Having a ball...for a buck!

Well, I finally settled down and got some holiday decorating done at the shore house (about time, no?). First order of business was finding something to do with the Christmas balls I bought this summer. There were the ones I bought at a flea market as part of my everything-you-can-stuff-in-a-bag-for-a-buck purchase:



And the box I bought for 10 cents (!!) at a yard sale, shown in this picture along with some other purchases from that day:

Let me tell you, there's quite a bit you can with a buck's worth of holiday balls. Like these ones that I hung from branches I gathered up on a walk with Maggie:

And these ones that I tucked into the pottery palm on my TV stand:

And the ones I used to fill my apothecary jar and the mini glass stand on my china cabinet:

And I still have leftovers! Next year I think I'll try the Eddie Ross crafty project...you'll have to click through to his web site to see for yourself. Fabulous! And easy. My favorite combination.

The china cabinet is turning out to be my seasonal display perch. I was pretty happy what I did with it in the fall, but I'm really liking the silver and blue theme I've got going for Christmas:

The tall silver vases give some height to the display. I bought those in Lambertville, NJ, when I went on the house tour there in the fall. I was looking at the taller one, which was on sale (of course), but was sort of hemming and hawing about the whole thing. "Do I really need it?" (Of course I don't.) The owner said if I bought it he'd throw in one that he broke but glued back together (you can't tell unless you're up close), and I still gave it some thought until he offered to knock another 20% off the price. Deal!

I popped in a tall mercury glass candlestick I already had to add height behind the house, and also so you'd have something to see when you walked in the room...

I bought the fabulous house last week at a store in Asbury Park that's going out of business. While I'm bummed to see this relatively new store closing (I'm pulling for Asbury Park!), I was selfishly a little happy for the treats I scored for 50% off, including this vintage-looking house for $18.

I set this all up yesterday, but made a little addition today after seeing a great use of game pieces on Lime in the Coconut's blog tour of her friend's lovely Florida beach home. My godmother just gave me a few games as a housewarming/holiday gift (note to self: what a great idea! And thanks, Aunt Peggy!):

So, I added these to the little china cabinet vignette:

Next year I'll probably add some evergreen branches and white lights. But for now, it's onto decking the halls...