Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Crazy Quilt Stockings and Ornaments For 2017


2017 is not a type-0 -- these really are prepped and ready for unearthing in November 2017.  Laying sleepless in bed recently, I started thinking about a needy third grade class that has nine sweet children.  Maybe I should make Christmas stockings for them.  Maybe I should do it NOW.  You'll be glad to know that I (mostly) waited until the next morning.

After I cut out nine Christmas stockings (front and back) I decided that third graders might not be that keen on vintage crazy quilt stockings.  Sigh.  You'll be glad to know that I went a different direction for them and they will be well taken care of.  So the stockings are packed away for a head start on Christmas 2017.

But there were a bunch of scraps that I really wanted to use somehow.  I had a friend over and we used vintage Christmas cookie cutters as a pattern and cut out about six different ornaments.  I did the cutting, stuffing and putting them together with hot glue while she did some rustic stitching around the edges.  Sorry, no picts -- I sent them home with her.  I wasn't keen on doing a bunch of handstitching this time of year.

There were still more scraps to deal with....so I whacked out a bunch of very primitive Christmas trees and really liked the look.  No sewing allowed.  I used double sided tape to attach some to a white trim piece.  I think they would also look cute on a table runner or Christmas tree skirt.

Just to see what it would look like, I tried just throwing the trees on a window (or cabinet door?) that I got for $5 in the "as is" area of Ikea.  I just rolled some paintable textured wallpaper behind it to see how I liked it.  Nice winter wonderland.  Maybe a good project for 2017, but for now I am all about taking it easy and enjoying the holidays.

Monday, December 12, 2016

Flannel & Feed Sack Christmas Pillows

It all goes back a couple of years ago when I bought a plethora of feedsacks at auction.  I went home with some awesome animal, western and heart graphic feedsacks (click here to view the feedsacks I put on ebay.)  I also took home some newer or smaller Christmas feedsacks for which I could not figure out a use.

So I gave those to my friend Katie who actually sews,
and she turned out a bunch of pillows to sell last year. 
I snagged a couple of the pillows last year.

Sadly, she is no longer selling at my vintage mall.
But she had a couple of pillow covers left over which
she was kind enough to give me.  Yeah for me.
They mix and match perfectly and look great on my new Ikea couch.
 

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Three Friends Holiday Sale

I have a couple of friends that had an overflow of personal Christmas décor.  They approached me about doing a little sale over one afternoon in December -- sure!  I always have an abundance of Christmas stuff to sell.
 

Of course, the problem is trying not to buy all of
each others Christmas excess.

So much fun holiday bling.

Theirs was a mix of new and old.

And mine was predominately old.

This gorgeous white stole sold.

The plateau mirror sold.

The etched mirror on the left sold

I have a pair of these awesome antique wire
flower baskets.  This one didn't sell, but will be going to
the antique show with me in February.

This was my favorite (first time out) piece that I took,
a vintage (funky) ceramic tree.
  

Monday, December 5, 2016

Spool Christmas Ornament Craft

When I get together with my niece, we always do a "craft".  Prior to spending time with her, I did not associate good things with the word "craft".  Tacky plastic cross-stitching kind of things. 

I admit, with an art degree, I might be a bit of an art vs craft snob.  But then my niece decided she was into "crafts" and the word took on a whole different feeling.  Fun.  Messy.  Glittery.

She and I went to a "Holiday Craft Show" (I barely even grimaced as I typed this) last weekend.  We spied some cute little spool ornaments on a tree, and I whispered to her that that would be our next "craft". 

I had the spools, vintage beads, Christmas music and glitter that we needed.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Christmas Tree Farm Trunk With Old Hinge Decor


The whole project began with the unearthing of these great green hinges.
With a little help from spraypaint I thought they would look like
Christmas trees.

I taped off the areas that I wanted to stay green,
and used a nice brown spraypaint for the rest.
Then what to do with them?
 
I dug this trunk out of my "antiques shed".
It was already green and had the license plate attached.

I added the handle (which had such great chippy paint!)

My husband painted the Kringles name.
I stenciled "TREE FARM".

I added the chain to keep it open,
and attached the hinge "trees".

So, for the holidays it can be left open for trees,
birch logs, etc. ...

and after the holidays it could be closed and
used for decorative storage.
Had about $10 in it, sold for $40 in 2017.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

2016 Family Photos with Vintage Sled & Ugly Sweaters

Some families take goofy Christmas photos.  We have never been of that persuasion, so it is funny that we ended up with a couple of silly Christmas photos this year.

While my son and his wife were visiting over Thanksgiving,
I finished "enhancing" some Christmas sweaters.
Having live models was way better than throwing them on the floor for photos.
(I won't call them ugly, because it depends on the eye of the beholder.)
I sell the sweaters at my vintage booth, and all proceeds on the Christmas
sweaters go toward "The Grace House", click here  for more info on the Grace House.
 
