More UnTree

What on earth are YOU talking about? NO one does Christmas without a Christmas tree right?

Well I'm sure there are folks who do!

I'm just looking for something different and fun.

I don't know exactly where to start, so I'll just start with what caught my eye as I was twiddling my thumbs.

Last year I took some time to wander around the Walmart clearance section. I saw a lot of Teddy Bears lined up on shelves. One had only one eye.

It wasn't something I was looking for. But I drove home with my list filled up and the thought of that Pink One Eyed Teddy Bear kept coming back to me.

I have no idea why.
I needed to pick something up the next day. Most of the Bears were gone. The one eyed bear was pushed to the side. I was so relieved for some reason and stuck it in my basket. At the check out one of the lady's pointed out that this Teddy was defective, did I really want it?
I smiled and said that I was positive I wanted just as it was.

Welcome Pink Teddy with one eye in one of my crates. She has gold ribbons, beads, and a very festive and vintage handkerchief around her neck. She looks happy. The kerchief is actually one of my Grandmother Pearl's fancy handkerchiefs.  I put this together and sat back. Grandma's 'kerchief' and the Teddy Bear no one wanted. Beautiful. I knew this Bear had some sort of purpose!

The next box has some of my 'toys' that I like to take on hikes. I know, but it is fun to find odd places to put Teddy Bears and other toys.

These were Thrift Shop toys. Toys from the back room that had fallen between other toy piles.
I had picked them up and held on to them for a long time. They appealed to me in a way so I brought them home.

Oh look. 3 little bears! And then there is Rabbit and Bear! I bet you are wondering how I got those two beany bears to stand. Hah. Not telling my secrets.

Another item under construction. These are... twig trees with little red light up ornaments. They are not super bright. I used floral foam blocks inside the old sewing drawer to stick them in and then a bag of glass marble like fillers to hold it all in place. The checker board is topping a crate. It was an old handpainted checkerboard piece that hung in my MIL's apartment.

Hopefully this isn't boring anyone.

Here is a look at the whole 'display'...which has already been changed up a bit since I took the photo yesterday.

Note the Gnome with the Skunk Hat! A wonderful young lady who is the DIL of my MIL's sister...okay yeah...that was an odd way of describing her....

...she makes these! She calls them Nisse.
Pretty neat right?

Stay tuned. More to come from the boxes and then I move on to some other fun items.
A story behind most every one with a beautiful memory.

The UnTree Decorating

I like old boxes. They make for interesting night stands and have so many uses.

In the past, I've used them in creating backrounds for Still Life photography.

I've used them in Christmas decorations....around the Christmas Chair....

and this year I decided to not use most of the items I've used before.
No Chair.
No Tree.
I wanted to do something completely different and more fun.

I have to admit, I have a tiny house with limited room so the challenge is to not take up too much space but add some cheery-ness to this cold and dreary time of the year.

I lost the space I had last year due to a change in an Oxygen Concentrator that is much bigger and very cumbersome.
So I had to come up with a better idea.

I had a small wall space to work with. Here is a shot of the area from last year when I used the old chair and a toy to do an experiment in Still Life.

I took the 'nesting' box 'table' that I'd purchased at my MIL's estate sale and mulled over so many ideas. So as usual, I just started putting things here and there. Then I'd look at it and another idea would emerge and I'd go at it again, swapping things around.

So first the Nesting Box Table Thingy. They didn't really know what to call it at the auction, but I just know that I'd loved this little Nesting Box forever.
Here it is in its 'Unglory'. It sits next to the porch door. There are my chore boots on the rug, mismatched gloves, and other stuff laying around.

The lights in the right side box are LED Christmas lights that have a cold blue color to hem. As a whole it doesn't work as well looking through the camera. But that isn't how I intended it.

It struck me as I was doing this decorating, that I was using each box as a mini diorama of sorts.

White bird on white lights. Nesting on a scrap of an old lace table cloth. The bird was picked up at an indoor yard sale a few years ago. It cheap as these usually come in pairs. A discard that suited me.

