Merry Christmas

Sweet treats and little hands; candy canes crushed to make little smiles. Vintage decorations arranged for delight; old songs played on the newly delivered piano. Promises of sledding on snow made for playing; cookies promised for eating. Little boys laughter ringing in the night before the night before Christmas; stories of Santa and reindeer and the Truth of the season told. Cold hands, warm cocoa, sweet smelling sugar cookies, white lights, vintage sheetmusic, fresh snow, Christmas music, these fill my day and calm my heart.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas my friends. With love from my home to yours~
Hollie

My Funky Junk Top 10 from 2010

I'm trying to decide if this is a top 10 list of things I love from 2010, things I loved most from the junking world (at least where I live!) this past year, or some kind of mix of both. No matter, here's what this half of Funky Junk (Hollie) thinks rocked the junk world this past year.

1. Keep Calm and Carry On quote (preferably in yellow) and the Funky Junk Antique Show logo (on our yellow banner). Both of these made me happy every time I saw (see) them this past year. They represent the journey Funky Junk has made, the obstacles overcome, the holding strong. And yellow, well, Funky Junk is all about fun and happy!

2. Vintage patterns. I've always loved the artwork on old patterns, I have quite a collection of my own, but this year I've seen an uptick in the number of patterns I've sold, especially to people who actually sew and re-use them. Gotta love vintage clothing too-the sizes make me laugh, though.

3. Chaps/Cake. This place has been one of Jennifer and my favorite restaurants, so the adding on of the bakery just put it in a whole new realm of special. Such a pretty, pretty place with yummy, delectable food and of course, proprietress Celeste Shaw, our long time Funky Junk friend. So many good times happened at this place this year, and so many junking friendships formed over well, cake!

4. Coffee Cans. The advertising, the graphics, the art, and the subject matter! I love coffee and I love the look and colors of the cans, it's like having 3-D metal art on display. You cannot go wrong with these vessels.

5. Crowns. Mom looks so cute in her glittery crown! I'm so drawn towards crowns this year. Sure, they're everywhere, but the paper craft/junking world artists have done some phenomenal versions with old paper, glitter and unique touches. Plus, I like to pretend I'm a princess.

6. Globes. Oh, how do I love the globes. Let me count the ways; the spinning, the geography, the way the earth is suspended on different metal structures. I love to look for the age of the globe, for clues on it's circle. I have two blues and I'm working toward a black. I should have bought that one at the Two Women show!!

7. Words. Letters. Blocks. Etc. Love the old vocab. cards, vintage advertising signs, dictionary pages...I could go on and on. Written displays rock!

8. Glitter. Really, must I explain? Old, new, German glass, new whatever. Love.

9. Numbers. Again with the old advertising and displays, old math cards and blocks. However, wherever, there are so many possibilities! There is something very modern asthetically about vintage numbers hanging out as art.

10. Vintage cookbooks. Vintage and antique books are always my favorites, my booth inevitably is stocked full of written treasures, but this year the old cookbooks are quietly making a comeback. There is something about recipes from before that are ringing true in tighter times. Simple or extravagent, vintage cookbooks are like reading a story that comes alive in your hands.

So, there is my top 2010 list of finds, loves, joys. What really powered all of these was the joy of discovery, the love of friends and many, many fun times with junkers and junk alike. Here's to a junky new year ahead!!
Love. fun. junk. ~Hollie

Some Days Turn...

Some days turn out completely different than you expected. Sometimes in big ways, sometimes in hard ways. But sometimes in small, and simple good ways, days turn. My oldest son threw up last night and we weren't sure if it was allergy related or a flu bug, so I kept him home for the day to see what would be. I gave up going to the women's group breakfast at church that I had really been looking forward to and instead my three little boys and I just stayed in.

I moved from chore to chore, my three little joys running in and out of my path through the house. Opening my music chest I found my prized stash of vintage Christmas sheet music, with my favorite, my Grandma's "Silver Bells" copy on top. Ah, a sweet moment. I continued to search for the most important things to be done. Still unpacked and undecorated, there are presently never ending jobs to be done in my home. Finding the one to complete in any given window of time has been, as of yet, undoable. It finally occurred to me that I still had a turkey bone in the fridge from my mom's Thanksgiving and a box of yet unpacked cookbooks.

Pulling out my cookbooks, I found my vintage flower frog collection and started to fill my kitchen hutch with some much needed pretty. I was going to look in one of my modern cookbooks for a broth recipe but felt a pull towards one of my vintage books. I flipped through a copy of The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, 1944. Another sweet moment. Reading an old cookbook is like reading a story, and finding this one transportaed me. Soon my home was filled with the scent of warm, healing turkey soup and I decided to take a tea break. While leafing through the cookbook I happened upon the title page where years earlier I had given myself a gift, writing, "Grandma Juanita's". Sweet, sweet moment.

When I returned to my work, I pulled my wedding quilt out of the dryer and wrapped myself in it, walking it up to my bedroom. I then realized that that was the third time my Grandma Johnson had visited me today. Just when I needed my new house to start feeling like a home, she managed, ten years after we lost her, to give me a housewarming. There's nothing like a Grandma's embrace and today I am still feeling the lingering blessing of hers.

It's begun to look a little like Christmas, Funky Junk style

I love Christmas, I love the smells, the sights, the sounds, the memories, the food...there isn't much I don't love. But this year it is taking a huge and sacrificial effort to get "Christmas" off the ground at my house. We moved, and now we've stalled. Between snow and commuting (work for Mark and to Haden's school for me) we haven't much time or energy left at the end of each and every day to do much other than get us all ready to climb into bed. And things aren't going exactly how we would like them to be, in any way right now. Suffice it to say we're a little unmotivated to do our part this year.

This is so not like me. So, having the opportunity to be a part of the Two Women's Country Christmas show this past weekend was a literal God send. I went through my collections of Christmas, old and new, bin by bin, as I could find them. And each time I pulled out vintage or recent decorations the memories came right with them. By the time I set up with my mom, next to our talented and fun junking-world friends Gladys and Celia of Junebug, the Christmas Spirit was starting to take hold. Yes, I had a migraine most of the weekend. No, I didn't win the booth contest (but I'm really glad that Junebug's dreamy booth did!!). Maybe I wasn't my joyful self this weekend. (See above migraine.) But the show did it's healing for me.

It turns out I just needed a little Funky Junk time to get out of my funk. It is a little surprising that a holiday birthed of simplicity and depth inspires so much sparkle and glitter. Thank you to all of the creative, talented, caring and loving people I spent this past weekend with. And happy decorating to you all!...I think I'm ready now...