Have Yourself a Merry Vintage Christmas!

 

Here's a glimpse of some of the home-sewn

and vintage items that

decorate the Harper house each year.

 

I stitched the previous two ornaments years ago.

The photographs don't show the Kreinik

blending filament that's stitched with

the DMC floss to give the

ornaments an iridescent sheen.

 

I love using Kreinik blending filaments

in my cross stitch projects.

(I also love that they're manufactured

in my great home state!)

 

This sweet vintage

doily with the three dimensional rose

was and still is a popular pattern

readily available online.

The green thread edging makes this one

perfect for December displays.

 

 

This flocked felt stocking came from Grandma's house.

I sure do miss her.

 

This little girl rests on

a white-worked napkin

which features embroidery, cutwork,

pulled threads, and an inserted filet lace square.

 



 

This tablecloth features

grey thread embroidery on white linen.

Pulled threads and cutwork are also included.

 



Bottle brush trees always help set a vintage scene!

 

Thanks for stopping by

Threads in the Nest

this year!

 

I wish you and yours a very

Merry Christmas!

 

Amy

 

 

Trophy Antiques

 

Come with me for a stop

into one of my favorite

downtown Charleston

shops!

 

Trophy Antiques

 

This blue and white china collection

always catches my eye!!

 The whole table cries out to me,

"Take me home!  Take me home!"

 

Here's a little more blue peaking

out of this beautiful cabinet.

Beautiful treasures abound at this

antique store.  The owner has a special

flair for arranging each piece into

gorgeous vignettes.

  

This pretty doll caught my eye. 

Her dress is absolutely stunning!

 

Look at the detail of the crochet on the leggings

and the ribbon-worked shoes.

 

This hand-painted lamp also talks to me

at every visit.

"I belong with you."

(It really does say that!)

 

 

Here's just one Christmas vignette.

Beautiful!

 

What an elegant Christmas table setting!

 

After every visit, I have a huge smile on my face.

If you live near the Charleston area,

be sure to make time for a visit.

 

For friends far away,



I hope you have a similar shop

that delights just as much as!

 

 

Merry Christmas!

I thought I'd end with a picture of

my son in this shop!

His sister called him to come see an item in

the back of the store.  He was so concerned

with breaking something that

this was how he walked down

the store aisle!

 

Trying Pinterest Pins

I've tried some of my Pinterest pins

and would like to share the results!

 

 

(Pictures used are from the original pins
 with links back to the original source.)

Candy Cane Blossoms

 

These cookies are wonderful.  I made them for a recent cookie exchange.  My peppermint bark Hershey Kisses wouldn't hold their original shape like these pictured. (I'm not so talented in the kitchen.)  As the Kiss melted, I simply used the prong of a fork and pushed the unmelted white tip into the white melted stripe. This created a flat striped peppermint bark "button" in the center of the cookie.  I also colored my sugar as suggested in the recipe with great results.

 

 

 

DIY Sharpie Craft

I've pinned more than one Sharpie Marker craft.  I thought I would try using permanent markers to decorate porcelain as suggested by the blogger through this link.  (She also was following another pin.) This blogger had great success with decorating her porcelain with Sharpie markers and baking it to make the porcelain decoration truly permanent.  Although I followed instructions, the marker did not permanently adhere.  The marker can still be scratched and/or rubbed off.  The blogger states that some of her followers did have trouble with the marker design washing off.   I'd love to know if you have found success with this craft.

 

 

 

Shower Cleaner

Unlike Snow White, I don't whistle or sing much while I clean house . . .  especially if I need to clean the shower.  I often buy the shower cleaners that are sprayed each day after the shower is used.  When I found this simple DIY Shower Spray using only vinegar and dishwasher rinsing agent, I thought I'd give it a go.  It's cheaper and has fewer chemicals than the store brands I've used.  It's wonderful!  I also think it works better than the some of the store brands I've bought. 

 

Have you tried any of your Pinterest Pins?

 

Let me know if you've had a successful pin

and feel free to follow me on Pinterest!

 

 

 

Amy

Vintage Linens for Christmas

Lovely Vintage Christmas

 

Who doesn't need a Christmas hankie

or Grandma's Christmas tablecloth?

 

This vintage crib ladder displays

my red and green finds

from this past year.

 

Under the red stocking is a white crochet-edged

pillowcase from Great-Grandmother.

This red felt stocking also came from

Grandma.

 

These are some of my favorites.

 

Do you have some Vintage Christmas

at your house?

 

 

Amy

Jane Austen Ornament Tutorial

 

I love Jane Austen's books, and thought

I needed to give her a place

on my new Christmas tree.

 

 (The black on white version.)

 

(The white on blue version.)

 

Would you like to make one?

 

First, you'll need clear glass ornaments from a craft store, extra fine glitter, and Pledge Floor Care with Future Shine.

 

 ( This bottle at Walmart was about $6.00.  A little goes a long way with this project.  If you've got a craft-loving friend, maybe they'll split the cost with you for half of the Future Shine product.)

 

1.  Remove the metal ornament cap.

 

2.  Pour the Pledge Floor Care liquid into the glass ornament (about 1 Tbsp.)

 

3.  Cover the ornament hole with your thumb and shake the ornament gently until the entire inside of the glass is coated with the Pledge Floor Care.

 

4.  Pour any excess Floor Care back into the bottle.

 

5.  With a small funnel (I made one out of a 3X 5 card), pour in a generous amount of extra fine glitter.

 

6.  Cover the ornament's hole with your thumb and shake gently until the glitter has coated all of the inside of the glass.

 

7.  Still covering the ornament hole with your thumb, rinse off any Floor Care product and glitter that may have attached to the outside of the ornament.

 

8.  After drying, replace the ornament caps.

 

9.  Copy and paste the Jane Austen silhouette to a Word Document or art program such as Publisher.

 

(Even in Word, you can control the size of the silhouette

by clicking on the image you've pasted. 

 Once the thin-lined box appears

around the pasted image, reduce or enlarge it

by clicking and dragging one of the corner edges.)

 

10.   Print the image on regular copy paper and cut out the silhouette. 

For the white Jane Austen silhouette, I simply traced a cut image onto the white copy paper.  The image was embellished with a silver-inked snowflake stamp.

 

11.  Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge Gloss-Lustre to the front of the ornament.

 

12.  Carefully position the cut silhouette onto the Mod Podge.

 

13.  Cover over the silhouette with Mod Podge to seal the paper.

 

14.  Finish your ornament with buttons or crystals and coordinating ribbons.

 

Here are a few lessons I learned along the way.  Do one ornament at a time.  The Pledge Floor Care dries too quickly to try to do more than one at a time.  Once you've added glitter, trying to add more Floor Care to cover a missed spot doesn't work well.  Stick to extra fine glitter for best results.

 

 

What do you think?

 

Jane Austen's popular silhouette has a story all its own.

 

This famous small image was discovered inside

a second edition of Mansfield Park.

Above the pasted image was a reference to "Jane."

( See Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury by Rebecca Dickson, Metro Books, 2008.)

 

Hmmm . . . do you think it's her?

 

 

 Amy