How I deck my hallways

The gifts have all been wrapped, the cookies have been made, and the house has been decked out with amazing Christmas kitsch. Now I can write a merry little blog that takes you on a tour of all of my vintage holiday treasures...

Remember Santa is watching... and dancing. Plastic, flocked and fabulous!

Here is my tree.

I am not such a purist that I only decorate with vintage. It is decorated with a crazy combination of new and vintage ornaments. I think it looks so cozy and captivating. (if a tree can actually look cozy) Folks that visit say they love looking at all the different ornaments on my tree. I could tell them a story about almost every ornament.

I do have some great vintage ornaments on my tree. My hubby has given me most of them over the years. This one cracks me up. Santa as the bubble boy.

Check out my new tree skirt. I have been asking for a vintage tree skirt for a few years for Christmas. I guess Santa wasn't sure which one to get so I bought one for myself this year.

How swell is this Lefton Japan candy tray? It is way too cute to fill with candy because you wouldn't be able to see the little painted Santa faces.

So how do you fill your china cabinet? I have a bit of a bulb bonanza going on here...along with a few other bits and bobs. Some may say overkill, but I say festive.

I have a few vintage Shiny Brite Stencil Ornaments of my own that were given to me from a family friend one year. I like to give them pride of place amongst the tinsel and "vintage look" mica houses.

Do you love Shiny Bright ornaments too? You could get your own set from The Unique Bird to display next year in your home.

Click here to see the listing.

You may have see some little Santas just like these for sale in my etsy shop.
They are vintage Japan cocktail picks! I bought a few for myself too while at Brimfield. If you would like to pick these up to stuff in someone's stocking next year you might want to check out this listing. Click here to see!

Sitting on top my cabinet are these two snowmen that I got from the hubby a few years back.

I think this one looks kind of drunk...and it's not even New Year's eve!

"O" how sweet is this angel candle holder. I see her on my kitchen window sill. I hope to find the "J" and the "Y" someday while on one of my treasure hunts.

I have always wanted one of these little angels and was giddy when I picked her up at a tag sale in Dayton a few weeks ago. Sadly she lost one of her wings. I think maybe she had a bit too much eggnog.

The perfect way to display my Haeger planter is with a poinsettia. I am so happy I haven't killed my pretty plant yet. It just has to last until our New Year's Party. (fingers crossed)

I framed a vintage paper ornament/ greeting card that I also got at that tag sale and was very pleased with the results.

My make-shift cork board tree is also decorated with amazing greeting cards/ornaments by Norcross New York U.S.A. I have similar group listed for sale in my shop. I have also trimmed this ribbon outline tree with vintage metal curtain tie backs. (those things are very useful and nice to look at!)

This is another new addition, she is plastic and flocked to perfection in her lovely blue dress and shiny gold paper wings.

Doesn't this plush red and white deer put a smile on your face? (kind of like the smile he is wearing on his face)

Here is a crafty little creation that I devised to display our holiday cards. I used to just tape the cards to strips of ribbon that I hung in my entry way, but the cards were always falling down. So the hubby and I had a little brainstorm and came up with a nice magnetic system that I can re-use every year. Did you notice the lovely vintage fabric bows? I had to spice them up.

Here are two pillows that I had started to make for myself that are made using my favorite Christmas fabric. Too bad there were no little elves that finished them while I was fast asleep. Maybe they will be finished for next Christmas. You know what they say, "God rest ye merry Gentlemen because the women have too much to do!"

I hope you have enjoyed the Christmas Kitsch tour and I hope that you have a Very Merry Christmas and I wish you all the best in 2010!!

What's hiding in my liquor cabinet

Precious Moments figurines were first created in 1978. The same year I was born.

Somehow this connection isn't really all that precious to me.

I don't want to insult any one's collection because god knows I have some doozies, but Precious Moments really aren't my cup of tea. I think that part of my distaste for these little creatures stems from working throughout high school at a Hallmark store dealing with crazed customers clamoring for the latest special edition piece.
and then we got ours...

We were given this Precious Moments figurine to celebrate my hubby & my engagement. It was a very thoughtful gift expressing meaning and love but was just not our taste. Knowing the thought was there when this was purchased for us we couldn't just return it. We kept it, but tucked it away into our little liquor cabinet. Hence it did get occasional visits.

My kind of figurine is a bit more obscure, or shall I say,on a another planet.

