Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Christmas 2021: Part 3 Hall and Bedrooms

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Our home is a 1970's ranch with that space-wasting, long hallway. At the end is the main bathroom. I keep the door closed and hang this vintage stitched Santa from Denmark my great aunt did way back in the 1970s. 

We always got hand-work pieces for Christmas from my Danish family and occasionally a piece of silver for birthdays. 

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It's all thick cotton, cross stitched with hand-stitched edging!

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Behind another door hangs some festive 'garb', an elf runner and of course Santa's top and hat, waiting for the big day. A Sparky Griswold Hat finishes it all off! LOL. 

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Again, we are dragging everything out---this will probably be the last year I do this corner with this many toys--and ornaments. It's a bunch of 'Toyland' and Santa themed items, that are special, but I have to thin out!

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The extra bedroom, which I never show has the 'huge' Ivy tree made on a tomato cage that grew so much this year in all our heat.  I put it on a stool because of the long trailers. Another plant is purple on the desk. This is a north wall, so I've hooked up a plant light and leave the lamp burning all but a few hours a day.

More toys, as this is the room the Grand girl sleeps in when visiting. But, she has grown out of all this, I'm afraid Gramma hasn't...Lol.

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I only hung one long string of mini seed lights and six or so ornaments on the tree, so not to damage it.

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Three vintage soldiers my dad made for my boys and me...lined up on a shelf. A jar of vintage marbles, books and paintings are in this room. As, well as unwrapped gifts, holiday linens, all my husbands' batteries for the lawn equipment-(hopefully these will move to the basement). So right now it is a unphotographable jumble!

Across the hall is 
The master bedroom, which  faces south. It's our home for the plants I'm wintering over and a 'doll' tree.

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This skinny-minny tree...and is full of Barbie, American Girl, hand made toys, and collector ornaments with a 'girl' theme. Hubby's woodland tree is in the basement family room.

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I also use my grandmother's pearls, and a few baubles and bracelets, a bit of lace here and there.

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Annie and Andy, I made these way back in the early 1970's.

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A sweet flying pig ballerina hides under the tree. I've used a hand stitched runner for a tree skirt made by a dear friend.

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This flirty cherub isn't shy. Feathers on some hats, and white lights, keep this all aglow.

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My bookcases are a fright, but I have these on the top shelf...in front of a vintage boudoir tray. It is so very ornate and different, snagged at a thrift store. The vase on the right is German paste from the 1880-90's as is the conch shell vase in the middle. The girls were my mom's favorites and were all bells from the early 1940's.

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This sweet girl is my favorite, they were hand-painted by a ceramic company in Madison, Wisc. The name escapes me, and they are highly collectible..which I only found out a few years ago. 

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These little bells are porcelain bisque and some I made in the 1980's. I made oodles of hand made clay ornaments for shows. These are only about 4" high...and all hand formed and different! The beautiful vase is Fenton and inherited from my mom-in-law.


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My Mom made this sled and deer for my grandmother in the 1960's. I've filled the sled with vintage ornaments. 

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Lights give a warm glow at night...and I've just kept this sparse.

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I love the shape of this old pitcher...
and  two white polar bears stand watch.
I need to pop some pale greens in the pitcher, with our dried anniversary roses. 

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We keep the bed pretty simple. I have a lovely muted bedspread, but it weighs a ton and I only use it for holidays or major company.

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I love pattern and use one, on another on top of the other. The sheets are navy with little percale type designs. A bit of a jolt in this peaceful winter scene.

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My favorite recycled sweater is on the antique wardrobe hanger. 

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As the sun sets to dusk, the lights come alive. The glow of the lights is very comforting at night. I like to read a bit before sleeping.

Present to myself will be a copy of the new Outlander book---but I'm not getting it until after Christmas---or I will not get a thing done until I finish it...


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Soon the outdoor lights will be on ...

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The tree changes so much at night, 

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Hope you enjoyed my mini tour, a little living room wrap up will be next.

Do You have lights in your bedroom? 

next Part 4: Rest of the Living Room

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All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, unless otherwise designated. Please do not use my photos without permission. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts, or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

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Sandi 










Sunday, December 18, 2016

Antiques: Vintage Christmas Down-sizing?

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Antique Christmas Stand and Downsizing?

From 2016, 

A found treasure is what started Christmas 2016 for us.
 First, we aren't having the holiday here this year. Not much company---and well we are still exhausted from finishing our DIY house remodel.

