Sofa Table Christmas

Yesterday our living room underwent a modest Christmas makeover.

There’s a pair of vintage black skis that I bought in Wisconsin,

plus my old Christmas tree from the late, great Eddie Bauer Home.

No, it doesn’t look real, nor do I like it very much.

Yes, it’s time to get a faux tree from THIS century!

Exhibit A:

This is Vickerman’s Bed Rock Pine tree,

 which I couldn’t love more, + which why don’t I just get one?

The 5′ costs around $150 on Amazon.

Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, back at the living room,

let’s view my Santa collection on our sofa table,

which has been nicely tucked into our window bay.

The table consists of an old, white enamel top with a red border.

 (Please disregard that the curtains I’ve sewn have not yet been hemmed.)

Anyway, as I was saying,

that enamel table top rests on a pair of vintage wooden sawhorses.

I elevated our new Target lamps on vintage books.

Now on to those Santas.

Exhibit B:

It’s my Rowe Pottery salt-glaze pottery bell Santa!

His cloche is actually an odd dome-shaped jar from a flea market.

I created my own cake stand pedestal

 by repurposing 1 of my blue + white bowls + a plate.

This cast iron Santa bank was from the Sundance catalog.

How sweet is that vintage striped bowl?

Another Rowe Pottery Santa,

whose cloche was once a French cherry preserves jar!

I bought this Santa when we visited The Country Store

in Salisbury, MC.

They have (or had) a terrific catalog,

+ at one time, my stenciled signs were in it!

Santa’s heavy, greenish glass cloche is a jar from Pottery Barn.

Most of the year, I have it right side up + filled with old baseballs.

TY for viewing!

Stay tuned for more Christmas fun!

My Yuletide Powder Room!

I love Christmas!

It makes me so happy to give my homes their Christmas makeovers!

Since this year, we’re in our new house,

it’s like FUN, times 100!

So far I’ve tackled our front porch.

What’s going on inside the house, you ask?

Sadly, not too much, really — until just a few days ago.

This year, I started with our powder room. 

HA!  Doesn’t everyone start with the bathrooms + branch out from there?

Anyway, back to said powder room —

its everyday “look” features both this darling vintage shelf, from etsy . . .

. . . + this sweet vintage photo (circa mid 50’s)

of a 3 or 4-year-old ME,

with our pet Beagle, Scamp.

I know!

ADORABLE!

So.  Check this out:

It’s an ornament that I made,

using an old photo (circa early 60’s) of my sister, Lisa.

OMiGosh, look at the way she was gazing adoringly at Santa!

Priceless!

I liked it so much that I made another one to send to her.

I think I also gave one to my other sister, Kathy.

I CRS (Can’t Remember Stuff), so I’ll ask her later today.

So, anyway.

While I was already traveling down Christmas Memory Lane . . .

. . . I included this pretty glass bell ornament in my vignette.

It reminds me of one that our mom had.

Group hug.

Finally, those plaid circles have a bit of a back story, too.

They’re displayed in a trio of vintage metal embroidery hoops

that I’ve saved for a few years.

I bought the plaid flannel a few weeks ago.

 Here’s one, sewn as a rustic Christmas pillows for my biz,

RedBird Vintage Home.

YAY!  Bells!

Aaaannnnd SO.

Stay tuned for more Christmas photos,

just as soon as I complete a few more vignettes!

Christmas On The Porch

This is our first Christmas in the Dutch colonial,

+ it has me wildly enthusiastic about decking our halls!

Isn’t there something about a new house + holidays

that makes us want to just go nuts!?

Anyway, I started on our incomplete front porch,

which, sadly, is still awaiting its rails + steps:

Does my display look goofy on the unfinished porch?

I hope not.

Let’s look at everything up close, shall we?

I bought that old, gray bench in an antiques store in Galena, Illinois.

I bought the old red mailbox this past summer

from Hammar’s This + That, here in town.

My plan was to store my gardening supplies inside it.

The large number cards are from

the Scout Flea Market in Yorkville, Illinois.

416 is our street address.

The 2 small urns were less than $20 each at Lowe’s.

Don’t you love pairs of things in the garden?  I do!

I bought those faux evergreen trees at IKEA last year.

I couldn’t resist buying that new-but-looks-old watering can

at my favorite garden center, Blumen Gardens in Sycamore, Illinois.

Ouch!  That thing is heavy when full of water,

but at least it looks good!

My sled was a gift from my friend, Alan.

Don’t you love those primitive red mittens?

I bought those a long time ago

at a wholesale market in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Anyway, I think that’s going to be it for the outside.

Slowly but surely, I’m adding a bit of Christmas inside the house.

It’s hard, though, because I’m super busy

with my RedBird biz this month.

I am participating in my friend, Amy’s, Plaid Umbrella Pop-Up Store

in the next 3 weekends in December.

If you’re from the Chicago area, I highly recommend this show.

Fantastic displays, awesome + affordable merch, nice people!

Etc.