Vintage Thingies Thursday and more matchboxes

This plate was pictured in my post yesterday but I wanted to highlight it today for Vintage Thingies Thursday over at The Colorado Lady. I found it at a friend's yard sale this summer for .50 cents. I was SO excited, I had to have it! It is from Christmas 1977, the year I was born and my first Christmas. The candles next to it are vintage candles my mom gave to me this year, they were my grandma's. The trees have changed shape a little over the years but they still stand tall! And I think the Santa is so sweet.

Also, found at a rummage sale this summer are these amazing red, glass vintage ornaments, in their original box. When I found them I was instantly in love! I wanted to find a special way to use them this Christmas and decided for the first time that to have my own tree (the girls each have their own, why can't I :-). I really wanted a tinsel tree but those are hard to find. So I found this white one and sprayed it with glitter.

This summer was the summer for vintage Christmas finds! I found these Santa candles at a yard sale too. They are so cute! I didn't decorate with them this year but I hope to next year.

The swap of matchboxes is almost over! I'll be sad to not have a little gift to open each day...but I'll be taking less blog pictures! :-)

I must add a disclaimer here: I have tried my best to keep all my matchboxes in order but with two little girls helping me and getting behind from time to time, mistakes are bound to happen. If I happen to label a matchbox wrong, I'm sorry and please let me know so I can correct it! :-)

Matchbox #16 was made by Nancy at Sewing Pretty, shimmery matchbox. Tucked inside was a paper angel, beautiful with lots of detail.

Matchbox #17 is from Becky at Patchwork Posse A sweet gingerbread house adorns Becky's matchbox. Inside was a mini reindeer ornament.

Matchbox #18 was created by Denise at Denise Marie Christmas Love the message of Wonder and the bling on her matchbox. I really like the angel pin that was inside.

Matchbox #19 came from Patty at Blooming in Kansas A precious matchbox with angel wings tucked inside.

Matchbox #20 was made by Shannon at Quilting in Pinks, Bulldogs at My Side Of course I love the RED bird! Hidden inside was a bookmark made from shimmery silver tread with a small pink bell and charm that reads "JOY". Love it!

Matchbox #21 is from Kelly over at Cherry Kingdom. It is beautiful with lots of details, I love the sparkle. Inside was a sheet of mini paper dolls (I was hoping for one since I saw them on another swapper's blog!) and a glittery tree pin.

Matchbox #22 came from Jenny at The Red Bulletin Board. A pretty matchbox, I find the mini wreath charming, she wrapped it in a piece of paper from a pattern, very creative! Tucked inside was a silver star ornament.

Sweet Pilgrim Candles

This summer I found these sweet little Pilgrim candles at a garage sale. I was excited when I saw them. They remind me of some of the candles my mom and grandma had when I was a little girl. As you know, I love vintage and I have been wanting a few more Thanksgiving decorations. I really don't have much to put around the house in honor of Thanksgiving. I've been trying to be more intentional about celebrating Thanksgiving and all that we are blessed with. Instead of it just being a day to eat (although that is lots of fun)! These little Pilgrims are sitting on my cook top in my kitchen. They just make me smile and help me feel festive too!







I'm participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday over at the Colorado Lady. Be sure to stop by to see lots of other vintage treasures.

RED Dining Room Wall and Vintage RED Chairs

Ever since I was a teenager and started day-dreaming about my own home (yes, that is what I thought about when I was a teenager, being a homemaker!), I wanted a RED dining room. When we moved into our home late last summer, my dream finally came true. The dining room wall was a mustard orange/yellow color sponged on the wall. It looked neat but not my color or style, it was one of the first walls I painted.

Before

After

I also wanted to share the three pictures on our dining room wall, by Warren Kimble, one of my favorite artists. I love his vintage charm, sometimes I think I was born at the wrong time! His pictures remind me of simpler times and often have lots of RED in them.

