Fresh Greens for Christmas

My name is Becky and I am here to admit, I have a fake Christmas tree. I feel guilty saying that sometime because real tree people often come across as being superior (I am not calling anyone out). We got a fake tree after Christmas 12 years ago after our real tree was so dry before the big day even arrived. I love that I can put it up whenever and leave it up for as long as I like. 

BUT, I do miss the smell of fresh pines. So, I decided to add some, plus other fresh greens for the holidays (be sure to read to the end of the post to see other LIVE things). This year I decided to try my hand at making my own pine wreath.

I really enjoyed creating this fresh and full wreath, although it was messy.  I started with a variety of freshly cut pine boughs from trees on my hubby's work property. I cut enough to fill a large, Costco reusable bag.  The juniper branches are from my yard. I could have made a twig base wreath, but decided to buy a $2 grapevine wreath from the thrift store to save time.

I wired together small bunches of pine (and fir) branches, creating a lopsided fan that fanned out more on the left side. I wired each bunch onto the wreath, keeping my floral wire intact and making each bunch one at a time. I plopped right in the middle of my floor to do this. Wearing gloves is advised if you do not want pitch on your hands.

If you do end up messy, GoJo took the sap right off. When I thought the wreath was full enough, I added a wire loop on the back to hang it to better look at it and to see where there were holes that needed filling. I used a heavier gauge wire than the floral wire because this baby is hefty!

It was a little sparse on the left side and on the bottom right. I tucked in and wired on more branches in these areas. Taking pictures of your progress helps too to see where you need to fill in. 

When I was happy with the shape, I added battery operated fairy lights that have a timer and a French blue, velvet bow. 

The wreath hangs on the door between my front entryway and great room. The door stays open during the day and we close it in the evenings when we will be able to enjoy the fresh pine smell and the bountiful wreath in our main space.

Next to the door, in the great room are more live greens and a new to me furniture addition. I bought an antique wicker set--a sofa, rocker, chair, and this table, this past weekend. I love the vintage green color! The table found a home in this corner. (The rest of the furniture is sitting on my covered, pop-up shop porch.. What I am doing with it is to still be determined.)

My Thanksgiving-Christmas cactus started blooming a few weeks ago and is still going strong. I love it on this table, especially when the afternoon sun shines through the front doors. 

I incorporated a little Christmas candlelight glow here too. 

In the large, unique, thrifted jar I added some moss from my yard. There is a floral foam block under the moss and I water it weekly. It has been living and growing for about three months now. I added tall, skinny thrifted candles to the moss, glass Christmas balls, and a velvet ribbon. The teacup candle holder I made  few years ago.

I love real plants and enjoy using them during the holidays where I can, even if I do have a fake tree. 😉

My Christmas Home decor tour got interrupted by my pop-up shop happenings. I am now done with pop-ups for the season, so let's get back to my space. Let's start with the inspiration for my holiday decor, this vintage winter painting.

I love the blues and greens and creams in the snowy scene. The amateur, vintage painting sits on the windowsill next to my Christmas tree.

Below the painting on a music cabinet that belonged to my grandparents, I put a soft blue and tan, plaid cashmere scarf.

On top of the cabinet sits a basket sleigh with a little tree, the clock shadow box I made ten years ago, and a brass JOY candlestick.

In front of the painting sits a 1918 Hans Brinker book with gorgeous color pictures in it. My aunt gave me the book and the cabinet and the rocker next to it this summer when we visited her. 

I added some accessories to my dining room light.  I started with making a French blue velvet chain, hot gluing the loops together.

I glued jute and velvet ribbons to glass balls and pinecones and tied them to the light fixture. A couple pom pom garlands that didn't sell in the shop completed the look. 

I framed a Currier and Ives print from a 1946 book and hung it on the windows.

Our tree is decorated with ribbons and glass balls and various other ornaments.

We put the tree in a different place than where we have had it the past few years. I really like it here and love the visual flow of my cozy Christmas decor along this wall of windows. I still hope to make a few live wreaths to hang on the windows too. 

