Saturday, December 19, 2009

O Christmas Tree

Our Tree
Every Christmas, I set up our fake tree in just about the same way. It is stored in 2 giant plastic bins in the loft. I pull every branch out of the boxes, bend them into shape, and build the tree.

Tree Close-up 1
Next comes the lights. I love this new strand of candle lights I wove amongst the white lights this year! They look so Victorian. I used seven strands of lights in all.

Tree Close-up 2
Then, I drape strands of wooden "cranberries" in a looping fashion all around the tree.

Angel Topper
Then comes the angel topper. I unwrap the tissue from around her and climb the step ladder to place her on the very top. I was so glad when I bought her years ago. I think she's the prettiest angel topper ever.

Angel Scrap Ornament 1
Finally, I add all the ornaments. I put the biggest ones on first, to fill in any holes left by the branches and lights. Heavy ones need a branch underneath to support them. Unbreakable ones go near the bottom, in case the cats are tempted! Also, anything with ribbons or lace, or any bird ornaments go near the top, also because of the cats.

Sheet Music Ornament
This year it took me 5 hours to complete. I listened to Christmas music to get me in the spirit.

Skates & Snowflake Ornaments
Christmas time is not our cats' favorite time of year. They are never left alone with the tree! We have to lock them upstairs if we leave the house, or are asleep. So far, they've been very good, so I think Santa will bring them both a little something.

Soldier, Angel, Owl
One year, we were both looking at the tree and enjoying its beauty, when we noticed one of our cat's faces peeking out at us from the top branches!

Victorian Lady & Angel
Our Christmas tree ornaments mean a lot to my husband and I. They bring back great memories of Christmases past, and places we've been. Some are mine, some are his, and some we both picked out together.

Dresden Postcard
I wish the pretty Christmas decorations could stay up all year!

Angel Scrap Ornament 2

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8 Comments:

Blogger Miss Sandra said...

Absolutely beautiful..and oh so Victorian! Those candle lights are ideal. Merry Christmas!!
Hugs,
Sandra

December 20, 2009 at 8:47 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Thanks for visiting, Miss Sandra! Merry Christmas to you!

-Pam

December 20, 2009 at 8:55 AM  
Blogger Suzie said...

Oh, your tree is SO pretty! And I love all of the ornaments! Those new candle lights add so much atmosphere, don't they?

I have to laugh, and can completely relate to your adventures with your cats and your decorations. We have one especially that loves to dive right into the tree, and take a few swats at unsuspecting ornaments. Only the unbreakables are on the bottom tiers on one tree, and on the other, I've hung jingle bells all around, so we can tell if any of our furry friends are near the tree! I've got one ornament though, that doesn't fit in with the rest, but is always hung on a bottom branch. One of my daughters bought it years ago. It is red and white, and has a surprised face painted on it, with a balloon above the mouth, saying "Oh no! Here comes the cat!" I don't want my ornies broken, nor the cats cut, but I worry more about one of them chewing on a light cord, or as one of my daughter's cats likes to do, bite on the actual light bulbs! She can't put ornaments or lights on the bottom tier of her tree. She is embarassed for anyone to see it, but I tell her that is what makes it personal!
Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous tree, in it's luscious setting! My eyes just turned green with envy!
Have a very joyous holiday season, full of love and laughter!
Suzie

December 20, 2009 at 8:22 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Suzie-

Thank you for your sweet compliments, and for your funny Cat vs. Tree stories! It makes me feel good that I'm not the only one with cat Christmas worries. I like the thought of your ornament that says "Oh no! Here comes the Cat!". So true. And, of course, if you put it at the bottom, the cat will read it and say, "Oh yeah, I'm not supposed to destroy this thing."! Very funny!

One of our cats chewed through plugged in tree lights, causing a short on both occasions years ago. I'm so glad she wasn't electrocuted!

You have a wonderful holiday season as well. I love visiting your blog, although it's been so hard lately to keep up with everyone because of all the holiday activities!

