No Better Way

There is no better way to "christen" this blog than with this photo of the vintage shadowbox that hangs in my PINK living room, as it appeared over this most recent Christmas season:

A good friend gave this to me in the early 1990's, and it sat in storage until about 4 1/2 years ago, when I incorporated it into the nursery decor of my infant son's room. (If that seems strange, well, it might be, but it worked. Maybe someday I'll show photos). Anyway, when it was time to redecorate the room for a "big boy," I realized how much I loved it and wanted to keep using it.

Thankfully I was in the midst of a redecorating project in my home! So since this past spring, it now hangs above my sofa. And was I ever excited to fill it with these little vintage Christmas tschotchkes!

Most impressive (in center of shadow box) is this Josef Originals girl in the sleigh, which I found at a rummage sale this past spring for (honest!) 50 cents! I about choked on my own spit when I saw it, and wondered if the people selling it had made a mistake? When something like this happens, you have to believe that the Junk Gods are smiling down on you! (I know they were smiling, since when I looked it up on Ebay, I about choked a second time!)

Yes, I know the deer are missing. I can work on getting them later.

By the way, I am hyper-obsessed with vintage Christmas items! Not the old, fussy Victorian or early 20th century stuff, but rather the kitschy stuff from the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's. I feel weird adding the 70's to that list, since I was a kid during the 70's, but as time goes by, I am intuitively seeing the cool factor of some of the stuff I used to think was ugly. Specifically, I'm all over felt these days, and I'm going to start picking up all those tacky sequin and fake pearl decorated silk ball ornaments.

I will always be open to questions about my vintage finds - what they are, where I found them, what they cost, value, etc. Feel free to ask!