Treasure Box Wednesday: People Who Live in Cardboard Houses

Ah, two more rooms down, one-and-a-half to go! Christmas cheer has exploded here at Waterhouse.

Well, not quite. I mean, it starts out as Christmas grumbling because, honestly, who really wants to climb on ladders and unpack boxes after a nine- or ten-hour work day?... But then that gives way to Christmas Accomplishment. And then Accomplishment works its way into the Christmas Cheer.

It's a three-step-to-Cheer process.

So last night I got the chance to add my cardboard vintage-style village to the entryway. It's pretty much the same every year, but I love the tone it sets when you step in the door...

Warmth... nostalgia... welcome...

I exchanged the three transferware vases that regularly sit up on this ledge shelf for three more little cardboard houses, chosen to match the aquas and pinks in my entry...
We'll get back to this room shortly, but first... Remember the purple and silver dining room theme I've been working on for this year? This is the accompanying tree...
It looked pretty lame the first night I was working on it-- kind of like a sad, soggy pipecleaner collection with some sparkles on it. I had considered just taking it down and putting the lamp back that normally lives there.

But, then it seemed the more ornaments I slathered on, the better it started to look. I think that tree actually perked up!...
And now, it's preening in the mirror...
Okay, now back to the entryway... Long-time readers have probably seen this tree before-- the one that's traditionally filled with faux candy and as many ShinyBrites as it can handle...

Underneath, it gets a base of faux poinsettias, to add a little extra color...
This one, too, is reflected by a hallway mirror. I think it adds just a little extra sparkle...
ShinyBrites never cease to amaze me. They always remind me of something Dr. Seuss would have come up with...
And little elves look on, nestled in their ornament homes...
As he waves goodbye for today, so do I! If you missed Sunday's Christmas decorating post, you can catch that by clicking here.

And this Sunday, I should have the last of the decorating to show you-- unless I'm being overly ambitious in saying that. Ya never know.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Christmas Mantles and Tablescapes

With the Christmas and New Years holidays headed our way, I thought this Treasure Box Wednesday you all might be-- like me-- looking for a little decorating inspiration. So I've pulled together a collection of different Christmas tablescapes and mantles I've done over the years, and if you have time to stick around, I'll also show you the very, very early plans for Christmas decorating this year.

This was my dining table last year. I went with greens, deep purples and golds-- an excuse to use my crystal Waterford/Waffle Depression glass. In the center of the table was an elaborate candelabra (from the thrift store, of course!) some jeweled fruit, and a very realistic-looking faux pine bough...


You can see the tablescape from a slightly different angle here...


This was the mantle in that room-- I'd gone with a bit of a Sugarplum Fairy theme with fairies from TJ Maxx, more pine boughs and lots of ribbon...


This was over to the right side of the fireplace mantle...


And this was the themic Christmas tree... Just a $10 tree I got from Family Dollar with leftover fruit, fairy and butterfly ornaments and--yup-- more ribbon...


You can see a close-up on that tree here...


Here is the same diningroom, done up for a previous year...



There I went with a lot lighter colors-- more of a Shabby Chic influence, and fewer Victorian jewel tones. You can see a close-up of the table here...


And the centerpiece here...

This was the matching mantle....


On it, you'll see some bisque cherubs, some handpainted Victorian plates, more tinsel and beads than you can shake a stick at (if you're the stick-shaking type). It was pretty much an explosion of color and shimmer.



And now, as we step into the entryway, this was my entryway sideboard tablescape from last year...


And here, a little snow scene of cardboard houses set up in the very same room...


As we pop upstairs to the spare room, these were some tablescapes from last year...



I'm not really sure what direction I'll go with it this year. It really depends on how the other rooms shake out.

And what's been going on this year, you ask? Well, given the large quantity of ShinyBrites I'd found at the thrift stores, I thought it might be fun to do some small ShinyBrite trees-- something hearkening back to 50s tinsel trees and strong color combinations. So when I saw some flocked pink trees on sale at Michaels, I thought I'd give it a go...

These are not done yet, but this is the direction they're headed. Here we have the diningroom again...

I think I'll use my great-aunt's cream and pink china plates on the chargers this year. The tree and mantle really need some ribbon... I want to balance the intense pink out with a soft light green.


Still, all the ShinyBrites on the pink look a bit like decorated cotton candy to me. It's sort of crazy right now, but I think it will work once I'm done noodling with it...


Here are some ShinyBrites in the centerpiece bowl. Some of these are just waiting for me to unpack the ornament hooks. And some of them are slightly damaged and so are safer to sit happily in the bowl...


It's very bright and a bit groovy, I know-- and still somehow doesn't clash too much with the actual Victoriana. I wanted to balance the "atomic age" look of the ShinyBrites with the Victorian time period of the house. So I think I'm headed in the right direction. Like every year, it's been a lot of trial and error-- and it ain't over yet!

And here in the entryway, I've been messing around with this little tree.


Where with the diningroom tree, I'd been trying to keep to the color palette of the dining room-- pinks and greens and golds-- the entryway tree, I'm trying to use more pinks, turquoises and reds. I think color-wise, again, I need to tone it down a bit. But that could just be because it's the only Christmas decor currently in the entryway....

