Happy New Year

Twenty ten...  here it comes.  How will you be spending your New Years Eve?  I love being at home in the company of dear friends.  Nibbling on little finger foods and at midnight we get out the chocolate truffle fondu and champagne.

Bernie, Linda and I are all very excited about the new year and the Junk E. festivities and will let you know as soon as we have them written in stone.  If you would like to be included on our emailing list or snail mail, please let us know.
In the mean time have a safe and happy celebration!
Love & Peace,

Char, Bernie & Linda

Let the count down begin!

Christmas Curtain Call

I promised I would share a home project with you, so before we go on to the next season, here it is.  

My home is a 1920's Craftsman  home and one of the reasons I bought it is that it still has the original woodwork and window's.  My husband of 2 1/2 years (he came after I bought the house!) is a salesman for a home remodeling company.  So he would love to upgrade all my windows and never lets me forget where all the heat is going!(out the windows).  I promised him to try to make it warmer, by making some new draperies, and sheers.  

When we were preparing for the Christmas season I started making some patchwork, table cloths from the designer fabric samples, very rich warm colors in velvets and tapestries.  I took it into my dining room, and held it up to the window and low and behold...I found the perfect bohemian mix I wanted for the room.  Needless to say, they became new draperies.

We use our dining room for every meal,  and something about the room always felt a little to formal for me, so this did the trick to tone it down to my level of comfort.  The red walls are much deeper in the real (flash photography is not true to these photo's).   The red is trues to the deep red in the fabrics.  

It's pretty amazing how much warmer the room is now!  All the fabric was saved from a landfill, so the cost was right too-free!

Remember the reason for the season-He is our present because he is always in our presence.  
I hope you have a peaceful, beautiful Holiday surrounded by those you love. 


Peace,
Char

Decorating with JUNK

I don't know why, but I like to change my decorations every year, and it starts with a theme.  Some of these things have been hanging around for years, and other's I actually bought or made to sell, but decided to use for my own home this year.  So the mad for plaid theme continued at home.  My son Jeramiah bought this cool vintage golf bag, (because he always wanted to dress in golf clothes and hit balls around).  I think he used it once.  So I borrowed it for my back door.

And my youngest son, Weston,  picked up the santa that stands in my back yard, at an auction (the left behind series!), and of course I was the one who asked him, "Now what in the heck are you going to do with that"???  He planned on a practical joke, but that never happened, so I sprayed a new coat of paint on him and plugged him in right next to my vintage lights.

I brought out the coolers, etc and the plaid theme continues in the front with lots of natural greens, cut from my trees.

The Heavy weight champ is in my sunroom/kitchen.

And my living room theme came from these outside summer lights that my daughter Rosemary and I found on sale at Target.  We thought they would look like vintage Christmas lights.  So I pulled out all the old world Angels, wings etc and made the stockings out of decorator fabrics that were saved from the landfill.
Next time I will share with you what else I made from the fabric, but right now I have a backgammon game to play with my wonderful husband in front of the fire.
Cheers!

Have a "GREEN" Christmas!

Americans use 38,000 miles of ribbon to wrap gifts each year and 4 million tons of gift wrap and shopping bags.  We are so programed as Americans to waste.  Think about how much we buy, just to throw away.   Cards, gifts wrap etc.  I am the one my family makes fun of on Christmas because I unwrap the gifts so carefully to save the wrap to use again.
This year I made a vow to not buy any kind of wrapping paper, and I don't get gift  boxes.  I make fabric gift bags that can be used for years...the gift you keep on giving.   You can also use beautiful tins for all kinds of gifts.  And for my family I am wrapping in news print and comic's  and it's actually amazing how beautiful the gifts look.  Add a real ribbon, or fuzzy yarn and that too can be used again and again.

 For big items...this is a fun thing to do on Christmas morning.  Hide the gift and either do a scavenger hunt or tie a string to it and make the recipient follow it to the item.
For gift tags, save the cards from the year before and cut them in the desired size, punch a hole with a puncher and add a ribbon.

My tree is a fake, and not a very realistic one.  I would much rather buy a live tree, but opted to use what I have this year.  To make it more appealing I add a lot of dried, real flowers that I grew last summer.  My daughter always picks the vintage glass balls for ornaments.  I wanted to share some facts on Artificial and real trees.  Artificial trees never biodegrade, and include potentially harmful material.  REAL tree's are good for the environment.  While they grow, they're absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, stabilizing soil and providing habitats for wildlife.  You can buy local to support local tree farms, and most fake tree's come from another country so they're shipped long distances.
After the season, real trees can be used as mini habitats for birds and other small creatures.  Use them for mulch to retain moisture and improve soil conditions.  They are 100% biodegradable.

Another option is to be creative,  my aunt Barb bought me this wonderful plant stand and it has so many uses.  Right now it's in our family room and it's the "FAMILY TREE".  Don't you love it!?  You could paint an old wood step ladder a fun color and decorate that with lights etc.   Just have fun with it and everyone else will too.
x0x0x0x0x0
Char

Christmas Junk Evolution Style

It's amazing how classy junk can be when used properly! 

We just got finished our new display in Middlebury, so please take the time to come and visit.  We have lots of great gift items.  Also one of a kind holiday entertaining serving pieces.

Rick, if you are out there, this wagon "coffee table" is

a post for you!  It's full of fresh moss, nature items and a small

bird in a nest.  What I love about it, is that for a collector such

as your self you could fill it w/vintage toys from your youth.

In the fall, it was full of straw and pumpkins.  You get the

picture!

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