Monday, December 29, 2014

Decorating with Bottle Brush Trees

I am sure most of you are 'done' with seeing Christmas decoration but here are some I did not get time to post before Christmas.
I have a sizable collection of vintage bottle brush trees but this year I enjoy bleaching and dying the new ones. 


Pictures will speak for themselves. 

Trees inside a tree.


... in a birdcage with ironstone and silver ...

... old metal cogs anchor this tree

new bleached trees ... love how they turned out. 



antique mercury glass deer ornament 
and $ Store white trees. 

With these last two pictures, you are getting a peek at the antique, re-purposed kitchen cabinet that I put in our remodeled bathroom.
Reveal coming soon. 

This old Snowman loves his bottle brush tree and a happy snowman on the right that has just gathered a wagon load of snowballs. 

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus took their old beat-up Tonka truck to the tree farm. 
(no cab, so now it is a convertible)



I have had these figures for years and did not realize they were knee huggers until I was stuffing them in this truck.


Looks like she is flirting with Santa. 






 This vintage car is about 12" long 
This had to be the worse tree on the lot.



This little car is only about four-inches long but he can carry his tiny tree in his rumble seat. 

I asked our grandsons (21 and 23) why this back seat, out in the weather, was called a 'rumble-seat'.
Both whipped out their cellphone and Goggled it.

Very interesting, at least they thought it was. 

Went back in time ... a bench/seat on the back of a carriage for footmen or servants.   

 Also, in an automobile ... called the mother-in-law seat 
or honeymoon seat.
Too long to go into details here ... 





 
This vintage, crinkle-wire-wrapped, 
mercury glass tree topper hangs upside down on the chandelier over the dining table.
 
 Happy New Year 2015 

Linking to: 






Sunday, December 21, 2014

We finally trimmed our tree.

YES, WE DID ... 

we trimmed our tree.

Last year, one-half of our small oak tree in the front yard died and we removed that limb. 

 

This year the other limb died and we trimmed it off because I wanted that perfect limb to put on our front porch to hang Christmas lights on. 
 
I climbed an 8' ladder and took seven feet of that limb up to the ceiling of the porch. I cut the end at a bevel to fit flat against the header ... mounted it with two large screws and suspended it at the middle from the ceiling. 

(this was scary, up so high)

... added 100 LED white lights ...


... and about 145 plastic icicles or prisms.

 
... to hang the icicles/prisms; we drilled tiny holes in each one and added wire to the top.

... icicles are vintage 1950 ... I suspect they were lamp prisms.
I put the same style prisms on my recycled porch chandy when I made it years ago. 

 
... now I have a tree limb loaded with icicles ... looks really cool.

... wish I had painted the limb white but thought about using it all year with other decorations ...

Party Every Monday NightThanks Donna for featuring this blog. 


 








Linking to: 
Make it Monday #16Make It Monday
Distressed Donna Down Home 
    co-host Tamara from Etcetorize