I put Epson Salts in this vase then added fairy lights and stuffed some ribbons from past Christmas's into it. There is that antler. I don't know, I just liked it there. The colorful mittens are a pair of mine that my Grandmother Pearl made. I use her mittens quite a bit while hiking. They just seemed right in this box.

Another vase experiment. Fairy Lights dropped in with a broken silver beaded garland. The snowman has been with me for years, a gift from my sister in law, I think. The Gnome? He is new. I like gnomes. You will see more lurking about my house.

A peek at the other part of the living room. I made a compact area for my untree decorations.

There is the concentrator and beyond that the tiny added on bedroom.

There is a story behind each little display which brings me fond memories.
The chicken on the end was given to me by the neighbor kids. There you go.

Just a portion of my UnTree Decorating.
I'll set up a tour of the boxes tomorrow.

Sticks, boxes, paints

What should you do when the weather is wet and cold outside? Well, I suppose some folks would just sit in front of the TV aka the Boob Tube [as my dad called it], I call it the brain drain...
Or sit in front of a play station and stare at a game that unfolds in front of you. [Sorry if I offend anyone who is a gamer. I consider playing video games equivalent to staring mindlessly at a TV. But that is how I was brought up.]

Between writing Morris's last big adventure [He has had a few good days and a few bad days] and chores, cooking..etc..., I've decided to try out some things I've always wanted to do.

Last year while looking for some winter decorations, I ended up at the local floral shop. There was a beautiful display of Stick Decoration. I stood there admiring the sticks in a vase that were colored. There were vases with sticks that had glitter on them and lit up. A little old lady walked up next to me and we both stared at the display.
I said, "It is pretty isn't it?"
She ruminated on that and replied, "If you want to pay that much for sticks I suppose!" She smiled at me and shook her head, "Only a city person would pay that much for sticks."

So last year I gathered some sticks. I put some in vases and used glitter glue as 'fake ice and snow'.  I looked around at images that I searched for under "winter decoration sticks". I found painted branches and sculptures of branches for quite a bit of money.

I have searched our old shed for other odd things and found old boxes. Most are in poor shape, but I've used some as end tables for the couch and the work quite nicely. 

This weekend was wet and cold. Rainy and cold...cold... icky damp cold.
So I decided to entertain myself with a challenge. 
What could I do with sticks? Left over chunks of wood?

I gathered materials and had no idea of what I may do. But things started to come together. I dried a bouquet of Milkweed Pods. During a break in the rain I used some spray paint to coat them. I used silver metallic paint to color a small and interesting branch I found on the side of the road while walking with Morris Friday. I think it was Bittersweet. 

*Note regarding the Milkweed Pods. My grandmother Pearl always decorated her house in the winter with painted Milkweed Pods and 'nobbin knockers', among other dried weeds. 

I've always admired those cute little signs that had "Noel" or some of those neat antiqued looking signs that people put up in their homes. But I never wanted to pay the price for them. 
Bingo! Since I stink at lettering, I'd use the sticks!

And what about those sticks?
Well, I'll get a photo of how that turned out after I put it together.

And that box?

It was a mess when I started, but it will be very useful in my Winter Theme. Let's call it a work in progress.

Here is my Fall/Thanksgiving table.
There is the old kitchen drawer on the bottom. That was the only drawer we had in the kitchen before the remodel. The other little box with three sections? I have no idea what it used to be. I found it in the garage filled with old nails.
The branch with the leaves is unpainted. I stuck it in a small crock filled with marbles and rocks.

Today looks like a fine day to be outside. No rain! The temps aren't supposed to get out of the 30's so it looks like the cold is settling in. 
After two days of being cooped up inside, I feel a hike coming on.

Of course there are chores to do, meals to make, a house to clean... and all of those dull and dreary things.

I need to get Morris out for a few more shots and then I can start his book.
I'm afraid though if I go on a hike I'll be searching for sticks...OH MY!