~christmas decorating with a red toolbox and rusty funnels??~

Like many of my blogging friends I am aspiring to a simple Christmas this year, and shopping my home first.

I especially like to keep things natural outside on the porch, and always cut tons of greenery and holly.

Rule #1

Always cut way more than you think you will need, especially holly!

So this year I pulled out this old bright red Husky toolbox, I picked it up for $2 at a garage sale in the summer, but as it had not yet been put into use I nabbed it for the porch.

Tucked in a great vintage funnel with red trim...

and filled it up with all different kinds of greenery

I like the pop of red on my front porch!

And here's another old funnel I filled up

Funnels are such an awesome shape for filling up and decorating with!

Here are a couple more shots on the front porch.

vintage sled and mailbox

and a few more pops of red

berries in white enamelware, those are snowshoes in the background

candle lantern and pinecones

hope you enjoyed my natural porch decorating, don't worry I saved some sparkly for inside!!

linking up to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Funky Junk SNS

Tracey

~old wooden drawers transformed~

i've been wanting to work with some old wooden drawers for a while

but you know how it is when you're actually looking for something!

~it took a while~

i found this one at an antique mall, very ugly but i love how deep it is

{the pull was even uglier, believe me you don't want to see it}

painted it up with Annie Sloan chalk paint (ASCP)

"provence" on the outside, "paris gray" on the inside

buffed it up with clear wax

love the yellow of the sunflower against the blue...

added a sweet sparkly knob

old drawers are a practical (lots of space) and pretty way of storing or displaying things

~yup, i have a thing for blue canning jars~

wouldn't a drawer be great at a wedding filled with wedding favors or mason jars full of lemonade...

before...

and after

this one was a curbside find, also very ugly

{by the way, i gave them a good scrubbing before painting started}

~i'm a bit picky that way~

anyway, this one i left with the decorative pull, sans the pull part

i think it adds a classy and interesting detail on the front of the drawer

this drawer is super wide and got the "old white" touch

repurposed drawers are great in a studio for storage, to display your linens, used to showcase goods for sale

~yup, i have a thing for vintage crystal doorknobs too~

and vintage linens...

 so before...

and after

i'd love to hear if any of you have transformed ugly old drawers

i'm still on the look out for old sewing machine drawers, they are the perfect size for desktop storage in a studio or workroom...

linking up to Take-a-look Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Tuesday's Treasures

Tracey

PS. These repurposed drawers will be coming with me to Fieldstone Vintage Market next week Saturday

~be still my beating heart~

~you know how it is~

sometimes you walk away empty-handed

other times you find

~TREASURES~

i spied this little beauty hiding away

i literally held my breath, then my heart started beating a little faster...

~know the feeling?~

yup, sturdy

and ~chippy~

and coming home with me!

it's the sweetest little child's chair, i'm just going to wipe it down and seal that chippy paint with a clear sealer

ever tried that?

i also picked up this sweet set of 1940's minature books

tied them up with a piece of jute

and then of course i had to play around

~just a little~

 and a little bit more:-)

I've been looking at a lot of photos recently

and i am drawn to simple, clear photos

with limited subject matter and not too much clutter

does your heart beat a little faster when you spy those treasures?

linking up to Feathered Nest Friday

 Vintage Inspiration Friday
Farmhouse Friday
White Wednesday

Tracey

wanna see some vintage tins

i love old vintage tins

i know, i know, i love a lot of things

well vintage tins are just one of them!

here are some of the beauties i've come across...

this classic square cookie tin

 with a beautiful floral lid and decorative sides

made in england, home of the cup of tea and a "biscuit"

and this old Hershey's cocoa tin, love the shape of this one

loved it even better when it was upright, I've been fiddling with this post for days and blogger keeps rotating my photos, grrrrr

how about this sweet one, little girl praying, so precious

or this ol' cottonboll tin

so how do you like reading posts with your head on one side??
any ideas?

Tracey

isn't she sweet...

isn't she sweet...

I was taking photos for my etsy store, and realised she really is too sweet to part with

and this is an old print, just look at the back!

so I think I'll keep her for a while and see how that works out

welcome sweet girl!

I'm linking to Show and Tell Friday

Fun Friday Finds

happy days,

Tracey

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS........

Hi, since you don't know me that well yet, I thought I'd show you a couple of my favorite things. To start with I have some photos of some of my favorite vintage toys to show you- I just love them!

These are my yummy vintage wooden blocks, aren't they cute!

And this is an old toy instrument, it makes a tinkly sound like a small tambourine when you shake it.

And here they are altogether on their little shelf! I love how cheery the clown's face is, just makes you want to smile:-)


Till next time, happy days,


Tracey