A Lauer Christmas Home Tour - Oh, Holy Night - Entry way, Banister and Front Room - Part 1

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This year I am doing something a little different. I will be showing you inside my home this holiday season with a series of posts (Second post - Kitchen, Bath and Dinning Room). We all know the true meaning of Christmas is Christ's birth. This room and space is dedicated to our Lord and Savior. This is a photo heavy post so grab your favorite cup of coffee or tea, cuddle up with your warm blanket by the fireplace and welcome into my home.

 

I would love to give a HUGE thank you to Michelle over at Shelstring who organized this Winter Wonderland Holiday Home Tour blog hop.

Click on the link for A Lauer Christmas Home Tour - Part 2 - Kitchen, Bath and Dinning Room

EDIT 12/18 - Today I am honored to be a part of a second Parade of Christmas Home Tours! This home tour has been well organized and generously hosted by Up To Date Interiors. Thank you Kathryn for allowing me to be a part of your special on Bloggers Best homes. 

The Entry Way

Welcome to my home! The holiday spirit is alive in our house the moment you step up to our front door (the outside will be another post) 

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Sometimes all it takes a few small items to spruce up what you all ready have. This vintage mirror was already hanging in our entry and I added some flowers and a crystal ornament. It also happens to be in a good position to reflect our tree in the front room.

This year we changed up the exterior decor and my normal door hanging didn't match so I flipped it around and put it on the inside. It makes for a wonderful welcome to the inside entry.

Our stockings are hung with such care on our banister since our new home doesn't have a fireplace. 

My Hubby left these boots at the front door, probably with no thought of it, when he walked out that door almost three months ago to serve overseas. They have not left this spot. I put an angel on them to remind us to pray for his protection and a magnolia flower which represents "life force" and for him to come home to us here in the South.

The Front Room

In the front room we have our "biggest" tree. We loved this tree in our old house as it stood 9' tall in a two story room with a base of 6' diameter at the bottom. However after our move this year we had issues with it actually touching our ceilings here. So our glorious angel was not able to sit atop our nativity themed tree. However she is on display in the room and we still loved how it turned out.

These lil' decor items hanging from my curtain rod on each side of the window were thrown together with mostly Dollar Tree items and some clearance ribbon from a few Christmases ago. The dollar store had these fantastic clip on magnolias that are all over our tree and since we are now living in the south they have replaced our larger white poinsettias.

We love our books around here so we just could not part with packing them up to have more room to decorate so they have little trinkets, flowers and LED candles mixed right on in. Our favorite book and one of many of our book readings Holiday Tradition is the Polar Express, displayed here next to our angel tree topper that would not fit atop the tree this year in our new home.

The bookcase is adorned with little poinsettias and sweet nativity pieces.

I wanted something a bit different this year then in the past and bringing some scrub oak tree branches from outside in was the perfect thing. These were limbs that were dead already and I took some white spray paint and dusted them all over, added them to the galvanized steel pot and some Dollar Tree poinsettias into the branches. 

We don't have a mantel in our new home so this is where I decorate our "mantel". 

One of my favorite parts in this room aside from the tree is my chalkboard sign and my angel announcing the coming of the Christ Child.

This book page tree is one of the items that are hand crafted. I am a window designer for a book store where I make art and home decorations out of books and this is one of my favorite trees I have made. Just had to keep it. 

The second post to this one is found here: A Lauer Christmas Home Tour - Cardinals, Candy canes & Burlap - Kitchen, Bath and Dinning Room - Part 2

If you want to see more of my Holiday Book Page art and ornaments please check out these links.
2014 Book Page Holiday Creations:

• Poinsettia Book Page Ornament for your Christmas Tree
• Child Book Page Ornament Tutorial 
• Glass Book Page Square Shaker Ornament 
• Book Page Snowman
• Angel Wing Christmas Tree Ornament
• Table Top Christmas Trees
• Golden Star Book Page Christmas Tree Ornament

I hope you enjoyed this part of my home tour. Another post with the Living Room, Bathroom, Kitchen, Dining room and Outdoor Decor will be posted up later this week. I hope you return and join me again. Have a happy holidays and a...