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In November at an antiques show---with emphasis on Christmas items, I scoured each booth and with the idea of down-sizing--for Christmas, 
I passed up wonderful 1940-50's that reminded me of my childhood. 
I bought nothing----except, way back in the corner, twenty minutes before closing 
a dealer was taking her display down. And there it was---an OLD antique fence/Christmas tree stand.
Original paint---mellowed red, with silvered (tarnished) white snow on the pickets and posts. 
The base is on wheels, and it's about 40" square.

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The price was excellent, and I just was so excited---I couldn't get my money out fast enough 
and then grinned while hauling it the two blocks to the car. 
There are some bits and pieces missing here and there...but I don't care---
I've always wanted one---and couldn't be happier----BUT---

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...there's the issue of the tree. 
While we must have 4 large trees in the basement or garage, nothing seemed really appropriate. 
Our gorgeous big tree---that usually holds over 15 totes/boxes of ornaments 
and has over 750 lights, would overwhelm this antique. 
And we wanted to simplify a bit this year anyway.

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I went online and looked at stores, and the tree I was searching for 
was something quite Victorian and expensive
and they---were out there, but 
we really didn't want to spend another $250 + dollars on another tree.

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Wouldn't you want this to show---

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And glisten with snow! And fill with favorite toys, or brim with special presents?

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Two weeks later at GoodWill there was a gorgeous primitive tree 
with 6 strings of non-working lights on it for $9.99---yes, under $10.00. 
I would have to do a REDO. The tree had probably been a store display from the quality of the lights, but when they had a problem, they just wired more lights on top of those not working/
so it was thick with professionally wound cords.
Every branch had red berries and little buffalo check bows on it, too.


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So I cut and unwound and pulled and yanked, and muttered. 

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And this is what it looked like all straightened w/o lights after over four hours.

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We put four strings of LED's on it...golly they are bright.

And then we hand-picked from our OLD HUGE collection of ornaments.
 I chose one or two of the ornaments we had bought in sets each year: like the balloon clips we bought one year, and the ginghams, which turn up now in vintage/antique venues. The carousel horse I have two of--they were just so gorgeous, and probably 15 years old already.

We have two OLD original Rudolphs from 1947-8, these were my Hubby's as a child.


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This NEW little guy---comes from a vintage reproduction collection 
that occasionally crops up at TJMax.
 I snag them when the price is right. Boats and fishing are always popular here.


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The OLD mushrooms I bought here in Chicago in a Polish neighborhood way back in 1975, when we were thinking of moving here from Northern Wisconsin. 

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This guy was Hubby's Gramma's, he's not sure how old they are---but we have two. 


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Here is the other one, he had been altered a bit over the years and REDO eyes painted on. 

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This silvered tinsel atop an Victorian glass bell, is hard to show, but these are also from hubby's family.

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Another one has a curlicue tinsel surrounding it. Behind large glass snow owl keeps watch.


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This OLD silver cone basket---has two bells attached to the side, I haven't filled it with anything, but maybe will put some candy canes in it.

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The Raggedy's were sewn from felt back in the early 1970's. The huge mushroom is more recent, with the resurgence of gnomes, mushrooms are popular. I saw red dotted mushrooms in the wild in Denmark when I was there as a teenager. They are a very popular motif there and to my family.

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It was hard to choose just a few birds. We have boxes/totes of them. 

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Paper woven hearts (Julehjerter) are a Danish tradition and I've included a link for a simple video on how to make them. Behind is a photo mounted on porcelain of my son when he was 3. 

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A sweet kitty in a basket form the 80's.

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The yellow and blue ornament below is from my parent's 1st Christmas tree. Dad was still in the service in December of 1945, and they sublet an apartment from another soldier complete with a decorated Christmas tree. 

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We have many tiny ornaments and a wax lamb and wax angel at the top of the tree, Gurley ornaments, I purchased last year in this post to replace my grandmother's which had melted.
A silver glass horn from my mom's collection.

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I've displayed some toys: a favorite teddy and a reindeer, sitting on a 
1907 reproduction Sears Catalog. 
How many generations of children pored over catalogs for their wish list. 
But it isn't until night when the magic happens. 

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I hope you enjoyed our down-sized Vintage Tree and Stand. 

And a Very Merry Christmas and 
Happy Holidays 
to All!

Thanks always for visiting. 
I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

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