and work on trees. Actually it has been a GOOD DAY, as I got a much needed massage, got my hair cut and am now settled in to get some work done. My husband is out of town, so I am cranking up the Christmas music, have candles lit in every room and plan to get lots of work done. My favorite holiday CD's TONIGHT are B.J. Thomas's Christmas is Coming Home, T.D. Jakes Follow The Star, Christmas by Alabama, and Martina McBride's White Christmas! What are some of your favorites?

Also if you decided to do "The Jesus Tree" , please email me (annah99@aol.com) your mailing address and I will mail you a scroll. I do mine on parchment paper, but you could do it many ways.