Still Decorating.....the Final Touches

I like to have the month of December to add the final touches on the decorating, put the cookie tins together to give away and maybe find a few last minute special gifts.

I really thought I was done with the gifts and wrapping but found three more yesterday and forgot about two I still have to get!

I am in a very generous, almost to the point of spoiling, mood this Christmas, so that is good for my family and friends!

I am still decorating too! While I am out and about I tell myself I don't need anymore Christmas decorations but that seems to be when I find them! Like this fabulous 18" ceramic tree glazed in a white luster finish with blue lights.

 

I was NOT going to buy anymore of these vintage classics to sell because of breakage in shipping but I did not say I couldn't have another one for myself! I could not pass it up at Goodwill for $10! The only place I have to put it is on top of my fridge. Perfect! My kitchen is blue and white.

Even the grocery store is not a safe place to avoid temptation with Christmas goodies. Especially if that grocery store is Wegmans. Have you heard of this huge family chain? They have EVERYTHING your heart desires including these gorgeous Christmas dish towels. Couldn't resist adding a little more red to my kitchen.

 

 

 

While cleaning out the back room I came upon this sweet, vintage lamp post, given to me by my friend Kim. It was her mother-in-laws. I was going to list it on Etsy but it looks so cute next to my vintage Snowman that it will stay there for awhile. Love the retro green bulb!

 



 

After a few weeks of adding and changing and adding some more, the front porch is done. On a girls day out with my friend Bonnie I fell in love with this grapevine snowman, handmade by the owner of Thistlewood Farms in a nearby town. Jen is a true artist when it comes to forming grapevines from her large farm into lovely decorative items. I had to have him for my front porch!

 

 

He lights up at night and welcomes you first thing when you approach my porch.

 

 

My enamel bucket of sticks and twigs that is out year round got a simple Christmas makeover with some red twigs and pine branches from my tree in the yard.





 

 

 The vintage sled that I used to bundle my girls on 30 years ago (it had a seat attachment) and tie to my waist while I cross country skied is a staple on my front porch in the winter. The plaid bag holds my childhood ice skates.

 



The vintage jingle bell wreath with the snowman head is a find I couldn't part with, originally bought to sell on Etsy.

 

 

The metal bells and snowman have a wonderful worn patina on them.



 

 

The front door is always a challenge to decorate with the wind and opening and closing all day, being our main entry door. I used the Command hooks this year to hang the garland and so far so good.

 

This is my last post until after Christmas so I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas with love, joy and hope for the New Year!

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these great blog parties:

Vintage Charm
Home and Garden Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Pink Saturday
Home Sweet Home
Best of the Weekend
Let's Talk Vintage

Gathering Christmas Joy for Decorating

Although I have been very good about NOT decorating for Christmas till after Thanksgiving, I have been storing up some new goodies all along the way!

Danielle at Delightful Mom posted this pinecone wreath earlier this Fall and I fell in love. I finally made it, a little bigger to fill the wall above my mantel. I love it's simplicity and pure whiteness! I have pinecones in baskets around my house year round as there is just something about them, so this wreath spoke to me loud and clear..."You need to make me and hang me above the mantel in the parlor!" Since one of my passions is wreaths and making them I had to oblige!

I am going for a more rustic, vintage look this year in my Christmas decorating. I have stored up a lot of decorations over the years to fill up every room in my house but I always find myself wanting to do something a little different every year.

This idea to decorate vintage and rustic started when I saw this 1950's elf at efinegifts on Etsy. There are pages and pages of delightful vintage items and wonderful Christmas decorating items in this shop.

I had been wanting a pixie elf of my own as it sparks a kind of childhood memory in me. The Elf on the Shelf was not a tradition in our house when I was growing up and I had not heard of it when my girls were little so I missed out on that whole thing! I just love the way he looks perched on my kitchen cupboard.

I found this beautiful French inspired, rustic farmhouse tree, handmade by Amy, at ProvencalMarket on Etsy. It goes well in my Victorian pink and cranberry parlor and in my rustic, farmhouse dining room.

I just may have to leave it up year round!

 

Dru at The NestinSLT on Etsy makes these beautiful banners and I just had to have one for my parlor mantel. I chose JOY.

 

 

There won't be any Christmas decorating pictures just yet.....that will be in a future post. I am still gathering new things and planning my vignettes in my head!

 

There is a wonderful country store in Chesire, a small town near Canandaigua Lake in the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York. I have to visit every Fall to see what is new and I was not disappointed.

