Christmas Projects and Makeovers!

Hello friends! With just a few days left until Christmas I only have time for a short post, so I thought I'd show you some makeovers and upcycles that I somehow managed to work in this month.

First I'll start with my favorite, a Frenchy chair makeover:

I needed a small chair for extra seating in my dining room so I purchased this from a vendor friend at the antiques mall where I have a booth. Its not hideous here, but it needed a makeover!

I have not yet mastered the art of reupholstery and I wanted it finished immediately, so I simply chalk painted the whole thing with a homemade recipe using plaster of paris and a creamy white paint leftover in the basement.

Voila!


Okay so maybe no one will sit in it, but it's fun to decorate and looks great!

I kept adding accents and changing it up the first few days...

Until I settled on using it to display my roses, fresh holly, ironstone, and lace. Love.


And then I moved the arrangement elsewhere and I added more bling...


Okay I digress. Back to the projects...

This is an upcycle of  a vintage "Frosty" Dixie cup that I picked up at an estate sale two weeks ago. It was stained and cruddy on the inside but it was still in great shape and had wonderful vintage winter images on it.

My husband was really wondering what in the world I planned to do with it since the inside looked like "antique mold" for lack of a better description. I didn't know exactly what I would do with it either, but I bought it because I liked it, and that's how I roll! I knew I'd do something with it eventually. I didn't get a picture of mine before I fixed it up, it so I will show you some of the different ones I found on the internet.


When I got home I realized I had some misc. vintage ornaments left lying around so I got the idea to just stuff the cup full of Christmas goodness. I had an empty glass candle holder so I filled it with a little glittery snow and put the cup down in it. The glass not only looks nice, but will provide some protection from the cup getting smashed. I love it!

Moving on...

DIY chalkboards have been all the rage this year and its no wonder, they are so beautiful and add charm to any area. They are easy and just about any frame will work!

I had this frame in my antiques booth for a while, sort of priced not to sell...and boy am I glad it didn't. I decided to bring it home and use it to make a chalkboard, and I think it is one of my favorite DIY chalkboards ever. My husband and I did the lettering free-hand. Pretty cool!





We also made a sign for our porch with our house number by painting a cheap resin plaque from the flea market. Everyone has loved it!

Next I have a couple of faux grain sack projects to show you.

We have had this bench at the foot of our bed since summer. It was a $5 yard sale purchase that I had planned to recover with a shabby-vintage white chenille blanket, but since summer the blanket has just been draped over it. It looked okay, but lately I have been on a French grain sack kick, and once I realized the price of vintage grains sacks wasn't going to work with my "pay next-to-nothing" decorating philosophy, I decided to try painting it to get the same look. I did it for literally nothing, since I had all the materials already.

Here is the before:

Well sort of before. I had already started painting it with the chalk paint. The legs were previously a dark wood.

And after...


Turned out fab! I simply taped off the pattern with painters tape and used a red sharpie. After the ink was dry I lightly painted over the pattern (while still taped) with a rusty acrylic paint color. Now I am wanting to paint red stripes all over the house!
*hint... the key to painting fabric with chalk paint is a good sanding afterward. It will smooth down the paint to feel almost like a soft fabric!

I did do one more grain-sack paint job. I repainted my blah-cheapy bar stools that didn't match the island in the kitchen and have been driving me crazy for 4 years. Simple and cheap update! Well not that simple. Painting bar stools is a pain! But they turned out nicely and the kitchen looks so ready for Christmas now.  Since I have a lot of Coca-Cola items, the red will carry over for all seasons.


Lastly, here is a sweet little antique composition doll that some people would find creepy and dirty, but I think she is just gorgeous. She has been in my booth since summer and no one has decided to adopt her so I figured it was time for her to have her forever home. When I brought home the frame for the chalkboard, I decided to bring her along and dress her up for Christmas. I have realized that part of the fun of having my own booth is "shopping" it from time to time!

 

I dressed her up as an angel with feathers and bling, and named her"Joy." Now she is an absolute doll!

Hope you have enjoyed your visit here and that your Christmas is full of  JOY!

