Best of 2014 - A Year in Review

You guys, this has been an amazing year for The Altered Past and it's all thanks to you, my readers.  I'm so thankful for your taking time out of your day to read my blog.  It's both exciting and humbling at the same time.  I really do appreciate you all.

As a recap of 2014, I'm sharing my top 6 most viewed posts.  The ones you all chose as the best projects from this past year.  Let's do this David Letterman style starting with #6 first.

The sixth most viewed post for 2014 Is the Patio Set Redo that I made for my daughter's first apartment.  She moved in this past summer and the set has been providing a cozy sitting area for her front porch.  (Click on the photo to read the full post!)

The fifth most popular post from this past year is the Gumball Machine Snow Globe.  I think it's my favorite.  I put the snow globe in my china cabinet this past week instead of storing it away with the rest of the Christmas decorations.

Coming in at fourth is the Take-Out Boxes I made for our Thanksgiving guests.  I was honored to have this post featured in a Huffington Post article.  I'm still amazed that I found the take out trays at the Dollar Tree.  I love that store :)

The third most popular post of 2014 is a project that is somewhat special to me.  It's the Old Window Repurposed into a Chalkboard.  The window came from my in-laws home.  The chalkboard hangs in our den and I change out the message with the seasons or holidays.  

Coming in at number 2 is an easy DIY project that I've done several times and will probably continue to do.  It's the Make Your Own Rubber Stamp post.  It doesn't take a lot of fancy materials.  You probably already have most of them in your home right now.  Click on the photo and check it out.  Then, get to making your own rubber stamps!

And, drum roll please, the most popular post for 2014 is the Pottery Barn Knockoff Grouted Pumpkins.  Another super easy project and the cost was less than $5!  

There you have it!  The top 6 most popular post for 2014!  This could not have happened without you.  I appreciate each of you and I hope you will like what 2015 brings for The Altered Past.  I feel God has some pretty neat things in store for us.  

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!!

Angie

I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

COMMON GROUND

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

FRIDAYS UNFOLDED

FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

ONE MORE TIME EVENTS

TWIRL AND TAKE A BOW 
SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE

STONEGABLE
UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING

A DELIGHTSOME LIFE
ART IS BEAUTY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING

THREE MANGO SEEDS

ELIZABETH JOAN DESIGNS

WEEKEND CRAFTS

PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY
THOUGHTS FROM ALICE
HYMNS AND VERSES
MISS MUSTARD SEED
CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE ADDICT
SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY
MAKING LEMONADE BLOG

Get 20% Off "Building a Framework" Ebook

Great news!  Today through January 3rd, you can get "Building a Framework:  Everything I Learned My First Year of Blogging" by Abby Lawson (aka JustAGirl blog) for 20% off the $24 price!!  Enter the code:  NEWYEARNEWBLOG to get the discount!

Guys, I have this ebook and I can say it is chocked full of great information.  It also comes with 20+ printable pages to create your own blog planner.  With the 20% discount, you'll be getting all of this information for less than $20.  That's a great deal!

If you're already a blogger, Abby will share with you the things she learned during her first year of blogging.  If you're not a blogger, Abby will help you get off to a great start.  I began blogging back in 2009 and I really wish I had this book back then.  

Take a look at what's inside:

So, hurry!  Don't wait!  Click over today and check out "Building a Framework:  Everything I Learned My First Year of Blogging" and don't forget the code NEWYEARNEWBLOG to get your 20% off!  

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!  And, if you're thinking about beginning a blog, I'd love to hear about it!!

Angie

*affiliate links

Organizing Christmas Decorations for Storage

Are you an organized person?  I'm not.  Organization does not come easy to me.  I read once that creativity and organization can act kind of like a seesaw in people.  When I'm more creative, my organization goes down.  When I become more organized, my creativity seems to decrease.  Does that happen to you?  It made sense to me.  However, don't despair.  You can have some of both and we can do it together!  Let's get creatively organized!

Since organizing doesn't come naturally to me, I turned to good ol' Pinterest for inspiration.  I even created a Christmas Decoration Organization board if you want to follow it you can do that HERE

I know some of you may not want to take down all of the decorations right away but there are some ideas that you can be thinking about and gathering supplies for.  Don't worry, these are easy to find items.  (All of the photos are from Pinterest so be sure to check them out on their original site!)

Let's take a look!

This is an easy fix to all those rolls of wrapping paper that are falling out of the gift wrapping closet whenever I open the door.  Easy to find cardboard wine box for free at most liquor stores!

How about this!?!  I usually save the original box for Christmas balls but those other ornaments are usually just tossed in a tote.  Plastic cups are a great idea for keeping those ornaments nice and safe while being stored.  No more bed head for ornaments with hair ;)

Another great idea for those smaller ornaments or for those glass balls that don't have their original box.

This idea of labeled, clear totes is from Yvonne of Stone Gable.  She always has her home beautifully decorated for Christmas (well, every season as a matter of fact) and so she's got organized storage down pat.

Do you use a real tree or an artificial?  This is our first year with an artificial so I'll be looking for a great way to store it.  I have the original box but I'm thinking I may just leave it put together, pull a large garbage bag down over it, and put it in the attic as is.  That may not work for everyone but we are blessed to have a walk in attic in this house...first one after owning several homes and I love it!

Ok, so let's start gathering our supplies...plastic cups, egg cartons, clear totes, cardboard wine box...and get to organizing our Christmas decor!

Anyone with a great way to store wreaths??  I'd love to hear!!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!!

