Holidays at Home

This IS the most wonderful time of the year!  Holiday decorating has always been a love of mine and this year I've added a few new additions to my decor - one of which being a project I've had in my head since finding my grandmother's vintage Christmas ornaments!

Here she is in all her magical glory!  (and she lights up)  After finding this display mannequin at a flea market - I knew I found my "muse".  A bunch of t-pins and all my grandmother's ornaments and this is my new favorite piece!

I am always looking for new ways to use decor items such as this soda crate and glove mold hand (behind the wreath).  More of grandma's goodies complete the look!

I've been waiting for 11 months to put up this Christmas Tree sign and I found it the perfect backdrop to my thermos collection!

Finally, this candle set was marked "as is" at a local Antique store!  "As is" for some is "perfect kitch" to me!!  Adding a bit of holiday humor into my kitchen.

 

I hope you have enjoyed my holiday home!  Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season to you and your families!

a BIG TOP announcement!

 OPENING SOON!

 THE FLEA CIRCUS ONLINE SHOP

"The greatest vintage art,jewelry and handmade goods on Earth!" 

With the ease of wherever you may roam, you can shop Flea Circus Style. 

Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

"Spread the Joy, Share the Whimsy"

Gumdrops are Falling on my Head!

This fun and easy (albeit, sticky) DIY project cost me .99!  Well, $100.99 if you include the cavity I will need to have filled, but I digress...

See this jar of yummy gumdrops?

I've been staring at this jar (which is now 1/2 full) in my office for 2 weeks!  I glare at the co-worker who dared bring these in while I stuff my face with them (but only yellow and purple) and then it finally hits me on how to stop this madness... CRAFT TIME!!!

Supplies:
Gum drops
Fishing line
Scissors
Needle

Step one:  Gather supplies, dump out your gum drops, eat a few and get ready to get sticky!

Step two:  Start jabbing those cavity causers with the needle

Step three:  String up as many as you need to, as close as you want them.  If you don't use the whole bag, that's ok, you'll have leftovers to eat!

Step four:  Wash hands and hang your garland!

I couldn't decide where to hang mine... where do you think?

 

Where Are My Non-Pastel Peeps?

Did you know that Saturday is Daylight Savings?  No?  Me either.  Thankfully, the cashier at the coffee shop did and as I paid for my morning brew, I groggily noticed the reminder sign she hung.  

Seeing this sign means Spring is coming and that solidifies 2 things for me today - 1: deciding to not wear tights with my skirt is now a justified decision and 2: starting to put up Easter decor is A-OK!

Easter, for me, is no where near Christmas when it comes to the amount of decor I attempt to shove into my small home.  And while I am known for devouring entire packages of Peeps in one sitting, I am not known for enjoying the pastel colors that Easter is traditionally known for. No offense if you do, it's just not my cup of tea.

Every year I attempt to find neutral/non-traditional Easter decor and every year, fall short. Last year, I took matters into my own hands... I scooped up 3 foam eggs at Michaels after the holiday- scoring 3 different sizes for a total of $3 (Love 80% off).  They were originally pastel pink, blue and purple -  which translates to no, way, and Jose.

Enter Easter 2013, my kids and acrylic paint!  

My supplies:
2 kids: one 11 and one 7
Paint:  (I chose)cream, grey and chalkboard black
Brushes
3 eggs (one for each of us)

We each took a brush and a color and went to town...

 

Here is the during - you can still see some blue of the egg

It took about 3 coats of paint per egg and clearly you can use any color you want!  From here, embellish away or just leave alone.  I am still debating this last step - do I add buttons or no?  What do you think?  And while you are helping me - what the heck should I write on my chalkboard egg???  I'm at a loss for words...

 

Modern Milk Glass

One of my favorite flea market finds is Milk Glass.  There is just something about the multitude of designs and styles that I can't get enough of.  This love started with my grandmother - she had a collection going that was then passed down to me.  I am now addicted and thankfully you can pick up pieces for a few dollars at flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales!  Milk Glass seems to span the decades, reinventing itself and it's clean, simplistic look that works with just about any decor genre.  

Here are a few of the many ways I've used Milk Glass...

My vintage 40's wedding - milk glass was on every table:

At Christmas, vases held my colorful ornaments 

And for an Americana dinner I staged at work, they became pedestals for floral balls (which is also a great look for Valentine's Day centerpieces!)

How do you use Milk Glass?  

New Season, New Space

Our side show is rolling along quite nicely and December brought us much success at Crompton Collective.  We moved in during the Fall and we moved booth spaces in the winter...

Check out our new space - we are focusing on the upcoming holidays as well as continuing our love of industrial decor, plaid, graphics and anything whimsical we can find!

 Let us know what you think... and try to get down to the shop if you can, you won't be disappointed!

Don't stop the Lovin'

It's January 15, Christmas is long gone which, if you are like me, is deeply depressing.  The New England snow is now just a nuisance and all the glow, the sparkle, the joy seems to be wiped out of  people's minds.  But not in my house darnit!  

Create a Valentine vignette by keeping out your pink and red Christmas ornaments!  Here I put them in a red bucket and clipped on a vintage flash card. 

Shop my sources:
Pink ornaments: Michael's Arts & Crafts - I got mine after Christmas and the box of 9 was $2!
Red Hearts:  Target (no longer sold) similar here
Red bucket: similar here(just needs spray paint)
Valentine Flash Card:  Vintage

Love Under the Big Top

Love is in the air here at The Flea Circus... finally!  I mean, for me, it was never a favorite holiday.  However, I am slowly coming around - and it is not due to the gushy emotions, it is quite simply because it gives me another reason to change my home decor!  Let's be honest, flowers die and chocolate adds pounds - but home decor is slimming and it lasts forever!

Today we are taking you back to our booth at Crompton Collective where Valentine's Day is our top shelf focus!

Vintage red and white tins have countless storage possibilities anywhere in your home and the Valentine alphabet pictures are just bursting with cuteness for your walls!  

Our style note - think outside of the box when choosing holiday decor.  Sweet and "perfectly" rusty items like the red phone and cash register can easily find new spots in your home for any occasion!

Hope you LOVE vintage decor as much as we do!!  Til next time - Spread the Joy, Share the Whimsy!

PS:  You can now follow our 3 ring journey on twitter @CircusFleas

 

Shop our Style - Industrial Holiday

Today's post is the first in what will be a series called "Shop our Style".  We will take a look at items in our shop and see how we've styled them.  Hopefully this will give you the inspiration to use whimsical items in your home!

So let's look at our booth in its current state at Crompton Collective:

While we are transitioning from Christmas to Valentines - we'd like to point out this amazing industrial tray!  Here it is (a little closer):

There are so many fantastic ways to use this great find!  Here is how we styled it for the holidays!

See what we do next with it and stay tuned for our next "Shop our Style installation"!

Happy Holidays!