One more Christmas Project

While flipping through an old issue of Flea Market Style magazine I ran across this picture of some old picture frame molds, and it looked like a Christmas tree to me. So I decided to make my own out of some old frames.

I'm happy with the look and it was a pretty quick project.

Hope you are ready for a very Merry Christmas

Lamp shade Christmas Tree, Christmas outside the Box

And now for This year's Tree
Made from old lamp shades, Inspired by Pinterest (of course)

 First an assortment of lamp shades from garage sales, and goodwill.

 

First I skinned them

Then I mounted them to a threaded rod with bolts I purchased both at the hardware store,

and mounted it to a base(this part took the longest)

Now for embellishments. Juno wanted in on the action.

A few shades get some gold trim from my stash

A large stash of vintage ornaments is helpful, and you'll need hooks.

This project could be as small or large as you want, based on size and quantity of lamp shades.

I'm still unsure about the paper bells, but it does give it some dimension

 An old Wool  blanket below.

There is even a version of this idea with covered lamp shades. See my pinterest page

There you have it, My completely vintage Christmas tree made from old lamp shades.
I think this will be a one year tree, because next year I'll have a 1 year old grandchild and this would tip over real easy.  I may make a table top version though.

Alternative Christmas Trees, a Tradition

A few years ago I decided I was going to retire the "traditional" Christmas tree for awhile . My boys are grown and moved out and

the tree is the hardest part for me, First there is the hauling it down, then putting it up and stringing lights. By that time my family has pooped out and abandoned me. Not to mention the putting it away 4 weeks later.

With that in mind, I put up a vintage aluminum tree for a couple of years. These go up real easy and there are no lights to string

Then I went way outside the "box".   with  this small tree from old spindles



As an accent I made this one from a single spindle and some wire. I still bring it out every year. It's a good accent decoration
 

Then I went to Pinterest and got loads of inspiration

 For the last 2 years, I have this one I made with an old screen and lots of vintage glass ornaments. At the end of the season, I wrap it up in an old sheet and just take it to the attic. I'll probably bring it down this season too. Inspired by this original project at Sointovintage.blogspot.com

 

 But when I saw this idea on Pinterest by lucydesignsonline.com I just had to try it.  Vintage frames make up this fun, but heavy accent tree. 

Wait till you see what I have cooked up for my main tree this year.

To see the complete list with links, go to my pinterest page.

Junky Advent Calendar Reason for the Season

Time to redeem the true meaning of the season, in a fun and yes, junky way.

Reason for the season Advent Calendar

I've done this for several years now and it is always so much fun.   I was
Inspired by  Jodi's Jesus Tree project.

Here's how it works, first take a piece of wood and insert 24 nails.

Each Day,  draw an ornament from the basket, talk about it, hang it on the nail or hook.  Below are some examples

Each ornament will have a special meaning that relates back to the Reason for the Season, or names of Jesus etc.

The ornaments illustrate the meaning of the name with vintage items (or even not so vintage)

Have your little ones follow along as well.

You can see examples of each of the 24 tags as well as different ways to make an advent display on my pinterest page here

If you want pre-printed tags  go  here .

  And they are much better than the ones I made.

2015 Christmas Tree Project with Old frames and trim

As you know if you follow my blog, I don't currently put up a traditional Christmas tree. Every year for the past 4 or 5 years, I've put up an alternative to a traditional tree.

 I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to pinning unusual tree ideas.

 

This year I was inspired by a pin from Lucy Designs.  She took trim molding and old frames and makes some fabulous all white trees that have been featured in magazines.

I was inspired by her designs and a pile of old frames to do a similar project for myself.

 

First I gathered and took apart various old frames I had from past projects.  I look for  old frames at garage sales and scoop them up when they are a good price.  I laid them out in my barn until I had the basic design I was looking for. I was going to use frames for the base, but later changed my mind. I used an old ornate hinge for the topper.

Next I pulled out some scrap wood and my screw driver and began drilling from the back to secure the wood in place. This took awhile to get it all just right.  In the end the back looked like this. No pretty but strong.

 And there you have it.  My version of this project involved some moderate woodworking skills. I did use my miter saw on a few pieces and the drill as well.  but if you had enough frames you probably would not need the miter saw.

I like the variation of colors, and in person you can see the dimension that the old and sometimes shabby frames give it. Watch in the next few days for some more  Christmas projects, past and present.

