paper

Quick Christmas Candle Lantern

November 30, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Leftover wrapping paper from last year, a simple ribbon and some live mistletoe.

I love burning candles. Especially at Christmas. I needed a quick way to make a plain looking candle fit in with the festive décor. I just grabbed what I had at hand to make a simple paper sleeve for candles around the home. I was partly inspired by the live mistletoe that I bought from some very resourceful boy scouts outside of the local Lowe’s. They picked it from a local park and were selling small bunches to support their troop. Smart thinking and well done.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Paper, ribbon, a way to create a decorative edge and some live or artificial embellishments. Simple as that. My one tip would be to make sure the paper you use has some transparency to it in order to diffuse the light and create a warm glow.

A simple lunch sack worked for this sleeve. The seaming inadvertently became part of the design, highlighting the scalloped edges.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: candle, christmas, craft, decorations, festive, holiday, kraft, paper, ribbon, velvet

Horse & Carriage During the Holidays

November 4, 2013 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Vintage pieces round out the presentation and are quick to set up.

It isn’t unusual for me to answer the door with my old french apron on and dusted in flour during the Christmas Holidays. I am usually baking either for guests that sporadically drop by, preparing the food gifts I give to neighbors or if I time it just right, I bake for the throngs of visitors to our little town that ride by the house in the horse and carriage. I had to come up with a way to send people on their merry way with a pocket full of goodies on a chilly night.

Paper pouches using leftover Christmas wrapping paper seemed to be a good solution. You start with an 8″ by 8″ piece of paper. I mentioned that I am using leftover Christmas paper but it helps if it is a kraft paper base. It just seems to hold treats better than typical wrapping paper.

Horse & Carriage rides that pass the house enjoy this little hand out as do visiting friends.

A simple holiday punch as a sweet accompaniment to home made toll house cookies.

Vintage linens for the Christmas Holidays.

Nothing sets the mood for Christmas like tea lights flickering through mercury glass votive holders.

An antique candle holder adds to the ambiance.

This one-of-a-kind piece was a wonderful find at a local antique store.

Vintage glass punch bowl acquired at the Round Top Antique show comes in really handy.

Fresh squeezed fruit juice with floating slices is the key to Holiday punch.

In the kitchen, baking by candle light with Christmas music playing feels very old fashioned.

The kitchen gets the Christmas touch with a furring strip rustic star and Christmas stockings made from vintage grain sacks.

Vintage European towel with lovely embroidery.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, christmas, cookies, cottage, country, entertaining, holiday, kraft, paper, pouch, treats

Discovery: Wire and Linen Lanterns from Lunabazaar

January 27, 2013 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Wire and Linen Lantern

I am forever perusing the Internet for fun and interesting websites with products that inspire me. Lunabazaar.com is just one of those sites.

Particularly this Wire and Linen lantern. I am already thinking towards spring when there is this transitional time between spring and summer when the weather is quite glorious. It isn’t cold like winter or hot like summer, but rather just right. I love it when I can throw open the windows and doors and really enjoy my little old cottage in the way it was intended.

Being able to light candles and lanterns and enjoy some sitting time on the porch is one of my favorite things.

Lunabazaar.com has many things to look at like mercury glass ornaments and candle holders, paper parasols, glass vases and many different colors, cut glass small decanters and string lights. They are a great source for accents for your home styling or items to support a color or a theme for a party or gathering. Take a look, this website has a lot to offer and I think you will enjoy it. I have embedded some of their wonderful merchandise below.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Pearl Opal Glass Vintage Candle Holder

Mercury Glass Candle Holder

Gilded Glass Candle Holder

Glass Votive Holder

Cotton Lace Parasol

Perfume Bottle

Paper Parasol

Filed Under: Discoveries, Favorite Shops 'n Blogs, Uncategorized Tagged With: candle, cottage, decorations, entertaining, gathering, glass, holder, linen. lantern, lunabazaar, mercury, outdoor, paper, parasol, party, patio, spring, vintage, votive, white, wire

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

Boo!

August 23, 2012 by Cynthia 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!

: The collection of vintage and home made items for a fun design.

: Halloween Mantle

: Homemade Paper Lantern.

: An old and favorite vintage find fits right in with the holiday decorations.

: Adding color with ribbon around the edge of the mantle and some gauze for texture.

: Hurricane Globes filled with beans and topped with vintage striped ribbon.

: Mean Bean Jack-o-lantern Face.

: Old Fashioned Mercury Glass Pumpkin.

: Paper Flag.

: Papercraft Bunting.

: End of Season Hydrangeas.

: Hand Made Paper Medallion.

: Vintage Mirror from GOOD LOOK, Inc. reminiscent of a Tombstone.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, cottage, country, craft, decorations, halloween, holiday, old fashioned, paper, victorian, vintage

The Simple Summer Table

July 19, 2012 by Cynthia 2 Comments

Simple.

Summer is a time when I prefer a simpler routine so I strive to find ways to create beauty and comfort with very little effort.

This is the first in a three part series on seasonal tables for summer, fall and winter. And for those followers that have been asking, the dining room reveal will be my first blog article next week.

I used very simple ideas to create this easy, yet beautiful table setting. Here some of the ideas (sources to the right):

Simple white (neutral) table cloth
Contrasting neutral runner
Old architectural column riser as a centerpiece base (Good Look, Inc.)
Vintage jar as a vase with simple white field flowers (Good Look, Inc.)
107 year old pages from a music publication for place mats
Mixed vintage silverware
Mixed vintage silver napkin rings
Vintage Mini Cruets (Fringe)
Antique ironstone butter pats used for individual salt & pepper
Simple white votive candles
Vintage (newly made) milk bottle for decanting ice water (Glass Milk Bottles -new)
New cotton towels for napkins (IKEA, .79 cents)
Vintage aluminum salt shaker for a toothpick holder