A Dickens of a Time Christmas Decorating

Hear ye, hear ye, all welcome to London Town this fine pre-Christmas eve! (Or morn. Or, um, teatime. Or whenever you folks happen to show up.) Mr. Dickens will be along shortly to recite one of his most favorite Christmas tales, but in the meantime, please join me in a small tour of the city...

A very small tour. About eight inches max, small.

Yes, spawned by a thrifted Big Ben (not yet unpacked) much earlier in the year, my eyes were opened to the Historical Landmarks series of Department 56. And being the Anglophile I am, I thought it would be fun over the course of 2008 to pick a few of my favorite London buildings for a Christmas village display.

And where better to set up my mini Dickensian world than on the flat, safe surface of the windowseat?...


This is what I've been up to this last week, in addition to cleaning and trying to figure out where I stored some errant Christmas presents! Since the living room was already done in a rather William Morris/Medieval look, it didn't seem all that odd to have Dickensian England pop up there as well...


All this time travel... It's a bit like being Dr. Who, isn't it? And here in the center, we have the Tower Bridge....


Thankfully, London Bridge is not only not falling down, but it's looking fairly festive! Next we have St. Martins in the Field cathedral...


I had a great time here (well, the bigger version of it, anyway), when I was visiting London. There's a place to do brass rubbings (a very relaxing, pleasant way to spend an hour!), and you can even have tea in the crypt, if you feel so bold. (I did-- and yummy tea!)

Then last, we have the Tower of London...


Regular readers probably know my fixation on the mystery of Richard III and the vanished princes from the Tower. So you'll likely see why this was a fun choice for me.

And no, I suppose it's not what you call a tradition thing to think of at Christmastime. But I do think it works well with the room.

The windows of the window seat got a bit of hall-decking as well... Just two strings of faux pine garland and a couple of bright red bows to top it off!...


And I also exchanged my all-purpose roses garland for some pine boughs and bows here on top of my china cabinet, as well...


Now we step into the dining room, and remember how I was saying I wanted to add some green ribbon to that pink tree on the mantle? Well...

The yellow green seems to work well with both the golds of the cherub lamp, and the greens of the room itself.
I think it helps tone down the pink enough... even if it is a bit wild and nutty! You can see above, both the lamp, its shade and the candlestick all got the green bow treatment.

And last, here's just a quick closeup on the tree. I'm still adding ornaments now that I got an extra pack of hooks.


Well, I'm afraid it's time to close the Treasure Box for this Wednesday. I hope to have more Christmas decorating photos for you soon, as other things get unpacked and accomplished.

• If you missed Sunday's post, Decorating Ideas Through Vintage Christmas Postcards, click here.

And hope to see you again this Sunday for, um, well, fingers crossed pics of my main livingroom tree. But we'll have to play that by ear a bit!

Treasure Box Wednesday: From British Isles to Thrift Store Aisles

While many of us hard-core thrifters view thrift shopping as an adventure, some of our treasures take an equally exciting journey to reach us. Why, a single day of thrifting might reveal sake cups from Japan, hand-painted tole from France, steins from Germany, beautiful silks from India and elaborate carvings from Bali. My own father found a diggerydo from Australia once (and when space is limited, at over five foot tall, believe me-- it's a bit of a diggery-don't.)

As an Anglophile, I'm continually surprised at the sorts of things that turn up in thrift stores that originally came from the British Isles. So I thought I'd group a few of them together today in this Treasure Box Wednesday.

Like this Isle of Wite souvenir linen towel....

I found this at the Salvation Army Superstore out by Century III Mall. What was once someone's souvenir purchase becomes a fun collectible for someone new!

A while back, I uncovered this mug commemorating Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding, too...


At $0.99 at the Goodwill in Monroeville, it seemed too unique round these here parts to not put away for safekeeping. Perhaps in the U.K. they're available by the pound, but not here in the middle of Western Pennsylvania!

I was equally shocked to find this (sadly, empty) biscuit tin from the famous Harrod's department store in London. It's a nice size and would be great for storage of small items, like pens or thread spools.


And yesterday, I found another little reminder of England. While not made in that country, I was still rather tickled to discover this Department 56 Dickens Village Historic Landmark's light-up version of Big Ben...


Christmas may be half-a-year off, but this is going to look terrific in my William Morris styled living room at the holidays! And at just under $7, I know I got a pretty good deal.

Outside of the British theme, I thought I'd show you another Salvation Army Superstore find-- this Victorian transferware vase. There's some nice hand-painting to it, though a bit of damage to the top of the vase. Still, in a cabinet, it will be very pretty.


I found this vintage apron with handkerchief pockets at Goodwill for $1...


And last, I discovered matching vintage sheets-- though at two separate Salvation Armies. You just never know what's going to be where!


Well, before I say, "Cheerio" today (yes, yes, I know no one actually says "cheerio" unless breakfast cereal is involved,) I'll leave you with the following links:

• If you missed last Treasure Box Wednesday's little spring garden tour, you might wish to click here.

• And if you didn't catch Sunday's post on the conclusion to the Round Robin and my swap partner's thoughtful package to me, click here.

Cheers!
-Jenn