Cozy Ski Chalet Themed Guest Bedroom for the Holidays

This year I am pretty excited to be able to have a guest bedroom to offer my sister Kim and Aunt Ann as a place to call their own here at 21 Rosemary Lane on Christmas eve. 

You see each year Kim ends up staying in one of the kid's rooms while my 85 year old aunt opts for the living room sofa. (We always joke that she is waiting patiently with mistletoe in hand for Santa to come down the chimney for a little smooch!)

Now since we have done over the old kiddie playroom into a more than spacious guest bedroom, I most enthusiastically decorated it for Christmas. Keeping with the vintage theme of this space, I decided to give the room a nice cozy ski chalet vibe.

I recently purchased these pretty pillow covers with the old vintage skis from Pottery Barn. Then a standard size pillow was stuffed into each cover. I think it seemed to work pretty well!

The Norman Rockwell plates were gifted to us by my dear friend Donna's mother when we moved into our home here some 12 years ago. A wispy grapevine wreath adorned with some faux berries was hung as a festive frame around the plates.

The large black and red plaid throws at the foot of each bed were purchased last year at Walmart for about $10 each. I thought they were the perfect accent for the white bedding.

On the bureau mirror is hung my acorn cap wreath. To see how this was made just click here.

I picked up two Christmas stockings  at the Christmas Tree Shop and hooked them onto a couple of the bureau drawer pulls. They were only $5 each.

And then of course the inspiration for the room are these vintage skis I found at a yard sale last year.

Complete with a pretty vintage postcard and bamboo ski poles.

I hope this space provides a cozy retreat for both my aunt and my sister this year. Now I have to concentrate on getting the tree up and finish my decorating in both the foyer and living room. Down comes the pretty oranges and browns of the autumn and in moves the bling of the holiday season! Can't wait!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

XO

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Mantels of Christmas's Past

As we head into Thanksgiving and then right into the Christmas season, I couldn't help but to begin thinking about my holiday decor for the living room this year. So I thought it would be fun to take a look back at my mantels of Christmas's past. 

(You will also be able to see the progression of my photography over the years as well.)

2010

This was the first mantel shown on my blog which back then was called "Decorating with Barbara". LOL...real original right? Anyhow I only have the two pictures but as you can see Santa was definitely the inspiration for this display!

2011

The next year's mantelscape is much more simple and has a bit of a colonial feel to it with all the silver pieces, pine cones, pears and greens. 

2012

The 2012 mantel was done with a live spray of greens in the center which was adorned with sticks collected from the yard and sprayed white. Some faux mums and berries were added for more color along with a little "bling" in the way of silver candle holders.

2013

Last year's matelscape displays a more earthy or woodsy interpretation of Christmas. I had bought the little wood cabins from TJ Maxx the year before and used them to create a woodland village.

This year's mantel will again take on a completely different vibe because I have revamped the entire living room switching up the colors and feel of the space. I know I have yet to reveal it to you, but let me just say that it has totally taken me by surprise.

In the meantime I would like to take a moment to wish each and every one of you a very happy and turkey filled day tomorrow. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and I just want you all to know how thankful I am for your continued readership!

May God bless you all and from us here at 21 Rosemary Lane we'd like to wish you and yours a very 

Happy Thanksgiving!

XO

Thrifty Finds at the Red Barn (Pewter and Armetale)

This past weekend I spent some time with two of my college gal pals, and guess what we did...we went antiquing! One of the places we shopped was that a little spot called the Red Barn in Blandon Pa.

Here I found a set of pewter salt and pepper shakers in addition to two decorative armetale Christmas plates. Armetale looks like pewter however it is actually an aluminum alloy made of 10 different metals.

The first plate is by Wilton Armetale and it is part of a Christmas series running from 1978 to 1999. This plate has the Wilton stamp RWP on the back which means it was created by Wilton and not an imitator.

The Currier & Ives image depicts a Victorian scene with a horse sleigh crossing a bridge in front of a river mill. The rim is decorated with poinsettia leaves. This plate I picked up for $10.

The next Angel plate did come in a Wilton box and there is a label on the back saying Wilton Armetale, but there is not a RWP stamp. But what the heck...I liked the image and it was only $8.

My final purchase was this set of pewter salt and pepper shakers. For just $6 they will be the perfect accent on my holiday table this year.

What fun and festive little items have you found recently?

Wishing you a great week as you get ready for this Thursday's day of thanks, followed by the kickoff to the Christmas season!

XO

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A Trip To Sleepy Hollow and an Acorn Cap Wreath Tutorial

A couple weeks ago when we took our trip up to the Hudson Valley in New York, one of our stops included the legendary town of Sleepy Hollow. We didn't stay long, we just wanted to visit the cemetery where American author Washington Irving was buried and where his story of The Headless Horseman begins.

While we were standing outside the gate of the Irving family plot, I looked down and noticed thousands upon thousands of acorn caps.

 I remembered seeing a few ideas floating around the Internet in which decorations were made using these little caps. So the four of us began scooping up the acorn caps and stuffing them into our coat and jean pockets.

When we got back to the car we dumped our haul into a plastic grocery bag. Once home I rinsed them all off and then to make sure there were no little critters still living on or in them, I spread them out on a large baking sheet and put them into the oven which was heated to 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Next I purchased a foam ring and spray painted it brown to match the color of the acorns. This was so that any of the space between the acorns would blend in to the wreath. The back was spray painted as well because I knew it was going to hung on a mirror. Then using a hot glue gun, a dab of glue was put on the topside of the acorn cap and then cap was glued to the wreath. I tried to stagger the pattern so it didn't look too uniform or too haphazard.

You may notice that there is a little bit of inconsistency in the size of the caps. This is because I fell a tad short on the caps we picked up in Sleepy Hollow, so I had to go on a scavenger hunt to find a few more caps to finish my wreath. I honestly can say I never knew how many types of oak trees there are and how the acorns themselves vary in size and shape from tree to tree.

After the acorns were all securely attached and the wreath was covered, a little adhesive spray was applied in sections and then some little iridescent glitter was sprinkled onto the wet glue.

All I did after the glue dried was to use a piece of satin ribbon to hang the wreath over the guest bedroom mirror. I also add a little color with a couple sprigs of faux berries.

It was a little bit of a time consuming project, but totally worth it in the end. This technique can be applied to any number of foam forms. I think creating an acorn cap forest using conical foams would be pretty cool looking. Mmm...I guess I will just have to save that idea for next year.

Have a great weekend!!

XO

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