I am so honored to be highlighted in this blog hop right along side of these fantastic homes. Please take a moment to relax and view this beautiful Parade of homes with all sorts of styles and colors. Merry Christmas!

Friday December 12th

Sew a Fine Seam

Domesticability

Kreative Creationz

Sisters, What!

Saturday December 13th

Down to Earth Style
Dragonfly and Lilypads

Shelstring

Sunday December 14th

Uniquely Grace

Beauteeful Living

Frug Elegance

Monday December 15th

Bargain Decorating with Laurie

I Am a Homemaker
Red Cottage Chronicles
365 Day Crafts

I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below, pin an image you like or share with a friend. Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoyed this post.

Find me on...
Facebook: Uniquely Grace
Twitter: Grace Lauer Artist @gracelauer
Instagram: @gracelauer_henna_artist
Pinterest: L. Grace Lauer

Book Page Poinsettia Ornament for your Christmas Tree

Since I was a little girl I loved the story of the 

Mexican Legend of he Poinsettia

I was so thrilled when I was able to design an ornament this year that was in the shape of one. I was able to make these in three colors. Gold, Silver and White. What do you think? Please let me know in the comments below.

According to www.appleseeds.org here is the legend:

SOME TIME AGO, I heard a lovely Christmas story about Maria, a young girl who lived on a poor family farm in a small village in Mexico. It was a custom in the village to glorify the Christmas season with special events to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, Jesus. Everyone took part in the preparations by festively decorating the village church and the piazza in front of it. Even the children helped by making gifts to give to the Baby Jesus on Christmas Eve.

Maria wanted to make a very special gift. She had helped her mother before with the loom, so she tried, on her own, to weave a colorful blanket. But Maria was too inexperienced and the yarns became an entangled mess. Maria was heartbroken. She wanted so much to be able to march in procession with the other village children, but she had no gift to give to the Christ Child.

Finally it was Christmas Eve! The villagers gathered in the piazza. Some whispered that they thought they could hear angels singing tonight. Everyone was ready. Holding lit candles, all the villagers began to process down the aisle amid joyous music and singing.

All except for Maria, who hid in the shadows, watching with tears in her eyes as the procession to the church started.

"I don’t have a gift for the Baby Jesus," she sniffled softly. "I tried and tried to make something beautiful, but instead I ruined it."

Suddenly, Maria heard a voice. She looked up and saw only a bright star in the sky; it seemed to hover and shine over the village church. Was it this star that spoke to her?

"Maria," she heard the voice again, "The baby Jesus will love whatever you give because it comes from your heart. Love is what makes any gift special."

With that, Maria stepped out from the shadows. Nearby she noticed some tall green weeds. She rushed over and quickly filled her arms with the weeds, covering them with her manto. Then she ran swiftly to the church.

By the time she arrived, the candles were ablaze and the children were singing as they walked down the aisle carrying their gifts to the Christ Child.

Padre Francesco placed the figure of the baby Jesus in the manger, with the children’s gifts all around it.

Suddenly, Maria was scared when she saw all those people dressed in such beautiful clothes, and she was dressed so poorly. She tried to slip behind one of the big pillars, but she was too slow. Padre Francesco saw her.

"Maria, Maria," he called out. "Hurry girl, come, bring up your gift!"

Maria was terrified. She wondered, "Do I run away? Do I go forward?"

The Padre saw her apprehension and coaxed her more gently, "Maria, come up here and see the Baby Jesus. There is space left for one more gift."

Before she could think, Maria found herself walking down the main aisle of the church.

"What is Maria carrying under her manto?" the villagers whispered. "Where’s her gift?"

Padre Francesco stepped down from the altar and walked with Maria to the Christmas crèche. Maria bowed her head and said a prayer then opened her manto and let the weeds tumble out.

Voices gasped, "Look! Look at those glorious flowers!"

Startled, Maria opened her eyes. She was stunned. For each weed was now topped with a flaming, bright, red star.

