An Old-Fashioned Tradition...and a Giveaway!

It's late October and, like me, some of you are beginning to think about your Christmas cards.

I love receiving old fashion style (aka non-virtual) holiday cards from family and friends.  
I have a few that still include a letter sharing all that has happened in their family during the past year.

There are lots of ways to display those tangible tokens of love and friendship.
I've created a Pinterest board here if you need a few ideas.

It's such a sweet tradition that, so far, hasn't totally been absorbed into the virtual world.  Hey, I'm all about the convenience of online but sometimes old-fashion ways are refreshing.

That's why I'm partnering with minted.com to bring you a $50 giveaway to use on their website.  The ease of online ordering and the beauty of a special, personalized holiday cards to mail to family and friends.

Now these aren't just your ordinary holiday cards.  Minted is known for its high-quality paper and printing. Minted’s Signature paper is thick and luxurious with a creamy cotton texture, and has been optimized for photo printing. You can also choose 100% recycled paper, Pearlescent paper which adds a subtle shimmer, DoubleThick paper or even TripleThick paper. Minted also offers 9 unique die-cut shapes. A variety of backer options allow you to add additional photos, text, and customization options to your holiday card.

Need a little more information about minted.com?  Let me share with you just how special they are!

About Minted: 

We believe that great design lives and thrives in the hands of independent artists that people do not have access to through traditional retailers. Minted uses technology to allow consumers to discover great creative talent, making Minted a place where artists can learn, gain exposure, and build their businesses. Minted is a design marketplace. We source creative content from a global community of independent artists, then sell the best content in the form of art, home décor, and stationery, directly to consumers. An early pioneer of crowdsourcing, Minted has held art and design challenges monthly since April 2008. Challenges are open for both submission and voting, the 'crowd' curates Minted's product selection by rating products, and Minted utilizes analytics to evaluate votes.

Now, who's ready for a giveaway!?

To enter the contest for the $50 giveaway, simply visit minted.com and then comment below with the holiday card you'd love to send this year!

The winner will be notified via email with their $50 coupon code.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

6 Things to Look for NOW to Use LATER for Christmas

I know, I mentioned the "C" word...Christmas.  Please don't throw anything at me.  I promise there's a good reason for my mentioning it now, during the heat of July!

We are in the height of yard sale season and NOW is the time to be looking for some items you will want to have on hand this fall.  For, you know, when you get ready to think about that time of year.  When it's chilly outside.  Everything is dressed up with red and green.  The "C" word.

First, and this is not just for later this year but something that can be used anytime...MASON JARS.  Honestly, can you have too many of these?  If you're in my household, you're not allowed to answer that.

Mason jars in all shapes and sizes are great for making snow globes, water-filled or waterless.  They also make great candleholders and baking mix gift containers.

Second, you're gonna need something to put in those snow globes.  Yard sales and thrift stores are the perfect places to pick up miniatures and toys that will fit nicely in mason jars.  Look for animals, small cars or tractors, bicycles, tiny houses, or anything that speaks to you.  It's your snow globe and it can tell whatever story you want it to.

Third, gumball machine.  Seriously?  Yes!  I found one at a thrift store last year and turned it into my all-time-favorite snow globe yet!  Don't pass over a gumball machine with writing on it.  I think mine had "Jelly Belly" on the glass.  I simply removed that before using it for my snow globe.  If it's hard to remove, you can hide or disguise it.

Fourth, ICE SKATES!  How many of you have seen cute decorations in magazines or on Pinterest using ice skates?  How many of you have kicked yourself in November for not picking up that pair you saw during the summer at a yard sale?!  (Me!)

Fifth, old books.  You can probably find some old, non-collectible, non-interesting (think old tax law or something), books at thrift stores or your library's book sale.  Disassembled, the pages are great for all sorts of crafts like this book page wreath.

And, lastly, the sixth item...greenery.  Yes, that's sort of obvious but think outside of the box here.  I picked up a thrown away artificial tree because it was broken.  However, the branches were beautiful.  I use the individual branches to fill my window boxes and to build a foundation in arrangements around the house.  Think about how many broken artificial trees you've seen at thrift stores and yard sales.  Yep, lots of cheap greenery right there!

Ok, that's my last mention of the "C" word.  Until at least next month.  You may return to your summer break now ;)

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Angie

Organizing Christmas Decorations for Storage

Are you an organized person?  I'm not.  Organization does not come easy to me.  I read once that creativity and organization can act kind of like a seesaw in people.  When I'm more creative, my organization goes down.  When I become more organized, my creativity seems to decrease.  Does that happen to you?  It made sense to me.  However, don't despair.  You can have some of both and we can do it together!  Let's get creatively organized!

