We're ending our blogging year with a tour of Colleen's House of Christmas.
She is one of the finest Queens of Christmas Decorating that we know.
Thank you for all the love and support we have received from all of you this past year. We wish you health, happiness and joyful junking in 2009!
Beth, Lisa and Amy

One of Beth's Bottles in this display.

So peaceful....

Colleen's back patio...a winter wonderland.

Nature's beauty

Colleen has done these mirrored doors proud!

The girl never met a spire she didn't like!

Colleen found this dress form at the studio. It was made by a customer friend...Linda B. Then Colleen really dressed her up in Christmas finery.

Truly one of the most spectacular ornament wreaths we have ever seen.

Terrific forest of bottle brush trees.

Colleen's new mirrored top dining table.

Lovely item by Susan Wheeler that Colleen picked up at the Sandpoint Antique Show.

A bay window never looked better.

Colleen also found this lantern at the studio. She cleaned it up and add Vera the Angel for a stunning wall display.

Judy had recommended Colleen use these Congressional record books to elevate this tree.

Maybe Santa will bring me a velvet box next year!

Colleen's front courtyard.

A group of four of us have a special tradition of spending a day touring each other's homes to see their Christmas decorations, with coffee, cookies, lunch, more cookies and presents at our various stops.

Today we will share some photos of Judy's house - the Queen of the Perfectly Edited and Composed Vignette. Every time I leave Judy's house, I feel like I've spent time in this oasis of calm.

A fine collection of enamel pitchers in Judy's kitchen.


Who wouldn't want to wear this necklace?

We all have a crush on this beauty.

Judy created this wreath out of a card holder and fun dibs and dabs.

Happy snowmen! Their faces say it all...

The blue in this crown is made of feathers. Wow!

Judy has a 'thing' for mirrors.

Lisa's gloriously wrapped gift from the girls...check out the tea strainer ornament!

Beth's divine gift wrapped to perfection. Love the vintage photo.

Hope you have enjoyed the tour of Judy's house as much as we did. Tomorrow we get to take a peek at Colleen's house.

Love this Week!

This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. The Christmas deadlines have been met. No matter how busy my business life is, I still want to fit so many fun activities into my personal life. I love all the holiday decorating, the baking, the homemade foods, getting caught up with long distance friends through sending and receiving cards and entertaining. And now there is a nice pause. A few days to spend more time in this chair, reading fiction books, hearing this kitty purr and dreaming about plans for 2009.

I hope you have some special spot in your home to relax in and catch up on your daydreams. --Beth

Merry, Merry

Have a very happy holiday season with your family and friends!

Please remember the salvage studio will be closed Dec. 26 & 27, and will reopen Jan. 2. Our winter workshop calendar is available online on our website, and Lisa will be answering our phone line during our holiday break to take registrations.

We’ll see you in the new year.

Beth, Lisa and Amy

Lisa and I are in a group that does a holiday gift exchange where everyone makes a little something for everyone in the group. So I needed 11 handmade gifts, and find myself scrambling this season to keep up with all the fun events.


I had made some tree ornaments for the studio with clusters of vintage ornaments, tied together with a metallic pipe cleaner. I visited a customer friend recently, and she had hers hanging on a door knob, which looked quite spiffy. So I created a larger cluster by stringing one large, five medium and one small ornament on a gold pipe cleaner. With a few twists, I clumped the balls together in the middle of the pipe cleaner and then twisted the ends together to create a circle hanger for the door knob. A foot of wired ribbon covered some of the twists and added some more bling. Done in no time! I even made one for myself. -- Beth

Note from Lisa: I was a happy receipent of one of the above. I am even going to press my decorating luck and use mine into Valentine's Day!

The end of the Decor Tour

Here's the final installment of the holiday décor tour at Beth's house.




In our upstairs' hallway is this great old trunk that came from Wales with my dad and his family about 100 years ago. The Santa, sled and berries are new. The books, record and glass garland are vintage.




My Christmas angel doll and teddy bear sit on this small dresser from my childhood.

I love music stands as easels to hold art or books. I opened this book to a lovely page depicting the Angel Gabriel and placed a folk art angel to hold the page in place.

In our master bath is this combination of hand crafted necklaces hanging on a fireplace tool holder, a stack of silver plate pedestals holding some favorite floral pins and corsages, with a bit of holiday décor.

A few years ago, I bought this pink tree at Joyworks out in Snohomish. I fashioned lots of ornaments together using metallic pipe cleaners, glass beads from garlands, and small ornaments.

Here's a closer look.

I hope you've had time to add some special touches to your nests as well! --Beth

Some More Decor

A little side table with a couple of glittery trees adopted from Goodwill.



A formal lamp sits on a very unformal metal table.

Easy decorating - vintage ornaments spread on the table top.

My favorite plant stand holding a silver plate bowl of cones.

Our mantle holds another collection of Santas - these made by a Seattle artist, Jan Muth, collected one by one over the years.

Some nutcrackers on top of a family piano. Some years, I feel frisky and cut evergreen pieces to mix in at their bases. No time for frisky this year!

Atop a bookcase in our dining room is this collection of vintage clocks. I left the vignette in place and added ornaments and garlands.

Here's a closer look.

Our upstairs is next. -- Beth