One of my favorites, an old school house


Now that we actually have a dining room when needed a table. We were blessed by our neighbors giving us a table that seats ten. The only catch, it didn't come with chairs. At some point I've seen in Country Living Magazine (my favorite magazine, SO inspiring!) a table with mixed/matched chairs and I really liked it. I was delighted when I found four very old chairs at a yard sale last summer for only $5 each. Two are black and two are RED. The RED chairs do need some love! I've decided to leave the old chipping paint but am going to spray a clear coat over the top to prevent further cracking. This summer I'll be on the look out for more old chairs to add to the set.



Today I'm linking up to Rednesday over at It's A Very Cherry World and Vintage Thingies Thursday at The Colorado Lady. Be sure to hop on over and visit the other participants!

Big Vintage Jar

It is Vintage Thingies Thursday over at The Colorado Lady and today I am sharing about a really big Vintage jar I got at an estate sale last Friday. It was only $5! I've been wanting a big jar to use for ice tea or lemonade this summer. I was so excited when I saw it and even more excited that I could afford to buy it! :-) Now I just need a big ladle, maybe I'll find one this Friday.



I'm not sure what it's original use was or where it was made. There are no markings. My mom suggested it might be an old pickle jar? Perhaps...

Happy Vintage Thingies Thursday and be sure to hop on over to The Colorado Lady to see more Vintage Treasures.

St. Patrick's Day Vintage Postcard Blocks

This week for Vintage Thingies Thursday I wanted to share the blocks I made using vintage St. Patrick's Day postcards (reproductions). Be sure to visit the Colorado Lady to join in the fun!

My little blocks start out as simple 2x4 scraps from my husband's job site. I then sand the edges, spray paint them, choose my vintage image (there are many sites online that share them for free), print the image on card stock, add special touches such as glitter and ink, mod podge the postcard to the block and finish with ribbon. Not too hard and fun to make! They make me happy each time I look at them! :-)

Mini Vintage Treasures

This week for Vintage Thingies Thursday over at Colorado Lady, I'm sharing my mini vintage treasures. They belonged to my grandmother and great-grandfather. Other than that I do not know much about them. They have no markings of any kind, other than the Ribe painted on the little wooden shoe. I've always been a sucker for little things! I remember seeing these as a child and loving them for their tininess. It is special to me that I ended up with them. They are kept on shelves in our bedroom, safe from little hands. Enjoy!

Champagne bottle with glasses and tray. The bottle is about two inches high and the glasses are about an inch tall. I believe they are brass.

Candlesticks, also made from brass and are about two inches tall. The linen underneath is also vintage. It was a gift from my sister when I was her maid of honor. She gave me a beautiful vintage jewelry box filled with vintage linens. I'll save those pictures for another VTT!

Black galoshes about 1.5 inches long. I believe these belonged to my great-grandfather. He was a dairy farmer so it makes since he would have galoshes.



So this is what I love about blogging and the Internet! Vintage Thingies Thursday encourages me to do some research. I have found out neat things before and I have once again. As it turns out Ribe is Denmark's oldest market town, where the country's first church was built in the year 854 (a hobby of mine is photographing old churches in my travels, so this was an extra special find). My maternal grandmother was from Denmark and came to the United States as a teenager. The galoshes above were her fathers. So, at some point, this little wooden shoe was brought here by my grandmother or great-grandparents. A little glimpse into my heritage, pretty cool!

The shoe appears to be hand painted. I think it might be a pin cushion of some sort since the gray material is soft and squishy like a pin cushion.



Just for fun I included a picture of Ribe I found online. If you're interested see HERE for more pictures of Ribe and to learn a little about it's history. This little town has a big history. It is now on my "places to go before I die" list. :-)

Touches of Valentine's around our home and Vintage Valentines for Rednesday and Vintage Thingies Thursday...

I had great plans to make some new Valentine decorations this year but after all I crafted for Christmas, I just didn't have the energy to do it! But I did manage to get a few little touches around the house, some store bought, others I made last year.













I just received this precious beauty from my Mystery Mom at MOPS! It is a paper box adorn with glass glitter. Mystery Mom if you read my blog, I LOVE IT! :-)

Now for a couple of my favorite vintage Valentine postcards....









I actually did find the time to make this Valentine block this year.