Holiday and Seasonal

Walking in a Winter Wonderland…

December 9, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Winter’s Blanket.

Do you think it is possible to have a Winter Wonderland without snow? I hope so. Christmas this year is a Winter Wonderland with simple touches.

Let’s start with outdoor seating. On a limited budget, working with what he had on hand, designer, Vince Maggio made the simple decision to move my summer wicker seating from the porch to the the front lawn. The crisp white is the perfect foil for the abundant greens and reds we used for the decor.

Seating group, vintage side table painted shiny red for contrast, vintage water can with fresh holiday greens and a sparkly ribbon were the starting points. We then took an odd urn, added a small table top tree from Lowe’s (at a meager $12.50) randomly adding fresh winter red pepper berries (artificial natural decor works just as well) and a vintage camp blanket along with a french grain sack pillow completes the picture.

Take a seat. Any time. Enjoy friends, family and neighbors. Cold weather or mild temperatures…gathering together will keep you warm.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Merry Christmas.

Cindy

Decorated or Unadorned…appreciate the simplicity.

Add fresh pepper berries and it’s not too fussy.

An invitation to relax and enjoy the day.

A blanket for warmth, surrounded by loads of vintage and the natural.

Thank our sponsors by giving them a visit. They have made these Christmas ideas possible.

GOOD LOOK, Inc.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, berries, berry, camp blanket, can, christmas, cottage, decorating, fresh, greens, holiday, lowes, maggio, outdoors, pepper, simple, vince, vintage, watering, winter

These are a few of my favorite things…

December 9, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Indeed. A happy Christmas.

Antiques. Holiday Cheer. Christmas Decorations. Old Houses. Sweater Weather. Home Made Cookies. Festive Christmas Punch. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Put them all together and I had a really sweet weekend last week with my good friend, Vince from GOOD LOOK, Inc.

I live in a really good walkabout neighborhood with some really great neighbors. Even the passing through strangers are nice.

I decided to have a little antique show at my house to bring attention to our little Christmas Cottage and it was great fun. Once all the preparations were done (which really tuckered me out), Vince and I just sat ourselves on the wicker furniture and enjoyed the great company, beautiful weather and festive mood.

Vince is closing his antique store in order to move closer to McKinney, so he had his pieces beautifully arranged and it was FUN!

Here are some pics of his vintage and antique wares. Tomorrow, I will start posting our Christmas projects for some inspiration.

As an FYI, Vince will be in his current location for another week, until the 15th. Great deals to be had…but they are going quick. See him on Facebook: GOOD LOOK, Inc.

Always,

Cindy

Open is just another way of saying “Welcome.”

Tuck in a little Christmas Wreath.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Zinc Bucket…this great piece went to a couple who have a Farmhouse in Melissa.

Vintage Abundance.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, My Home Tagged With: antique, christmas, cottage, festive, good look, holiday, inc, show, vintage

The Christmas Cottage

November 25, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

I didn’t post last week, I have just been extremely busy getting ready for the Christmas Holiday. This year, our local Lowe’s here in McKinney is sponsoring my house for Christmas. The manager, Brian Washburn has been extremely generous and accommodating by providing us decorations to support our design. When I say “our” design, it really is the vision of my good friend, antique dealer, merchandiser and designer, Vince Maggio of GOOD LOOK, Inc..

He designs, I execute. As such, it has been very busy.

This year, it is all about simplicity. A Very Simple Christmas.

We’ll have more pictures in my next posting, but for now…here is a sneak peak:

Rustic and refined. Sparkly bow, real pepperberries, fresh greens from Lowe’s in a vintage water can.

GOOD LOOK, Inc.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Uncategorized Tagged With: christmas, cottage, decorating, fresh, good, good look, greens, inc, look, lowes, maggio, pepperberries, rustic, simple, snow, vince, winter

Great Tidings of Joy

November 12, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

What is the holiday without going off into the twinkly lit night bundled up for a visit with family and friends, or having holiday guests for a short stay?

Here is a sweet, thoughtful idea that has an element of easy handmade to it. Easy enough of a craft to fit in amongst all the other hustle and bustle of the Holidays, but involved enough so that your gift recipients appreciate the effort.

Hand made holiday match boxes gifted with a candle for hostess gifts to say thank you or left on a bedside table for an overnite visitor to say welcome. Use your favorite scented candle; something that will remind them of you. My personal favorite is Trapp Candle Scent No. 04, Orange Vanilla. It is a fragrance that oddly works in the breezy days of summer or the cozy, cold nights of winter. If you order one online, or pick one up…I think you will be glad you did.

Orange Vanilla Trapp Candle.

The matchbox steps:

Simple designs using clip art printed on copy paper.

Use your sticker machine or use traditional glue.

The finished product:

Different designs limited only by your imagination.

Craft store embelishments to add a little Holiday sparkle.

Packaged for gifting:

The home made match box paired with a favorite candle, in festive packaging.

Welcome your Holiday Guest with something to fall asleep by.

Coupled with Holiday treats as a Hostess gift.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: box, candle, christmas, cottage, country, cozy, craft, gift, guest, holiday, home made, hostess, match, merry, night, orange, over, overnight, overnite, trapp, vanilla, warmth, winter

Shooting Rubber Bands at the Paper Christmas Stars.

November 6, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Christmas is on it’s way!

Several years ago, I was particularly industrious and decided I wanted mostly a paper, handmade Christmas. I had some really pretty Christmas paper and my brand new Sizzix machine with a star shaped die cut.

