We interrupt this Christmas house to bring you an episode of this demo house.

Because Jon has taken a few days off, we decided to finish taking out the kitchen cupboards and install some backerboard. We're finishing up hanging the rest today.

But we're not done yet. We are going to find out if a wall we want to remove is load bearing. If it's not, it's outta here and then there will be no more demo. But we'll wait to do that after Friday night since I need it all cleaned up to make tamales. Oh yes, the Christmas Eve tradition lives!

But on to more Christmas-y things...Vintage ornaments.

Most of the ornaments dating to the 50's and 60's were brightly colored, hence their name Shiny Brights. They are more thin and delicate but the shapes and colors were always and still are rather appealing.

This is one of my favorite finds. He was in a huge box of vintage Christmas ornaments that I bought for $10.00 at a Thrift shop. I usually kept him separate from the tree and in a glass cloche, but this year I clipped him on and you'll never guess what?! His tail feathers pop out. I didn't know that before. This whole time I thought he had a broken tail. I was very excited - those little surprises really make my day.

The price tag fell off but it was originally .59 cents back in the day.

Shapes and colors of shiny brights denote the Sputnik era. I keep most of them in glass jars and up on the shelf because I know that Trae will test them to see if they bounce. There have been only 2 ornament casualties this year. Neither of them bounced...


Some vintage ornaments have interesting clues to their history. I'm not sure if this is homemade but these bells have Plaster of Paris on the underside, molded with Chinese newspaper and covered in aluminum foil which is half painted red. I think the beads are mercury glass. I found it in a little shop in Maryland and thought it was just right.

The quirky nature of the German and Japanese ornaments always catch my eye. They just remind me of a fun, colorful Christmas. I still need to repair Mrs. Snowman - she seems to have melted...

Look no further than your local thrift shop for these types of ornaments. I have seen bunches of them this year. If you can't find them there, go to your local antique mall. Dealers always have them individually priced in dishes and bowls. It depends on the area in which you live I guess but I have never paid over $2.00 for any of them individually. So hopefully you can find some in that range.

See you tomorrow and have a great day!

Trimmings, tutorials, tips - Christmas week

Welcome to my Christmas House
which is constantly evolving around here. I think there should be more lights on the tree and I still have boxes to get back down to the garage but so far, so good. Everything I have done is simple and easy. No highly involved tips and tutorials here. This week should be joyful not stressful.

Trimmings
This year on the staircase railing, I mixed synthetic garland with cut boughs from the tree. It adds a little thickness and smells good. Ribbon, beaded garland and pine cone lights finish it out. I've had all of those things for years. I keep base colors simple so when I want to change things and use trend colors or lean towards a theme, I only have to buy a few extras in any given year.

This year I am displaying the Christmas cards received. I just used small clothespins to hold them to the garland. That cool card is from my friend Alysa, my 1st mission companion in Japan. Love that girl!

A few trimmings of metallics and beads. More on that during the week.

Some of my favorite ornaments are the ones that the kids make in school. Not only are they sweet and simple, they have an American Folk art quality to them. Charley made this in 3rd grade with a clothespin and tissue paper.

Tutorial
Just get a clothespin and any kind of paper you'd like to use. Cut the paper into a rectangle, round the edges, accordion fold the center, pinch it if you'd like, and clip with the pin. Could it be any easier?

I cut the paper afterward a little more and crumpled it.

Here we used a page from an old book and wrapping paper. You could also paint the pin or use vintage clothespins as well. For those, you'd just have to glue the wings to the back since they don't have a spring hinge.

Tip

So if you're like me and like a lot of lights, you know how quickly they can become tangled and never can stuff them back into their box when you go to store them. A lifesaver was when I cut cardboard into an "I" shape and wound the cords onto it. They store easily this way and best of all, never a mess of lights.

So that rounds it out today. Have fun out there! I'll be back with vintage ornaments, our annual "gingerbread" village, and making Mexican hot chocolate - our fave!

Out.

Laura

Christmas House week

This week I'll be posting about the Christmas House, aka my house.

We were a little late on getting up all of the decorations. Blame that on work schedules and someone in the house having somewhere to be every single day and parents who kept saying we'd get to that tomorrow. But we didn't want anyone in the family to miss out on our annual trip to the local Christmas tree farm. We tried something else last year so we knew opting for the sleigh ride/cut your own thing might not work out again. Remember that story and the pepper spray incident that followed?

So to begin the week filled with Christmas crafts, tips and vintage ornament goodness, here's the weekend recap:

There was the tree farm trip where they let you roast hot dogs, marshmallows and make hot chocolate. My favorite thing they do is measure your child's height so when you come back next year, you can see the difference a year makes. Now is that hometown service or what?

We also like that they're friendly and give you twine to tie the tree to the car. They wouldn't want anyone to hold the tree with their arms out the window like idiots. Who does that anyway??

On to a fun office party where the kids won gumball machines and a 5 lb Hershey chocolate bar.
Jon and Frank made a true Pennsylvania Dutch main course of Chicken and waffles. I had never heard of that before moving here. It was actually tasty. Everyone else brought sides or desserts and the kids decorated cupcakes.

Next was a seriously sweet party complete with a chocolate fountain where we indulged in dipping fruit, cheesecake and other delicious goodies. There was also a raucous round of white elephant gifts where the Superman snuggie was a hit. But first we had to compete in getting a cracker from your forehead to your mouth to determine the order of the present pick. We were number 10 and took home that sweet lamp.

And finally untying the tree and bringing out the trimmings. I'll reveal the finished product later. I think it's our best yet. It's filled with new and vintage ornaments and stays within the color scheme of the house; blues, silver, grey, greens, metallics and a pop of color here and there.

Charley said it made her cry when we turned off the lights and stepped back to admire it. She's a sweet one, Charley that is.

See you tomorrow-

Have a great day!

Vows

We were young and in love.

Now just in love.

Happy 17.

Auburn hair and tawny eyes

I think the "Flock of Seagulls" look is making a comeback.

Not really, it's just a sign of a good nap.

I think it's time for a haircut...

Trae van Beethoven

For your listening pleasure, let me introduce the newest piano prodigy.

Have a great day!

Hugs,

Laura

Flurry

Happy Saturday! Weekends are so nice, aren't they?

We've had a flurry of activity in these parts this past week. How about you?
Today is another busy one. Breakfast with Santa this morning, a birthday party early afternoon, a family Christmas photo session late afternoon, finish making simple ornaments for a church Christmas dinner, clean the bedrooms, finish up all of the laundry and a basketball game tonight. I'll be back mid-week (next week) for updates on projects and funny things that happened along the way.

I hope you have a great day!

Hugs,
Laura