We finally got our first real snow of the season earlier this week...the kind that really sticks around for more than a day. It was the inspiration I needed to finally decorate the cabin for the holidays.
On the front door, I hung a simple swag of boxwood. I collected the branches from bushes we have around the house and barn and then just tied them with a little twine and ribbon. As you'll see, I like to keep things simple in the cabin...
This is a bucket bench that holds my salt-glazed crocks and other odds & ends. Believe it or not, that's an old pig trough on top...I found it years ago in an antique shop. I filled it with more boxwood, pine, apples and dried oranges and added a wooden bowl of cranberries for a pop of color.
The dried oranges are easy to make...just slice an orange, place the slices on a cookie sheet and put them in a 180-degree oven. I left mine in overnight and in the morning they were perfect! I've hung them in the windows of the cabin...you'll see them below.
Hung by the chimney with care, these stockings are all ready to be filled. Next to the fireplace, I have an old-fashioned settle bench. The sides are angled in to keep the heat in...they sort of hug you when you're sitting there. I stitched up a little chair pad out of linen & straw and it's the coziest spot in the cabin!
This old sawbuck table is one of my favorite vintage finds. It includes the initials PD carved into the top, probably for the original owner, and a pair of holes at one end where a meat grinder was once attached. The centerpiece is very simple...a wool penny rug topped with fresh pine branches and my favorite pewter candlesticks. Here's where you can see the little bundles of dried oranges hanging in the window to catch the light.
There's my little tree! Simply decorated with cinnamon-applesauce ornaments that are so easy to make...and so fragrant! The shelves and dry sink are filled with more favorites...pantry boxes, baskets, pitchers, painted bowls and even a sap bucket. I love their rich colors!
Make your own cinnamon-applesauce ornaments...there's still time before Christmas!
Just mix 1-1/2 c. cinnamon with 1 cup of applesauce to make the dough. Place it between two pieces of waxed paper and roll with your rolling pin to about 1/8" thickness. Peel off the top piece of wax paper and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Add a small hole at the top of each shape with a straw or skewer and let them dry overnight, or until completely hard. You can also put them in a 150-degree oven for about an hour. Remove, cool and thread a ribbon through the small hole to hang.
They really couldn't be easier...and they'll keep their scent for years to come!