Turkey on my Back

Hi there folks!

Please excuse my lack of Unique Picking great finds from awesome etsy sellers AGAIN this week...

I am pretty sure that next week's post will be a doozie!
No, I haven't settled in for a long winter's nap.

You know how they say that some people have a "monkey on their back"...

Well, my lack of blogging last week was directly related to the fact that I had a "Turkey on my back".

O.K. you got me, here is a great vintage postcard from M Tipping Atelier Vintage on etsy. Pretty much illustrates how I felt last week.

Turkey on your Back: The fear of hosting Thanksgiving in your home for the first time for your parents, in-laws and Uncle and screwing up the turkey feast.

Not to mention my little factory needed to be shut down...A.K.A my home, and be completely cleaned of thread and fabric clippings etc. that may have accumulated due to the increased crafting in preparation for the two craft shows that I participated in the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

The Grandview Holiday Bazaar...

The Unique Bird's Booth at the Grandview Holiday Bazaar filled with vintage and repurposed vintage goodies as well as an awesome selection of handmade feedsack bags from Objet Adapte.

Some of my handmade vintage fabric wine wraps and cozies made their way down to Cincinnati that same weekend, with the talented Mother and Daughter team from Objet Adapte to the

Crafty Supermarket...

 Objet Adapte's booth at the Crafty Super Market November 20th.

The awesome news is that both shows were a success. We even almost sold out of vintage fabric wine bottle wraps and sweater cozies at the Cincinnati show!

Such great news...now back to work girly! I got that turkey off my back last week...and he was mighty delish!

I made that!

And promptly reopened my little sewing factory to make some great new items for this week's craft show...
So F.Y.I:

I love this collage from River City Artworks etsy shop. It pretty much sums up the state of my house.

This week's craftin show is

the Bexley Festival of the Arts

Montrose Elementary School on Saturday, December 4, 2010

from 10am to 4pm.
2555 East Main Street
Columbus, OH 43209
Bexley, OH 43209.

Here is a sneak peek at some of the new handmade items from The Unique Bird that I have been working on this week that will be there tomorrow...

New upcycled Vintage Sweater pillow

New holiday inspired handmade vintage fabric appliqued place mats.

A great selection of  our handmade vintage fabric wine bottle wraps hot off the sewing machine!

Special thanks to my awesome label suppler Jennifer's Jewels on etsy! I got the custom printed labels I needed for all of my new items just in time!

Upcycled vintage sweater wine bottle cozies for you to delight your hostess with!

I am currently mad for garland!

Handmade using vintage novelty wrapping paper!

Yes, I am in love.

Not all holiday themed either. This strand with little brides and grooms would be adorable for a wedding shower decoration!

All in all, I feel like I have had a pretty successful week!

Hope that if you are in Columbus this weekend you can come out to the art festival!

Don't let a little snow stop you...it's festive!

Home for Christmas framed vintage print from The Unique Bird on etsy!

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.