Creating a Cozy and Welcoming Christmas Entryway

Our front porch and entryway spaces are my favorite areas to decorate through the seasons. They are good, big spaces to style and they serve an important purpose--welcoming friends and family into out home. Let me welcome you in with a quick tour.

You walk up some front steps to my main entryway. This porch is covered. The original double doors to our old schoolhouse are simply adorned with pine garland and premade wreaths from the thrift store.

On the left hand side of the porch is a sitting area with cozy blankets and pillows. Will I sit here in the winter? If it gets above freezing I might. Twinkle lights are on the mini tree, wrapped in the pinecone arrangement, and are stuffed I the metal tree cutout lantern that hangs in the corner. I created the painting, it is one of four seasonal paintings that I made for my front porch. I painted on both sides of two boards so I have less seasonal decor to store. 

This thrifted, green, metal planter gets changed seasonally. This year I added red sumac berry clusters from my yard, large pinecones, and some cedar sprigs. 

On the right side of the porch there are more pinecones, branches, sumac berries, and fairy lights. Both the front porch and the entryway get lovely late afternoon light.

When you come in from the front porch to the entryway, you are greeted by this wall across from the door. A small tree with battery operated lights sits in a rattan stool. I continue to enjoy seasonally changing the chalkboard art that hangs on this wall.

This year I chalked a cozy cottage in the snow. In the beginning of creating chalkboard art, I would erase and erase until it was perfect. Nowadays, it is a one shot deal. This scene will last until March.

Below the mirrored candle sconce that hangs here year round, I framed and hung a vintage card that was one of the last cards my great grandma received in 1953.

On the right side of the entryway, diagonally across from the door to the great room, is a bench for guests to sit on to take shoes off. A blue and brown plaid pillow (with an elk scene on the other side) and a nubby linen blanket add warmth and softness to the space.  The shelf and coat hook, from my second book, Wood Pallet Wonders, (BUY HERE) acts as a mantel for my decorating. The coat shelf is useful to hang coats and decorative items. I hang various leather cases that I tuck seasonal books and sprigs into. Coats can still hang on these hooks.

On top of the shelf lays a pine garland, various pinecones, nests, sparkly branches and three taller trees or branches with fairy lights in them. 

The basket with the round mirror stays year round as does the large, thrifted, gold school bell. the antique gold box adds a touch more metallic color and looks like something the wisemen could have carried. 

This year I am using this vintage watercolor from the thrift store that I found a few years ago. I framed it in the barnwood frame. The soft blues and greens and browns and snow incorporates my theme this year in both color and subject and style. 

98% of my porch or entryway decor came from a thrift store and yes, I am happy and proud to announce that. It is my hope that these spaces say to guests, "Welcome! We are glad you are here and we hope you feel warm and cozy while you stay."

Create a Winter Centerpiece with Thrift Store Finds

The home "halls" have been decked for Christmas and over the next week I will share my holiday home with you. I didn't completely change up my decor this year, but restyled what I have and added bits and pieces of new finds. Blues, greens, and whites are my color scheme. I am incorporating a lot of natural and organic elements such as pine branches and pinecones and warm light. Let's start with my dining table centerpiece.

Just about everything you see has been thrifted! Only the blue ribbon, the fairy lights, and the gold candle cups in the green glasses were purchased brand new. I found this antique, European wood sled last year at a favorite local thrift store and bought it instantly. I love the height it adds and the warm wood tones.

I placed the sled on a thrifted blue and brown plaid runner that also has bits of yellow and rusty red running through it. A pine garland that is sparse runs around and through the sled.

I used all kinds of thrifted, faux, pine stems to create the pine bouquet. I arranged the stems in a 99 cent, brass pot and added a blue ribbon and fairy lights on a timer. A thrifted, Putz style church sits in front on the wood sled. It does have lights, but I need to get a battery for it. 

