Happy New Year, Transforming Your Home for the Winter

Good morning friends! I hope the New Year is full of hope for you and your family.  I'm looking forward to getting back into our routine and schedule.  My kids seemed ready to go back to school today.  I want to share a scripture that I really thought fit my mind-set today. 

"In you O' Lord I put my trust;  Let me never be put to shame...For you are my Hope, O'Lord God; You are my trust from my youth...Let my mouth be filled with your Praise And with Your Glory all the day."   Psalm 71:1,5,8

What a great way to start your day!  I've been doing some cleaning and rearranging.  I love starting fresh with a blank slate.  Again this reminds me of how we can become clean again by asking Jesus to forgive us of our sins.  Sometimes we tend to get down and depressed this time of year.  Things get dreary with out all the twinkling lights and all our Christmas decorations taken down.  I encourage you to look around and see all the wonderful things God has in store for you and your life.  Maybe he has sent you some new friends that you met during the holiday.  He has shown you a need that you could fulfill in your church or community.  On the other hand, maybe you are feeling down about your finances after the Christmas with bills coming due.  Even in trying times it's so important to not get stuck in a rut about your thinking.  With planning, saving and balancing your budget you'll pay off those bills.  I just watched a show on the new Oprah network about how people forget about bank accounts and found extra money in those.  Pretty neat!  My husband literally found some money on the ground yesterday.  What a nice surprise!

I found these little trees on clearance at a country store in the mall, 50% off.  Score!

Paired with my black shutters, I changed out my star for the snowflake then added some pom pom garland.   I used my garland dusted with snow and some styrofoam snowballs tucked inside the grey colander... it's a snowy winter mantel.  The icing on the cake is my vintage iceskates found on etsy.  It took me awhile to find these.  I used plain old elmer's glue and snow to make these look icy and snow covered.   I cut apart some of my pom pom garland to tie these on the front of the skates. 

Here it is at night all lit up! I added my galvanized bucket on the side with my lighted twigs and silvery branches, I found at Hobby Lobby.  I couldn't fit them on top of the mantel.  LOL!  I told my hubby when we change out the mantel someday I need one that's a lot wider.

I took away some of my red/white ornaments and it's more winter. 

The top of my stove was a fleeting idea, so I had to grab it quick and assemble it all.  Couldn't be any easier!  Big white bowl, candle, white cutting board, graters + white tealights

So what have you been up to in your house, are you tackling the Christmas chaos?  How do you decorate your home after the holidays?  I'd love to hear from you.  I hope I've given you some ideas for how to create a Winter look in your home.  I've got plans for lots more posts.  I plan on posting a recipe for New England Jam Thumbprint Cookies, pantry reorganization and another sneak peek at my new laundry room.  Until then I hope that you can find some good things to celebrate in your life!  Look up and count on him.

Blessings,

Carey