Decorating our new wood stairs for Christmas

December 17, 2010

Our house has been decorated for Christmas for a couple weeks now, but because I had been waiting all year to see our stairs at Christmas, I saved that for the end.

But then I got a little lazy (OK, a LOT lazy), and didn’t want to unravel all of our lighted greenery I usually use. Knowing my luck this year, I’m pretty sure half the lights are going to be out anyway. That’s how I roll. (Apparently.)

So I had something else in mind, and I love how it turned out! I started with sprigs of greenery – I’m in LOVE with the beautiful greenery I’ve found at Big Lots this year and last, but they were completely out of it. Instead, I found this lovely little tree:

big lots tree

Isn’t it fantastic?? :) He’s just a little sad. But I loved his branches, so I just cut the pieces off and twisted a few together:

I had some small red ornaments I wanted to throw in, but I couldn’t find my floral wire anywhere (GAH), so I used some picture wire from True Value that I grabbed for another project:

And it worked great! I just cut little pieces off and strung a few ornaments on:

I nestled them in into the greenery pieces and called that part DONE.

Ever since I saw my friend Melissa’s precious mason jars, I knew I had to do something similar. I LOVE using these jars – I’ve collected quite a few at Goodwill over the years. I just needed ONE more for the stairs, and it took a few trips into the GW (we’re tight, so it’s “GW”), but I finally found it. :)

Melissa used Epsom salts, which looked absolutely lovely. I already had some faux snow, so I just used that. I had to buy one more bag, but they’re a great deal for $1.99 at Target:

faux snow

A little goes a LONG way. Love that stuff – be sure to watch for it after the holidays and grab it up for half off! (You can see how I used this fluffy goodness in our dining room too.)

I just filled my jars, then plopped an LED tea light into the snow.

It’s so sweet and simple:

And you know what? I love it so much, I don’t miss the garland at all! I adore those glowing jars – and of course I only use Ball jars, as a double thump to the chest to my alma mater, Ball State U.  ;)

And yes, I couldn’t resist keeping a couple of our mice from the fall stairs up there. Stink Eye Sis gave me some major stink for keeping them up so long, but I L.O.V.E. them.

I Christmasified the mice a bit:

 christmas mice  

 

Are you kidding me? Adorable. Are Christmas mice a thing? Or am I making that up in my head and a wild attempt to explain my Halloween mice on my Christmas stairs?

Whatever. I think they are the cauuutest!!:

Christmas stairs

I was done, but then walked by a pile of sparkly snowflake ornaments I had in a pile to go the basement.

I thought a punch of red would be fun on the picture wall, so I used mounting squares from True Value (those little jobbies are how I attach my mice to the risers too) and attached them to the backs:

 

I just placed them here and there in the frames on the wall:

They add the perfect sparkly pop!

And yet again, I’m so glad I ripped that carpet off the stairs:

Christmas stairs

I can’t believe the difference from last year – the night shot before the ripping of the carpet:

stairs before

And now:

Wow, the new camera sure doesn’t hurt. :)

And after all that, we’re left with a really cute Charlie Brown Christmas tree:

Or something. :)

I think that’s the last of the Christmas decor around here – but I do have a couple more things I want to show you. You know…inspiration for next year.  ;)

Are you done shopping? I’m half way there…and not ONE gift is wrapped. Wish me luck.

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Comments

  1. The mice go right along with "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." OK-so they are stirring on your stairs, but they still look cute! Holly bhc-law(at)juno(dot)com

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  2. I adore what you've done here - so simple and stunning. I also LOVE what you did with your staircase, and the gallery wall is awesome. Just beautiful!

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  3. That looks soooo awesome! I do not enjoy mice normally, but these are ADORABLE :)

    And I am in love with those Ball jars and the lights and the ornaments and the sprigs. Ah. Just perfect. So festive and awesome!

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  4. I love the jars! So pretty!!!! None of my gifts are wrapped either.

