Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Bringing About Changes. . .

2020 will bring about some h u g e changes On Crooked Creek.

"Mr. Ed" and I are not trying to re~establish
(or re~decorate) every inch of our 1970's Ranch Style Home in this New Year.





But, rather bring about changes to our home
that truly reflect our personal desires, tastes and needs.

Over the past decades,
we accumulated and collected w a y to much 'stuff'!





So~o~o. . .
2020 will find us continuing to edit, edit, edit.

By removing all those unnecessary things we've acquired
will allow us the freedom to make enhanced choices in our interior home design.

Last year,
I posted several months of My Favorite Things.

By creating these posts,
I realized I have kept an enormous amount of 'stuff'
that no longer appeals to me. 




My creative space, Studio One,
along with our Family Room had become filled to the brim with 'cast~offs'.




One thing that will remain the same On Crooked Creek
will be my continued creating and designing
Seasonal Changes throughout the New Year.






It is my hope that you will see fresh ideas to use within your own home decor
in ways that, perhaps, you hadn't thought of in the past.



Also,
I will encourage you to take a 'close~up' look
at the things you truly love and those you've held onto out of obligation.

Stay tuned. . .
for scenes of the changes to come in 2020. . . On Crooked Creek!



Until next time. . .


Friday, December 27, 2019

A Crooked Creek Christmas. . .Family Room

Christmas 2019 On Crooked Creek is in the books!


Our family celebrations
are always held in On Crooked Creek's lower level Family Room.



The design within our Family Room
has a unique blend of Traditional and Vintage.


The color palette consist of warm hues of beige, golds, rusts and reds.
Deep sage green walls and blue, gray and white Berber carpeting
in a diamond pattern keeps a natural, neutral backdrop.


"Mr. Ed" being an avid Trout Fisherman,
and in past years an active Deer Hunter, this decor features Lodge elements.

I, totally, ignored the Lodge design
when decorating our Family Room Christmas Tree.







I was quite smitten with the black and white plaid Christmas gift wrap
from our local Target this year.

The falalalala gift wrap stole my heart!


The purchased satin ribbon at Hobby Lobby
in hues of black, hunter green and white set those wrappings off perfectly!







Before, during and after. . . the exchanging of gifts,
we fill our dessert plates with Christmas Snacks!


It is our hope that your family's Christmas Celebration
was filled with peace, love and joy.

Johnna (daughter~in~law), Bill (son), "Mr. Ed" and Pat
@ "Cheers to 70 years!" 

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas!


Until next time. . .


Now that Christmas 2019 is in the books,
it's time to look ahead to all the possibilities that 2020 has to hold.

Friday, December 20, 2019

A Crooked Creek Christmas. . .Living Room

Christmas in On Crooked Creek's Living Room
finds every surface and tabletop transformed into a festive Christmas Spirit.

One of my favorite table tops to design is atop
the vintage four drawer dresser gifted to me 20 years ago by our son.

Instead of our European Goebel Nativity Set,

this year I chose to place a Holy Family figurine
within a suitcase surrounded by Sheet music of Christmas Hymns.





One of my trademarks,

especially when employed at our local Antique and Gift Shop,
is combining more than one wreath to create a one~of~a~kind design.

* * *  Tip  * * *
For this unique Christmas wreath,
I've placed a smaller cedar bough wreath inside of a larger evergreen wreath.

Then,
I placed a set of mercury twin silver bells on a stand of the grey and white
wired ribbon and styled one of my signature 'fat' bows
to create this Christmas wreath.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *




On the opposite side of the room,
atop an heirloom cherry end table,
I purchased miniature gold, silver and white ornaments
and tied them to my feather tree with black and white stripe ribbon.




Continuing around On Crooked Creek's Living Room
brings us to our natural and neutral color palette Christmas Tree.
( A more detailed view can be seen in this early post [ here].








At the opposite end of the room,
is an heirloom vintage Sewing Machine Cabinet.

This year,
I chose to make a neutral and natural faux evergreen arrangement
to accent the snow filled artwork and the bronze sconces filled with
faux evergreen boughs and pine cones.

My Santos Angel appears to be the perfect accent aside a golden orb.





Directly across from On Crooked Creek's sofa is our Entertainment Center.

I adore the handmade NOEL blocks "Mr. Ed" made many years ago!
They are the perfect size to compliment his heirloom Family Farmhouse Window!

In keeping with a simplistic design,
I used my 'brown paper covered books' to fill in the void
between the vintage oil lamps and the faux evergreen and pine cone garland.






On the open shelf beneath,
I filled my creamy ivory urns with gold orbs and filled in with faux cedar boughs.



Within the shelves of On Crooked Creek's Entertainment Center,
I added touches of neutral and natural elements to the existing design.

White bottle brush trees within glass cloches. . .



oversize ornaments within an heirloom McCoy bowl. . .



an optical illuminated Nativity Scene within a P E A C E Box
and a miniature porcelain Angel tree topper. . .


a pair of newly purchased wooden bells. . .


ornate ornaments atop a rustic wrought iron pedestal
and my Dad's vintage shoe stretchers. . .


and the French busts with a faux bough of cedar
combined with a crystal and mercury glass teardrop ornament
completes the Christmas decor in On Crooked Creek's Entertainment Center.


One last tabletop vignette featuring the candy dish from my childhood,
a faux cedar bough wreath featuring a vintage miniature silver tray ornament.



Simplistic styling with a natural and neutral color palette
atop each and every surface within On Crooked Creek's Living Room
has set a festive tone for our Christmas 2019 Celebration.



Until next time. . .