And outside, too, every weed now bore a bright red star. Maria's Love had created a miracle.  

www.WhyChristmas.com also states:

The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Please leave a comment below and if you would like one of these ornaments contact +Books on Broad  or myself (see list below) and we can see what we can do.

Merry Christmas everyone!

2014 Book Page Holiday Creations:

• Poinsettia Book Page Ornament for your Christmas Tree
• Child Book Page Ornament Tutorial 
• Glass Book Page Square Shaker Ornament 
• Book Page Snowman
• Angel Wing Christmas Tree Ornament
• Table Top Christmas Trees
• Golden Star Book Page Christmas Tree Ornament

Find me on...
Facebook: Uniquely Grace
Twitter: Grace Lauer Artist @gracelauer
Instagram: @gracelauer_henna_artist
Pinterest: L. Grace Lauer

Unique Book page Snowman and Winter window display at the bookstore, Books on Broad

Isn't he just so adorable? This cute 12" tall Snowman is in Books on Broad awaiting purchase so he can go to his new home this holiday season!

He sets atop a silver metal tray with fin feathers around the bottom to mimic a new dusting of the fantastic white powder we call snow. Adorned with holly leaves and berries and his scarf and top hat he is one dapper dude for a snowman.

2014 Book Page Holiday Creations:

• Poinsettia Book Page Ornament for your Christmas Tree
• Child Book Page Ornament Tutorial 
• Glass Book Page Square Shaker Ornament 
• Book Page Snowman
• Angel Wing Christmas Tree Ornament
• Table Top Christmas Trees
• Golden Star Book Page Christmas Tree Ornament

Find me on...
Facebook: Uniquely Grace
Twitter: Grace Lauer Artist @gracelauer
Instagram: @gracelauer_henna_artist
Pinterest: L. Grace Lauer

Angel Warrior Costume with Articulated Wings - Halloween/Christmas (video included)

Angel costumes have been favorites for girls during Halloween and then there is always that angel in the Christmas play at church. So I was not surprised when my lovely daughter said she wanted to be one. She changed it up a bit and wanted a bow, arrows, a quiver and some armor. She's unique like that.... not sure where she gets that urge to be different. With those additions, the idea for her Angel Warrior costume was born.

This costume was 100% DIY and handmade, it was even designed in the mind of this very creative 9 year old girl. The three talented people who worked on it is Linda from Living Sew Beautifully, Grace from Uniquely Grace (that's me) and this young beauty (my daughter) in these photos Trinity from You are Tutu Cute (she makes tutu's to pay for her own dance classes) Head to toe you don't want to mess with this deadly combo.

Look here at her quiver, satchel, armor and dress. All were made by Living Sew Beautifully. From nothing more then my daughter's imagination and a artist's rendering.  One of a kind, no patterns used! Linda is awesome like that. Also one little detail look at the bottom of this image, you will see a little red dot. Her arrows have laser pointers in the tips. COOL HUGH?

From behind you can see the cape made by Living Sew Beautifully. Also the bow I designed and my daughter painted. It is inspired by the shape of angel wings. The back of these wings show how large they really are. Each one about 3' in length.

That gives this angel a 7' 8" wing span from tip to tip when they are open. Pretty darn impressive! We love the size of these beauties. Lately my goal with the kid's costumes is to create something that will grow with them or that can be used by an adult even (like me... lol) for years to come.

Now let's see it in action! Here you go!

Thank you all for viewing. Please leave a comment below or share this across social media. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Please see more of our costumes in the following links:

Angel Warrior with Articulated Wings
Jack Skellington  - Disney's Nightmare Before Christmas Puppet Costume

Parks and Recreation's Leslie Knope Wedding Gown Tutorial

Moon/Lunar Fairy - with articulated wings

Tron Lightcycle
Peacock Princess with articulated tail
Iron Man - 3D
3D Paper Doll Ballerina
Literary Work of Art

American Flag Wreath created in honor of our country's Independance Day - Happy 4th of July!

Good Morning every one! It's the beautiful month of July! I love this month don't you? Here is a fantastic project I want to share in honor of my country's Independence Day, July 4th.

Happy 4th of July, Everyone!

