Update:
Looks like I really messed up this post while deleting pictures in Picasa that I thought was there twice ~ duh me! I couldn't stand the look auf the black windows with exclamation marks instead of my pretty photos so I decided to edit this post and deleted all the black windows.
I'll try to restore the missing pictures soon!
xoxo~ Carola
Welcome back to Boxwood Cottage dear blogging friends and readers and to part 4 of my Vintage Christmas Inspiration series. So guess what, yes right my Christmas tree is finally up! We drove down to our favorite farmer in the country side of Lower Saxony last Sunday and picked it up freshly cut. When I came home I put it up right away and started decorating it the same evening. I never ever had my tree up a whole week before Christmas ever before because this is all against German Christmas tradition rules, but as my US friend Evi said so right in the comments of my last post: Rules are there to break them! Ha and so I did! I have a whole week more time to enjoy the tree and that is sure worth it!
I used all my vintage German glass ornaments and my vintage tinsel garlands and couldn't resist the all silver & white theme again since it is my favorite. I'm still adding to it though, just bought more candle clip holders and more white wax candles today. When the tree is up my already quite small house feels even smaller, you can see a part of my tree peeking into the photo of my dining area in the picture below and the comfy seating area on the other side of the room is much smaller too now but of course so much more cozy and festive!
I also like the very small tree on my dining table, you can see it in the mirror in the picture below. Yes I know, I just couldn't resist taking another shot of my Victorian snow angel doll which is sitting in front of the mirror. I attached a "Frohe Weihnachten" (Merry Christmas) zinc sign to the mirror.
Here is a close up of my dining table decorations with the small tree and a cardboard box of vintage glass ornaments that I found many years ago at the flea market:
Today was my first day off work for the holidays and I went doing some serious last minute Christmas shopping with my mom and my daughter. It took us the whole day and we came home late this evening (Thursday). I couldn't wait to come home though to open my Vintage Christmas friendship swap parcel from my friend Lisa of Tarnished & Tattered, which I picked up at the German custom office this morning. Oh and such wonderful things sweet Lisa sent me, I just had to take some pictures to share them with you:
I always admired Lisa's altered waxed bottles and I'm so happy that she made me one and such a gorgeous piece, I love the old script on the waxed paper and the vintage cameo brooch she attached to it and of course the pretty glass bottle stopper, isn't it wonderful? :)
The whole parcel sented so heavenly Christmassy thanks to this pretty Christmas soap she gifted me with and I also got a whole role of flat spun cotton! Wohoo can't wait to start working with it!
I further love the vintage seals with the silhouette of a lady carrying a gift box, the sparkling clips, the white milk glass star plate and the great black and white vintage milk bottle caps.
Oh and of course also the vintage button cards, wooden rulers, small bottle brush trees, gorgeous old lace & cabinet cards and the cool metal wings! I tried to capture all the goodness in the photo below. To see more details click on the photo and then right click and chose "show graphique/picture" and then right click again on the open picture to get the original size!
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And did you spot the beautiful altered tobacco tin ornament which I hung in my little tree and also the wonderful vintage Holiday sheet music with the black silhouette lady portrait? Oh I simply love it all dear Lisa, thank you so very much! I just hope that my parcel for you will arrive at your doorstep very soon too!
Tomorrow (oh well it's already today, it's 6 in the morning of Friday here and I been up almost all night) I will decorate Lisa's treasures around the house and put my festive dining table decoration, the old oval mirror and the old glass oraments in the box back on:
To make the season a bit more Christmassy we also had the first snow of the season this week, although it only lasted a few hours before the snow became rain again, at least I took a picture to remind me of it:
But now let's drive down to my parents home where I also took some picture of mom's Christmas decorations to share with you:
I love this corner of their living room with the beveled mirror and mom's ore mountain angel collection on the drawers below it. Click and enlarge as described before to see more details!
While trying to take a close up of the mirror and the chandelier I always catched myself in the mirror trying to get out of the picture lol even though I used the tripod I couldn't take a decent picture of the mirror and the chandelier without me and/or the camera in the mirror lol. It was quite a funny action!
Mom also put the white Christmas pyramide from the ore mountains out and up again, which she inherited from a good youth friend of her's:
In the next photo I captured mom's collection of wooden German incent smokers standing in one of the living room shelves, which are also all from Thuringia in the ore mountains. The wooden stars on the transom door are all made by my dad though:
This wooden pair of vendors are also from the ore mountains. Mom is a big fan of this art called "Deutsche Volkskunst" well it's translated German folk art:
I also tried to get a decent picture of the decorated living room window which wasn't easy in candle light and without using the flash, which I hate doing and it wouldn't have worked out with the reflecting window in the back anyways. Mom has her vintage press glass collection in the window and also some vintage German glass tree toppers which were made in the ore mountains too. My dad has constructed the window shelf itself btw:
There also is a sweet vintage nativity scene to be seen underneath the window and so much more prettyness.
I also liked this close up of the Christmassy decorated chandelier which I painted white for my mom:
So let's go over into my parents dining room:
You'll easily see that my mom is a great collector of so much more, like old Christmas tree stands and old German china/porcelaine. I'm sorry for the blue lighted house of my parents neighbors to be seen in the window. We so don't like it! Why can't they use pretty white lights instead? Oh well I know tastes are individually different, thanks God lol
Isn't this tiny drawers cabinet and the area below decorated so sweet and Christmassy?:
And I also love how mom has decorated her feather tree (a gift my daughter gave her for last years Christmas when she came back home from her studies in Buffalo N.Y. - I got one too as you might remember if you are a regular reader) with very old vintage glass ornaments:
The antique cotton batting Santa I tried to capture more close up here is one of my favorite ornaments at mom's:
And isn't the old tree stand gorgeous and the way the sheep I got mom for her birthday last March is sniffing on the tree walnut ornament?:
Well now I have to leave you for this Friday trying to get some sleep before dawn, because today I have to be fit to get all my Christmas preparations done. I haven't wrapped a single present yet, oh well so I'm very thankful that my dear daughter is doing the baking and the cooking for tomorrow, all fully vegan of course!
Here is a last picture for you of the Christmas preparations at Boxwood Cottage taken on Wednesday:
See I still have to add some more candles to my tree!
Now here's wishing to all of you my dear readers and blogging friends around the world a very
Merry & Peaceful Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
xoxo~ Carola
I'm linking up with the following link parties:
