Patina White

trees of christmas {past*present*future}

hello hello! besides our good ol' fashioned tannenbaum...i like to mingle in little accent trees into our home for the holidays. so i thought i would do a recap, reveal & teaser for those lil trees of christmas past, present & future!

{christmas past}...last year i loaded up the branches of my worn & wonderful german feather tree. i was so tickled with how it turned out! and like the snowflake topper states...i think it is...

here is how it looked from afar...

{christmas present}. not so long ago i happened on hidden treasure in an antique mall. my eye caught sight of a white object. with rust. and made of metal. stopped me dead in my tracks. besides having all that going for it...it was just the right shape to be an impromptu "tree". read on...

once home i hung, strung & dangled various sizes of silver ornies on it. not quite satisfied {never can leave well enough alone}...i proceeded to toss on some glittery snowflakes + icicles. then i remembered a box of white "emergency" candles tucked away. just the right size for the holders! only thing was...i was short {3} candles. now that's a real emergency! not wanting to stop half mast...a trip to the dollar store saved the day. or @ least let me finish my little project you'll see {below}. oh yes...topped it off with a glass glitter star!

incase you want to get a bit more up close & personal...

{christmas future}. after starting this project i began to wonder just what i got myself into. hot glue = burned fingers. and way more time intensive than i initially planned. i tabled it last week to address @ a later date. after all...i'm no quitter. just a well seasoned procrastinator. my vision of the finished project is lovely. but since it is mostly still a vision, all i am going to give ya is a peek. because that's all there currently is! do you see what i see {below}?

well stayed tuned for that continuation. it could be the near future. or maybe much distant. never quite told you how soon or long it would be! i hope you like surprises. heck...i hope i surprise myself & complete it for this year! i am also looking forward to sharing our full on tree with you very soon. i'm lovin' it's fresh scent & glinty twinkle of clear lights. i can provide the visual. i'll leave it up to you to get yourself a pine scented air freshener for the full effect!

as always...thank you for popping by!

oh christmas tree...oh christmas tree...

festive...fast!

hey everyone! nothing like a gathering of friends to kick the holiday decorating in overdrive! for the last {5} years i have rounded up a group of friends...dubbed the "wild wimen" for a fun filled evening of laughter, games, dining & some spirits. by which i mean wine! as the clock drew closer to the "wimen" arriving...i came up with some fast + festive accents to add some holiday cheer to our home. thought i would share some with you today!

a greeting on a chalkboard makes everyone feel welcome {below}...then toss in some shiny wrapped candy to generate even more warm fuzzies.

not @ all a "fast" project but one i had to show...i make an annual bauble/glass marker for the wimen to remember our evening. this year i stamped up their names...jauntily...on silver tags. they love'd 'em. and i love making 'em. 

finally a justification for saving everything! these "spent" bulbs {below} gathered together to make a colorful accent on my counter when collected in an old jar. not an option to toss them out...being aqua & white you know! {check out my previous post...you'll get it then}.

isn't it sweet? a bowl full of treats that is! some season appropriate snowflakes & most yummy peppermint malt balls w/ a few candy sticks provides a decorating solution plus an option to satisfy those sweet tooths. luckily for me there was plenty left @ the night's end to allow me to keep on snackin'.

without the time to decorate all my trees...i decided to fill a beloved boot w/ some evergreens & berries {below}. kept fresh by means of a drinking glass tucked away inside. i am quite fond of how the inlays in the leather accent the colors of nature! now i just have to remember to empty any rogue needles before donning them again! 

the existing window-sill full of bottles got the fast & festive treatment too. just pop in some random vintage shiney brites & you are in business! check out the little orbs {below}.

again...taking advantage of decor that already resides in our home...i filled a tiny urn with some of my most treasured ornies {below}.

so there you have it! i am one of these people that tends to make more work for myself than sometimes needed. but as i strive to make the holidays simpler...there are a couple projects {as of press time} that are so beyond "fast" that i will have to share with you later. maybe MUCH later! 

until then...i hope you all find the time to enjoy & celebrate the season! 

happy holidays!

 

we wish you a....

a very merry christmas to all of you! christmas eve is held at our home and is a small gathering of loved ones. it was full of food, music, children's laughter and fun! the stage was set below for the "big" people...

 

and the very

little ones as seen {below}

 

a vintage game tile affixed to some corrugated cardboard scrap {below} directed everyone to their "place".

 

while photos & cards of those close to us in spirit were clipped to a vintage chip display nearby!

 

did i mention santa remembered to fill my stocking??? and i must have been very good to get this box of homemade caramels. note the already empty spaces on the top level by photo time! yummmmm...

 

i will let the cards of christmas past {below}...

and art of christmas present...(thank you jessi...love it!)...do the talking.

