Tuesday, December 15, 2009

more vintage ornament pictures!

Here are a few of the ways I am displaying more of my vintage ornaments this year.

This is my large thrifted milk glass fruit bowl (or maybe, it is called a compote?). It sets on my great-grandma Stuhlberg's White treadle sewing machine that I bought at my grandma Elsie's (her daughter) estate sale when I was 19. This makes me happy! It now sits on my kitchen table. My small vintage silver tinsel tree now sits on my sewing machine.

Here is a close-up of my little elf. She stays out all year long. She makes me smile!

The sewing machine belonged to the same great-grandma that gave my dad this ornament when he was a little boy.
My next display is an idea that I am sure I got from someone like Martha Stuart. About 10 years ago, my mom bought herself and my youngest sister and me vintage Pepsi crates. For the first 4 or 5 years I had it, it displayed homemade bars of soap and wash clothes in my bathroom. Then it was in storage for a few years until I saw this idea. Now it hangs in my living room at Christmastime . The original idea called for mini teacup hooks screwed into the wood, but both Rick and I tried to put them in and the fact that it is missing them should tell you how successful that idea was!
Last year, Rick bought me 2 metal ornament trees at one of our local thrift stores. I came home one day and found them. I didn't even know that I wanted them until they were sitting on my kitchen table. This one started out in the bedroom, and now resides with the second one in my craft room. I don't have a photo of them in my craft room, but will take one maybe tomorrow.

The blue angel is a vintage Christmas ornament that also stays out all year. He makes me happy, too!

Hopefully, I will be back tomorrow to share the two ornament trees in my craft room as well as my Nativity set and some of my other favorite Christmas decorations. Hannah banana needs the computer to work on her Serious Interpretation for Advanced speech.

Have a great day.

Donnelly

Sunday, December 13, 2009

My family thinks I am crazy, seriously!

One of the major reasons is my obsession with vintage Christmas ornaments. Every time I go to a thrift store or a yard sale, I have to check to see if there are any vintage ornaments. I have been known to purchase an entire bag or box, just to rescue one ornament. It is a sickness, really! I have enough vintage ornaments to decorate several trees. I think I am up to 9 large plastic totes full, maybe more.

Here are a few of my favorites:

I have one that my great-grandmother brought with her from Germany when her family immigrated to America. She gave it to my dad when he was a little boy. He gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago when my parents stopped decorating a tree for Christmas. It is all banged up and missing some of it's beads, but I have always loved it.

I have a clip-on cockateil that my mom's friend, Helga, gave me along with a entire box of Shiney-Brites that her Husband gave her for Christmas the year they were married. Coincidentally, Helga is from Germany too.

This little guy came with my husband when we got married. I don't know how old he is. But he has stood guard over our trees for the last 19 years; so if he isn't vintage yet, he will soon be!

Last, I would like to share the gold foil star that I made when I was 5. I am going to date myself and let you know that it has been on Christmas trees for the last 37 years. It was on my childhood trees each year. My mom gave it to me the year Rick and I got married and it has been at the top of our tree each year since then.

In the next day or so, I hope to share some of my other vintage ornaments and how I have displayed them, as well as some of my other Christmas decorations.

Hope the Christmas season is wonderful for you!

Have a great day!
Donnelly