Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Before Christmas is totally packed away...

I wanted to share the newest ornaments to grace our tree... Every year since the girls were born, I've added a photo ornament of each of them to the tree. And since they're now 20 and 24 years old, that's a lot of ornaments!!


Last year's ornaments were photos of the girls wearing the cloche hats they got that Christmas.


This year Court's ornament features a sweet photo of her with her handsome Spotty, who we lost in November. I just love this picture of the two of them...


Amanda's ornament features a photo of her planting a kiss on her sweet Tiger. I love this picture, too. This year the theme was obviously kitty love. Both of these photos were also part of their handmade gifts this year and I'll show you those projects soon.


In addition to the photo ornaments, I buy an ornament for each of the girls every year. Someday when they have their own places (with room for a tree), they'll take all their ornaments, and the memories attached to them, to their new homes. This year I fell in love with these crown ornaments from pinkbuttercreme's ETSY shop.
I gave Amanda the white bird adorned with a sparkly princess crown, lace ruffles, and a rosette...


... and I gave Courtney the same ornament in pink. Aren't they GORGEOUS? Be sure to visit PinkButterCreme's shop - she'll be reopening January 15th with lots of new Valentine's goodies!


And then I came across another ETSY shop with the most adorable vintage styled tinsel ornaments - just look at these sweet kitties...


...and handsome hounds!!! They are the unique creations of Stephanie at Old World Primitives and they're just the cutest things ever!


Here they are, out of the package, so you can see them better. I couldn't decide between the kitties...


...or the doggies, so I had to get both!


Be sure to visit Stephanie's ETSY shop where you'll find more of her kitty and doggy ornaments as well as Valentine and Easter ornaments in this same style!
I also want to mention that both of these shops offer EXCELLENT customer service - quick shipping, friendly correspondence - the works! I guarantee you won't be disappointed!
Hope you're all enjoying the start to the new year. We're surviving the weekend's snow, but longing for spring!!
Donna

17 comments:

Joanne Kennedy said...

OMG!! Those kitty and dog ones crack me up. How cute they would be if you could put your own dog or cat on them.

Love the ornaments you added this year!

Hope you had a wonderful New Years.

Hugs,
Joanne

Susan said...

Hi Donna...What a great idea to have an ornament for your girls each Christmas. What a great remembrance of their lives at home. Too late for me. My "kids" are grown up and gown now. Not a bad idea for grandkids, though! Thanks for sharing. Sincerely, Susan at writingstraightfromtheheart.blogspot.com

Claudia said...

The photo ornaments are just wonderful, Donna. The girls will treasure all the ornaments you have gathered for them. You discovered some great Etsy shops - I always appreciate a heads up on shops as I don't know enough about all the wonders available on Etsy.

I hope you're keeping warm up there - boy, it has been cold. I packed up everything on Saturday, even though I was planning on doing it Monday. Since I had to do it all myself, as Don's ankle was still bothering him, I just went for it. But I miss the tree.

xoxo
Claudia

Brenda Pruitt said...

Those are the cutest ornaments! I so love that one with sweet Spotty. Precious.
Brenda

Cottage Rose said...

Hello Donna; What a wonderful family tradition you have... the photos ornies are so pretty.. love the kitties,, they are adorable.. have a great week.

Hugs;
Alaura

Martha said...

We got our daughter an ornament a year -- always with the date on it. When she graduated from college (which was in December), we packed HER ornaments and gave them to her since she would have her own real place the following Christmas.

I miss having her ornaments on the tree-- it was so much fun hanging them one by one -- from her first Christmas through the year before.

We still do it -- give her a dated ornament every year! It's tradition!

You are making great memories for your girls!

The Curious Cat said...

hee hee! Loving the cat and doggie decorations! Wicked! xxx

La Petite Gallery said...

The photo's are beautiful. What lovely girls. The choche hats remind me of my Mothers Hat shop
in Houston. Haven't heard CLOCHE
for a long time. I'm crazy for hats.
Those CATS are fabulous.
Thanks for sharing such sweet things.
yvonne

Orchardviewcottage said...

I LOVE those bird ornaments!! Great inspiration for next years tree.. My hope is to make some ornaments this summer LONG before the tree is up!! Thanks for the inspiration!!

GwendolynKay said...

So many lovelies. I have seen those pipe cleaner ornaments before and I just love them. Blessings!
Gwen

Susan at Charm of the Carolines said...

Love the pics of the girls in hats. Love the pics of the snuggly cats. Although the thought made me sneeze!

Stay warm!

Susan

Elaine said...

Great minds think alike. I hadn't read your post, yet, I ordered the cat ornaments from Old World Primitives just this week.

They look so adorable! Can't wait to get them.

Unknown said...

I just found you! Darling pipe cleaner ornaments! Love them! Come over and check me out sometime!
Krista

Jean Tuthill said...

Hi Donna, I hope your Christmas was warm and wonderful. I just stopped by to wish you a happy new year. I love your picture ornaments of the girls and they're kitties. The dog and kitty pipe cleaner ornys are so cute and so original. I hope to be around more now, I'm retiring soon and can't wait to start having more fun!

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

What a great idea to do the photo ornaments each year. The stories those will tell in the years to come! You found some great Etsy purchases. Have a wonderful 2010! laurie

Edie Marie's Attic said...

What adorable ornaments! the cats & dogs are so clever.

Happy New Year Donna!
Hugs, sherry

dana said...

Donna, it's been soooooo long since we've visited each other! I hope, now that the holidays are over, we will find more time to do that! I so enjoyed catching up on a few of your recent posts. I am so envious of your Christmas cactus. My pitiful plant has to very weak blooms on it. I must be doing something wrong!

I hope you have a wonder 2010...Dana