It's a bit like bringing Mae West and Liberace to a military funeral-- They're bound to stand out.

So we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, that's where it all stands for now. As I'd mentioned before, I'm on the road right now (will still be checking in to respond to comments, etc.), and Sunday's post will be found here on http://thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com only, and not on the main page of www.thriftshopromantic.com, as I can't update that from a distance. I promise to do that when I return.

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving, for those of you in the U.S. who are celebrating. And to my non-U.S. friends, take care and I will be talking to you!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Christmas Comes Early

Deck the halls with stuff that's jolly! Fa-la-la-la-la, and all that jazz! Thrifting this week brought a bit of pre-Christmas joy in the form of holiday decor-- and much of it was of the shiny and brite kind.

Just come on over here and take a peek inside this big, copypaper box filled with thrifted ornamental goodness!...

Do you notice there, that lovely, lovely vintage box of glass bulbs? Oh, yes... it's full. Come see, come see...

This was just one box of a treasure trove of cheerful ornaments found at the Christian Layman's Thrift Store in Greensburg.

Ah, how exciting it was! I was perusing these fascinating World War II glass globes at the time, kneeling and examining their unusual paper foil hangers...

...When my shopping buddy, Scoobie (it's her birthday, today, by the way-- happy b-day, Scoobie, if you happen to read this!)-- anyway, Scoobie walks over with a bit of a cat-who-swallowed-the-canary look on her face. Clearly, a girl who was up to something.

"Whaaaat?" asked I, suspiciously.

Whispering like she was passing along some secret code, she said, "Shiny Brites.... Back room, far right hand corner."

Ah! It's always good to have a friend who knows what you're looking for. So, casually, and not at all ready to break into a sprint or anything-- I got up to investigate.

Shiny Brites! Indeed!

I could see the well-cared for ShinyBrite boxes right away. And inside, were jewel after jewel to go on the tree. But wait! What was in the shoe boxes?... I took the first shoe box down and...


More Shiny Brites! Bells and tops and little chinese lanterns... Kerflumpets and wangsnoodles and other delights of Whoville! One was even just like a bulb which had died a sad death at my house last year, due to the strange and unfortunate migrating nature of last year's Christmas tree. I never thought I'd recover.

So after the first box, I was pretty breathless when I grabbed the second....

...Handpainted ornaments! I've never found any of those before. I was truly overjoyed.

Other finds there were these cute flocked vintage elves. I'll use them in this little area I set up in my entryway sort of like "The Land of Misfit Toys"...


And a flocked vintage King (Old King Cole, maybe?)... And I do believe that is Little Miss Muffet accompanying him, with her spoon, bowl and complementary spider...


Then at the Good Samaritan Thrift Store in North Versailles, I got this cute vintage paisley table cloth...

And this rather ornate peachy-pink vintage chenille bedspread. I love the pattern on it-- reminds me a bit of a decorated cake!...


Lastly, at Junk for Joy in Jeannette, I got these two small butterfly-shaped dishes in a blue and amber carnival glass.


Oh, it was really an exciting day on Saturday, folks. I felt truly lucky to find such great stuff for such little money. And knowing that money went to the charities, too, makes it seem even better. What a pleasure a good thrifting experience can be-- just all around!

• If you happened to miss Sunday's post on World War II propaganda posters, click here.

Thanks for letting me ramble on and share the fun with you today!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Days Shiny and Brite

Any good treasure hunter knows, it's never too early or late in a season to pick up seasonal items-- particularly when they have a little age and interest to them. And this last week was a shiny taste of Christmas.

A visit to the Salvation Army Superstore rewarded me with a bag of vintage Shiny Brite ornaments-- those gleaming, uniquely shaped decorations of the 50s. I have a few that came from my parents' house. My dad recalls them from when he was a young'n...


In fact, the bell above is very similar to ones handed down to me. Of course, with the years also comes some unpleasant ornament casualties, and so I'm happy to find ones similar to the originals to supplement my collection. With a bag at just a little over $1, it's easy to splurge...


I love how some of them are shaped like whimsical toys, while others have shimmering starbursts at their heart, like these bulbs...


To further bring on the shiny, I discovered these two luster candlesticks. I'm not sure the age on these, but their style is very much like the pressed glass from the Depression era. I think I need to do a bit of research...

They certainly do work well, though, with all my Carnival glass!

Another find-- while not necessarily shiny-- did have a very sparkly price. At $0.79, I couldn't pass up these two pink sherbet dishes in my Hazel Atlas Moderntone Platonite pattern...


And before we close the lid on today's Treasure Box, I thought I'd show you shiny of a more natural sort. I'm definitely seeing the value of bringing my camera just everywhere with me. Because one breathtaking morning commute, the sky exploded in color...


It was so vibrant, so awestriking to me, I actually deviated from my route to work, went around the block, and parked, just so I could get a few of these shots out my car window...


It's hard not to believe you'll have a decent day at work when your world is filled with brilliant colors like these...


Wishing you beautiful, colorful days ahead. The kind that warm the heart, and bring a bit of optimism into your view.

• For those who missed Sunday's post, "Fit to Be Tied: Funny Knitting and Crochet", click here.

See you again soon!