Picking up where I left off in my last post about my Christmas decorations here at the apartment, here are some shots of where my burgeoning supply of decor spilled over into the bedroom...
...the bedroom is the only room that has not escaped the ongoing "rage for white." Some of the photos on the "white blogs" are so deliberately over-exposed you can't even see any detail. Maybe that's the idea.
I made this arrangement in this pressed tin box last year hoping I might be able to sell it at a consignment shop in Nederland. The shop specializes in clothing, so the proprietor had little interest or ability to showcase floral arrangements or any of the decor items I took in...everything was relegated to a high shelf in a back room. Any customers who wandered back there rarely thought to look up at the shelf along the ceiling for product! And if they did they only saw the underneath side! At any rate, I retrieved this at the end of the season when it hadn't sold. The little white birds and dangling amber jewels, purchased at Michael's I think, look right at home on top of the white chest of drawers along with the white cast iron candlesticks, the pierce-work lidded dish that's filled with dried herbs, the sea-shell sconce, and a shawl I've had for years that's there because the paint on the side of the chest of drawers needs retouching! The two keys sticking up at right are actually hooks I found at Jo-Ann's last year. They were in the sale section and were tacky chalky pink and blue but have been painted a lovely satin cream and are awaiting a final assignment.
The tray of objets below was moved from the top of the chest of drawers, where it usually resides, to make room for the floral arrangement. It is now on top of the steamer trunk with the addition of a couple of bark apples I found at some thrift shop, forgotten now, and some dark brown feathers, barely visible at lower right, purchased at Hobby Lobby...
...is in behind the tray. I love this basket with its metal feet and handle and beaded inset. The arrangements are in small red and white pots so can be easily removed. I probably will keep the basket no matter what I decide to do with the arrangements. Right now, this looks tres romantique illuminated by the little lamp with the red shade!
With the goal of using every bit of Christmas decor I had stored, I made space on top of the steamer trunk for the smaller of the two trees I'd found out on the patio at the Boulder Goodwill...
I stuck some sprigs of longer-branched greenery into this one, something I wish I had done on the larger one in the living room since it gives these skinny trees a little more texture, and loaded on the remaining ornaments, icicles and a string of pearls. I found a string of indoor lights after I had this tree dressed, but it has 100 bulbs and I think I'd have to take everything off and start over to use it on this tree. It might be fun since I could try that decorator-recommended method of covering each branch starting at the trunk and working out. I'm not sure how motivated I feel, but it is only December 5!
Here's a cute little arrangement, another one that didn't sell last year--good thing I can take rejection!--that I gave to another resident here in the apartment building. She is a cancer survivor and wears pink all the time, so I was pleased she was happy to accept it...
I was so enamored of these little doll carriages many years ago when they were a hot item in all the craft stores and snapped this up when I found it at Goodwill. It seemed to be calling out for a little-girl-pink color scheme. I think I found all the elements at Michael's.
That does the bedroom.
This is what I ended up putting out in the hallway...
...the lighting out here is horrific and the hallway narrow enough I couldn't get far enough back to get a good shot. I created a high table by stacking a plant stand on a table. I wanted it tall so I wouldn't have to cut off the brocade table cloth. The over cloth is a silk drapery panel...
...I got both at Salvation Army for $1 each. I guess I must have been thinking that if I had to face Pepto-Bismol-colored walls every time I leave my apartment, I might as well play into the color scheme. I wonder who picked out this color? The second floor is even worse. It has a very gray-toned lavender paint that makes everyone look ill.
This is the wreath on the door...
This was fun since the plastic ginko-leaf wreath, that I snagged at Goodwill on a 50% off Saturday several weeks ago for $2.99 if I recall correctly, was not Christmasy to begin with...
...but got transformed with an infusion of pine sprigs from the two greenery picks I was able to afford at Hobby Lobby...have you checked out their prices? Whooee! Many of the things I have lusted for there recently in the way of garlands and wreaths, both fall and Christmas, are way in excess of $100. I guess the Chinese are getting savvy. Hopefully the people who are actually crafting the product are getting the lion's share of the money. I digress.
All of the ornaments except the butterflies came from the Salvation Army and I paid 25 cents each for those on a 50% off day...
The butterflies were among my stored Christmas decor and I have no idea where I got them but I'm quite sure they were a thrift store find.
The "tree" on the table...
...is made of two tear-drop swags I got on sale at Michael's several weeks ago when their Christmas stuff was already being marked down 50%...
...I was having trouble finding any little trees at the time...the thrift stores hadn't put out their trees yet...so recalled this trick that I learned while working at Jo-Ann's in Scottsdale, Arizona, one Christmas season.
First you wire the two swags together...
Here's the urn already prepped with floral foam (I like to build the foam up so it's above the container rim)...
...covered with green moss...
Blogger lesson...never take a single shot of anything! This photo was so out of focus I had to play with the brightness and contrast and just pretend I meant it to look this way...
After I inserted the swags, stem side down into the moss covered foam, I beefed them up with some of the most inexpensive picks I could find at Michael's the same day...these were 99-cent picks so I got them for 45 cents each...
...all part of my more is more decorating philosophy!
Does this crown look a little too much like these old Standard Oil Crowns?
Photo courtesy of Primarily Petrolian
Also seen here, which are a fond memory from my Midwestern childhood (Can still hear my Dad saying, "Give me a couple of bucks of regular.")!...
Photo courtesy of Shorpy Historical Photos
Oh, did I say I was having fun? All for now. I have a few more things in the works. I may still be doing this on Christmas eve. It wouldn't be the first time! Teddee
