None of it was particular noteworthy, so I didn't get any pictures of most of it.
One of the things I've been doing this week (past week? What day is it?) while the weather's been icky is I've gotten started on painting my kitchen.
Last year we put up faux shiplap/planking on the walls.
Yes, I know, the unpainted wood looks good, and at least 99.9% of my visitors would leave it like that.
I like it, too, and wouldn't paint it if I was doing "Cabin style" instead of "Farmhouse style".
This house is an old farmhouse, and - call me crazy if you want, but I'm not kidding - it got mad when I tried "updating" to a more modern style. Everything we did went badly.
Until I started going with Farmhouse style, and suddenly everything just started going well.
She liked the Farmhouse feel.
Anyway, (my) Farmhouse style kitchen has white painted shiplap walls. Or will have, when I ever get done.
But it wasn't something I was going to start on right at Christmas.
One day - I can't recall exactly when the idea came to me - I thought that the (brownish) walls resembled Gingerbread enough that it might be cool to decorate the kitchen like a gingerbread house for Christmas.
The kitchen tree, like the other 3 or 4 fake trees I have, was free, because someone was throwing it away.
Most of the tree decorations were free, or things I already owned, some cookie cutters and red Dollar Tree measuring cups.
I dried the apple slices, and made "gingerbread cookies" using applesauce, cinnamon, and Elmer's glue, and made the gingerbread face by drawing on a packaged oatmeal creme pie with puffy paint.
The only thing I bought was a string of red mini lights from Walmart for about $2.87 (and that was only because I gave my Aunt the string of "cranberry" lights I had gotten for free in a bunch of give-away stuff, and thought I wouldn't ever use, lol).
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| The bottom ledge isn't done because the cats like to sit and look out the windows. |
The "frosting" swag along the ceiling is white plastic tablecloths from Dollar Tree.
The m&m's were foam circle shapes I found for $1.00 at the grocery store, and cut sticker M's on the Cricut.
The hard candies are 2 small styrofoam plates stapled together and wrapped in cellophane...both from Dollar Tree.
The side "shutters" are scrap cardboard flaps from a box of closet doors.
The white tissue paper I had gotten for free but also available at Dollar Tree. I used red crepe paper streamer - from Dollar Tree - for the stripes.
The Lollipops are styrofoam disks from Dollar Tree, painted with craft paint from Walmart (50¢), the stick is a bamboo skewer and wrapped in clear cellophane, tied with white ribbon, all from Dollar Tree.
The candy sticks in the window are empty wrapping paper tubes that I wrapped with cheap, unwanted wrapping paper with the back (white) side facing out.
I used red crepe paper streamer to make stripes on one, and thin metallic-colored ribbon on the other.
The crossed candy canes on the windows, and the glittery red bow, all came from Dollar Tree, as well as the foam Gingerbread man shapes, and the red and white pipe cleaners that I used to make candy canes and curli-q's.
I spray painted an old cookie sheet red and made "cookies" out of applesauce, cinnamon, and Elmer's glue, decorated with puffy paint, and glued them to the cookie sheet.
The gingerbread house cookie jar I've had for years...got it at 90% off after-Christmas sale at Rite Aid drug store one year.
The Santa and Mrs. salt & pepper shakers, and the gingerbread scented candle came from Dollar Tree.
The "roof" overhang is more of the scrap cardboard from the box the closet doors came in.
I glued some old snow blanket I had gotten free on it, and cut the hanging edges to look like dripping frosting.
More wrapped wrapping-paper tubes attached at angles hold the front edge of the overhang up.
The gumdrops are foam rectangles from Dollar Tree, cut into gumdrop shapes. I sprayed them with spray-on adhesive and covered with clear glitter for sparkle.
The gingerbread man on the door was a foam/shape craft kit from Dollar Tree, and the inflatable nutcracker I also got free in a bunch of give away stuff.
*There's nothing on the stool because the cat likes to lay there, and also I actually use it to climb up to reach high things in the cabinets because I'm short.
*I had planned to do the whole kitchen, but the idea was easier than the execution, and I did good to get the half I did done. Also I use the other two sides, so decorations would have gotten in the way anyhow.