-Pam

December 20, 2009 at 11:21 PM  
Blogger BumbleVee said...

your tree is beautiful Pam.... the candle lights really add that something special for the Victorian look..

I could go on and on about cat stories... I have none now...cats that is not stories..hahha... so I decorate to my heart's content and everything actually stays where I put is... amazing... ..

We used to have a huge cat.. the vet called him wee Tyke... he weighed a whopping 22 lbs...he wasn't fat..just long, lean and strong... and he used to run towards the tree, launch himself from about 10 feet away .. land in the upper half of the tree and take down the whole thing .. .. he used to ride it all the way to the floor and then .. run like hell... he knew he was in trouble. We even tried the repellent sprays...but, it seemed like they persisted even more when we did... we had 3 cats at that time. All three loved the balls... luckily we had a pretty thick carpet.. because they used to bat them off and play with them like hockey pucks. We would find them all over the house.. sigh... it was hopeless.
One day I drove home and saw a different tree in the window than when I left home... .. went in and 'somebody" had grabbed the bottom end of a long strand of tinsel... pulled on it and pretty much throttled the tree... the branches were wrapped tightly and at various angles..... that tree must have been spun around like a top a few times... why it was still standing I don't know. 20 feet of tinsel draped along the floor and only about 5 tightly woven feet left on the tree.

We started nailing the tree stand to a big plywood box... and decorating that like a chimney.. it was still impossible to keep them off.... we even had to use long pieces of dental floss to try to hold some of our trees upright....
one year they unwrapped most of the presents on Christmas Eve... while were abed with visions of sugar plums...or at least hoping the tree would be still up in the a.m. ...sweet dreams.... there they were....hiding in and playing with papers and ribbons when we got up.... arrrgghhhh!! I'm not sure how they survived as long as I had them...but, they all did live to ripe old age... honest....

December 21, 2009 at 12:47 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

LOL! Great cat stories! I love the image of the tree spun around tightly with a long strand of tinsel! Wow, you really went to great lengths to try to keep your cats out of the tree.

I never went so far as to nail it down to anything. One year, I tried cutting out a big circle of clear vinyl and placing it a few rows up from the bottom, thinking the cats were climbing it from the inside up, and this way they couldn't get up very far before they hit the vinyl ceiling. But no, our cats flung themselves high up into the tree from the outside when they discovered the vinyl barrier!

We can't put any presents under the tree that have bows. Our one cat can sniff out a bow from behind a closed door, goes right to them, steals them and runs off. The only sure-fire solution now is to lock them away from the tree.

Thank you for your great stories! That made my day! :-D

-Pam

December 21, 2009 at 12:14 PM  
Blogger The Pink Birdhouse said...

Pam, I am sooooo in love with you tree. You decorated it so exquisitely!! I have a fake tree too and it is small and old, but filled with memories and all the old and new ornaments that the branches can hold. Yours has something very special about it, everything seems to finds its place. The victorian ornaments are lovely, not sure what one I love best, but I did have my eye on those shoes. And your angel. OMG! Believe it or not, I noticed your lovely curtains behind the tree to, and I can only imagine how lovely your home must be if they are any indication of the rest. Thanks for sharing a bit of your home with us and your Xmas tree tradition. I think blogging is just one of the most wonderful things to come into my life this past year, it has opened the doors to many homes and allowed me a peek into your lives, and lets me share in one your day to day life. What a fantastic experience it has been, and I am looking forward to my second year coming up. hugs, Debby

December 21, 2009 at 2:54 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Debby-

Thank you the kind comments! I've only been blogging for 5 months, but have found such wonderful people all over the world with beautiful words and photos to share. It has given me a lot of inspiration and great ideas!

Thank you for visiting often! I love visiting your site as well, and look forward to the time I spend sitting at my computer and catching up with everyone. What fun!

Have a great holiday season!

-Pam

December 21, 2009 at 3:54 PM  

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