A Vintage Christmas

When it comes to Holiday decorations my first love is anything handmade . . .

My second love is anything vintage.

Over the past few years I have been slowly growing my collection of vintage Holiday decorations.

I love how they give my home a touch of character and history.

Today I thought it would be fun to highlight some of my favorite vintage decorations in my collection.

The foundation of any vintage holiday collection are of course vintage ornaments.

I've been so blessed to have found quite a few that make me smile.

This little white church is a new addition to my collection this year.

I love it so much - - it lights up (not sure if it's safe to use the original wiring - - would you?) and plays Joy To The World.

Mostly I love it so much because it reminds me of a little white house my grandma put out every year.

Vintage silver bells are always a favorite of mine and what better time to use them then in December.

This tiny silver tree is also a new addition to my collection.

I'd love to add a handful more of them.

Vintage postcards and cards always make me smile. 

Arranged in a small wooden tote they look very festive I think.

Ah, vintage Christmas tablecloths - - can you get more delightful than this!

Oh to have lived in a time when tablecloths were a must!  

I wish it were a trend that would come back.

Of course you need to throw in a little something unexpected . . .hence the red tractor and trailer.

Oh Deer!

My favorite collection of all.

This year instead of digging out my whole collection I picked only my favorites to use - - I'm loving the paired down look.

You all know how much I love making glitter houses, but this year I actually started a collection of vintage putz house after finding this beauty at my local thrift store.   I have a feeling this is one collection that is bound to grow.

And finally, unique decorations like this wreath are always a fun thing to use.

Have a great day everyone!

Robin

Our Christmas Family Room

When it comes to Christmas decorating in the family room the girls and I like to mix things up...

A little something pretty. . . 

A little something borderline tacky . . .

It's the room in the house that tends to get used the most during the winter months so I like to keep things simple,  yet playful.

It's also my favorite place to display my growing collection of vintage decorations that lean towards the tacky side.  

Which I'm loving more and more every year.

Of course we always throw in some handmade items like these cute glitter houses the girls made a few years ago - - they have quickly become a "must have" Christmas decoration, wouldn't be Christmas without them!

So we mix the pretty  . . . 

And the tacky . . . 

Then sit back, relax and enjoy our fun space!

Bye now,

Robin

Holiday Entryway

While I've had the inside of my home decorated for weeks, I sort of ran out of steam and hadn't done a single thing outside!

That is until this morning!

I made a simple display for my patio furniture sitting outside still.

A rusty old bucket filled with greenery and a lantern adds a little something festive to the space.  I'm hoping it will stay looking nice til spring.

Another bucket filled with split logs sits right outside the front door.

The corner on the other side of the front door needed something too! 

First I added this vintage sled I picked up at the flea market this past summer.

Love the unique design of this sledge and the colors are so pretty.

I then added another bucket filled with fresh tree clippings - - although the clipping are sort of slumping and you can't see the bucket anymore, I promise it's there.

And finally I added a small snowman blow mold just to make me smile.

Doesn't he look cheerful!

The whole thing took so little time at all I can't believe I put it off for so long.

How about you?  

Is your entryway dressed up for the Holidays or are you procrastinating like I've been doing?

Robin

Linked to:
Vintage Inspiration Party
Work It Wednesday 

A Handmade Christmas

One of my favorite things about the Christmas Season is the crafting and the creating.

Whether its making ornaments from scratch or revamping a thrift store find, it's these creations that I tend to look forward to using year after year.

This year I've mixed together a group of handmade items from previous years like this hand painted sign and home sewn mini stockings . . . 

Book page tree's . . . 

And glitter houses;  which delight me as much today as they did the day I finished making them.

New additions to the mix are these simple stars . . . 

Cut from a piece of plywood using a jigsaw, then painted and distressed.

They have made nice little backdrops for simple displays around the house.

I love them so much I wish I would have made a few more.

Making your own decorations allows you to get a little crazy and step out of you comfort zone just a little bit in order to try something new like this fabric garland that I put together. 

The whole time I was assembling it I was doubting the finished version I had in my head - - wondering if I could pull it off - - in the end, the garland turned out better than I could have hoped for - - talk about crafting satisfaction!

While some project may take hours, others only take a few minutes.

Take this table display for instance.

I wanted something rustic to place a grouping of candles and ornaments on. 

 After searching the house high and low I discovered not a single thing worked.

That's when I decided to try to make something instead.

A simple piece of wood cut to size, painted and then distressed created just what I was looking for.

The combo of pretty and sparkling with rustic and worn is wonderful I think.

And then there's the fun of revamping items you've found while out treasure hunting at your local thrift store.

These two deer were found not long ago,

They were brass and not exactly "me".

But now, after a little white craft paint they are looking oh so pretty.

The perfect addition to my dinning room shelf.

And last but not least, there are those items that you make purely for the fun of it;  like this wreath.

I've long been a fan of this style of wreath and I'm sure you've all seen many versions of it yourself.

I decided I was going to make myself one this year - - had no idea where I was going to use it - - but I just had to make one.

In the end, it's petite size seemed the perfect accent for my bedroom.

Don't you think handmade decorations are so much more charming than anything you can find at the stores?

I sure do!

Bye now,

Robin

Linked to:

The Scoop

Show and Share
Tweak It Tuesday
Work It Wednesday

Christmas Fabric Garland

Good Morning!

This morning I thought I'd give you a few tips on how I made the fabric garland hanging in my living room.

I am really enjoying the look even though I feel it's a little out of the box for me personally.  

Sometimes it fun to leave your comfort zone for a little while; especially when it turns out this pretty!  LOL.

To get started, I bought six yards a white fabric at the fabric store which I cut into one inch wide by forty inch long strips using my rotary cutter.

Next I removed the curtains and curtain rod from the window leaving the mounting hardware to hold the garland.  Taking  a length of white cotton rope (clothesline rope from Walmart actually) I draped it over the window to determine how long to make the garland.  

Once that was done, the fun started.

The next and final step is very time consuming yet extremely easy.  

I found the middle of my rope, sat down in front of the TV with a pile of my pre-cut strips of fabric and simply tied a single strip onto the rope with a simple knot. 

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat until you have covered the whole half of the rope.  

Then flip and Repeat, Repeat, Repeat on the other half of the rope.  

Once you get going it's sort of fun and if you work on it while watching a football game like I did it doesn't get boring at all.  By the end of the game you'll have a fabulous new fabric garland.

Below you can see how the top of the garland is a row of knots with the fabric draped on either side of it.  As you work, just make sure that your knot it always at the top of the rope.

Once I finished creating the garland I hung it across the window.

To glam it up a little I added a string of battery powered mini lights along the top by hiding the cord under the fabric.

I then strung two lengths of beaded garland  across the length of the fabric garland to add a some sparkle.

And finally, I added three mercury glass ornaments to finish the look.

I love how it turned out.

The silver looks so pretty against the crisp white background and at night when the lights are turned on the whole thing glows.

It's really cool when the furnace kicks on and the air from the vent below make the whole garland flutter.  

It's so pretty.

Have a wonderful day now,

Robin

Linked to:

Your Time To Shine Party
Simple and Sweet Friday's
Treasure Hunt Thursday