The Last Collection for this Year

Santa from my parents' tree

Sharing lots of pictures of MOST of my Santa collection.  It is like seeing old friends every year when I pull them out of the boxes.  Most are new, some are old, all are quirky in their own way.

Had to have this vintage skiing Santa since I live in Colorado

A gift from my husband on one of our first Christmases together

Old Santa with clay face

Love this grumpy faced chalkware Santa

Vintage sleigh being pulled by old mercury glass reindeer

Custom made Santa on sewing machine w/crazy quilt cloak

Second grade project-SO precious!

And finally, the real reason for the season.

Thank you all for all of your support and friendship over the year.  Hope your Christmas is full of beauty and love.  I will be taking a little break from blogging until after the new year, but I'll be back with "ta daaaa"  another giveaway.  Stay tuned.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and all that you hold dear.  Linking this post to Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday, Cindy's Show and Tell Friday,  and Beverly's Pink Saturday.

Until next time,

Peace on Earth

Paper ex-voto tag from Ozma of Odds

Well, I just couldn't stand to miss a White Wednesday, but I'm going to make it short. With Christmas being so close, I have many things on my to do list just like all of you and I need to hang with my cute little babies while I can while they are off from school.  But I digress... I had a few "funny" areas in my home where I needed something to decorate with, but had neither the money nor the desire to go out and purchase something more (really, I have about 6 large boxes of Christmas fodder, do I really need more???).  SO, in the spirit of an ailing economy and burgeoning creativity, I decided to use what I had on hand.  I know, what a concept, you gals have been doing it with great success for ages.  Some of us are a little slow sometimes.  Anyway, I decided to put into play a couple of the awesome things I bought from Etsy sellers Ozma of Odds and Petite Michelle Louise (thank you Blogland for introducing us!).  I have this wonderful antique brown book called Christmastide which I purchased a few years ago.  I just loved the color and the graphics on it.  Like so many of you, I also have cloches that I love to find a use for.  I also have this little creamy pair of children's gloves that I have had for years and always find a use for in my wintery decor. I also have a glittered tree topper from Wendy Addison which has aged beautifully.  I put them all together and....voila!  Christmas vignette.  I washed up a jar from some jalepenos that were almost gone (now you really are privy to all of my secrets) and circled it with some torn muslin, twine, and the sweet Madonna piece I got from Petite Michelle Louise.  Add a little greenery and pinecones from my backyard and we have a completed bookcase topper.  And the best part is, ZERO cost. 

Then, I had a little spot that needed a little somethin-somethin, so I hung one of the mirrors that is normally layered on my mantel and an old French book page with some greenery from the yard, more twine, and the ubiquitous paper tag from Ozma of Odds (yes, Rosemary, you have hit a home run with this one, your tags are EVERYWHERE.  And I love mine!).  I decided to go the simple route and used a silver thumb tack to stick it on the wall.  Turned out pretty cute I think and again, ZERO dollars.  Of course, I had purchased the tags previously, but the thing is, no additional cost.

Well, that's what I did.  I hope you like it.  On a personal note, Mr FL has a job interview on Thursday.  If you've got a minute to say a little prayer that it is a good fit for him, I'd sure appreciate it.  We need the money, but he needs to be able to enjoy it as well.

I'm linking up to Kathleen's White Wednesday party, so swing by when you can.  There are some awesome posts.

Until next time,

One quick photo I took last night in my backyard of the very cool Winter Solstice Full Lunar Eclipse.  Woo! Hoo!

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Today is the birthday of the very sweet Rebecca of A Re-Purposed Life.  She is having a birthday party and the deal is that we are to share something we have made for someone special as a gift and why we made it.  I am sharing something that I've shared before (a couple of times), or at least the box.  This time, I'll show you what was in the box.  On Our Cottage Garden, I have had fun dressing up and selling little antique bisque dolls.  My friend Denise owns that website (where I sell in addition to Etsy) and she has been such a good friend and mentor to me over the years.  We met through eBay when I discovered her wonderful treasures and began buying things here and there from her.  In 2006, we met in person when my husband and I took a trip to Florida.  We spent most of a day together and really hit it off.  Since then, she has been a dear friend to me.  She asked me to sell on her gorgeous website which I have been doing since 2007, if memory serves.  She makes me laugh,  is incredibly supportive of what I do, and has been amazingly generous and kind to me.  And she loves my little boys, so I think she has managed to cement herself into my heart as my "twin sister separated at birth".  Last year, I wanted to do a little something for her because she works so hard all through the year.  She always seemed to love my little dolls, so I picked out a very sweet faced little girl and dressed her in a very pretty blue dress with pink rose trim since Denise loves blue and pink. This is the result.

Denise's doll

I love to make up pretty packages for my friends, so I dressed up the box with an old French book page, vintage wallpaper, a bit of tulle, vintage millinery, and a little dove that I coffee-dyed and glittered.  Then I did up a tag with more wallpaper and vintage ledger paper.  It turned out really nice I think and Denise was very happy when she opened her package which I mailed.  However, she never mentioned the doll, only the beautiful box.  A week or so later, I did ask her if she had opened the pretty box.  SHE HADN'T.  So, she got two surprises that year.  I loved that she appreciated not only the gift inside, but the pretty wrapping.  It made me very happy to give her a little something from my heart because I wanted her to know that she was (and still is) very cherished in my life.  I'll bet you guys have some special friends like this as well.  There is nothing more wonderful than making someone feel cared for.  I forget that sometimes and need to remind myself that it really doesn't take that much effort to really brighten someone's day and I need to do it more often.  I think it usually brightens my day even more than the recipient.  The little girl and the box occasionally make an appearance as props in Denise's eBay listings.  I think they really "doll" up this little cabinet! 