 

This is a special project because my daughter made this for me (we made a second one for you!)... she is nine now. Believe it or not I only helped her measure (so we bought the correct amount of supplies) & cut. She did all the rest of the work, under my supervision. I am so proud of her! 

This item is up for sale or if you would like to order one you may contact us through our Etsy store: Uniquely Grace or on the Facebook page I have created for her items, "You are Tutu Cute". She is dedicated to dancing and has decided she would like to expand her dance education. She is creating items to sell and taking orders for not only wreaths, she also creates tutus, tutu dresses and pet tutus.

Coordinator for Party Time Tuesdays

Minecraft 3D Box Birthday Party Invitations - Custom Handmade Cards

Well my wonderful readers, it's that time of year again, my son's:

Birthday Party Time!!!

The theme this year is: MINECRAFT

Minecraft 3D Box Birthday Party Invitations (click to enlarge)

In a new state we were able to scale down the amount of invitations to only 20 this year! That is huge for this Mama, who is used to inviting upwards of 40 kids! Can you imagine? I think we even had our Harry Potter party where we allowed siblings to attend as well with almost 50 kids in attendance. YIKES!

After a very chilled out BFF only party last year my son is ready to host a bash again this year. So he choose his theme of Minecraft. If you have a child in you life who likes video games I am sure you know what this is. It reverts back to the old 16-bit graphics and is wildly popular with the gaming crowd. I don't mind him playing this game because of many reasons but my favorite thing about it is that it uses creativity. My son will sit here and build a home from the bottom up or a roller coaster or something crazy. Yup, the creativity in this game is what sold me on it.

Enough about that lets get on with the 3D Invitations! Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Minecraft 3D Box Birthday Party Invitations (click to enlarge)

As seen in the image above we used clear 6.5" square envelopes to hand out these cards. They could be mailed also they fold up so thin! How cool is that? Both the back and front of the card is the TNT graphic.

Minecraft TNT Exterior, card flattens for mailing (click to enlarge)

How does it work? Check out this 2 min video where my son, the birthday boy shows you how it works, push play and watch it in action:

Since these are double sided you can always opt to "unfold" one side relieving the inside of the box a bit more while the card is inside the envelope. But we didn't do this... thought it would be more fun to have the 3D surprise in the box when they opened it.

Option 2 on flattening the card (click to enlarge)

Once you open the card it unfolds into a box and the side flaps come down revealing the party info and characters like these here: Steve, Enderdragon, Enderman, Slime and a Zombie Pigman.

Minecraft 3D Box Birthday Party Invitations (click to enlarge)

My son helped me fussy cut out all the characters, we averaged about 100 total. Here are some close ups of the characters inside the box card. The cool thing about this is each card was different. No card had the exact same characters, which left the kids chatting about it after they were handed out. Who got what inside their invitations!

Close up #1: Enderdragon, Villager, Creeper, Blaze and Steve

Minecraft 3D Box Birthday Party Invitations (click to enlarge)

Close up #2: Enderdragon, Steve, Pig, Cow, Creeper and Ghast

Minecraft 3D Box Birthday Party Invitations (click to enlarge)

I hope you found this an interesting post. We had tons of fun making these and handing them out. There will be more post to come about the party decor, games and food.

Minecraft 3D Box Birthday Party Invitations (click to enlarge)

 Here is a list of more of my Birthday Party Invitations:

Boy Birthday Invitations:
- Harry Potter Hogwarts Invites
- Lego Bionicle Mask of Light

- Lego Starwars Light Sabers

- Iron Man Mask Brithday Party  Invites

Girl's Birthday Invitations:

- Fashion-ista Pink and Black Designer Purse

- Angelina Ballerina Birthday Party Invitations

Thank you for viewing my post today. Please leave me a comment below if you like what you see.

Coordinator for Party Time Tuesdays Challenge Blog

Winter Wonderland Wreath - Upcycled from plastic grocery bags

PHOTO POST! This one is about a up-cycled wreath I made this year. This wreath is made up of Plastic Grocery Bags, a dollar store wreath and some floral stems from the craft store. Enjoy this winter wonder land!

Certified Helmar Educator