Christmas Parties:
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/2012/12/holiday-home-tour-2012-linky-party.html
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/
http://maleviksrosentradgard.blogspot.com/
http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
http://www.thevintagefarmhouse.com/

Emotional Outpouring and Prayers/Day of Silence

I never could have imagined when I started my blog that something like this would happen. That there would be a day and time that this fun place and space where I escape, this virtual reality that is one of my comforts, could provide no solace or escape from the "real world." Every blog post I have made has been fun and stress relieving. But  no amount of blogging about my junk adventures or decorating accomplishments, or any amount of pinning inspirational ideas can provide  an escape at all.

Looking at Christmas decorations makes me feel guilty. I just want to be with my children but even that seems to upset me, as the awful reality of feeling insecure and unsafe about their future and security becomes almost too scary to face. Christmas will never be the same for those people, but I honestly don't think it will ever be the same for those of us on the outside who feel so helpless because there is nothing we can really ever say or do to REVERSE this nightmare. Our prayers are  with these people but also we should lift each other up, the strangers, the readers, the citizens who are on the outside looking in. We are all affected and we have all had our Christmas spirits darkened and our nerves frazzled.

"GOD be with us all, and please we ask you openly and humbly to be in our presence providing divine intervention forprotection from the dark forces of this world. We ask in faith that you  protect our children and loved ones every second of every day. Please spare us from ever experiencing what those parents and families are going through at this very second that I type this post. Please provide them the COMFORTER you promised. Send the Holy Spirit that comforts them in a way they cannot explain, to ease their sorrows and help them transition into this new and lonely, sorrowful phase of life that you have allowed to come upon them. Provide the strength they need to face these changes and HELP THEM FIND SOME SORT OF PURPOSE IN THEIR SORROWS!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I debated blogging about this at all but how can just post pictures of all my trinkets and treasures as if that is the most important thing in life? How can I talk about Christmas as if its the most wonderful time of the year, because right now, its really not.  A lot of what was most important to me Thursday evening has taken a back seat. My priorities are back in order but I am too shaken up to even be able to enjoy my family or think about celebrations at all.
I have been given a deep sense of empathy and I have had lifelong problems with internalizing the pain and suffering of others. This event has ripped my spirit, challenged my faith, and affected my health. I am experiencing a flare up of Lupus and Fibromyalgia pain as I have cried so hard and lost a lot of sleep over this. But nothing I face can compare to the pain of those families who are living in this nightmare and I pray that any strength I have be given to the victim's families and friends, and indeed the entire community. So many lives affected.

"Lord we need PEACE ON EARTH AND GOODWILL TOWARD MEN this Christmas. We need to understand that Christmas message and we just can't feel that peace or believe it is possible unless you intervene in a supernatural way and give us that peace." Amen.

I am participating in the blogger's day of silence tomorrow and I will be putting my creative energies into prayers.

Amber

Christmas Favorites 2012

                                                               Merry Christmas!!!!
Holidays are the busiest time for most people, but especially so for us music teachers! I have several programs and choir performances to direct over the next two weeks in addition to trying to keep up with my antiques business and family Christmas celebrations. I have been decorating non-stop since Thanksgiving and I have finally gotten to a place where I can sit down and find enough time for a small post.

These are some of my favorite instagram pictures from around the house this Christmas. Enjoy!

                                         Welcome to The Ferguson's Christmas home!

 

It really is my old Kentucky home, and it really is a cozy cottage, especially at Christmas. I hope you find it cozy as you read!

        
                                                                       I love Santa. I'm pretty sure.

           And I love vintage Christmas, as I am sure most everyone already knows, (including Santa, which is always good since he can bring me more vintage stuff to make me very merry.)

Here is how I used my vintage Christmas goodies last year: http://junkaholicsunanimous.blogspot.com/2011/12/merry-very-vintage-christmas-sneak-peak_10.html

http://junkaholicsunanimous.blogspot.com/2011/12/two-weeks-before-christmas-open-house.html

             I am going to have to say that this Santa is the epic flea market find of Summer 2012. Did I mention that I collect vintage Santas? Did I need to mention that? Is "collect" the right word?

 

I happen to "collect" Santa's little helpers too!

 

                  I love incorporating elements of Christmas through the ages. This tree has ornaments from the early 1900's-1950 and a few old-world inspired handmade ornaments as well.

           My little boy made these cinnamon ornaments all by himself with only minor assistance from me. I love them! They smell so good and they are dear to my heart!


 Vintage red-rimmed enamelware and plaid items just go together with Christmas. An old ice cream canister adds to the wintry display.

