Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Unto Us


For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
 and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful,
 Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6


To all my blogging friends....

 Wishing you

A

Blessed Christmas

and a

Bright New Year

filled with


See you in the
New Year!


AnnMarie xoxo



Wednesday, December 7, 2016

There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays....



"Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays
 'Cause no matter how far away you roam
 When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze
 For the holidays you can't beat home, sweet home…"


Perry Como first sang that classic song in 1954, and although it was before I was born (a little bit!), I love that era and try to capture the magic of it with my vintage Christmas decorating.


Welcome to my home where I love to create vignettes for Christmas out of my vintage treasures....







Walk through my narrow hallway into the parlor.....



In keeping with the style and decor of the Parlor, I have done a totally new look on the mantel. I found the large paned window at a yard sale this summer for $5 and did not know what I was going to do with it....


I had the wreath and angel candlesticks from years ago and I found the JOY sign at Aldi's. It lights up at night. I also put fairy lights behind the window.


A trio of trees light up my vintage table....



I first set my 1980's nativity up like this last year and this year added the fairy lights inside the cloche....



This side table is one of my favorite vignettes for it's vintage appeal....



Next into the dining room, where I have decorated the most. I love the freshly painted walls after living 20 years with busy wallpaper. I tried to keep it simple but it was a blank canvas!!






The pretty tree ornament was made by Stephanie from Rose Petal Blessings.







I just made this cute aqua sign. I saw the simple tutorial on Kimberley's Seaside Ave. blog. I had everything I needed and it was done in no time. My daughter is hinting to me to make her one!




The kitchen is very simple. I usually do a vintage tree with deer vignette on top of the fridge but since we are buying ourselves a new black stainless refrigerator for Christmas, I am holding off. It arrives next week!!



I love this cute gnome, a gift from my husband. I may have to start a collection....





I have had the Santa, reindeer and tree for over 25 years. They are hand cut tin made by a local tinsmith.


And finally to the living room, with the star of the decorating....THE TREE! Can you tell I am excited?!  If you were following me last year you may remember my handmade door tree that I reluctantly put up in lieu of a real tree because of a pair of 5 month old kittens. It was cute but I really wanted a real tree again. So far so good with the kitties, who are now a year and 5 months old.

I hung lemon slices from the bottom branches to deter naughtiness and it seems to be working. Kitties don't like citrus!





I was able to once again put all my ornaments out that I have had since I was a child plus my kids ornaments from when they were children, and a few new ones mixed in. The garland is Fun Fur yarn and I love the old fashioned look it gives the tree.

The fresh fir smell of the tree is intoxicating!

Cyrus and Sprite, you better behave throughout the holidays!!

My granddaughter Cassidy painted the cute hand tree and the Santa is hand painted by a local artist.


I found this vintage ceramic tree at a church youth bazaar and bought it with the intention of selling it. It is missing it's star on top so until I find one, I will just have to decorate with it! (oh, darn!) The tree skirt is vintage made of  felt with sequins and is currently for sale in my Etsy shop.




Believe it or not I still have a few more places to finish decorating, and a few more kinds of cookies to bake.

Now that I have two booths (post about that in the future!) and an Etsy shop, it may not all get done!

I am enjoying what I have done so far and it is definitely enough!


Are you done decorating yet?


AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these fun blog parties:




Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Thanksgiving Blessings



Wishing you a Blessed Thanksgiving

with Wonderful Food and

Lovely Fellowship

with Family and Friends




And on Friday after you are recovered from Turkey overload,

Start Shopping!

Please visit my Etsy shop Friday through Monday for a
Black Friday to Cyber Monday sale....
20% off the entire shop of over 500 items
No coupon code needed!


AnnMarie xoxo

I am sharing at these great blog parties:



Wednesday, November 16, 2016

An Industrial Inspired Christmas Tree

Every time I go thrifting I look in the garage, or basement or "man area" for industrial things I might be able to use or re-sell. Last year I found a tie-wrap full of metal doodads and got the idea around Christmas to make an upcycled tree with them.


I had to keep it.



This summer I found lots of industrial stuff, including a jar full of vintage slip joint washers at a barn sale. I bought them with that tree in mind but it wasn't until recently that I decided to recreate it.


I had also been picking up bread boards whenever I saw them and I have quite a pile with plans to upcycle them. I like the rounded ones the best with the leather hanger, made in Italy.


Here's how I put it all together.....


Because I forgot to take a picture of the actual board before I painted it (you'll notice I do that a lot), here is a similar one like the one I used.



I put a couple of coats of chalk paint in two tones of white....Sheepskin and White Adirondack.


I started laying the washers out in the shape of a tree but then decided there should be some sort of tree painted on the board. I grabbed some brushes and my sage green glaze and just started feathering out lines to look like a tree.




Of course I was so excited to put the washers/ornaments on that I forgot to take a picture of just the tree.



I sanded the sparkly star to give it more of an industrial look and glued it and all the washers on with my favorite Quik Grip glue.


I wanted some sparkle, but not too much, so I used my little stick-on rhinestones here and there.



Here it is all done and available here....









If I didn't have more boards and washers and paint and rhinestones to make another one, I may have had to keep this one too!


AnnMarie xoxo


I am linking up with these fun blog parties:
Share Your Cup
No Rules Weekend Blog Party
Thursday's Favorite Things
Dagmar's Home Link Party
Vintage Charm Party
Simple & Sweet Fridays
"Anything Goes" Pink Saturday
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Happiness is Homemade Link Party
Dishing It & Digging It Link Party
Make It Pretty Monday

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

A Modern Twist to My Decorating





We have been painting and improving and decorating at my house since the weather got warm earlier this Spring. The first to-do was my front porch floor (again) and my daughter Jena did a great job of painting it.


I wanted a fresh, bright look so I went searching for pillows, in aqua, of course.


And of course JoAnn's came through at 50% off. A new rag rug from Home Goods along with last years accents and I am loving my fresh new porch décor. The mix of sage green and white with accents of aqua and red really works. I love to have an eclectic mix of colors and styles.


I was just thinking how it would be nice to have a clock out there so I don't have to run in the house to see what time it is.


Then Lisa from Regency Shop contacted me about doing a review on one of their clocks! The Modern Ball Clock is cute and funky and since I like to mix styles in my decorating, I agreed to receive one and see how it fit into my porch decor. It has all the colors I love to decorate with!


As soon as I received it, I hung it where I had envisioned it would go and it looks great!





It makes a statement without taking over my eclectic mix of vintage pieces.





I have also always wanted a clock in the bathroom! Not the usual place for a clock like this but I thought I would try it out in there. It looks great!



I love how it looks against the red wall. And it is battery operated so no ugly cord hanging down.


The colors match perfectly and the modern design just works with my other accessories. It has all the colors in my shower curtain.




The whole line of products at Regency Shop have that Midcentury modern but updated look that I relate to because of my love of everything vintage.


I have always wanted a leather sofa and this Chesterfield sofa would look lovely in my living room with it's creamy yellow walls and olive and burgundy accents.




This Egg chair is one of  my favorite colors and looks like you could curl up and get lost in it....



The Barcelona chair is another classic modern style to add comfy, modern style to your home.



If modern, colorful, clean lines are your choice in decorating, pop on over to Regency Shop to browse.

Maybe you'll find something fun to mix it up in your decorating style!

AnnMarie xoxo

I am sharing with these fun blog parties: