A German folklore promises good health and prosperity to one who finds a bird's nest in her Christmas tree. Who could not use good health and prosperity in the upcoming year after this year filled with uncertainty in both? To my delight I found a real bird's nest in the fresh-cut Christmas tree I bought at the local home improvement store's garden center. 

Each year at least one small table top Christmas tree is part of the season's decorations in my house and in my small garden shed. Instead of buying a small table top tree from a tree lot, I buy a 4'-5' fresh-cut evergreen tree to cut the top off to use as a table top tree. Then I use the rest of the tree for fresh greenery in flower arrangements, garlands, wreaths, and sprinkled in Christmas decor. 

Peach Trellis Christmas Greenery

Peach colored trellises in the style of French Country tuteurs are decorated with Christmas greenery for the holiday season. Fresh boxwood wreaths hung with sheer lavender ribbons sprinkled with silvery glitter dots are festive Christmas outdoor decorations in an unexpected color. 

The lavender ribbon color complements the peach colored trellises and adds just the right amount of sparkle to say Christmas instead of Spring or Summer. 

French Country Christmas Event 2020 | Small Business Adapts

This year, 2020, is the TENTH year for the French Country Christmas Event. Can a small business offer its customers a beautiful Christmas shopping event in a safe way? How does a small business adapt to new ways of doing business during an international health crisis and provide safe shopping experiences? 

The answers lie in following health officials' guidelines. 

• Wear a mask. 
• Wash your hands.
• Distance yourself from others by at least 6 feet. 

To comply with these guidelines, my small business has found new ways, to my business, to implement safety precautions.  

Read about how I have adapted to provide a safe shopping experience for my customers, and look at this year's garden shed photos to get ideas about how to arrange Christmas decor in your own home. 

Inked Blue Bulletin Board Debut

Today is the debut of my inked blue bulletin board. Just in time to create collages for holiday inspiration.  

For the past year, dark inked blue and gold have become a favorite color combination for my home. Navy blue has always been a favorite paired with white or red or both, but recently I started plans to update an old wood-framed bulletin board with  a blue cork board and gold wood frame. 

Read about why and how I transformed an old inexpensive bulletin board into a freshly painted blue cork board with gold wood frame and get ideas for your own bulletin board. 

How NOT To DIY Flock A Christmas Tree

A few years ago I learned how NOT to DIY flock a Christmas tree. In case you would like to flock a real tree or a faux tree, you may find a few tips from my experience to save you time, money, and energy. 

Now is the time to buy the artificial snow before suppliers sell out for the season. You can wait until later to actually apply the DIY snow, but if you wait to buy supplies until you are ready to flock your tree in December, you may not be able to get the artificial flocking snow.