 

I probably won't use this as my substitute tree this year, but It's a fun decoration item. Right now it's on my porch, until I'm ready to start really decorating for Christmas. 

Soda Crate Advent Calendar

Easy Christmas project. Use an old soda crate as an advent countdown calendar. Fill each cubby with a fun Holiday surprise. There are exactly 24 cubbies. Inspired by Pinterest, and one of my customers who purchased one of my soda crates for this very project. I just used tissue paper for my mock up. Add ribbon and bows to dress it up more for the season. Check it out on pinterest for more variations.

My Not So Ordinary Christmas Tree

A few years ago I got fed up with the traditional green, Christmas tree.  The putting it together, stringing lights, taking it down was just wearing thin on me. And I never had a lot of help. Sure the family would show up to hang an ornament or two and then they were off to do other things.

So I decided that, for a few years anyway, I would have some non traditional trees, to make things interesting and different and hopefully easier.  I've even got a pin board on pinterest of nothing but unusual Christmas tree ideas.

The last 2 years I've put up an aluminum tree. These old trees are a snap to put up, and you don't string lights, just hang ornaments.

 

That was fun for a couple of years, but I was ready for something new, 

something really different!

 

... so I made this

And now it looks like this

I'm really happy with it and it was fun to add the ornaments. You could screw in I hooks in the spindles, but I just tied string on the spindles and hung the ornaments from the string. 

It's not real big, maybe 2 1/2-3 feet. I have it sitting on a high bistro table.

I actually got out in the workshop last week

Do you know what it's like when a project inspiration hits you and you just can't get it out of your head until you try it?

Well that is what it was like last week with this idea, So here it is. Still needs some tweeking. I took pics along the way, so a tutorial will be available soon and definitely by next Christmas.

Hope you had a great Holiday with family, took some time off to rest and are now ready to get back into some junkin fun.

Merry Christmas

We've counted down the days and it's finally here. Our last tag is simply
"The Gift of God"
May your family take the time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, as you exchange gifts, and spend time together. Remember why we celebrate... and focus on the "Gift from God" that is His
Son, Jesus Christ.

Get pre-printed Jesus tree or advent tags here
Find a larger list of the "names of God" here
See examples of advent calendars and each day's tag on my pinterest here


More ideas for this type of tag would be the Gifts of the Spirit, The Commandments, The story of Easter and/or the Birth of Christ, Passover (the plagues etc), Creation (what was created on which day), Genesis (creation, fall, flood...). Go with it and enjoy.

Oh Christmas Tree!!!!

I'm loving some of the Out-of-the-box Christmas Tree ideas. I think I'll try a new one each year.
Do you know of one I should add to my idea collection? Let me know.


To see the complete list with links, go to my pinterest page.


Merry Christmas

Advent Project, Final Week

Are you ready? I think I am... finally. I think all the gifts are bought, and wrapped. All I need to do now is get to the grocery store, and tie up a few loose ends. This time next week, it will all be over.

As you can see our "Names of Jesus" advent calendar is coming right along. I'm looking forward to sharing this last week with you. I've had so much fun with this project, and I've made a few changes along the way, like finally adding numbers to my board.

For my tags, I've added the actual verses instead of just the references, so that I'll be able to review the verse as I think about it's meaning. Also I've discarded a few that I had planned to use like "rose of sharon" turns out this is not a "name of Jesus" but is often mistaken as such. I decided to remove it even though I love having the Rose as a token, because of it's ambiguity.

I've also discovered that some verses work in the NIV that might not work in the KJV so check both translations.

And to my dismay, I've discovered that I had the wrong scripture references on more than one tag, so I've been checking those as well. You can view a complete list of the "names of God" or "names of Jesus" here. Be sure to check the references before deciding to use one. Some of them are up to interpretation. And if you want to get pre-printed tags, my friend Jodi offers them here. I get nothing from the sale of the tags, I'm just doing this for the fun of it, and it has been fun, and enlightening.

Hope you are following along, and having fun too.
Happy Christmas Week!!!!!! Are you ready?

Are you following along

Are you following along on my Advent board? Have you made one for your family? It's an easy project.

I'm now on day 6 of my advent calendar project, see the left sidebar. A new item will be drawn each day. Are you following along?

So far we have had "My song, The Door, King of Kings, The Healer,


The ShieldAnd The Pearl of Great Price
Wonder what I'll have for tomorrow?

Each day I draw a different ornament, each pointing to the
"Reason for the Season"


I'll post the object and verse on the left side bar at the top.