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  5. Ohhh I LOVE THIS! I am home decorically (new word) challenged, so my Christmas decor consists of a fake poinsettia and a paper garland I made....I want THIS in my house. I wouldn't miss the garland either. What a change and such a beautiful stairwell! The mice were the perfect finishing touch. Reminds me of the Nutcracker or something.

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  6. Love! And I am sure there are Christmas mice...I remember a movie about them. :) I've got stuff wrapped, but still things left on the list to buy! :s

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  7. Holly beat me to the Twas the Night Before Christmas line, but I thought of it right away and think you should remind your sister. : ) I love this idea and it looks great, Sarah! The bits of green with the jars is just the right touch for stairs.

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  8. That is BEAUTIFUL! And...I love your stairs w/o the carpeting.

    Susan

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  9. I love the jars and greenery with the ornaments up the stairs! I loved the look of the garland on the railing too. Would both be too much? Is there such a thing as too much Christmas bling on the staircase?

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  10. Your stair case is adorable. I love it!!! It is so festive and whimsical with the Christmas mice. Very cute indeed, Kathysue

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  11. I love those mice! They look so cute and festive with their red bows.

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  12. Sarah, I love the look, mice and all! Everyone does garland, your's is unique and it entices you up the stairs, lurve it!

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  13. Mason jars strike again! Is there ANYTHING they can't do?

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  14. Very festive! Nicely done.. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  15. Stop it with those mice, already! They are too darn cute for words! You could choose to leave them up year round and make them Valentine mice, then Easter bunny mice... Now I actually want mice in my house! Weird.

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  16. Hi Sarah-

    I love to see no detail left undone - how cute are your stair mice? VERY!!! Major smile worthy. Since they have moved in and are part of your family now, is there going to be some nicely wrapped cheese under the tree for them this year?
    My best- Diane

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  17. There are definitely Christmas mice! The Nutcracker?

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  18. Your stairs are absolutely fabulous, they look just wonderful. Love them. The jars are such a great touch and I really do love the mice. I think they are way tooooooooo cute. Great decorations. Hugs, Marty

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  19. oh this is sooo cute! About the mice, why not put "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" or my fav "every creature was stirring about even a MOUSE" Love how the stairs turned out! makes me whish we had stairs so I could use the ball jar idea on that!

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  20. WoW now thats just Beautiful! so Unique! Love the mice, I so wish i had stairs so I could do something like this! mind you I'm fast running out of time now! again awesome decorations thank you for showing us!

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  21. Ohhh! the mice are so cute! love their little bows. I never would have thought of doing that! adorable.

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  22. I love the jars much more than I love the garland...I was debating put our garland outside on the porch, but now I think I'll copy you and use the simple beauty of fake snow and some canning jars taking up space in my pantry! Thanks for a great idea!!

    P.S. Your stairs are gorgeous! Love them.

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  23. Hello there,
    I have been following your blog for few weeks and am enjoying it very much. I saw metal wall decor on your wall and i have the same thing from pier 1 but its just sitting in my closet since i don't know how to hang it. Would u plz plz tell me how u hung it? IT has very small holes at the bottom. Thank you !

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  24. Taking the carpet off the stairs was such a great idea! My daughter was a mouse in her Christmas program :) I think your mice fit right in :)

    xo- Carmel

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  25. Lovin' how your stairs are all ready for the holidays...I’m having a Christmas Open House…would love to have you join in on the fun. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  26. I get the spirit that the mice are supposed to add, but I just have a reeeaaalllyy hard time with mice! Maybe if they wore cute little costumes like in the Nutracker or, better yet, the cute little guys in Disney's Cinderella.... yeah, that'd do it....maybe....or maybe not. The rest of the decorations are great it's just the mice look SO BIG and they have those long, icky tails....I'm sorry I have to go NOW!

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  27. I am frankly stunned that putting on little red bows turned those creepy mice into adorable friendly ones.

    I love the look. My question is - doesn't your kids just play with it all day long? Maybe yours are at different ages, or better behaved, but anything at that level would be a glorified mess at my house with in two days!

