Angels in Heaven and on Earth

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o'er the plains,

And the mountains in reply,

Echoing their joyous strains

Gloria, in excelcis Deo!

Can you just imagine for a minute

what it would have been like to be

a humble shepherd out guarding your 

flocks and a heavenly host appears 

unto you bringing you the great news

that your Savior is born, and to come

and bear witness to the world through

all generations of that reality!

What wonder and joy that must have been.

My little angels are my grandchildren.  Those of you

who have followed me for some time know how most

of what I do is motivated by creating magic for them.

I love the wonder and joy in their little faces.

This is Jacquelyn.  You saw her when she was first

born and now she is a very astute and bright five

year old.

We had only one pretty angel costume for our

Night in Bethlehem and she quickly 

told me that I needed another one, and in a size

that would fit her better.

She asked to have a sleepover -all by herself -

the other night.  She had asked for that once

before and just made it into the house with

her cookie that we had stopped to buy, when

alligator tears began rolling down her face,

and she wanted to go home.

This time she spent the night and did so well,

and we had just tried on the new, better-fitting

dress, when she said she didn't feel well and

wanted her mommy.  I think it is beginning to

show in her face on this one.

Of course, grandma didn't know if she was just

a little homesick or what, but we got her changed,

and her things packed up, and just as we got 

into her house - sure enough - she really was

sick!  Oh no!  Not at Christmas time! 

And speaking of angels, I created this angel

mannequin this week.

Ever since we created our mannequins at

Halloween, I decided I wanted one for 

Christmas to decorate my home.

Of course, with the angel wings on the tree,

she needs to be set up close to the tree.

Everything was collected from my closet

and drawers - skirts, a jacket, a ruffled

vest, a set of gloves, pearls, and some

table linens.

I had purchased a black velvet mannequin

online.  She took 45 minutes to assemble.  Such

a fun last minute project.

I just love the beauty and glory

of angels.

May your life be filled with

earthly and Heavenly angels at

this time of year and always.

Wishing all of you and yours a very

wonderful Christmas, and may the joy

the good news of Christ's birth bring

you peace all year.  May you feel God's

angels surrounding you and lifting you up.

May you give glory to God on the highest.

Merry Christmas on this

Christmas Eve

from 

Purple Chocolat Home.

Our whole bunch of angels.

Angels Among Us Tablescape

Welcome to my

Angelic Table

for Christmas this year.

My darling daughter in law gave me

these fabulous angel wings last year

and I did a tablescape with them

tied onto the kitchen table

But this year we moved into the dining room

and I used a tack to attach them to

these beautiful brocade slipper chairs.

I also added a little bling

to the wings by pinning

a brooch on them.

(From my favorite -Fabulousbrooch.com)

Everything is silver and cream,

one of my personal favorite combinations

for a dressy table.

The placecards are tucked into 

another set of tiny angel wings that

I found at Pier 1 this year.

You know those literally leaped into

my basket!!

I used two kinds of coordinating

silver printed napkins.

I printed the names on cardstock in 

a dark gray for the placecards 

and then spayed Glitter Blast

on the cardstock.  After the paint

was dry, I cut them to size.

I would love to tell you the name of

this font, but it is so small I can't read

it - starts with an A!  Sorry

I took my square plates and

turned them each on an angle to get 

a fun and different look out of them.

Of course the Horchow

silverplate has to come out of the

chest for this table.

(Some of you have asked about

this but it has been discontinued - sorry!)

I love using these silverplate goblets

that I bought years ago from Spiegel

Catalog because even the kids

can use them without any worry.

Fortunately I was wise enough to 

choose 24 all those years ago.

I had to let the beauty of the wood

show with this tablescape.

Fresh flowers and silvery 

presents and candles on another

glittering placemat create

the perfect centerpiece.

It feel really special to have fresh flowers

during the cold of winter.

Everything is creamy white.

I placed them in this mini bottle cooler

with stag heads on each side.  This is

the perfect sized container for all kinds

of things - flowers, chocolates, candy, etc.

The flowers were just show-offs!

A little snow in the bottom of

this apothecary and a sparkling

candle and it changes dramatically.

These little gift boxes have

been all over the house this year. 

I don't know if I will ever give them

away as gift boxes as I like them so much!

I have to tell you a darling story

about this daughter - Jessica - after

coming to my tablescaping class at

Gatehouse No1 this year, she decided

she too could easily do a tablescape 

and she has had her table all decked

out all season long!  I loved it.