A pair of green glasses that I turned into candlesticks with the addition of gold candle cups complete the centerpiece, adding height and candlelight. 

This thrifted centerpiece will most likely grace my table through the winter months. Remember these key elements to create a visually appealing vignette: varying heights, repeat colors, elements, and textures, use something natural (or natural looking), [lace objects on something to ground them, use unique items that you love!

Adorable Vintage Christmas Finds

Sourcing very vintage Christmas items is becoming harder and harder. But, here are a couple recent finds that are perfect for a vintage Christmas theme. 

Okay, the metal lunchbox bottom isn't necessarily a Christmas item, but I turned it into one. I found this at a garage sale a month ago. I picked it up and the gentleman said, "Oh, that's trash." He gave it to me for free (I did have to dump out the rusty nails in it).  

I clear coated it inside and out to stop the rust and add a floral foam block and various faux pine stems. Some little fairy lights finish this adorable centerpiece.

I also found this 1928 Santa Sunkist Lemon crate end.  It was very fragile and crackled. I did put a clear coat over the top of it.

It amazes me that something like this that is 97 years old has survived.

Both of these vintage finds will be available at my next pop-up, November 29, 9-4.

Cozy Curated Finds and an Easy Makeover

What criteria do I use when deciding to purchase a piece of furniture that needs upcycled? 1) Is it real wood? 2) How wobbly is the piece and how hard or easy will it be to sturdy it? 3) Is it a piece of furniture that is useful and versatile? 4) How much time will it take me to update it? 5) Is the price worth my time to upcycle the piece?

When I recently spied a mid-century, vanity bench at a local thrift store, I ran it through my checklist and decided it was a YES, buy it piece! 

This vanity bench is very solid, not a wiggle or a wobble in it. The wood is in good, nice looking condition. Perfect? No, but nice enough that the only thing I needed to do to it was clean it up with some soap and water. All I wanted to do to update it was recover the seat.

I have had this small wool square for sale in my pop-up shop for quite some time (I thought it would be great as a table square). I decided that if the square was big enough, I would use it. I liked the warm and cozy look that the cream and brown plaid wool square brought to the mid-century piece.

I could see the blue fabric had been used to recover the original fabric. I left both of those and typically do when recovering a seat, as long as they aren't too dirty or stinky. I covered the blue fabric with two layers of Warm and Natural quilt batting and then the wool piece. 

I few other recent finds that add to this cozy seat include some good, realistic looking pine branches, green velvet pillows, and a frame (that needs glass) and a vintage Colorado mountain picture. This vanity bench makes a great entry bench, an extra seat at the kitchen table, as a side table with a tray on it, or used as a bench at the end of a bed.

Cozy Christmas Decor and a Reclaimed Wood Fireplace Mantel

Oh, how I wish I had a fireplace mantel to style each season. Alas, I do not (but I do use my front entryway shelf like a mantel). I love making faux mantels or fireplace shelves for my pop-up shop to sell to those who also crave the ambiance that a mantel brings to a home space. Last year I made and sold three different faux fireplaces during the holiday season, each one different and unique. Here is this season's first "fireplace" for the pop-up shop. 

This one I created using reclaimed, graying, barnwood. Although it has a rustic style, it can easily be dressed up or down to fit in a variety of homes. The mantel piece is a live edge, reclaimed barnwood plank with moss on it. It is lovely.

It is hard to see in these pictures, but the fireplace is backed with a piece of sheet metal. 

This fantastic, antique, brass gargoyle, peacock fireplace fan dresses up the rustic wood. It is definitely a fun find.

I sewed the stockings from a damaged Pendleton plaid wool blanket.

Other recently curated items include a painting painted in 1984 that was painted by mouth and is signed by the artist. The vintage, printed Santa cutout is perfect for a shelf or mantel. 100% sheepskin pillows are cozy and white pom-pom garlands add layers to the mantel.

The cozy feeling that the faux mantel gives the shop is appreciated and just right for my upcoming Holiday Home pop-up.