Archive for August, 2010

Victorian Christmas Ornaments

Unleash your imagination when it comes to selecting Victorian Christmas ornaments to go with your holiday theme. In just about every aspect, from size and shape to color, texture, subject, materials and more, the sky’s the limit.

One of the most delightful things about holiday decorating with an 1800′s theme is the era’s over-the-top aesthetic; the lavish elegance of period holiday decor uses rich colors for drama, multiple layers to make a big impact, and a “more is better” attitude toward embellishments.

This carries through to all aspects of the holiday decor of the period, but nowhere is it more gorgeously expressed than in the the profusion of ornaments the decorators of the day used everywhere. Here are some tips on how to select, create, and use ornaments in your period holiday decorating.

Think outside the modern decorating box
Round glass balls may be the backbone of modern holiday ornments, but in a Victorian theme the possibilities are endless. Flowers, fans, angels, cherubs, large Santa figures, gift boxes, character figurines, dolls, and even fancy shoes are among the classic decorations of the era.

Elaborate embellishment is one of the charms of the decorative items of the period, so look for items with lots of detail, including beading, tassels and charms, pendants, paintings of people or scenes, and anything that gives additional sparkle.

Paper was a popular material for authentic period decorations. In addition to large, elaborately printed heavy paper figures, the the Victorians also used Christmas cards and other printed scenes on the tree and in arrangements.

Delicate filigree shapes are classics of the era. Look for stars, bells, and miniature gift boxes made of metal or gilded paper filigree.

Elegantly economical: make your own decorations
Antique decorations can be pricey and hard to find, but there are lots of excellent reproductions available both as individual items and in sets. But if you’re stretching your holiday decorating budget, creating Victorian Christmas ornaments for your tree can be easy, economical and fun. Here are some examples to spark your creativity:

- Fold wrapping paper into fan shapes and embellish with lace, ribbon, artificial flowers, or strings of craft beads or pearls.

- Shape by-the-pack paper doilies into cones and fill with brightly-wrapped candy

- Use dried babies’ breath and silk flowers to create mini bouquets that you can embellish with lace and ribbon and tuck among the boughs.

- A glue gun and a few yards of assorted ribbons, lace, braids, and craft pearls, beads, and chain can turn a pack of inexpensive satin balls into period masterpieces.

- Make oversized tassels of decorative rope combined with with craft chain, beads, pearls, and ribbon.

Love the idea of vintage Christmas Decorations, but not sure exactly which era would suit you best? Take the simple quiz at Vintage Christmas Decorations and find out your vintage decorating style!


www.cantontourism.com A special annual attraction that always proves to be a joyous experience is the Canton Animation Museums. This treasure chest of Christmas delights began with just 22 antique window decorations and a vision to create a holiday fantasy which would highlight the areas rich history, diverse present, and promising future. Now in its thirteenth year, the Museums include 135 life-size animated figures that beckon holiday fun-seekers to a world of fact and fairy tales. From historical representations of life in Canton throughout the 20th century to whimsical scenes depicting favorite childrens stories, the Museums displays are artfully handcrafted and a delight to behold. www.visitmississippi.org


Question by Megs: What are the main differences between a Victorian Christmas and a Modern Christmas?
Please help! :) xx

Best answer:

Answer by Grignard Reagent
Most of our ideas of Victorian Christmas are probably not all that accurate. Some people got the day off work, many did not, went to church then had a big meal. The next day it was all over. It would probably have been far less elaborate than ours.

Add your own answer in the comments!

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Posted by santa - August 25, 2010 at 9:03 am

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The Best Christmas Desktop Wallpapers Collection

Every year, as Christmas comes up, the World Wide Web offers up a lot of freebies related to the festival. Check out the best Christmas wallpapers collection on the net. Brighten up your celebrations with these beauties.

Desktop wallpapers:

The birth of the internet has changed the world. It has added more fun into the lives of people. Today, you can get anything from books and information to images and articles for free! The internet has also led to the birth of many other things. One of these is the wallpaper. Simply put, it is a full screen image that you can set on your PC screen. Time and again, it feels boring to work with computers. The wallpapers give you a break from the monotony of staring at the same desktop screen. Beautiful wallpapers refresh the mind. They let you work again with renewed energy.

The desktop wallpapers typically feature-

1.Beautiful natural sceneries

2.Moments from human lives

3.Pictures of tourist sights

4.Nature and natural objects

5.Any festive event

Christmas wallpapers for desktop:

Festivals and holidays are one of the popular wallpaper themes. Popular holiday events and festivals found on wallpapers include occasions like:

1.Thanksgiving Day

2.St. Patrick’s Day

3.Christmas

4.Easter

5.Janmashtami

6.Rosh Hashanah

7.Eid

8.Guru Nanak Jayanti

Christmas is one of the major Western holidays. Visit the web world and you will find a range of beautiful wallpapers on Christmas. A plethora of websites offer Christmas wallpapers for free. You can download these for no cost at all and install on your desktop as background image. The sites offer wallpapers in all desktop screen sizes.

How to set the wallpapers on PC screen?

