Pleasant Christmas Surprises…

December 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

An Old Fashioned Christmas.

What a pleasant surprise for neighborhood kidlets, visitors and maybe even the mail man if he dares!

Using an antique Victorian wire plant stand, we lined it with white burlap and added a festive red ribbon and filled it with peppermint treats.  It was placed right by the door on the old front porch and welcomes one and all.

It is an easy idea that can be accomplished with almost any vintage container and ends up being such a sweet, unexpected gift for everyone.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

A Merry Welcome Threshold.

A Sweet Holiday Treat.

These holiday ideas are supported by our sponsors.  Thank them by giving them a visit.  Merry Christmas.

 

GOOD LOOK, Inc.

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Candy Cane Sidewalk Lanterns

December 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

Eternally Christmas.

I can never have enough twinkling light.  Period. End of story.  These Candy Cane lanterns were fun and fairly easy.  With some modification, they would be a great addition to summer outdoor decor, too.

Here is what we used:

The key to this festive project is two fold: these particular shepherds hooks were essential because of their shape, reminiscent of a candy cane and secondly, the battery operated votives with the timer option.  Since the mason jars are lidded to protect the contents from the weather, it is important to have a way for the candles to turn on/off automatically.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Battery Operated Votives with remote control and timer option.

Assembling the lanterns.

Mica flakes added.

Hand Made Annealed Wire Harness for a rustic touch and Jar Lids

Assembled and ready to go.

Painted red, remeniscent of a Candy Cane.

Lighting the pathway in succession.

 

This project would not have been possible without the help and support of our sponsors.  Thank them by stopping by.  Merry Christmas.

GOOD LOOK, Inc.

 

 

 

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Walking in a Winter Wonderland…

December 9, 2012 by 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.

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These are a few of my favorite things…

December 9, 2012 by 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.

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Great Tidings of Joy

November 12, 2012 by 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.

 

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The History of Christmas…The Christmas Tree

November 2, 2012 by 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

 

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The Christmas Haus

October 29, 2012 by 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.

 

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Floating Holiday Centerpiece

October 21, 2012 by 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

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German Glass Glitter and Mercury Ornaments.

Pretty Twinkling Lights tucked on the fabric ledge.

Lightbulb Socket found at any home store.

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Boo!

August 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

Vintage Mirror from GOOD LOOK, Inc. reminiscent of a tombstone.

 

Call me naive or hopeful, but I really long for the old kind of Halloween that was innocent and fun and full of simple, sweet frolic.  During the holidays, paper crafting was common in the Victorian era.  Taking my cues from them, I used lovely Victorian Halloween clip art that has a wonderful graphic quality and design that endures today, over 100 years later.

For my Halloween mantle, I challenged myself to use paper to make crafts and stay away from store bought, ready-made pieces.  I tend to be more creative when there are greater limitations place on me.  To that end, here are some of the projects from the mantle:

  • Paper lanterns
  • Paper flag banner
  • Accordion pleated Holiday medallions
  • Paper Flags
  • German Glass Glitter Star “scepter”
  • Black & White bean jack-o-lantern face in a vintage vase (vintage vase used previously in this post)
  • Antique pie crust mirror (from GOOD LOOK, Inc.)
  • End of season hydrangeas (with pretty raspberry and green variegated buds)  in a lab beaker
  • Hurricane candle holders with black and white bean stripes, reminiscent of vintage ticking strips topped with vintage french ribbon

I hope that you find something that inspires you!

Until next time,

xoxo

Cindy

Halloween Mantle.

Remember to click twice to bigify!

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Fall-i-de-scope.

July 30, 2012 by 4 Comments

Hand made jute tassel against the vibrant orange velvet.

Oranges, greens, browns and purples.  All the colors of fall emerge and act as a signal to a great time of year full of fun and frolic and the holidays.  As part two of my three part series on seasonal tables, I have created a table that celebrates the wonderful, vibrant colors of the fall season.

I challenged myself to create a table that references the fall season through color and texture, rather than using established icons like pumpkins, leaves and gourds.  There is a certain balance between the rustic and the refined in this table scape.  The birch bark that sheaths the zinc pots to the toile that was used for the napkins and window seat pillow covers.  The chippy white painted columns used as centerpiece bases to the DIY mercury glass candle holders.  The beautiful vintage amethyst cut glass plates against the home made jute tassels.  The elegant orange velvet bands as a counterpoint to the vintage grain sacks used as chair slipcovers.  All in all, a sweet way to welcome family and friends.

Credit where it is due, thank you to Vince at Good Look, Inc for collaborating with me on this table design…you continue to be a great resource to find the items for all my zany ideas, along with your great ideas and suggestions!

Here is what you will see:

  • Old porch post cut down in sections for the centerpiece, holding candles and flower arrangements
  • Zinc pot covered with birch bark for the flower arrangements
  • Chair caning used for a table runner
  • Hand made jute tassels
  • Hand made coasters using chipboard with embossed pattern
  • DIY Mercury glass candle holders using a pattern transfer method (how-to Click Here)
  • Fall inspired pillow and cushion slipcovers
  • Updated vintage napkins
  • Vintage grain sacks used as a dining chair slip cover for a quick and simple update
  • Simple grocery store flowers and fruits for affordable centerpieces

Pictures below.  I hope you find some inspiration!

Always,

Cindy

Remember to click twice to bigify!

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