          My magic snow globe reveals whatever Christmas wish I may have.

I am obviously wishing for more grain sack...

 

 
     I call this the "I'll Be Home For Christmas" vignette. I used my grandfather's war letters bundled up with some vintage Christmas stamps and displayed on my beloved Remington 1912 typewriter. My grandfather was a stenographer in the Korean war so I think this all came together perfectly even though it was spontaneous. Christmas magic!



Our artificial tree is over 9 feet tall and its nearly impossible for me to get a picture of the whole thing due to its position in the dining room. This year I changed it up a bit and added a lot more red and a candy cane/vintage theme instead of my browns and amber hues from the past several Christmases. I kept the burlap garland from last year but I added an ivory  tulle garland and I love the juxtaposition of rustic and dreamy textures.


We have two wonderful Scottish Terriers, so you will always find some Scotty accents around the house at Christmas.


This morning I found that my holly bush had finally produced berries. How festive! I created this bouquet. By the evening I had tweaked it even more and added some bling.

Simply Christmas display: The warmth of a candle displayed on an  ironstone platter,  surrounded by old lace and fresh cut pine.

               Oh to have some snow! Since its not looking like we will see any this Christmas, I decide to create a whole wintry white scene on my buffet that will last through February with just a little tweaking. The chalkboard is a project my sweetie and I completed together. Being too impatient to use a transfer or downloadable graphic, I had my artist-husband help me free-hand some of this chalkboard lettering. It is our own design and each of us worked on the different words. I love the old 1800's frame that I found at a flea market for $5.00 back in the spring. Followers may recognize it as the one I had "framing" a mannequin in my antiques booth for a while..I am so glad it didn't sell because it made a perfect chalkboard frame, especially for a "white Christmas" display!

Wishing YOU the season's joy, dear blogging friends of mine! Have yourself a Merry little (vintage) Christmas!


*If this is your first time visiting my blog, I encourage you to check out some of my past posts. This is certainly not one of my better posts in terms of photography and presentation, but I have been struggling to wrap my mind around what we have just experienced. My prayers go out to all those suffering in this great time of tragedy in our country and also in China where a similar event occurred this week. May God's light and comfort be with us all and especially with those families who lost their dear loved ones and may we all find the peace of Christ this Christmas.

Christ Parties:
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/2012/12/knick-of-time-tuesday-65.html
http://www.commonground-do.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2012/12/feathered-nest-friday_20.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2012/12/home-sweet-home-98.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: TheCharmOfHome (The Charm
 of Home)
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Use What You Have Christmas Decorating

Hello friends!

I am finally finished with my holiday decor (you know how that goes...do we decorators ever finish?) but I haven't had a chance to sit down and blog or really get any good pictures, so for tonight I am just showing a few little favorites that I took on my iphone using instagram. Hopefully I will get a better blog post up before Christmas, IF I can ever get off pinterest. Everytime I get on there I get so many more ideas and keep adding and changing and tweaking! It never ends!

Here are pictures of a couple of my favorite small gatherings:

 I really like how this turned out and it was so easy. I  just added some Christmas things to what I already had in my sitting room on these little shelves ( the inside of a $5 grandfather clock to which we gutted, repainted, and added some shelves). I simply put a lovely bottle brush in an antique baby shoe used as a "tree stand," with some vintage tinsel and pearls draped around it. Then I replaced a picture with  a little vintage winter angel gift tag in my antique flower frog. I am loving antique flower frogs right now! I can feel a new addiction forming...

The beautiful little vintage-Frenchy gift tag standing in the flower frog  actually is vintage-French.

My aunt bought this one and several others in Paris in the mid 1980's to decorate our family Christmas packages (I have seen reproductions of these over the years, and its possible that departments stores in the US also sold them at the same time) I was in sixth grade when I received my gift ( French perfume purchased in Paris, "Cabotine de Gres).  It was wrapped in the most gorgeous French wrapping paper. I remember it being off-white and gold,  and I also remember I was captivated by the paper as much as the perfume and I kept scraps for my scrapbook.  A sign of things to come!

"To Amber: Joyeux Noel!" was written on the tag. I have been hooked on vintage-French and Victorian images ever since!

Here is another of the sweet little tags. I do find it amazing that as a 12 year old girl I kept the tags because of their beauty and charm and I have held on to them for 25 years!

