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12.31.2013

Happy 2014!

However you celebrate it, and wherever you are when midnight comes tonight,
may 2014 bring you an abundance of love, joy, and success (however you define that! )...
Happy New Year, everyone!

for more decorating inspiration for every season of the year,
  visit HOMEWARDfound on these social networking sites:




12.24.2013

Joy to the World

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas,
filled with the joy of the season

Thank you all so much for your support, encouragement, and communication
through your comments here and on the HOMEWARDfound facebook page over this past year.
I am so grateful for you, that you enjoy what I offer here...
I hope it brings joy to your lives and homes throughout every season of the year.



.
 

12.22.2013

Vintage Style Gift Wrap

burlap, sweaters, vintage trims, vintage style, dollar tree, gift wrapping, Christmas gifts
I'd like to share some of my ideas for last-minute Holiday gift wrap
using everyday items and vintage elements!

Some of these ideas have previously been published in

Creating Vintage Style and FOLK magazines,
as well as here on the homewardFOUNDdecor blog

linen stockings, simple burlap wraps, and sweater sleeves
make fast and stylish work of wrapping hostess gifts!
See more in Wrap It With Style

rustic, farmhouse, shabby chic, handmade, Christmas, Christmas gift wrap, burlap, lace, sweaters, upcycle, thrifted


Paper printed to look like sweaters, REAL sweaters, and vintage embellishments
bring charm to gifts under the tree...
Even the Dollar Tree has items that can elevate a gift wrap from ho-hum to ho-ho-ho!
See more in Last Minute Wrapping


May your Holiday be filled with family and friends, peace and love
and the time to enjoy them fully... 
[because we all know that the BEST gifts can't be wrapped]

I'll be flying to Seattle on Christmas Eve to be with my family for the week -
a Christmas gift that is beyond anything I could have dreamed of! (2013)
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HOMEWARDfound posts will resume after the New Year
with Winter decorating inspiration and ideas

12.20.2013

Dome for the Holidays....

As I was unpacking bins of Christmas decor a few weeks ago,
I discovered a small box holding some vintage-look bottlebrush trees
that I honestly didn't think I had anymore. I was VERY pleasantly surprised!

I love their creamy ivory color and subtle glitter-i-ness!
[these are relatively new trees, from the Department 56 collection]
 They needed more 'oomph', so I rounded up some containers to use as diminutive 'tree stands':
the one last remaining tin container that my 'Junk Snowmen' were made in,
and five silver vessels from my Mom's collection of family pieces.

I sat them on a silver tray (again, Mom's!) and added several of my own vintage ornaments.
To complete the display, I popped a wire dome made from a wire tomato cage on top of it all.
Some HUGE vintage chandelier crystals dangle from the dome and add sparkle...

You can find my tutorial for making the wire dome from a tomato cage HERE
This vignette in my office also includes several other domes...
One is an antique flower frog, made of curled wire that holds my white candy canes!

Another dome is simply a bare metal wire lampshade frame.
I love the sculptural lines and shape of these - I've had some very fanciful ones in the past,
and they add a finishing touch to any vignette.

Here, one of my NeSts made from daylily foliage holds vintage glass ornaments,
a german glass glittered crown cutout, and a crystal snowflake.
The box serving as a 'stand' used to hold Christmas light bulbs!

It's all just simple items, combined to tell a story ...
One more dome that I am using right now is the curliqued wire 'cagelet'
that I recently mentioned in this post.
It sits over a stack of my dishes and a white ironstone bowl that holds another NeSt
and one of my favorite flocked ornaments - new, not vintage.
[I found four sets of three of these at Ross a few years ago, and HAD to have them]

I love how the golden afternoon sunlight pours into the room and spills over these pieces.
 One Last Detail:
When I added the glass tree topper spire to the vignette,
I sat it in yet another silver vessel - a goblet.
The raised height lefts the spire up to make it more noticeable behind the domes...

You can also display tree spires on candlesticks:
Just insert a taper candle into the candlestick, 

then slide the tree spire over the candle for support.

