Hanging the tinsel...

We are deep in the midst of the holiday rush. Each child has a concert and the oldest has finals. This year we have an "angel" in the Christmas play! I am slightly excited. I have been wrapping up a few Christmas gifts for the family and exchanged a few with others. The forecast has a chance for snow this week too. 

The kitchen is waiting for the cookies to be baked...on Tuesday.

The shelves in the hearth room are sparkling with glitter.

Kissing angels perch on my favorite books.

Putting these delicate items with my transfer ware always make me smile.

Santa's in their place.

Flocked wreaths that lean gently on heirlooms.

The light of a tole lamp and some frosty music.

A favorite vintage vignette in my tiny hutch.

I wish this cabinet were twice as big. It holds all my favorites.

This block is a new gift from my friend Kim K. It is a child's building block with a Santa image and some anagrams. I love it. Of course I had bins full of these...that I donated to my kids preschool. I love that Kim always sees something wonderful in an ordinary item.

My kids are too old to sit on Santa's lap now. These Santa photos are wonderful to decorate with.

Vintage tea towels in the kitchen make a beautiful statement.

Over the last few weeks I have received some of the most beautiful handmade items and gifts from my wonderful blogging pals. Each one of them so loved. Thank you all for thinking of me during this very busy time of the year. 

I am off to finish all the last minute details. My calendar pages are full. I look forward to a few days off with my wonderful family. I will be back after I catch my breath.

The new old...

Why is it that I can place a memory with faces and things but never dates? I often wonder if not knowing how old I was is part of the mystery. "Oh, I remember that I made it with girl scouts. Afterwards, we played red rover and I remember it was warm out." Not..."That was 1982." Regardless, I am thankful to have remembered the thought.

Made in my very early elementary years, this sweet Kewpie has somehow managed to survive 11 houses and countless Christmases. The first of many crafts. I remember circling her belly with just a hint of rouge and gilding those tiny wings.

A few new old ornaments from my gatherings this past year. 

This one has just a hint of green around the middle. 

A few from my father's tree growing up. 

I should tell you the rest of them are buried in a crawlspace in Honolulu. My uncle refuses to relinquish them.

A crackling snow scene.

Perfect pink polka dots.

Silent stenciled night.

Indents in new shapes.

Lovely tiny stripes.

Glittered stars on shiny brites.

And a patriotic gem.

Thank you all for the wonderful comments from the last post. I appreciate every comment and thought. It will help guide me through the process of deciding what to do with my Etsy.

Bowl full of Jelly

With it being so grey here I have had to resort to using my flash. A week of tree photography only paid off in giving me two out of the five trees a decent shot. I wouldn't normally complain except all these grey skies have given us not a drop of rain.

For some reason, this year I couldn't remember where the original position of all the Christmas "stuff" went. I had to improvise and this new vignette was born.

Santa snuggled in with a few friends from Kim K. and a Beths Bagz pin cushion.

I will assume the grainy picture is a result of no sunlight? This is my newest tree that I sat in an old galvanized bucket and arranged all our modern glass ornaments on.

The drum candy can was perfect for my vintage tinsel tree. Now if only Sarah would spread the glass garland finding love...it would finally be complete.

Proof that I will put a vintage book anywhere.

No dish left untouched...

Santa sits ready in the kitchen to help in the baking.

If the sun decides to shine I will be ready for another photo shoot.

If you loved my ornament wreath you will love this great giveaway over at my friend Meri's. Pop over and look at the two beauties you could win.

Mantel Garland

It seemed like a good idea last year.  To toss out the old garland that had seen better days. What I didn't realize how much work crafting a new garland or two would be. I might want to rethink those impromptu decisions next time. The above image is from one of my favorites...Elizabeth of Creative Breathing. 

I found this vintage tablecloth at some point this past year. It reminds me of barkcloth fabric. Off I went ripping it into 5 inch strips along the width of the fabric.

A running stitch to gather it along the midpoint of the fabric and load it all on a heavy string. It took quite a bit of fabric but the muddy colors look great hung on the stone side of the fireplace in the kitchen.

On the other side of the fireplace is our living room. More formal and the room we spend the most time in. After hanging as many vintage ornaments as I could on my tinsel tree I was overwhelmed by the amount of Shiny Brites I had left. Off I went to Pinterest to figure out what to do with them.

After three tries on string, I ended up with a mono-filament fishing line in the end. Now before I go any further...you must hot glue every single top on these ornaments. I will spare you the gory details of shattered beauty now filling my trash bin. Varying sizes of ornaments worked great.

3M clips hold the garland in place. It was way to heavy to have a single swag. It is worth every single restring and hot glue stick.

A Georgia Peachez wreath hangs above the mantle. I do believe I might have a small hoard of vintage ornaments. Several bins later I realize I can leave an ornament behind now. Unless it is and indent...or a di-o-rama or a stenciled Shiny Brite...

Putz House Perfection

Santa's arrival is looming near. Almost all the decorations have been put into place and yet the temperature still sits in the balmy 70's here. It hasn't hastened the boxes of mail that have been arriving like snowflakes should.  Last week was no exception.

Chris of Perfectly Printed was my swap partner for the Putz House Swap. 

I let it sit in the cellophane a few days before I broke open the sweet ribbons and vintage tin tape container she had tied up in them.

It is amazing. Big and full of glamorous details. 

Even Santa is making his way down the chimney above the glistening glittered roof.

The stockings ar hung through the peek in the door.

Vintage trees and jingle bells sit among the snowmen.

Even the tape measures...

scissors and buttons decorate the trees out front.

Chris I love it...it is magical...Thank you.