Once again on this shelf I just added some wintry things. I love the addition of the little "snow" owl, who had previously been in my kitchen on my year-round miniatures shelf. As I read your blogs I  realized that many of you are doing the same thing I am doing and have discovered  that we can also apply the "use what you have" decorating philosophy to holiday decorating as well. With some creativity I have been able to can come up with unique and meaningful holiday displays without the hassle of packing everything up and replacing my whole decor with common Christmas decorations.  In the future I will be refraining from buying new, mass produced holiday decor and with the exception of some vintage Christmas treasures I find on my junk adventures,  I will be using everyday junk decor in new ways.

If you sit a vintage ironstone pitcher and a silverplate platter on the table after a day of junking in June, do you think, "those look like Christmas decorations?" Probably not, but what could be more perfect than the shades of white and silver which mimic the colors of  winter snow and ice?

I love the challenge of "repurposing and upcycling" my decorating ideas as well as my junk! I used this technique all through the house this Christmas and I think I am enjoying this year's decor more than any other. Hopefully I will get some chance throughout the busy holidays to show you a little more, but for now its time to enjoy YOUR decorating, so I am off to check out your beautiful homes!

Joyeux Noel!


Christmas parties!

http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/2012/12/knick-of-time-tuesday-64.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:

http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/2012/12/holiday-home-tour-2012-linky-party.html

Thanksgiving Home 2012

 

It's Thanksgiving!

 

 

 This year for Thanksgiving we have a "new" dining room, and a new antique table and buffet.  It was a very old set that I found in early October for a great price, but it had a tacky paint job and needed major TLC. Chakpaint to the rescue...love it now!

 

If  you also take a look at last year's Thanksgiving post http://junkaholicsunanimous.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-2011.html  you can see the changes we made to this room. I had wanted a separate dining room ever since we bought the house four years ago. Because we didn't really use one of our extra bedrooms, we decided that with a little creativity we could rework the floor plan to convert it to our new living room. (I will be doing a separate post all about that later). The changes allowed for this wonderful open dining area and it seemed to triple the size of our usable space. And of course it gave me more to decorate which is always great!

 

One of the fun changes we made was replacing the ceiling fan with this super cool vintage-inspired Edison light bulb pendant light. This one came from Lowes at an affordable price and its nearly identical to Pottery Barn's. I was going to order the one from Pottery Barn since there wasn't much of a price difference and I assumed it would be higher quality, but the one from Lowes had better customer reviews and was a bit cheaper so we chose it instead. It is so unique and it adds instant vintage chic to the room.

 

 

 

The dining table is set with my traditional favorites, including the lovely Johnson Brothers "His Majesty"turkey teacups and saucers, ironstone pieces, vintage amber glass goblets and silverplate trays. In these pictures I have not yet set out my gold plated flatware or napkins, since I usually just wait until Thanksgiving for them.

 

Beautiful with the autumn morning sunlight streaming through...

 

....warm and cozy in the evening

 

I used a primitive turkey in a wooden box filled with burlap and fall goodies for this year's table centerpiece.

 

Note to self: Iron the tablecloth before Thursday. Thanks, I appreciate you.

 

 

This year I ended up getting creative with things I already had for my Thanksgiving decorating. I wanted a stunning centerpiece for my new table and something new for the buffet, and since a lot of items I normally use on my mantel ended up moving to the new living room, the mantel was also a blank slate.  I even went to Hobby Lobby to buy some new things, but I couldn't find anything that looked vintage enough for my liking or to fit my "so cheap its practically free" spending philosophy. So back to picking around our own house, basement and yard for "new" items I already had. As usual, I am so happy with the result of NOT buying new mass produced decorations, although I do love Hobby Lobby and their beautiful reproduction pieces.

 

For my buffet I used an old runner that had been on the dresser in the guest room, a giant corn that ends up in a different area of the house each fall, the pumpkin sign I purchased at a consignment shop for $2 earlier this season that had been on my porch, several of the pumpkins and gourds left over from Halloween, a fleur de lis copper bucket that was in my project pile awaiting a chalk-paint makeover, a couple of flea market silverplate items that I had used in my Halloween decor, my prized $1 demijohn, some indian corn, a large autumn kale from the garden, a sweet vintage Native American Stories book,  an orphaned transferware teacup and saucer with a fall farm scene, deer antlers, some autumn floral pics, a few vintage doilies, and one of my favorite old oval frames to "frame" the whole display and add visual interest in the background. I added my little boy's own estate sale find, a turkey snow globe. Such a conglomerate of different things seem unrelated but end up working as a harvest of junk goodies that form a festive holiday vignette.

