Decorating for Christmas with Vintage

A couple of years ago here I gave a tour of our house at Christmas. Given that we decorate pretty much the same way every year, this is basically what it looks like again right now as we await the big day.

This year I thought I'd pick out some of my favorite ways to decorate with vintage from my Pinterest board, named, not surprisingly, "Decorating for Christmas with Vintage."

I love this use of a vintage scale and bowl, along with greens and pine cones and what is probably a vintage carved Santa, to create a festive look:

And here's another vintage scale that's topped with a wire basket filled with ornaments:

I've sold a lot of vintage scales over the years, and here's one in my shop that could work for either of the above decoration ideas:

And here's a way to use vintage canning jars:

I do want to get some bottle brush trees and try this! Meanwhile, I've sold a lot of vintage canning jars in my shop this year, but have a few left:

Here's another creative way to use canning jars, filled with candles and put into a vintage box with greens and pine cones:

A fun way to decorate with vintage in recent years has been to find old, rusty Tonka trucks and fill them with greens, Christmas ornaments, pine cones, or, as in this one, the ever-popular bottle brush trees:

I've got one Tonka truck left in my shop:

For those who live in cities, I've even got pine cones from our 25 wooded acres here in New Hampshire:

 White milk glass, which I've blogged about before, is also great when filled with greens:

And a few pieces of milk glass are still in my shop: a trumpet vase, a group of four vases, and a pedestal vase:

I also like the vintage medicine or apothecary bottles, which are painted white and filled with greens and small glass ornaments:

If this works in your decor, here are some vintage bottles in my shop, which I filled with greens: 

There are so many great ways to use vintage items in your Christmas decor. Right now the only vintage Christmas decorations I have left in the shop are an angel ornament and a group of molded ornaments:

However you decorate your home this year, I hope your Christmas is a joyous one and that your New Year overflows with blessings!

Bring on the Vintage Baskets!

I'm a huge antique and vintage basket fan and collector. To prove it, here are several pictures of my kitchen ceiling, where we hang some of our finds (along with pots and pans):

Bring on the Vintage Brass!

Vintage brass adds a sparkle and vitality to any decor.

Made from two natural elements, copper and zinc, the similarity of brass to gold in both flexibility and color accounts for its popularity from Medieval times to today.

Once, highly polished brass was the most desirable because it looks like gold. But today, with the surge in decorating with vintage, brass with aged patina is also sought after. And the question becomes: to polish or not to polish?

Actually, I think it's up to the preference of the owner--and the type of item. Some items I polish and some I think look great just the way they are.

Collecting Cast Iron

Every day I use cast iron pans in my cooking. Couldn't do without them.

Collecting vintage cast iron has become increasingly popular in the last few years. Not only are cast iron pans and other cooking utensils handy in the kitchen, but they're also wonderfully decorative when displayed on the wall.

Musings on Vintage Milk Glass

I didn't always love milk glass, as pretty as it is.

I knew that some people collected it, but I was into blue and white, my own personal collecting passion.

Musings on Vintage Mason Jars

I love vintage Mason jars!

If you came to my house and saw how many I have you'd realize what an understatement that is. I started out years ago collecting the big aqua ones with the zinc tops.

I use them in my kitchen pantry to store dried beans and peas and flour and sugar and various cooking needs.

Selling on Etsy: A Frustrating Lesson

It was one of those days....

Last Friday I photographed a terrific vintage glass cloche and gray marble cheese server for my Etsy shop:

I filled out most of the necessary listing forms: title, description, tags, etc., but ran out of time to finish it completely, since we were heading out to a football game in Vermont and I had to pack and otherwise get ready to leave.