Christmas 2025

 

Just gathering some photos from 

around the house for Christmas 2025.

The Chrismon tree.

Glass garlands and shiny ornaments 

and a favorite vintage postcard.

Fairy lights and gathered things in the stepback cupboard.

A little corner with small treasure on a tree.

The newspaper trees and little angel from

 John's childhood Sunday School teacher.

Dried hydrangea and some fresh cut cedar.

The pastel colors hanging out out together.

Little plastic nativities made in Hong Kong

gathered with the angels.

Shiny Brites in sunlight

Noah's Ark and gathered animals

in a quiet spot.

Vintage dough bowl and cookie cutters

with some "fluffy angels".

Some live edge cedar John made

 into trees for family and friends.

The vintage Christmas postcards display.

                         A favorite view in the house this season.

Closing out this year of 2025 with so many blessings

 and praying for good health, wellness and peace

 in our house and yours for 2026!

Santa Roundup- 2025

 

Enjoying some of our favorite things- 

the Santa and friends corner.  

Most of the Santas are handmade. 

Back in the days when I was doing craft shows, 

we would trade our work.

Hand painted, stuffed, and totally unique.

This sweet angel keeps an eye out on the others.

I especially love all the Santas

 coming to see the babe in the manger.

Quilted Santas in blue are a favorite.

Artist Proof

 

We received a lovely gift for Christmas this year

 from our "middle" daughter. 

An original etching from Laura- the art teacher.

So I am learning about the terms.

 Etching- "An art etching is a printmaking technique where an image is "etched" into a metal plate using acid, creating grooves that hold ink which is then transferred onto paper when pressed, resulting in a printed artwork with the etched design; essentially, it's a method of creating prints by chemically "carving" a design into a metal plate."

OK, that sounds complicated and time consuming. 

So my delight in the gift of this project just went up a bit.

Then another term- Artist Proof.

"An artist's proof (AP) is a print that an artist makes to assess the quality of a print, or to make final adjustments before producing a limited edition."

OK, now that little AP at the bottom is kinda wow.

Laura said it was an intensive process 

and she learned ALOT.

A simple design- a beautiful gift.

Think this needs a frame.

Putz Houses

 

 An after Thanksgiving outing 

with two daughters 

was a great time checking out

 local barn sales and Antique Stores 

in the Ann Arbor- Ypsilanti area of Michigan.

We stumbled across an amazing 

collection of vintage Putz houses 

and Shiny Brite ornaments in original boxes.

Here they are at daughter Jessica's new spot 

for them in her Christmas decorating.

These is a "new to her" fun to gather decor item; 

 Daughter Laura first stumbled across them 

when thrifting in Florida right out of college.

We loved meeting Lynn and Jim at Apple Annie's Vintage.

They are back after a major flood in their shop.

Apple Annie's Vintage

Here is a bit of history about Putz houses:

The name for Putz houses evolved from the

 German word "putzen"

 which means to clean or to decorate. 

 The name was acquired by little houses 

that were placed around

 the nativity scene for Christmas decorations 

in the early 1900s. 

The little glitter houses were invented 

by the Japanese in 1928.

They were part of the "candy box" houses 

they were making for the American market. 

They were popular through 1937 and the rumors 

of war discouraged the market. 

The dime store allowed a revival after World War II 

when the Japanese began to export them. 

Popularity waned by 1960 as fashion 

and consumer tastes changed.

Vintage goods and social media have brought back

 the love for these small vintage treasures and the 

prices reflect the rise in popularity.

The thrill of the hunt 

makes these a fun little treasure.