 

 

 

 

When we moved some of our furniture to the new living area, this corner screamed for a corner cabinet. I found a very junky, chippy-shabby one and I added the salvaged screen door for interest. I dressed it up even more with lighted bittersweet and grapevines, vintage lace, and a big basket of ironstone and silverplate on top.

These three shelves are filled with favorites.  Notice the Frenchy papers on the shelf walls? Scrap book papers, simply taped on. Love them!

Oh I get so excited at this little cloche even as I type this post! Vintage celluloid pilgrims, a Native American girl and a little deer...all from different flea markets on different days this summer. Don't they make a sweet grouping?

 

 

I love how this color scheme with the pinks and burgandys mixed in with the browns is still autumnal without bright orange. I will miss this display. I haven't gotten to enjoy it long enough. The saucer with the Native American hunter was yard sale find from last year. I think it works so well in this grouping.

 

Here are some vintage Gurley turkey candles, my favorite silverplate tea pot and some more misc. pieces of ironstone and transferware from this summer's flea market adventures. I like how this shelf display continues the color scheme of the shelf above it.

 

 

 

The beauty of how simple things like balls of string and twine on a bed of vintage ivory napkins always amazes me. Such a sweet little plate takes center stage.

 

Here is a view from the kitchen. I just love Sunny autumn weekend mornings so much. My favorite season!  I would like to reach into this picture and scoot that pitcher back a bit though, it's making me nervous!

Finding vintage Thanksgiving items is not the easiest, so I was so excited to about this plastic Thanksgiving wreath. Probably the ugliest thing to most people but of course you vintage junkers know this was a great find!

 

I have vintage turkey platters here and there around the kitchen and dining room. I really have no place for them now that my ironstone collection has grown exponentially (I found 25 old ironstone platters for $1 each recently) but I get creative and find ways to make room for them somehow.

 

More platters above the cabinets

 

                           I love this "picture" of my ironstone platters!

 

 

Here is my mantel. As I mentioned earlier, it was completely bare since moving items into the new living room, and because my Hobby Lobby shopping trip was an epic fail (shopping retail always is for me) I came home frustrated but I couldn't stand the thought of not having anything up there. Then I got the simple idea to use my large Turkey tureen as a focal point and surround him with more of my ironstone and vintage postcards. After all, Thanksgiving is a food and cooking themed holiday, so what better time to have my ironstone pitchers and platters on display? Um, how about everyday???

 

I had considered looking on etsy for a banner, but I decided to make this one from some large vintage flash cards (The "T" card says "T is for Turkey" and has a pretty Turkey on the back), and I also used my son's artwork from previous Thanksgivings. Of course this banner is dear to my heart! I always try to decorate with artwork or crafts that my sons have made over the years instead of  just sticking them in a scrapbook. My oldest son is in college now and he does seem to appreciate my sentiments, but my 7 year old absolutely is so proud of seeing what he made "when he was little" put on display with all of our other special decorations.

 

I am really pleased with this mantel. An antique flower frog displaying a postcard from 1910, mini-pumpkins from my Halloween decor, pheasant and turkey feathers, pitchers and platters, vintage hankies... are all, as Martha Stewart would say,"good things."

I couldn't resist adding this fun little vintage-kitschy felt pilgrim couple alongside more ironstone and postcards.

 

 

Oh my autumn, how I will miss your colors and pleasures.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this post. I am sending you all "Good Wishes For Thanksgiving Day!"

 

 

"Gobble-Gobble!"

 

                                                                   Have a hearty Thanksgiving!

 Parties:

http://www.commonground-do.com/2012/11/vintage-inspiration-114-almost.html

 http://www.homemakeronadime.com/2012/11/creative-bloggers-party-hop-86.html

http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/2012/11/knick-of-time-tuesday-61.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:

                                            http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

 http://www.commonground-do.com/2012/11/vintage-inspiration-115-being-thankful.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: blogspot/bCGJMl (Common Ground)

 http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2012/11/feathered-nest-friday-on-wednesday.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: blogspot/QoLtm (FRENCH COUNTRY COTTAGE)