12.18.2013

A Christmas Mystery!

Two weeks ago, I went out to get the mail - and discovered a surprise on the front step:
 
It was a large ziplock bag, filled with what at first glance appeared to be Fourth of July Sparklers.
with a thrift store price tag on the bag.

On closer inspection, I realized that they were not sparklers after all - 
but vintage Christmas decor parts!
They are old metal branches, 
covered in a heavy coat of thick black and silver German glass glitter!

I'm pretty sure that I have seen these in antique stores, assembled into trees
by inserting each branch into an upright metal 'trunk' with holes in it.
But of course I can't find an image of that online to show you :/

In ANY case, as soon as I realized what they were, 
I set to work adding them to my Christmas decor here at HOMEWARDfound Headquarters!
I simply stuck them into the diminutive white tabletop tree that I have
their bold, dark forms stand out against the white perfectly,
and the extra length of each branch allowed me to hang more ornaments on my little tree:

These ornaments are truly vintage, collected over the years.
I adore their tarnished silver/gold hues...
Mixed with modern crystal snowflakes, circa 1970 thread-wrapped balls, 1950's glittered balls,
a half-dozen wire stars from the late 1800's, and some of my hoard of pure white candycanes,
the old ornaments add depth and interest to a tree created in a limited and pale neutral palette.

Every single ornament stands out - just the way I like it!
The tree topper is a combination of elements
 centered around a tall glass figural spire from the 1960's that I've had for years.
It has a very long 'stem', and I don't like how it looks on a tree.
So I always 'hide' the stem with other things, grouped together.
Here, I used one of my original wire 'Junk Princess' crowns,
some old seam binding ribbon, and a few large crystal snowflakes...
it sparkles and shines and glimmers in the light.

About those vintage tree branches:

I've checked with my parents, and with several neighbors.
No one admits to leaving the bag on the front steps.
I have NO IDEA where it came from...
it's a Christmas Mystery!

12.16.2013

Fanciful Glass Assemblages


 I love discovering unique, original ideas to share with you...
most often, they are my own ideas.
But when I see something that just BLOWS MY MIND with a preponderance of creativity and design,
well, you can BET I'll be asking permission to share it here!

Such is the case with these charming and original upcycled glass assemblages,
created by the prolific creative genius of artist Lisa Loria.
Lisa is a friend of mine, but more than that she's a MUSE. And amus-ing!
I am constantly amazed at the stuff her artistic mind cranks out!
Lisa isn't a crafter or a maker - she's an ARTIST.
Published, teacher, show vendor, and art / product designer extraordinaire.

Miss Lisa took a bunch of old clear glass parts and pieces,
like decanter tops and bowls and candlesticks and perfume bottles and vases and salt & pepper shakers
and even some glass lamp globes [and ya' KNOW I love that!]
and arranged them into recognizable Holiday forms, like trees and snowmen.
Then she glued them together. As you can see above, they were really cute!

And then the glue turned yellow.
Not cute.


Lisa told me how she was just seconds away from pitching the whole lot of them into the recycle bin
when her boyfriend suggested that she paint the whole shebang with paint.
[Talk about a 'DUH' moment, hmmmmmnnn?!]
So she did. And then she added some glitter because, well, honestly, what's NOT better with glitter?!

Here are Lisa's creations AFTER the paint and glitter job...
I think they look even better than before they were painted!
[... and let's give kudos to the bf for a stellar idea for saving what looked like a lost cause!]


In these photos, you can see how she stacked and nestled and fit parts and pieces together
to create the darling trees and fanciful snowmen shown up above...
Nothing there is precious or expensive. Or, to be honest, very pretty on its own.

We've all heard - and said - the phrase 'One man's trash is another man's treasure.'
This is taking what might just be trash - and making it into your OWN treasure!

[and remember MY tip for painting: Krylon Appliance Spray Paint.
It sticks to EVERYTHING, including glass!]

Follow the creative escapades of Lisa Loria on her blog !
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