Saturday, October 20, 2012

More German Christmas!

A New Life For Old Treasures...
I haven't posted a lot lately...I have been having too much fun giving some of my old treasures a makeover.  It's been over 30 years since I experienced a real German Christmas...so this year I am attempting to renew some of the old customs and give some new life to some of my old ornaments.  I mentioned on one of my recent posts that my first few years of married life were spent in Germany and my first Christmas trees were a combination of homemade, make do and a collection of handmade wooden ornaments.  West Germany was separated from its eastern half by the Berlin Wall and communism.  All the most coveted nutcrackers and other decorations were made in East Germany...and were very expensive.  I bought a box of about 60 little painted figures...they have given me many years of happiness. 

Shadowbox...
An old red-painted flatware box makes a fun display for small items.

I have very few of my original ornaments left.
The tiny mugs are from Japan.
 
Many were lost, broken, or sent with a married child on leaving home.
I found the Austrian skier at a thrift store on Wednesday.

You can never have too many polkadots.
 
Case in point...paper mache hearts for my tree.

Gnomes are from a sheet of stickers from West Germany.
Will also work for Valentines!
 
Brightly painted wooden shoe from Holland adorned for Christmas.
The shoe was a thrift store find.

Cute Dutch kissing couple...we lived near the Dutch border for awhile.
 
Kitchen Tree...
I made this tree for my sister's kitchen table...she doesn't know...shhhh!
The tree base is made from a vintage flour sifter.
Decorated with gingerbread cookies and tiny vintage-style untensils.
 
Have a Lovely Weekend,
 
 

14 comments:

Erica of Golden Egg Vintage said...

Shirley-
I love all of your German decorations! The flateware box makes a perfect shadow box! I love your hearts the best! Sooo Cute!
Erica :)

Unknown said...

What a special collection of ornaments you have!! I am not sure I could pick one that I like best! And I love that you used the vintage flour sifter for the base of your tree!!

chris

Unknown said...

Shirley, YOu make me not feel guilty about already thinking of Christmas! Oh your shadowbox is cute. And those polka dotted hearts! Yipes! I have to keep my eyes open for those. I am sure you treasure your memories of living overseas.
PS Your ornaments arrived today, and I only peeked at one. One of my Bigsby Department Store elves will be making it's way to you this season! He will need to keep an eye on your Cute as Can be ornaments! E

Tammy's in Love said...

Holy CUTE! Don't know what to say first, I love the tree with the gingerbread and utensils, I ADORE the polka dot hearts and your vintage silverware tray is so the most unique display idea yet!

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Shirley you are too creative! Love the idea of using a flatware box. Clever indeed! The Austrian skier is a wonderful find! I am getting anxious to decorate for Christmas. Mixing things up a bit this year also. One of my trees is candy/gingerbread themed. I think I must make a mini one in one of my vintage sifters also!
Hugs,
Jann

Little Susie Home Maker said...

Shirley! How sweet! I am so happy to visit you and see what you been up to! These are all so cute! Great idea with the utensil box! I am so gonna steal that idea! And I agree with all the red with white polka dots! How about double duty for the hearts! You are just so clever. I had some wooden shoes like that when I was a girl. I wonder where they ended up? I am getting ready to start some Christmas crafts myself. You helped inspire me. Thank you!
Blessings,
Susie

Anonymous said...

The tree in the sifter is a sweet idea!

Oh no, never too many dots! ♥

Anonymous said...

The tree in the sifter is a sweet idea!

Oh no, never too many dots! ♥

GardenOfDaisies said...

I love all your little painted wooden figurines. I have a little tree shaped shadowbox that would be perfect for some little wooden figures like this. Thanks for the great idea.

vintage grey said...

Love all your sweet vintage German decorations!! I can;t wait to start decorating and crafting! Love the Christmas tree and how creative to use a sifter! xo Heather

LBP said...

What great Christmas decorations! I would never thought of using a flatware drawer as a shadow box! You are putting me in the mood for Christmas!

Linda

LBP said...

What great Christmas decorations! I would never thought of using a flatware drawer as a shadow box! You are putting me in the mood for Christmas!

Linda

Unknown said...

Shirley, I had to come back to look again at this Cute as Can Be shadowbox. I just love everything about it! E

SueLovesCherries said...

Oh, Shirley, I share some similar memories with you! I lived in Germany and Belgium in 1985-1986 and purchased some of those little ornaments, too. I have some of the same ones in your photos. They are a treasure worth more than gold to me. In my old house I kept them safely under my bed all year, not with the other ornaments. Thankfully, they survived the house fire of ten years ago!