I had a fleeting thought that it would be interesting to sew paper with my sewing machine and as the idea evolved in my head, I decided to sew two like shaped pieces together, add a ribbon for hanging and stuff a little cotton between the two sheets of paper to give it some dimension.

A fairly quick and easy idea that can translate to many ideas and projects. If I do them this year, I will probably use simple Kraft paper and use a more decorative stitch. The idea is only limited by your imagination!

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Tinsel and Paper

Damask Paper Pattern

Pretty Pastels

Florals at Christmas

Christmas Inspiration

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects Tagged With: christmas, cottage, country, craft, evergreen, ornaments, paper, sewing, stars, tree

The History of Christmas…The Christmas Tree

November 2, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Gifts for the tree.

Did you know that the first police force ever created was created in the 1820’s at the behest of the New York City Council in response to a particularly raucous Christmas season riot the year before? Following in the footsteps of early forms of what would evolve into Christmas celebrations, there was a frenzied, criminal element to the celebration that carried over to the United States. While that eventually changed, one thing that has remained the same is the iconic Christmas Tree.

With it’s German roots, an engraving that was printed in London in 1847, then reprinted in a Philadelphia publication three years later in 1850 of the Queen, her husband of German ancestry and her children celebrating around a Christmas Tree, set the standard that remains today:

The Royal Family, 1847 that was reprinted in a Philadelphia publication in 1850.

Painting by Viggo Johansen, c. 1891

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Uncategorized Tagged With: christmas, cottage, country, gifts, history, holiday, tree

The Christmas Haus

October 29, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

The Christmas Porch

Pictures from Christmas past at the little white cottage.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

A Chippy Christmas Urn.

A Vintage Watering Can dressed up for Christmas

Fresh Christmas Arrangement

Pepperberries and Fresh Christmas Greens

Home Made German Glass Glitter Santa Boot with dried Hydrangeas

The Attic Faux Fireplace

The Attic Bedroom.

Winter Quilts.

Ironstone Bowls full of Christmas.

The Sitting Room.

The Guest Room at Christmas

The Christmas Headboard.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, My Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, christmas, cottage, country, decorations, fresh, german, glass, glitter, greens, holiday, holidays, house, merry, ornaments, tree, white

Floating Holiday Centerpiece

October 21, 2012 by Cynthia 2 Comments

A recurring theme in my blog is always about making things easier. Around the holidays, I try to work with what I have so I got the idea to hang mercury glass ornaments of varying sizes from my dining room chandelier with vintage seam binding. Cut at different lengths, the vintage seam binding helps hold the ornaments at different heights and gives the “floating” centerpiece great visual interest.

The light itself is an oversized single burlap drum shade from Potter Barn. It has this great fabric ledge on the inside that turned out to be a great place to tuck twinkling string lights that show through the burlap to give this great softened twinkling holiday light effect. To make this happen, I found a screw in lightbulb socket with a plug and just screwed it into the extisting bulb socket, added the normal lightbulb and plugged in the twinkle lights.

The result is this great floating centerpiece with a soft, holiday lighting effect. A simple project that has maximum impact to the entire room.

I hope you find some inspirtation for your house for the holidays!

Always,

xoxo

Cindy

German Glass Glitter and Mercury Ornaments.

Pretty Twinkling Lights tucked on the fabric ledge.

Lightbulb Socket found at any home store.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: binding, burlap, centerpiece, christmas, cottage, glass, holiday, lighting, lights, mercury, ornaments, seam, twinkling, vintage

My All Time Favorite Christmas Issue

October 16, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

A Scenic Winter View.

Country Living HOLIDAYS 2002. I have read that issue literally hundreds of times and in ten years, it continues to resonate with me, not just during the holidays, but all year long. One particular article about a family who lived in a small barn as their main house was being re-built after a fire is the one that caught my eye.

The barn had been decorated to have all the comforts of home while the family was temporarily displaced. I loved the worn surfaces and the light palette. I was drawn to the antique pieces that had a European feel to them. I admire the the utter simplicity. As a result, I have spent the last 9 years trying to emulate that style in my own little cottage.

Since this was a holiday issue, the lodging has been decorated in a really restrained way for Christmas, but feels no less festive than the most decorated homes. As the holidays have come and gone, I find myself trying to do more with less. Having an appreciation for simplicity and the reduction in stress that goes along with it.

Thanks for stopping by for my first Christmas post. I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

My All Time Favorite Issue.

The Winter Barn.

The Cozy Cottage Kitchen.

Where we gather.

The Well Appointed Couch.

Lovely Old Doors.

White Painted Plank Walls.

Dormers and Angles Make Cozy Nooks.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, barn, christmas, cottage, country living, cozy, decorating, european, holidays, homey, vintage

Fallready

October 11, 2012 by Cynthia 2 Comments

Black urn and white pumpkin dressed with gauze for an ethereal look.

My last fall post for the year…I’ll be starting on Christmas posts next week. Can’t wait! I took down the Halloween decorations on my mantle and simplified with a fall theme to bring me into the Thanksgiving Holidays.

I tend to fill the visual space in a plentiful way; showing restraint is not always easy for me with regard to design. But I started with more and played and edited the props until I got to the final, simplifed version. It was kind of liberating to keep it as simple as it ended up.

I also included some other pictures of my outdoor decor, but I am “fallready” and ready to coast for a few weeks and then start Christmas decorating.

I hope you find some inspiration!

xoxo.

Cindy