The Focus on Our Savior

You know what I like about Christmas?  Well, I won't lie.  I love decorating my home, getting and receiving gifts, and the warm coziness of watching feel good movies with the family.  However, there is something else happening during this time that I love.  So many are thinking about our Savior and his birth.

While I'm in the camp that believes Jesus' birthday was probably in the fall and not on December 25th, I am thankful that this season can provide opportunities to share Jesus with those that don't know Him.  His birth, to enter this fallen world, to experience our griefs, struggles, temptations, to remain without blemish through it so that He could take the payment of death for our sins.  That depth of love is hard for us to imagine and humbling as we even try to understand how much He loves us.

Wow!  He loves us that much.  While we were yet sinners, He died for us.  It leaves me in awe trying to get my head around it.  What a Mighty, Loving Savior and King we serve!

My wish for you and your family is to enjoy this season and may it carry with us all during the coming 365 days.  Jesus does.  He's always there, whether our minds are focused on Him or not.  He is Faithful.  I typically don't share posts like this but I feel His leading me to do this more in 2015.  More on that when I return to blogging next week~!

God bless and thanks for stopping by!!

In His Love,
Angie

Christmas at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Are y'all Harry Potter fans?  Yes?  No?  I have to confess.  I fought the HP bandwagon for a long time but when I finally broke down and watched one of the movies.  That was it.  I was hooked.  HOOKED!  I tell you!  Aside from it being a great good vs. evil story (quite a genius story at that), I fell in love with the English castles, countryside, villages, houses, well, everything actually.  So when the mention of going to Orlando to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter came up, my family jumped at it.

We went this past week and the timing was perfect.  The park is beautifully decorated for Christmas, the temperatures are in the mid 70s, and the crowds are low.  We flew in on Sunday and back on Wednesday...great days to travel as well.  But more in a post about travelling on a budget later.  Let's get back to the Christmas decorations!

The snow-capped roofs are a permanent embellishment but the Christmas decorations are added now and it makes for the perfect winter English village.  This is outside of Honeydukes candy shop.  Pine boughs and pine cones are added just under the eaves and there is a wreath hung on the door with Honeyduke pink and green ornaments.

Deer antlers and snow outside of the Three Broomsticks.  We ate there for dinner the last evening.  It was delicious pub fare dishes...with Butterbeer, of course.

More of the pine boughs tucked under the eaves.  Love this look.

These decorations are just gorgeous!  We have plenty of cedar trees in our area but not many pine.  Kind of jealous of my Georgia friends and all of those beautiful pine boughs they can decorate with for free.

And, of course, Harry Potter World would not be complete at Christmas without a Harry Potter snowman!  If we get a good snow this year, you may see something like this in my yard ;)

While the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is amazing at Universal Studios.  It wasn't the only thing they had decorated.  The Universal Studios park was getting its Christmas on as well.

We enjoyed a great Macy's Parade at the Universal Studios park, complete with the huge balloons!  It was held at dusk and the evening was perfect.

And, after the parade was over, we were ready to call it a day.  We returned to our rooms at Hogwarts for the night.  Ok, I'm kidding.  We were at a nearby hotel but a girl can dream can't she!?

I hope you enjoyed seeing Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter decked out for the holidays.  If you ever get the chance to see it yourself, go!  You won't be disappointed. :)

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie



I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

COMMON GROUND

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

FRIDAYS UNFOLDED

FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

ONE MORE TIME EVENTS

TWIRL AND TAKE A BOW 
SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE

STONEGABLE
UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING

A DELIGHTSOME LIFE
ART IS BEAUTY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING

THREE MANGO SEEDS

ELIZABETH JOAN DESIGNS

WEEKEND CRAFTS

PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY
THOUGHTS FROM ALICE
HYMNS AND VERSES
MISS MUSTARD SEED
CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE ADDICT

Christmas around the House

Sharing a little of the Christmas decorations I've added to our home.  Have you finished decorating yet?

The snow globe picture I posted about here

I don't think I ever finish decorating.  My brain is always coming up with more ideas than I'm able to complete.  Guess I can always save those for the next year.

There are some things that must be used every year in the Christmas decor.  This is a little snowman that my youngest daughter made when she was just ten.  It's the Mad Hatter from the latest Alice in Wonderland.  I used to make altered snowman for my etsy shop back then and she wanted to make one too.

The decor in the foyer include a pair of vintage ice skates, a "SNOW" sign, and an antique crock with greenery.

I typically stay away from the traditional reds and greens of Christmas because they usually don't fit with my decor.  This year, I was dead set on using red and green tartan.  I love all tartans if you didn't notice my from tartan throw post :)  I found this needlepoint pillow earlier this year at the thrift store.  Its colors and design contain just enough blue to tie everything together.  (I have a thing for needlepoint pillows too!) 

Just a simple tartan ribbon added to a lamp shade

Thank you for stopping by The Altered Past and spending a little time with me as I share some Christmas decor.  I've got a little more to share later...the front porch and the shed.

God bless!
Angie


I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

COMMON GROUND

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

FRIDAYS UNFOLDED

FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

ONE MORE TIME EVENTS

TWIRL AND TAKE A BOW 
SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE

STONEGABLE
UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING

A DELIGHTSOME LIFE
ART IS BEAUTY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING

THREE MANGO SEEDS

ELIZABETH JOAN DESIGNS

WEEKEND CRAFTS

PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY
THOUGHTS FROM ALICE
HYMNS AND VERSES
MISS MUSTARD SEED
CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE ADDICT