cozy in a storm of snow...

 I couldn't let this holiday season past pass by without showing what our house looked like inside. So here we go....

Yep! I did cut all those paper snowflakes! I have been cutting them and saving them for 16 years. This is not all of them. They are all over the house! On every window and lots of other places. The paper snowflakes will stay up until Valentine's day, like they do each winter.

Last year was the first year that I started hanging from the beams the other snowflakes- plastic, glass, wood, resin- that are collected each year during the after Christmas sales when you can get a really fancy flake 90% clearance!! I never spend more than $1 each. They are suspended from fish line. It is so fun at night when we have candles burning and the fireplace is roaring and there are no lights turned on. It is like a blizzard in the house and the flakes glimmer in the candle/fire light!

I took these photos at night so the flakes would show up nicer against the night darkness outside the windows.

The tarnished silver glittered star and filigree metal snowflake hang from the chains for the light/fan over the table.

When the girls were little we would make felt mittens on yarn each year as an arts and crafts project. They now hang in the archway with lots of icicles and their actual mittens they wore as babies.

My hutch is currently filled with milk glass, mostly inherited or cheaply thrifted.. Milk glass is so versatile, great year 'round and for any holiday too. I even used it in my Halloween decorating.

The milk glass lamp was a curb side find. I had the electrical stuff checked out so it would be safe, then added a vintage shade and it was all okey dokey!!
The 2 story doll house up on top was bought for a few bucks. It is really big. A super find. The people selling it thought it was "dumb". I haven't decided how I want to paint it so it is plain wood still.

This is one of my pieces that was found in someone's trash!! Can you believe it? This pretty lace edge rectangular piece. No!, I did not dig through spoiled food or scooped cat litter. It was in a open box at the curb with some other glassware type things, almost like the thrower-outer was feeling a pang of guilt and hoped someone would come and adopt some of it.  I can accept the rocking bottom flaw. Unconditional milk glass love!! I once brought home a freebie that was badly broken on one side. I put it up on a shelf with the good side facing out. I have gotten more compliments on THAT piece and it is only about 2/3 whole!!!

I put a lot of my favorite flakes on the cupboard each year.


Vintage games and other vintage found items are on my corner cupboard...the display changes.... it is crowded with the remembrances of Christmases gone by.... Santa gifts from before the days of video games .... you know, when games used imagination and manual power instead of computers/tv's and electricity to have fun.

I love the little knee hugger elves. My Grandma had them and it makes me think of her. That's her recipe box there in the picture!!

I love these old blocks I found when N. was born. The red book with the hockey player on the cover is one that belonged to my Grandpa and I was given from my Uncle J's house last summer. Thanks Uncle J!
Old books can be VERY fun just for their covers.
I made the little altered art card.

More thrifted milk glass.

And the doll house I painted many years ago that was bought for CHEAP! The kids have so much fun with it!! They decorated it themselves this year.