 

wishing you much love, hope, joy & peace this holiday season...i am glad i could send this message + a little bit of our home out to all of you this special day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

from our house to your's + porch tree makes {4}

season's greetings everyone!  i wanted to share a few views from the outside of our home. i trekked out during a recent light snowfall to try & capture the twinkle of our outdoor decorating!  here is the snowy scenery {below}. if you missed my online weekly {corner of my world} tour this past summer...you can take a flashback to a greener landscape HERE.

highlighting my {4th} & final tree - you are greeted at our front door by yet another "charlie brown" tree. {below} it doesn't take much to make a statement w/ inexpensive ornaments collected to endure our sometimes harsh minnesota winters! i let the grand, crusty old urn take center stage! i don't think it's a secret what a fan i am of all things chippy white!

 

an organic NOEL coming your way...just a little play on texture...

 

every year i toy with the notion of planting some trees in our front yard...and since we still haven't...twiggy towers {below} wrapped in white lights make a good stand in.

 

hanging on the carriage doors to my studio is this giant wreath {below} that i embellished with a patinaWHITE staple - an authentic amish crafted barn star + a wooden sign i created. and of course...more white lights!

 

so from our house to your's...a joyful greeting...hoping this finds you enjoying the final countdown to christmas! thanks for popping by today to enjoy a little bit of our winter wonderland! 

tiny tree makes {3}!

season's greetings all! i am continuing on with another one of my decked out trees from our home. i have shown y'all the heavily adorned feather tree...my main floor charlie brown tree and residing in our basement gathering room is the little cutie seen below. (if you'd like to tour the room more in depth click HERE).

 

i named it our "family tree". my intention was to make ornaments featuring our family, but, alas...time has gotten away from me! something to look forward to creating next year though! for the time being what appears to be random letters resting in vintage candle clips actually spell out our last name! see below for a little closer view...

another accent highlighting our namesake is an old clock weight {below} suspended from our tiny vintage italian milkglass chandelier. when i found this lighted lovely it was minus it's center "drop". a quirky alternative to be sure! 

and not wanting to forget our beloved family member who is still with us in spirit is a photo of our first "child" - better know as sadie monster! she & lucy are like night and day! hopefully she is enjoying romping around the fields of doggie heaven! we miss you poo...

 

and absolutely nothing to do with my tiny tree or christmas in general - but fun nonetheless - is my window and it's unique "treatment". a shiny silver window well wasn't visually pleasing. i found a vintage window with a frosty texture. it is fabulous! allows the light thru but provides a buffer. 

well, it was about 8" shy of the top so another quick fix was needed. i found it in using a very reasonably priced honeycomb shade. ok, actually it's not a honeycomb shade - but a furnace filter that i removed the pakaging and cardboard from. i then gathered up the ends and tied them up with, what else, vintage sewing tapes! enough said! here's the end result!

and there you have it! i hope you have enjoyed taking a little peek today! and to close...i will let the ledge {shown below} of said window do the talking...

i truly appreciate your comments & simply stopping by! make it a HAPPY day!

random bits of christmas cheer!

hey all you good boys & girls (naughty ones too)! today's post highlights a little bit of this & a little bit of that! just some random snapshots of things to bring some holiday cheer to your day!

here is a full on view of the living room...take note of the pillow "present" on my sofa! i tied up some rumpled jute webbing to make a bow! and don't you love the old european grainsac? this is my "winter" cover for my summer ticking bolster.

here i made a little gathering of simple elements to add some zing to my stair-post. it's fun to grab everyday items and create the unexpected! 

 

my dining room table it quite FULL! not really the best spot for playing pictionary man i realized after my little gathering at our home last week. and to think only one ornament was broken the whole evening...by me no less! us "wild wimen" really get into our games!

an old radiator belt rack holds ironstone pitchers + my boxwood star - it's earthy presence adds some color and texture! vintage flashcards urge you to WISH upon a star...

 

well not exactly full of holiday cheer - but since there was a rare moment of an organized kitchen i thought i would seize the opportunity to share! it is the hub of the home afterall!

 

below you'll find glass cake stands ready to be put to commission on christmas eve at our home...and a bowl full of apples are begging to be turned into a gooey pan of caramel apple crisp {click HERE for that one...yum!} and if the apple crisp doesn't make you feel better - a good "smile" always seems to do the trick!

so off we go for the day! spreading some christmas cheer in the form of decorating, baking + just being happy! it's the holidays...slow down & enjoy them!

happily yours!

merry christmas charlie brown!

alrighty then!  i said i would post pictures of my tannenbaum this week and since officially the week isn't over ... here goes!

i have a fondness for trees that most folks would rather see made into kindling than stand proud in their living room. every year i trek around pining (no pun intended) for the perfect blue spruce tree. and by perfect i mean long lanky branches begging to be draped in oodles of faded glories! 

i posted the "before" a few posts back & i will just get right to business...here is the "after" {below}

 

now don't laugh at my pumpkin "presents"! i have a hard time every year letting go of these fabulous hued honies...just ask my hubby who gives me the command at the first sign of decay! plus they fill a much needed void until i get around to wrapping gifts. which would mean i need to start shopping!

here is the foundation for it all {below}...an early victorian era urn. oooh boy do i love it's heavy white paint chippin' away in all the right places!