Anyway, Miss D, if you are stalking me  reading this, I love ya girl!  Are your ears burning?  That's what my mom used to say happened when someone was talking about you.  And if you don't know Denise, I'm just kidding about the stalking part, she's not that way! 

Well, I'm going to go work at my "real job" now, but when I get a chance, I am going to stop over at Rebecca's birthday party and check out some of the other links as well as wish Rebecca a happy birthday.  Give some love to someone special today.  You'll be so glad you did!

Until next time,

Vintage Christmas Bulbs and a Small Confession

One of my fun little collections...vintage light bulbs nestled in a bowl with evergreens from my backyard.

I've enjoyed these for years.  In fact, I think I've had them since my oldest was 2 or so.  The picture above is what you see.  The picture below is what happens when oldest son, circa age 3 is "looking" at your favorite Santa bulb and...oops!  Oh well, I glued what I could, forgot about the rest and got over it. 

Life isn't always pretty, but if you are creative, you can make it work even still.  I'm linking up with Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday Christmas, so when you can, pop on over to her place, and check out all of the great posts put out there for your enjoyment.  And if you look really close, maybe you'll see a glimpse of their reality as well.  Smiles...

Until next time,

Let It Snow, Man

Well, I almost let it get dark before shooting a few of my little snowman collection, so excuse the photography.  I have collected snowmen for quite a few years.  You start with one little darling, then another, then another.  Next thing you know, "voila!"  a collection is born.  I bought some vintage "snow" cloth at an estate sale once and use it as a base for the snow people and then use some bottle brush trees I have had forever.  I haven't actually added any in the last couple of years except for some of the cute ones the kids have made at school.  I'm okay with that.  I have enough to fill the top of a fairly large piece of furniture and that is probably good enough.

This one my son made in school with his very own face.  Isn't that cute?

My first one-made of painted styrofoam balls.  So easy and so adorable.

My little snow dad and his son.

I really like this little guy stuffed into his Mason jar.  In the mouth of the jar is a glass votive holder, so he is a candle holder as well.

Tiny vintage ceramic fella, circa 1950's or so.

Spun cotton goodness on this one.

Well kids, it's a school night, so I need to get moving with the evening's festivities.  Later, I'm going to hop over to Kathleen's Faded Charm and check out some of the beautiful posts for this week's White Wednesday.  Make yourself a cup of hot cocoa and join me, won't you?

Until next time,

Vintage Inspiration from Putz Houses and Ornaments

I love little vintage Putz houses.  They don't have to be in great shape, just old and sparkly and cute.  My favorite one is in the lower right.  It was on my parents' Christmas tree for as far back as I can remember.  Since my parents passed away, it has been on my tree, but this year, I decided to give it a more prominent place amongst my other Putz houses so I could see it every day.  Isn't it fun to pull out your box of ornaments and find those that you've had forever and see them once again?  I love it and my boys do too.  The little one's favorite is a small wooden nutcracker ornament that I bought him when he was just a wee one.  He looks for it every year and gets so excited when we finally get to it.  I love that.

I also have some pretty vintage ornaments and here are a few that I snapped real quick this morning.  Not my best photos, but I was in a rush (imagine that????).  Anyway, I am linking up with Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday and Bev's Pink Saturday, so when you get a chance, pop on over and visit these lovely sites with loads of inspiration for your decorating.

And for the record (and for Bev's special Christmas Pink Saturday post), my favorite Christmas movie of all time is "It's A Wonderful Life".  I cry each and every time I watch it.  My kids roll their eyes when I pull it out every year.  And I love it, every time.  What is your favorite Christmas movie?

Until next time,

A Glittery White Wednesday to All

How can it be time for White Wednesday already?  Wow!  When I was a kid, these days before Christmas just dragged on and on but now they zoom by.  I am just tossing out some random photos from around my home, the first 3 from last year, the next 3 from this year (and the subject of my special Christmas header).  I was going to just include the header photo and details for this week's WW post, but when I started cropping the picture of the vignette on the dresser in my living room, it just seemed to want to be a header.  Sometimes we just need to go with the flow I guess. As you can tell, I like a little sparkle with my Christmas.  Glitter is GOOOOOOD.  I love the crystal Martha Stewart glitter and old silver glitter that tarnishes with age.  My house has lots of glitter amidst the flotsum.

So anyway, pardon my lack of witty text, I'll just let you enjoy the photos because I have some little boys who need to watch a program on TV with their mom and dad.  Hope you all are decking your halls and enjoying the beauty of the season.  After I put my kiddos to bed, I'm going to hop over to Kathleen's Faded Charm and oooh and aaah over some of the beautiful posts for this week's White Wednesday.  I love it to the moon and back and you will too!

Until next time,

A Sweet Little Doll for Christmas

Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I love to dress little antique bisque dolls.  This one was done up for Christmas in all of her seasonal finery.  Her skirt is original, but I added the vintage lace trim, the bodice is vintage velvet, and the ribbonwork sash is vintage as well.  She is a little gal, about 3 inches tall.  I am linking up with Debra's Common Ground and her Vintage Inspiration Friday Christmas edition.  Pull up your chair, pour a cuppa, and join us, won't you?

Until next time,