The wallpapers are displayed as thumbnail images in an online catalog form. You can choose any thumbnail and open it in a new window in the right screen size. You have to right click on the image and select the “Set as Desktop Background” option. You can also download these into your hard drives.

The Best Christmas Desktop Wallpapers Collection

Looking for attractive Christmas wallpapers? Settle for nothing but the best! The best Christmas wallpapers feature

1.Nativity scenes

2.Christmas foods

3.Christmas greetings

4.Christmas flowers

5.Christmas Decorations

6.Christmas gifts

How do you search for top Christmas desktop wallpapers? It is simple. Just type ‘best free Christmas desktop wallpapers’ in the Google search-box and visit the sites that come up. Go through the wallpaper thumbnails and choose any of them for your PC screen background. The wallpaper collection normally consist of JPG images or GIF images. You can come across a lot of high definition Christmas wallpapers as well. The high quality Christmas images will bring the celebrations alive onto your desktop. They will also give you a refreshing break from your work. It will also help you get into the Christmas mood more easily.

So check out the best Christmas desktop wallpapers collection on the net and dress up your PC screen now!

For more information log on to http://wwww.christmascarnivals.com and contact us to webmaster@christmascarmivals.com

Puneet is the author of Christmascarnivals and provide the information of Christmas Vacation Christmas party Christmas Pictures


A call for peace and a tribute to all who have died or whose lives have been forever changed by the illegal war in Iraq. (some graphic content) John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas / War is Over” provides background music to these powerful photos. RAISE YOUR VOICE FOR PEACE! Join the MARCH ON WASHINGTON January 27, 1007 www.UnitedForPeace.org Tell Congress NO MORE TROOPS – bring all our troops home NOW! http
Video Rating: 4 / 5


Question by Akki: Where i will get the high resolution images of the christmas and new year cards?
Please let me know that where i will get the high resoulution images of new year and christmas cards

Best answer:

Answer by cajuncntry2
You can always use photoimpact 12 free trial version and make them yourself.
They save up to a 600DPI and the res. is sweet since you can make them at what ever res you want.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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25 comments - What do you think?
Posted by santa - August 22, 2010 at 8:17 pm

Categories: Christmas Images   Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Make a Personalized Christmas Card?

Are you bored of sending the same Christmas cards with bells, Santa Claus and Christmas tree? Do you want to design a better Christmas card and that too yourself?

It is not a difficult thing to make personalized Christmas photo cards. The best time to get material for making a card is during the yuletide season of the previous year. You have to collect small decorations, ribbons, clippings and many other things from magazines, gift tags, wrapping paper and all the stuff you thought was waste for you.

After collecting the material, store it in the special craft chest. If you want, you can divide it into different themes and keep them individually. Now it is time to decide when you should make the cards. Although, this will depend on the time left for Christmas and the number of cards you want to make.

You will also require some card for cutting, folding and making card blanks or even get ready-made card blanks with envelopes, which is easiest. Check out your local craft store to get possible options.

Now comes the turn to choose the background. White and cream are the two always good and most preferred options because you can use different colors on these backgrounds. If you want the card to be a bit flashy, try a red or green background.

You can also buy peel-offs, the stickers with greetings like “Merry Christmas”. These can provide a finishing touch to the card. If you want, you can also write greetings with sparkles, gel pens and other colors. This will give a more handmade look to the card.

Do you want a 2nd look on your card? If yes, then opt for sticky pads, which will give a slightly raised effect to the images and make them standout lightly. You can also buy mulberry or handmade paper to give a more creative look to the Christmas card.

So, you have searched the whole house and every craft shop but are not finding good material for making the card. The shortcut is to buy a Christmas card making kit. It will include blank cards, colors; small accessories that will give a great look to your card.

If we talk about the tools required to make a card, you just need a pair of scissors, a scale and glue. It will be better to use a glue pen because you can apply the glue finely in small decorations.

It’s time to sit down and go wild with your imagination. Try out different designs and if they don’t work, the scope is still endless. You will definitely end up making a beautiful Christmas card yourself.

An expert card designer from Taylor Cards has written this article. Find more information on Christmas photo cards here.


Learn how to make a handmade Valentine’s Day card and more in this free arts and crafts video taught by an expert. Expert: Elouise Hester Bio: Elouise Hester is a paraprofessional and homemaker. She uses her creative talents to make personalized stationary and cards for her friends and family. Filmmaker: bobby Hester
Video Rating: 3 / 5


Question by :) : Any ideas for making your own Christmas cards?
How can I make my own Christmas cards that look good and professional? I would like to send a Christmas card to a friend in Italy, and it is not easy to find Italian language cards here. What are some good ideas to help me make my own? I know I should use card stock paper. I do have the program “Greetings Workshop” on my computer, but the cards never really come out looking professional.

Any ideas?

Best answer:

Answer by Debra Erics
I would write in my own hand. And draw stars and trees, or buy them and put them on there after spray painting them, or ornaments etc… use glitter and berries, pieces of evergreen or a mistletoe on it…. I mean if you want to be creative, home made can’t be beat,

If this is a business associate, professional cards can be bought for next to nothing, that look great, and of course are personalized.

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Posted by santa - August 16, 2010 at 3:30 pm

Categories: Make Your Own Christmas Cards   Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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