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  28. I've been reading this blog ever since it was mentioned on the Nate Show. Today, as I read this post and saw the thing about mason jars and I think to myself "she really should use Ball jars, since they are the best, plus I went to Ball State." Lo and behold, so did our thrifty decor chick!!! Yay! Go Cardinals!

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  29. So sweet and simple! I love the little mouse idea. It reminds me of The Night Before Christmas poem. :o)

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  30. I LOVE your mice!! :) Your stairs are beautiful!!

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  31. If it gets any cuter, I'm going to have to squeeze someone.

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  32. "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse..." See, mice are Christmas.

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  33. I adore the picture wall. And the stairs look great.

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  34. I love that idea! I think the mice are great. There are Christmas books out there that feature mice.

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  35. Oh man, I thought those mice were cute the first time you showed them. But if at all possible, they are even cuter!

    Your stairs are glorious. =)

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  36. Of COURSE there are Christmas mice!! As a matter of fact, I think mice are more Christmasy than they are Halloweeny--or is it Halloweenish? Yes, I guess it's "-ish." But you get what I'm saying.

    'Twas the night before Christmas
    and all through the house
    Not a creature was stirring,
    Not even a mouse.
    The stockings were hung
    By the chimney with care
    In hopes that St. Nicholas
    Soon would be there. . . ."

    Do you know the history of that poem? It's wonderful--it's actually called "A Visit from St. Nicholas" rather than "The Night Before Christmas, " which is the way we usually think of it now. But see? You're a Ball State grad; you're very literate. You KNEW there were Christmas mice!

    Love you, sweet Sarah. Thank you for sharing so much of your home and your heart with us.

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  37. What an awesome transformation.

    I am done Christmas shopping but not a one is wrapped yet!

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  38. This is such a wonderful project! I love every element of it! I've been offered several boxes of jars that have been sitting in an old farm shed. I need to drive out there and bring them home for future projects!

    I had posted/linked to you on my first Random Goodness Tuesdays post (which I am faltering on keeping up). I will have to showcase you once again!

    Love this project!

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  39. I LOVE the mice!!!!!! And I'm right there with you about there being Christmas mice, but if we're wrong they are still so stinkin' adorable. And I can't comment without saying how much better I think the mason jars are and the snowflakes in the pictures...genius!

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  40. The Christmased up mice look so cute. I hope you don't mind if I write that your stairs looked great last year, too ;).

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  41. So what is this new camera I have read reference to a few times now? If I missed the blog about it, please tell me where to read it! I am in desperate need of a camera that doesn't ghostify my home!!! My flash is a death sentence!!

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  42. The mice are totally appropriate for Christmas!! How cute! I love that you used picture hanging wire.... I am famous for never having florist wire, but you know what? I have never had a problem getting the job done with my picture wire ;)

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  43. Ahhh so cute!! Those jars have so many uses I love them! And I am actually becoming a tad more fond of the mice now that they are Christmasified. :)

    Lovely!

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  44. WAY better than the garland! LOVE it! Simple and beautiful and UNIQUE. And yes, there are the 'mice that were not stirring' the night before Christmas. :)

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  45. i HAVE to get some mason jars now and use them in my house somewhere! ahhhh... so so lovely!

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  46. this is sooo cute! what an amazing job you did! i am so AMAZED!! it looks great! love the little mice :)

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  47. Love it! What a neat picture it makes...should be in a magazine!!!

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  48. There ARE Christmas mice. They are in my attic right now, I can hear those little buggers scurrying around. BLAH!

    On a lighter note..I love love love your stairs! LOVE IT!

    www.theopinionatedmama.com

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  49. I love the mice! Especially with their festive Christmas wear =) I wish I had stairs so I could have seasonal mice.

    The Ball jars with the tealights are so cute! I am totally stealing that idea for my mantle =)

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  50. That's so cute! I wish I had stairs. I love your little Christmas mice.

