This morning I realised that there wasn't anything Christmas in the hall. The bannisters on the stairs were the obvious place to add a little something, but what? I didn't want lots of greenery to dry out and drop leaves and needles everywhere, lights were out as I've already used all the power points in the house (practically), and as I have fairy lights in every downstairs room, didn't want to put up anymore. I can't have anything too big and bulky because of the stair gates, and the fact that Gorgeous Girl needs to be able to hold on to the side as she walks up and down the stairs. Whatever I did, it needed to be discreet and keep the stairs safe.In the end, I grabbed my bag of fabric leftovers, found some silk flowers and a few silver berries and came up with a taffeta and tulle garland. So easy, and no sewing.
The hallway photo on the top left was taken before I added the garland. The rest of photos show details.
It's not overly festive, it's not dramatic and it's not particularly 'wow', but it adds a little bit of Christmas in a discreet way. I am happy with it. All I did was cut three lengths of taffeta, and the same of tulle netting. Then I tied the ends together, bunching up a little bit as I did so, then tied to the handrail. I added bows, silk flowers, silver berries and a few of my glittered ballerinas. Simple as that. It took about half an hour to do.
It's very cold and windy today, a mix of both snow and sleety/rainy stuff - has been falling on and off throughout the day. Now what I would like to do, is make myself a nice hot cup of tea and get cosy in the kitchen. Several years ago, a friend in the US introduced me to the wonderful books by [Gooseberry Patch]. They are much more than just recipe books, and I even enjoy googling ingredients to find out the British equivalents, and converting over measurements. They are cosy books, full of lovely ideas and inspirations. What I think is simply charming is that they include other people's traditions or Seasonal ideas. This is the book I am currently re-reading.
I'm really enjoying reading the Christmas memories and traditions in there. Brits can buy these books via Amazon.