For example, this pair was purchased for me by the hubster. I know that they are book ends but I currently do not have them fulfilling their purpose. I do consider them as part of my very important kitsch/ figurine collection.

This vintage figurine could melt your heart. It is an adorable baby elephant. He definitely had some condition issues when I purchased him. You can tell that he has had some reconstructive surgery on his back side but I felt the connection when I looked into those big brown eyes and knew I should buy him.

This squatty little birdy is perched up on my living room shelf. He was once part of a salt & pepper shaker set. I love picking up these lonesome pieces that used to be part of a pair because they make great conversation pieces on their own. (and you can usually get them at a really great price)

Another one that lost their twin.

This former salt shaker, little pineapple head, sits on my kitchen window sill and greets me while I do dishes.

(I just noticed the shape of the head on this one does bear a resemblance to the heads on the Precious Moments)

My final figurine is this crazy cat. As you can see the original purpose of this piece was a place to store you chewing gum when it wasn't in your mouth. I can honestly say that I have never taken advantage of this little guy.

This figurine will someday soon find his way onto The Unique Bird website. Doesn't he look like one of the characters on the Rice Krispies box? I know there is a customer out there that has a special place in their heart for Snap,(or is this Crackle or Pop?) or might be looking for a little elf to help out in the kitchen.

This is a pair that did stay together and could be coming to your house for the holidays this year. Keep your eyes open for these snow people at The Unique Bird when we set our holiday collections.

I can't believe I am talking about Christmas and it is only Sept, 3rd

I was able to figure out a way to give my little Precious Moments a new life

As you may recall, my little sister got engaged and I felt I should pass along the love to her.

Is that contempt in her eyes as she opens this gift?

I explained my plan to her. It could become a progressive heirloom and get passed along to the next close friend or family member that gets engaged and so forth and so on. I even thought it would be nice if each couple put their names on the bottom & their wedding date for a sentimental touch. We would be creating a precious moment for many others in the future.

She liked the idea so much that she left this very precious gift at my house when she went home.
Never fear, it will find it's way to her house.

Rockin' Auction

Hi everyone,

I attended an amazing auction today and picked up quite a few lovely things that I would love to share with you.

Take a look at the sweet little green house transfer on this plate. I think that is a place that I would like to visit on a beautiful summer day. I hadn't planned on bringing this plate home but was pleasantly surprised when I purchased another lot at the auction and they brought this over to me as well.

My hubby is always commenting that he would love to get a rocking chair someday. I saw this chair and thought it would be a perfect gift for him on a Wednesday. (and also butter him up a bit to get him to grill out) The chair is from the 40's or the 50's. It is in amazing shape and it looks really smart as well!

The best part
Now you see it...

Now you don't!!!

Imagine my glee upon finding out that this great chair conveniently folds away

This is a really great metal tray. it is vintage but I think that it still has a bit of a modern feel to it.

I think it would look really great layered with some other pieces as a center piece on a dining room table.

Kitsch!

I know that all of you out there have a secret soft spot in you heart for little pieces of kitsch! Just imagine the conversations that could be started from each one of these pieces.

I am not really sure of the date on these but I think they are hand made chair covers. I really loved the muted colors and the patterns on each one of them. They look very Anthropologie to me.I wonder if I can make little area rug out of them?

I also found this beautiful quilt from the 1930's. It is in fantastic condition. I don't think it has ever been used.

It is a quirky composition of different feedsack fabrics. The patterns don't really "go" together but somehow they all work together and definitely make a statement!

"I have personality!"


I don't know if you recognize this mirror from a previous blog?

I had purchased this on a recent trip to a flea market over the 4th of July holiday.

All it took was a little TLC and this mirror looked great hanging in my spare room!


I am really proud of this find. I have been looking for an end table for my living room for the longest time. Our couch has really tall arms so it had been quite difficult to find something that measured up.

There it was sitting at a garage sale for $2. It might not be the highest quality antique but It has really great lines and all it took was a coat of paint to make it look new again. (well it might have taken a few nails and wood filler too)

I will be attending an auction in Cincinnati tomorrow at Cowan's

The auction is called the discovery sale. They usually deal in very high end,expensive antiques and collectibles but at this particular sale the offer a selection of items that are still considered antique & collectible but tend to sell for more affordable prices.

If you are in the area I recommend you check it out.

http://www.cowanauctions.com/
This is one of the items that I have my eye on

wish me luck!