Since organizing doesn't come naturally to me, I turned to good ol' Pinterest for inspiration.  I even created a Christmas Decoration Organization board if you want to follow it you can do that HERE

I know some of you may not want to take down all of the decorations right away but there are some ideas that you can be thinking about and gathering supplies for.  Don't worry, these are easy to find items.  (All of the photos are from Pinterest so be sure to check them out on their original site!)

Let's take a look!

This is an easy fix to all those rolls of wrapping paper that are falling out of the gift wrapping closet whenever I open the door.  Easy to find cardboard wine box for free at most liquor stores!

How about this!?!  I usually save the original box for Christmas balls but those other ornaments are usually just tossed in a tote.  Plastic cups are a great idea for keeping those ornaments nice and safe while being stored.  No more bed head for ornaments with hair ;)

Another great idea for those smaller ornaments or for those glass balls that don't have their original box.

This idea of labeled, clear totes is from Yvonne of Stone Gable.  She always has her home beautifully decorated for Christmas (well, every season as a matter of fact) and so she's got organized storage down pat.

Do you use a real tree or an artificial?  This is our first year with an artificial so I'll be looking for a great way to store it.  I have the original box but I'm thinking I may just leave it put together, pull a large garbage bag down over it, and put it in the attic as is.  That may not work for everyone but we are blessed to have a walk in attic in this house...first one after owning several homes and I love it!

Ok, so let's start gathering our supplies...plastic cups, egg cartons, clear totes, cardboard wine box...and get to organizing our Christmas decor!

Anyone with a great way to store wreaths??  I'd love to hear!!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!!

Christmas around the House

Sharing a little of the Christmas decorations I've added to our home.  Have you finished decorating yet?

The snow globe picture I posted about here

I don't think I ever finish decorating.  My brain is always coming up with more ideas than I'm able to complete.  Guess I can always save those for the next year.

There are some things that must be used every year in the Christmas decor.  This is a little snowman that my youngest daughter made when she was just ten.  It's the Mad Hatter from the latest Alice in Wonderland.  I used to make altered snowman for my etsy shop back then and she wanted to make one too.

The decor in the foyer include a pair of vintage ice skates, a "SNOW" sign, and an antique crock with greenery.

I typically stay away from the traditional reds and greens of Christmas because they usually don't fit with my decor.  This year, I was dead set on using red and green tartan.  I love all tartans if you didn't notice my from tartan throw post :)  I found this needlepoint pillow earlier this year at the thrift store.  Its colors and design contain just enough blue to tie everything together.  (I have a thing for needlepoint pillows too!) 

Just a simple tartan ribbon added to a lamp shade

Thank you for stopping by The Altered Past and spending a little time with me as I share some Christmas decor.  I've got a little more to share later...the front porch and the shed.

God bless!
Angie


I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

COMMON GROUND

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

FRIDAYS UNFOLDED

FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

ONE MORE TIME EVENTS

TWIRL AND TAKE A BOW 
SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE

STONEGABLE
UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING

A DELIGHTSOME LIFE
ART IS BEAUTY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING

THREE MANGO SEEDS

ELIZABETH JOAN DESIGNS

WEEKEND CRAFTS

PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY
THOUGHTS FROM ALICE
HYMNS AND VERSES
MISS MUSTARD SEED
CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE ADDICT

Beautiful Tartan and Transferware Christmas Tablescape

Welcome to the last day of our Christmas blog tour.  Today we're sharing tablescapes and mantels.  I've put together a small tablescape for two.  Beautiful tables don't have to be for a large crowd or even set on your dining room table.

I've created a cozy table for two with tartan prints and transferware dishes.  

In keeping with the Christmas theme, I've incorporated poinsettias and evergreens, along with some vintage silver and glass ball ornaments.

Stacking a variety of patterns with your dishes creates a beautiful table.  Here I began with my wedding china, Lenox Liberty (still love it after 26 years!), a Ralph Lauren Tartan salad plate, vintage brown transferware ironstone, and a small gold monogram dish on top.

I found this little guy at an antique store a couple of weeks ago.  It's ironstone which goes with practically everything.  It was more than I would normally pay for a serving piece because I'm such a thrift store shopper.  However, at $7 it was a great deal to add to my ironstone collection.

So, go ahead, bring out that wedding china!  Set a special table using a mix of patterns and colors.  I promise, it'll look beautiful!  And, it doesn't take a lot of dishes when you're setting a small table, just for two.

Well, that's the end of my Christmas Blog Tour post but don't stop here.  Check out these amazing bloggers for more great tablescape and mantel ideas!

2 Bees in a Pod Rustic Inspired Mantel

The Crowned Goat Winter Wonderland Tablescape

Concord Cottage Snowy Mantel

bluwaterlife Christmas Breakfast Tablescape

Tomorrow, I'll be sharing a roundup of this entire past week of blog tours!  Don't miss it!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Angie