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  51. LOVE the Mason jar and the Christmasfied mice! :) You should cut off the rest of your branches into the shape of the Charlie Brown xmas tree...ya know they sell those at Walgreens?! :) Might be cute in Bubs room! lol
    Have a Merry Christmas! OH and I'm completely finished shopping and all is wrapped except for one gift that hasn't arrived yet from Pottery Barn...I'm kinda disappointed in them this year. Gah..never thought I'd say that!
    Hugs!
    Missy

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  52. Hi Sarah, I just wanted you to know that you have changed my life. I had no idea there was a whole world of spray painting fools like me out there! I heard about you on the Nate show about a month ago and have been glued to my computer since checking out every blog I can link to. What fun. You've even inspired me ro start my own blog! Love, love love to you!

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  53. I love those mice! The stairs look so festive. It almost makes me want to tear the carpet off my stairs.

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  54. the carpet is SO coming off my stairs next spring!!! Also, I have a book from my childhood called Santa Mouse. It's the story of a lonely little mouse who realizes that no one ever gives Santa a gift, so he wraps up a piece of cheese he has been saving and puts it under the tree for Santa. Santa is so touched that he makes him his helper! It a beautifully illustrated book that I loved as a child and my girls loved it too. So, Yes, Sarah. There is a Santa Mouse!

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  55. First of all I love how your stairs turned out! Second, I love how you decorated them.. so simple! I wanted to do something like that but my home was on a house tour.. maybe not practical for 250 people going up the stairs! I love all your projects:) Keep them coming!

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  56. So simple, but so pretty! Love it.

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  57. I never thought I would love mice, but...! So clever to leave them out for Christmas. :) And now it looks like I need to go buy some snow! I always love your ideas! (I notice I tend to use lots of exclamation points when I'm commenting on your blog.)

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  58. I went to BSU too! I'm actually from the area and graduated from Yorktown. I think we ate the same age too! Amazing, small world!

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  59. Your stairs are adorable and I love your Christmas mice!

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  60. I never would have known that they were actually Halloween mice disguised as Christmas mice! I love it!! I also loved your use of the Ball Mason jars! I was excited to see that you are a Ball State Alum. My husband and I just relocated to Muncie where he works at Ball State in the athletic department!!

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  61. I love that! Simple elegance. The mice are perfect with the bows.

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  62. The stairs look GREAT! And, of COURSE there are Christmas mice!!!!!!!!! LOve the jars and how you decorated them, genius cutting up the little tree!! Did you know that you can get the fake candles with TIMERS in them so they come on and off themselves!!!??? YOu can set them for 4 or 8 hours! Merry Christmas! XO, Pinky

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  63. I cannot wait to search Target for that fake snow. I have been wondering where I could find that! How do you manage to keep your decor on your stairs with your little guy in the house? I think my 5 yr old, 3 yr old and 2 dogs would have other plans with that on my stairs. But because of you - I have also ripped off the carpet from our stairs and stained them dark and painted the risers white! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! I would have never thought of this project. But since you showed us the whole process, I was hooked!! THANK YOU!
    I just wish I could decorate my stairs like you have. It is GORGEOUS!

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  64. that is adorable! love the ball jars!, but the mice are what makes it all over the top cute! i'm stealing this idea!

    cindy

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  65. Are you kidding? Mice totally go with Christmas. In fact, according to a movie my brother and I watched ad nauseum as kids, a mouse actually wrote "Silent Night." I think we taped it off of PBS, so it's probably true, right?

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  66. Love your Christmas mice! Whole stairway is fab. What about a tiny wreath over the one mouse's hole?

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  67. love.love.love and isn't there that Christmas story "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse"?!

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  68. Holy Heck with the mice and their bows! Hilarious!! Next year ~ little wreaths on their tails? (please?)

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  69. oh my, this is something! i LOVE it~ you are so creative, it hurts~~~!!!

    lol. xo!
    M

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  70. Oh how adorable! I burst out laughing when I saw how great you used the Halloween mice! Now you have your own little Christmas mice. Love it!

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  71. SO beautiful. Help me convince my husband that we need to rip the carpet up from our stairs.