I hope your Christmas plans are coming

right along.  Ours got derailed with sickness

and hubby having kidney stone surgery, but

I think we are back together - cross your fingers!!

Thanks for taking a peek over 

the shoulder of my angel!

I hope your Christmas is filled with

the magic of God's gift to the world,

His Only Begotten Son, 

and you feel of His love this Christmas season!

And may you feel the presence of

Angels among us all year long.

I will be posting with

Let's Dish

Tablescapes Thursday

Home Sweet Home

Sources

Placemats - Home Goods

Plates - Home Goods

Flatware - Horchow (discontinued pattern)

Goblets - Spiegel

Stag cooler - Tai Pan

Apothecary jar - Home Goods

Napkins - Home Goods

Silver Gift Boxes - Target

Little wings ornaments - Pier 1

On Angels' Wings

There is less than a week left and I know we are all

as busy as can be, but we have also all been affected

by the tragedy of the loss of so many sweet innocent

angels lives.

I was pondering what to do for my table, knowing I

wanted to do one in gold as that is our traditional

Christmas Eve theme when an angel, my daughter in law,

Audra showed up at my door with these beautiful

angel wings - a set of six.

This was the card she had attached and she said she knew I 

could do something with these beautiful wings.

It was right then that I knew I wanted to do an 

Angel Table

honoring all of the sweet angelic children, teachers

and principal who returned to God in the blink of an eye.

This angel crowned the top of my parent's tree as I was growing up.

She is a little thing, not even much taller than my goblet,

but in my childhood eyes she was huge and wonderful.

When both of my parents were gone and we were

cleaning out the house, she got tossed in the giveaway pile.

She didn't seem as magnificent as she did when we were

little.  I couldn't let her go.  I am so glad I kept her.  She

always has a place of honor at Christmas in my kitchen.

I adore her real feathered dress and real feather wings and

her yellow yarn  hair and painted delicate features.

She is surrounded by gold on our Angels' Wings table tonight.

Here are my chairs like the inspiration picture.

The wings were made to be worn and had elastic

on them, but Audra suggested punching holes through

the back, so that is what I did and tied them on

with a ribbon.  I moved these wooden chairs in 

from the kitchen to match the inspiration picture better.

Did you notice when you look at the inspiration photo

that they had similar trees on their table.  I noticed

that and got them out of the kitchen where they were

gracing the baking cabinet.

I found these beautiful napkins that match the tablecloth

quite well.  They are both painted with gold.

This is the only real china I own.  I didn't get any when we got married

and I bought these when I was pregnant with baby number 5.  I couldn't

get out of bed the last two months and so I never spent any money.

As the money built up in the account, I decided I wanted to 

buy some china from Spiegel Catalog.

I bought matching gold goblets at the same time from Spiegel.

They are the large, heavy ones in the

background and later found these similar ones

at Home Goods.

In my gold vignette in the kitchen I also have these beautiful

gold wings that were given to me as a present years ago.

Here you can see a close-up of the painted napkin.  

I found these at Home Goods

and they went so well with this much more pricey tablecloth

that I had purchased several years ago at a furniture

store - Four Chairs.

The plates top my gold beaded placemats that I have had

for years and years and some of my favorite wooden chargers.

Since I know Mrs. Claus personally, I was a little naughty and

brought out her gift to me this year, this wonderful gold flatware

that I  she got on sale from Horchow.com 

(Shhh!!!  Don't tell the kids, I don't ever let them use their gifts early.)

But really, they go so well with the table, don't you think?

You know me, I like to hang baubles from the

chandeliers, so here is a shot looking down through

the baubles on the chandelier in the dining room.

There is nothing as pure as gold as a little child and we all

have little ones that I am sure we imagined in our

heads and hearts, leaving that morning with a kiss

and a hug and never returning.

I am so grateful for my knowledge of the true

meaning of Christmas.  

While our hearts break, we can have peace in that knowledge.

I testify that Christ came

to earth and He atoned for our sins and the sins of others.

He felt our pains

and our sorrows and He can heal all things with His

love.  I am thankful for that knowledge and that He

promised the Gift of the Holy Ghost who can comfort

us.  May we all pray for those who have lost, that

they may feel that comfort  

and be lifted as if On Angels' Wings.

I will be posting this with

Let's Dish

Tablescapes Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Home Sweet Home