Genius or New Low?

Anyone else giving their kids a Christmas gift they found on the curb?

We had a family move out of the neighborhood last week. The kids were getting older and they left this on the curb. I let it sit a couple days, until I couldn't stand it any longer. I took it home. I have a little time yet to fix it up (yes, of course I'm going to fix it up before I give it to them).

So what do you think? Am I a thrifty genius, or have I hit a new low--literally giving my kids garbage for Christmas. Well it's not for you to decide, it's up to these guys.

Uh oh. I might be in trouble. They look decidedly underwhelmed.

Genetic or Learned Disorder?

Mr. RBR jokingly (sort of) calls my mom and me Sanford and Son. You know, the sitcom about a junk dealer and his grown son?

My mom and I looooove junk--when I say junk I don't mean garbage. I mean cool old stuff. And we love decorating too. You could say... it's genetic. Mr. RBR would say it's a genetic disorder.

In fact my mom owns a store--actually two stores--with her sister. The stores are connected. One store is an antique mall. People rent out booths and sell their finds.

The other store--it's ALL my mom and aunt's finds.

There are stores that have fabulous vignettes, where they lay out for the customer exactly how an item can be used. My mom's store isn't like that. You have to DIG for your prize. ha! Don't believe me? Here's some pictures. It's literally stacked to the ceiling with fun, funky, cool, old... stuff.

Good thing this store is in a different city than I live in. I'd be in real trouble if I were closer. The antique mall side has cool stuff too. These two vignettes reminded me of some bloggers I follow.

Red, cozy, a little crafty... Thrifty Decor Chick!

Soft blues, metallics, a bust... Centsational Girl!

What do you think, am I nuts? ha!

Anyway, I do wonder if my mom and my love of all things decor is genetic. Afterall we look alike, sound alike, we enjoy doing many of the same things. We even dressed alike on accident this Thanksgiving. Seriously. Almost identical. EMBARRASSING.

The reason I wonder about this is because of MY family. You see, not all of my children are genetically related to me. And this Christmas one of my sons started holiday decorating with an enthusiasm that really touched my heart.

He made this wreath with his own hands, and then tried it in several locations before finally settling on the back door.

And then he came up with the idea all on his own to hang a single ornament on EVERY SINGLE DOORKNOB in the house.

And then he primped the tree just so. Going back again and again until the ornaments were just where he wanted them. Can you see his little heart bursting with pride over what he created?

Yeah. It's not Clayton, my biological son. It's Zack. Zack was adopted. And from somewhere (his biological parents? me?) my son is starting to find the inspiration to decorate. And he is loving it.

I am too.

Garden Mantel

It's that time of year! I started decorating for Christmas. Honestly I started with the mantel to enter it at the Lettered Cottage. You should too! Love all those gorgeous mantels.

Here's our mantel this year, decorated in a garden theme. I think it's really interesting that there are no ornaments, no wreaths, no lights, none of the glitter I'm seeing elsewhere in blogland (which I do love)... and yet the look is unmistakably Christmas.

Our fireplace has this large built-in niche. I knew I needed something great to fill it. I usually have a carved wooden spire in there, and I fully intended to leave it... until I spotted this angel in our yard. I knew instantly the proportions were right. I love it so much I might just leave it there.

I love to bring in things from the outside for decorating. Usually that means branches and flowers, but why not statuary?

Or my children's worn garden trowel?

I am in love with that bright lime/pear/some-sort-of-fruit green. And I loved how the moss on the angel had that sort of tone. So I sprayed a branch lime green with some leftover spray paint.

A little fake moss ball (which is there year round) in a thrift store vessel.

For the greenery, I started with two fake evergreen garlands. I added real clippings from the outside, some fake holly, and two clear beaded sprigs.

To complete the vignette, a terra cotta bird and a vintage cardinal print.

I tied some green ribbon on our existing stockings for an additional shot of green.

And there you have it!

Merry Christmas!

Linking to some of these parties.

This project was featured on Life as Lori.

Quick, Easy and Temporary Wreath Transformation

First a quick note. If these features continue it's going to start going to my head! Seriously though, I am thrilled.

Now on to business. I like to switch things up. I like to be flexible. And I like cheap. Especially when it comes to Christmas decorations, which are only up for a short time. This is not one of those tutorials where I say "Make one EXACTLY like this!" This is more of a... "Use what you have and make it your own" tutorial.

I saw this wreath at Goodwill for $2, I thought it'd a great addition to my holiday decor.

It had an ugly ribbon on it, which is probably why a lot of people passed it over. It's simple to rip off an ugly ribbon.

Yawn. But now it's a little boring, dontcha think?

So I decided to change that.

First I added a swag of berries that has been lurking in a box since the 1990s. Keep everything moving in the same general direction as the branches lay. It looks better.

I just tried to really push it into the branches for a seamless look. Then I strung random numbers of unbreakable ornaments on some monofilament line I had. This kind is meant for jewelry, but you could use fishing line, or even strong black or green thread. Whatever you have on hand.

Here I began stringing them on the wreath.

For a little more bling I found an old branch of gold tipped poinsettas I bought in 1952 (Not really. That's before my parents were born). I clipped off a number of flowers and leaves and pushed them securely into the wreath branches.

And here is the final result.

Before.

After.

One of the best things abut this wreath is that in seconds I can rip everything off and reuse it all in different ways next year. YES!

Linking to some of these parties. And Thrift Core.

In other news...

It's beginning to look A LOT like Christmas.

And also, those of you with small children may wonder what mine were doing while I did this project.

Looks perfect!

Note for the parent police: All ornaments were unbreakable.