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  72. I look at a lot of blogs and many have beautiful things, but I am so inspiered by these unique ideas! Thanks for sharing your creative thoughts! -elyse

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  73. Hey Miss Girlie!!!! I love your Chirstmas steps and what you did with your family photos, Oh My Word!!!! LOVE THAT GREAT IDEA!!!!
    Thank you so much for sharing your self with us!!
    Melissa

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  74. oh my gosh, i love your steps! like ADORE them!
    I forgot one of my rat silhouettes and its actually still up.. I should get some red ribbon from somewhere and tie it around him! that is such a cute idea!

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  75. I LOVE your Steps!!! My dinning room is decorating with old mason jars and I could never figure out what to do with them at Christmas...NOW i know! Thanks so much for sharing your talents with us..

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  76. I love the stairs, and your loyalty to Ball State, but since my last name is Kerr, I am very partial to Kerr jars :-)

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  77. The mice are so cute!! I wish mine made it through Halloween! One was missing a tail and the other was missing a head... My kids really did a number on them! My little girl still goes down the steps backwards on her knees so oh well. Don't you have kids?? Or a kid?? How do these stay looking good??? Would love to do this but.. my kids would have broken glass everywhere!! Maybe I can do it like around the tub in the master bathroom so I can enjoy it! hmm! And just so you know I haven't forgotten your little Land of Apothecary jars in your dining room yeah I am still working on mine!! It will be done before Christmas!! I just need to find some faux snow! And maybe a couple more apothecary jars ;)

    Was this comment long enough??

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  78. That is about the cutest thing I have seen on the blogs for Christmas decor this year!

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  79. I love your stairs and the mice are perfect all dressed up for Christmas. I'm thinking it's time to lose the carpet on my stairs....oh dear another project!Love your blog.

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  80. Oh my gosh!! I love your little mice, they are lovely, i think you're right to keep them up!! Your stairs look lovely, i also love the writing next to your family pictures, thats a really pretty idea.
    lovely,lovely ideas!
    x

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  81. It looks fabulous, so much better.

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  82. I absolutely LOVE the mice with the bows. There are so many Christmas mice books so it's perfect :) And ball jars are one of my favorite things to use as centerpieces so I was just thrilled by it all :)

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  83. if some one hasn't already said - mice are in the Nutcracker, which is a Christmas ballet!! :) Beautiful work, thanks for sharing!!!

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  84. Of COURSE there are Chritmas Mice.
    I had a room for them in my house on our Garden Club Christmas Home Tour!
    Perhaps you saw them on my blog?

    And do remember, it is the unexpected that makes good decorating great!

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  85. I love those stinkin mice. The bows kill me. So freakin cute :) I love the ornaments on your picture wall. I think its a nice way to add a little Christmas cheer :) And your stairs are breathtaking. I showed my hubbie and he thinks we should do that in our house? Sweet!! Thanks for such great inspiration :)

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  86. Wow, Sarah, it looks so great! You're right- What a difference from last year now with the new stairs. Love the addition of the red sparkly ornaments on the pictures!

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  87. I love the little bows on the mice! I looooove them. It makes me wish I had stairs, soooo bad.

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  88. The mice make it! I love them with the little red bows (and that they're totally fake!). They make the whole width & height of the stairs part of the picture! Just LOVE 'em!

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  89. Of course mice are Christmasey- "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." Love the jars, so cute.

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  90. Well if there aren't Christmas mice, there should be because those are so cute!

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  91. I think the mason jars are adorable. And, I would probably never take the mice away. They are so cute and do not seem seasonal specific at all.
    CAS

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  92. oh I love this!!!! i might need to wait a couple of years till my kiddos are safe around that many candles....but the looks is so beautiful!!!

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  93. I think Christmas mice should become a new holiday tradition!

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  94. I stumbled across your blog and have spent way to much time looking through your old posts! I love the color in your staircase area...what is it?

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  95. This is quite possibly the most ADORABLE staircase I have ever seen! I love Christmas and the feeling that comes along with a well decorated home. It's all in the details, and these perfect little mice make the whole thing! The snow filled jars give the stairs a winter-y warm glow...Perfection!

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  96. Saw your sweet little mice on Pinterest and had to hop over here and check things out! LOVE your blog :)

    Happy Holidays!

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