All three of my siblings came to my house the weekend before Thanksgiving.
We are very scattered, and in the 25 years we have lived here -- they have only
all landed altogether at my house one other time.  My 91 year old father even caught a ride.
His wife had sent a sled which she claimed belonged to our family -- and we
unanimously agreed it did not -- so the comedy part of this photo was that we
decided to have our photo taken with it anyway.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Stenciled Snow Shovels 2016 Edition

This year I accumulated eight metal snow shovels for resale.  I made a deal with myself not to pay more than $1 each.  Most of them I picked up at auctions. You can view last years collection here.
I love the variety of colors that I inadvertently picked up.

The one on the left I actually used a Dollar Tree Wall Sticker --
but most were not smooth enough to use that type of sticker.

So most I just stenciled.
(I should have taken photos of the old handles,
they are all so great.)
I will be selling them for $15 each.
Ready for the snow to fall!

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Christmas Under Glass

This past Saturday morning I told myself that in my one hour of discretionary time before leaving for the day, I would pick up the house.  All went according to plan for about 10 minutes.

Then I came across a stash of vintage Italian crèche figurines that had not sold last year.  Reprice? or ..... What about all of those great shaped peanut butter jars I had found last spring?  (Click here to see the Halloween Still Life (s) with the same peanut butter jars.)

I decided to do little groupings of crèche figures under glass -- and a few with cheesy Santa scenes as well.  Because once you stop picking up the house, you may as well totally lose focus.

I made thin cardboard circles that fit in the bottom (or lid if upside down) and secured the figures with a bit of hot glue.  Then carefully set the figures on cardboard in place.  Next I added the snow (or Spanish moss -- which I snipped into tiny bits) to cover the cardboard. 

Lastly I attached the vintage postcard to the inside of the glass with Loc-Tite superglue.  TAADAA --
"Christmas Under Glass" x 8 (plus an enormous mess to worry about.... later.)

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Victorian Bay Window With Indian Flair

I know, I know.  Again with the bay window? (Click here to read the beginnings of my decorating dilemma). After all the "window work" was done on that area, it was evident we needed to highlight the bay window area instead of hiding it behind a huge cabinet. Once the seating thing got figured out (click here to read about seating choice)....I asked myself -- what kind of dressing do those windows need?  The room is dark, so I didn't want to block out much natural light.  But the view is cement blocks on the side of a church.  And we need a little privacy. 

 
I am absolutely terrible with curtains.  Maybe because I am not really keen on curtains. 
And the more I thought about:
 -- spending a lot of money
-- NEW curtains (isn't there enough new manufacturing in the world already?   Yes, I often am forced to buy new, but let me at least consider recycling first.)
-- and hating the look and thought of all that fabric bunched up over my gorgeous windows.  Hmm.

What about silk?  I thought about it for a few days.  I like silk.  It is breezy.  It is elegant.  I looked at silk curtains -- are you kidding me?  Super expensive, and not that different looking than other curtains.  But one of the choices on the "silk curtains" ebay search caught my eye.

A vintage sari that someone advertised as having curtain potential. Thin, gorgeous, breezy.  Not white, or neutral (please -- aren't we all secretly tired of decorating with all whites?)  I measured:  one sari = two long curtains for my sidewindows.

Now, what for the center section of windows under the stained glass?  I found a vintage Indian silk "stole" or wrap with rhinestones on ebay (take THAT boring, neutral farmhouse whites!) 
I purchased vintage metal flower "curtain pins" on ebay to hang it.

From there it was a no brainer to look for Indian silk throw pillows for the bench. I bought them from three different sources (in India) and we had to laugh at the fact that I only ended up with two basic colors.

And I found a gorgeous vintage throw rug TWO BLOCKS from my house at a garage sale.  Am I concerned about the Indian vibe in my Victorian house?  No, not at all.  The Victorians were crazy about bringing imports from Asia and India into their homes for a bit of interest. 

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Vintage Ornament Boxes Upcycled Into Gift Tags


I sell almost every Christmas ornament that I purchase.
If I were keeping the ornaments for myself, 
I would definitely want to have the entire original box for them.
But for resale, the lid kind of hides the inside ornaments.

So many of the lids can be turned into awesome
gift tags (or price tags in my case).
 
Here are some that I cut from dilapidated boxes. 
 
I love the LOOK.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Christmas Ornaments From Local On-Line Auction

Last night I picked up the items I won from a local on-line auction.  I only won eight "lots" and only spent about $60 -- pretty lightweight for me.  I was tickled to find the lot of "Christmas Décor" that I won was bigger and better than in the auction photo.  I wondered when I bid if the two boxes shown were all that there was.  HO HO -- NO!

I can't remember if these were from Austria or Poland --
but they are all hand painted and look to be part of an original set.

These were smaller, and had some simple designs.

Three toned Shiny-Brites -- lovely.

This is one of the two boxes of ornaments that I could see in the
original photo.

The four "super oldies" in the box.

Simple solids, with beautiful packaging.

Twelve red torpedo or icicle ornaments.

Giant hand-painted ornaments.
Sigh.
Time stands still when I am sorting,
packaging and pricing my vintage ornaments.

Blue Hearts & The End Of My Blog

Early on during the corona virus, I did this project. When we put scalloped wood trim on the guest cottage door, we had some of the trim ...