 

I saw this candle holder and was holding it in awe, going through my mind how I was going to afford it and pay for it when my husband saw the look on my face. "You want that?" he asked. I said something like "how can you tell?" and he said "give it to me" and went and paid for it! I was speechless and did not protest! It has been hanging out on top of my wooden truck in the dining room waiting to be placed, probably on the mantel below the pinecone wreath with the JOY banner underneath. That tree to the left is a new find also, a small retro silver tree that I have the perfect vintage silver and ivory ornaments for.



 

Good Old Days Country Store is another wonderful country store in Pultneyville, NY and on a recent visit I found two things I just had to have since they sparked that vintage, rustic feel I am going for.

I found an embroidered snowman runner for my kitchen table. It was more than half off because of a few spots on it which I think add to it's character. And a woven snowflake garland that I just had to have. Still thinking on where I will use it.

And then there are the things I have been picking and thrifting for to sell in my Etsy shop NaNa's Things. I made a little vignette out of some of them for the basket listing and I liked it so much I am leaving it there till it sells or I just have to keep it all for my decorating!

The basket is a suitcase style wicker basket so perfect for a display like this. The kitties are made from c.1800's quilts, the tray is an Avon item from 1983, the tree is a vintage ceramic tree with the green and red speckled and drippy glaze and the Santa head is a chalkware bank. All can be found in my shop.

Tomorrow we go to get our live tree and a wreath for the front door. That is when the official Christmas decorating begins!

Have you started yet?

Or are you all done?!

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these great blog hops:

Freedom Fridays with all My Bloggy Friends
Be Inspired
Treasure Hunt Thursday
Pink Saturday
A Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
diy Sunday Showcase
Marvelous Mondays
Inspiration Monday
Make It Pretty Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Talking Tuesday

Let the Decorating Begin! Part 1 - Decorating with Wreaths

Decorating is a passion of mine. I love catalogs, magazines, and websites that give me ideas. I take those and add my own ideas with what I have on hand or can afford and make it work in my home. I am not a professional interior decorator or an authority by any means.....I just love it and enjoy doing it. Because I am always interested in what others are doing and looking for ideas to "steal", I thought I would share some of my ideas......you have my permission to steal them!

Decorating for Christmas is a two week long affaire for me. I decorate every room in the main living area which includes the kitchen, bathroom, dining room, parlor, living room and hallway to the upstairs. I live in an 1870's Victorian in a small village, so all the quaintness and architectural stuff that I love is already built in, which makes the decorating a lot easier.  It is truly a labor of love for me because I have to un-decorate what is already there year round in order to decorate for Christmas.....and all the boxes of decorations have to come up from the basement and down from the attic. And if there is a box around, you will find Miss Kitty laying on it....

She was in her glory here!

Everything from the mantel and the cupboard and the window seat gets stuffed in the storage under the window seat and the unpacking and decorating begins!
I have a thing for wreaths and so they are a big part of my Christmas decorating. The focal point of the parlor is the wreath above the mantel and all else falls in behind it!

I have three wreaths in the living room. I love the idea of hanging them over windows. Another great idea is to hang them over a mirror.
Here I have hung this wreath from the curtain rod with a decorative ribbon. The lights from the tree across the room make it sparkle at night....

The focal point of the living room is the bay window and I felt something else was needed amongst all the windows. The sparkly gold wreath is a Christmas decoration but I leave it up year round........it is hung with fish line from a nail hidden behind the window treatment.

This next wreath is new this year. I have always wanted a square wreath so when I saw this one in a catalog, on sale with free shipping, I grabbed it! It is made of wood curls formed into the shape of tiny roses. Not that the tree needed a decoration behind it, but I think it works and is kind of a new idea for Christmas decorating.....

I found this handmade star wreath at a barn sale and it was in bad shape! The tag on it says that it was made from wood from a 100 year old home....that was all I needed to know! I fixed it up and added the berries and angel. It goes well in my dining room which is more Country Victorian style....

One more wreath! This one is hung on the pocket doors on the other side of the tree, which goes into my entry hallway. A lot of wide open space needs something! The stars are actually the wreath holder. I just bought a faux pine garland, added the pinecones, molded it into a wreath and there it is....very easy and with a sparkly wooden NOEL sign, it looks great!

I hope you enjoyed my wreath tour and were able to get some ideas for your home. I would love to read your comments.

Visit Part 2 - Decorating with Santas and Snowmen and Part - 3 Decorating with Vignettes for more Christmas decorating ideas.
Happy Decorating!
AnnMarie