 

a spattering of some of the glorious old baubles strewn around it's branches. 

this list is my "must meet" criteria to join the ornie "family"...

#1. old. vintage. antique. however you like to say it - they gotta have a past!

#2. it's all about COLOR. must be *sorta blue & or *sorta aqua. also, *silver - but not shiny - i prefer mottlings + crazing in the finish.  the palest of *pale gold. oh, and *frosty white. sounds like a lot but i pass by many pretties!

#3. other acceptable fancies would be silver beaded garlands,  tarnished gold tinsel & ANYTHING with glass glitter. heavy on the patina please.

some of my favorite "family" members seen {below}

 

&

climbing to the top...my crowning glory this year {below} happens to be two glinty glass snowflakes tucked behind a big wendy addison glass glitter star - all highlighted with a sprig of silvery spikes. 

 

it took a little while to turn my tree from scant to marvelous, but i am so tickled with the results and stand in awe of it's grandness everyday. so...merry christmas charlie brown! good 'ol "chuck"...he had the same vision i do...beauty is in the eye of the beholder. and as long as there are lonely trees out there i am determined to hunt them down and make them my own! 

one final note for today...a little verse with alot of meaning!

Wouldn't life be worth the living 
Wouldn't dreams be coming true 
If we kept the Christmas spirit 
All the whole year through?

the stockings were hung....

...by the chimney, staircase & iron bed with care! i am pretty sure that's what they meant in the story but they just shortened it. afterall...who doesn't have {3} sets of stockings hanging up? i may sound a bit greedy waiting for santa to fill that many socks with goodies, but truly...i am happy with just {1} being filled. to the top. with lots of candy! ok, really i just love holiday decorating!

so, just what do my {3} sets of stockings look like? well...just keep on reading and i will show you! my spare bedroom is decked out with socks created from vintage chenille bedspreads shown {below}.

 

the one in the middle was fabricated by your's truly! i had the other two custom made by a most talented gal many many years ago. i tied them up with jute upholstery webbing & when i ran out of that i used a pinkish vintage sewing tape which you can see in the closer view {below}.

moving right along is my mantel with "decorative use only" vintage wooden sock forms. not entirely sure of their original purpose. maybe to stretch those wool socks out after a wet day in the snow?! i do know i like 'em. i never thought i would be so happy to find socks with holes in them!

and the following set of socks makes {3}. three sets for three people! well, two people + one four legged child. 

 

they are hung on my staircase so that i can check and see if santa has made an early visit to our home. somehow he always forgets my goodies on the first trip thru when he fills up bill & lucy's stockings. but when i mention to hubby to pass onto to santa that i have been a good girl...that usually works as things turn up at the last minute! 

again i had them custom made - by a very talented gal by the name of karen pfaller. i first saw karen's work in country living many moons ago to which i contacted her & requested some neutral socks to be made for our family. she lovingly created them from repurposed wool sweaters & i couldn't have been more tickled with them. thank you again karen!

ok santa! we are ready when you are! now - with a houseful of "wild wimen" fast approaching this evening i am off to the races to get in full on party mode! thanks for peeking today! 

may your day be merry & bright...and your stockings FULL!

oh feather tree, oh feather tree...

how lovely are thy branches? happy ho ho ho everyone! my trees are nearly trimmed & i thought i would share my "feathered" friend of a tree today!

 

i have to be honest...i have had this antique german feathered number for almost 10 years & have not LOVED it quite as much as i do today! and that might be because i have never taken the time to properly outfit it! 

i added it to a tiny cast iron urn {below} & topped w/ a shredded paper base.

 

then proceeded to add a crazy amount of ornaments to it's very sparce branches w/ the mindset..."just {1} more"...until i was nearly depleted of my supply!

 

and finally topped it all off with a "wordy" ceramic snowflake {below} to which i couldn't agree with more!

 

tah-dah! a happy combination of textures + shapes come together to make a somewhat plain jane tree into a noteworthy showcase! please continue to check back for my other tree(s) to be shown! as of posting there are {2} more with a {3rd} in the thought process! which leads me into just one question...how many trees are too many?

hope you have a "tree"ific day!