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.

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!

Happy Hula Days!

I know it's December, and cold almost everywhere...

but let's time-travel back to the sunny, warm days of June, shall we?

Remember the 'FREE Weekend Makeover' Project here

when I turned my parent's home into a tropical paradise using what they had already?
Mom loves it so much that she wasn't about to remove it all when fall and winter came...

but what do you do about CHRISTMAS with a tropical theme? On a BUDGET?
You turn Christmas into a beach party, that's what!

Stealing an ever-so-charming slogan from retailer Tommy Bahama,

around here, it's now HAPPY HULA DAYS!

take a look at what we did....

 This tall, thin pre-lit faux tree sits next to the fireplace and window,

and is decorated with very simple things we found around the house... and on the patio.

We let the existing color scheme of the room dictate our choices
[ white, aqua/turquoise blue, green, yellow and soft tan ]

The tree topper is a star - a starFISH! Perfect for the beachy theme.

Nestled behind it is a soft blue flower lei and a bright yellow hibiscus flower.

The ornaments on the tree include the gorgeous tassels shown here,

made from silky white yarn and glittered sea urchins.

Garlands are simply shell necklaces, draped across the branches.

You wanna' see 'everyday items' as tree decor? Here ya' go!
Paper drink umbrellas in yellow, green, and blue nestle into the branches next to lights.
The lovely plumeria bloom is actually a foam flower on a barrette - it clips right on!

There are also flat foam flowers in yellow, green, and blue that slide over the branches -

they're actually drink coasters/glass markers!

Actually, the only actual 'ornaments' on the tree are the vintage aqua balls!

The base of the tree is a metal plate, which has been wrapped in an aqua sarong and some fishnet.

Another light blue flower lei tucks into the netting, with some faux white flowers. 

An ivy plant sits behind it, just to keep the spindly trunk from looking lonely.

Just outside the window by the tree is a humorous last-minute touch....

The thatched 'hula skirt' umbrella on the back patio looked like a tree shape to me.
So I added lights, and moved it here so it's visible from the room.
At night, it glows a warm tan color and really does look like a tree!

[ psssst... Tommy Bahama has 'hula skirt' trees in their stores and catalog right now, too!]

Mom has never done a tree like this before... and she can't stop smiling at it!
Sometimes it just takes a little bit of summer to warm up your winter!

Inspiring Holiday Color Palettes

I'm ready for the Holiday Hullaballoo, how about you?!
Truth be told, though, I'm feeling a bit under the weather... SO,
I thought we'd follow the mission statement of HOMEWARDfound

and just work with what we already have by re-capping a few of last year's color posts: 

 A few inspiring Holiday color palettes for you to consider

Fresh & Green

Aqua & White

Vintage White

Silver, Copper & Brown

MultiColor

 Black & White

Red & White

Tan & White

More Tan & White

 
Tropical Color

I LOVE changing up my color schemes each year, combining ornaments in new ways

and mixing what I have to get a whole new look... How about you?
Do you experiment each year, or do you stick with the 'tried and true' favorites?!
What are your favorite colors for your Christmas Decor?

Use Tomato Cages as Trees!

I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet...

but everyone is looking for Holiday Decorating ideas,
so I need to start popping them in here from time to time!

Years ago, in the course of my retail visual merchandising career,
 I created a Christmas Ornament Display Tree using a wire tomato cage.
It was a last-minute solution on a budget - and it worked.

Many years after that, I was asked by a well-known winery to create something
simple . easy. contemporary . and CHEAP
for their Holiday retail displays in their wine shop.
And I created the wire trees all over again:

In these photos, you can see that there are several ways to make these trees. 
Variety is good - especially when all of the trees can be seen at once, as in this winery.

The first thing you'll notice
is that the tomato cages are used 'upside down' from how they normally appear
when they are holding your tomato plants upright in the garden!
The pointed tops of these trees are the long legs / upright rods of the contraption,
held together with a zip-tie.

The GOLD TREES are very simple to make:
gold metallic tinsel garland is wrapped around all of the wire surfaces (rods & rings) of each cage.
I used very tiny clear zip-ties to secure the tinsel in several places as I wrapped.

The WHITE TREES are made in two ways:
One is simply wrapped, just like the gold trees.

The other was made by wrapping the white iridescent tinsel  
all the way around the outside of the cage, encasing all of the rods.

Before I started wrapping, I cut the top two rings off - leaving only the lowest ring at the base.
Then I zip-tied the top of the upright rods together,
to create the cone shape.

These are very angular and modern in shape, because of the three upright rods/legs.
Combining two modified cages after removing the rings,
and stacking them so that the rods are placed between each other
will result in a more rounded cone shape to wrap it with tinsel.

The RED & WHITE STRIPED TREES
are made exactly like the white cone tree above.

The FAUX PINE TREE
is made using a garland of greenery, instead of the tinsel like the others:

Start with a thick faux pine garland.
Wrap the lowest ring with the garland, attaching it with wire or zip-ties as you go.
Cut the garland once it has wrapped the base ring.
Move on to the next highest ring on the frame, and repeat.
Move to the top ring on the frame, and repeat.

Use a zip-tie to pull the ends of the upright wire rods together at the very tip of the wire cage.
Take a small section of the garland and wrap it around the zip-tie,
and twist the ends of the greenery together to secure it to the top of the tree.

OPTION:
You can use three faux pine wreaths - one large and two medium sized -
in place of the garland. Then just use an 8" piece of garland for the top of the tree.
Saves a LOT of time!

When done, you can hang lightweight ornaments from the greenery.

If you plan to have lights on your trees, put the light strands on FIRST - before the garlands.
They will hide the wires! 
These work perfectly to display outdoors, as well as indoors.

There are generally two sizes of wire tomato cages available at garden centers,
so you can get some variety in your displays.

shared online:

OPC/TBH . The Humble Brag