WELCOME TO HOLIDAY DECORATING….

New Hampshire style! (That means CHEAP)

This year after renovations on the “New old house” are almost complete, I’m finally working on decorating the house this year for the holidays.

Many of my readers are Atheists, but even Mr.Randi isn’t beyond telling a small child that YES he is Santa.  (This has actually been witnessed at a Pancake Restaurant). So, let’s just consider this for EVERYONE!

First the rules of my holiday decorating.

NO GLITTER!! (one day the great glitter debacle story will be told)

NO MONEY (Or very little money. This is budget decorating)

NOTHING HARD TO MAKE!!! (you can do this!)

Let’s start with something that I made not only for myself but for the HISTORIC SOCIETY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY.  If you live near Keene NH, you can stop by their gift shop on Main Street and purchase many of the items shown.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1.Vintage (junk) shop, or your mom’s kitchen.  Grandmother works also.

2.Ribbon.  Get the coupon from Michaels, or go to the Dollar Store.  You will need lots of ribbon for this series.

Tying a ribbon onto anything makes it holiday decor.  I’ve seen craft shows with new cookie cutters with bows sold as holiday ornaments.  You can even BUY A SPRAY that will age a new cookie cutter or any metal.

WHY BUY THE AGING SPRAY? OLD IS JUST AS CHEAP AS NEW!

Most vintage shops will have lots of old cookie cutters.  They are aged by time, dented, and dirt cheap.  Make a deal.  Take cash.  Cash is very important when you are buying from any vintage shop.  If you ask, they might tell you the code on the tag for what is the price for cash.

These are quite old. Tag is for the HSCC to sell. Throw on some bells also!

I paid as little as $1 and as much as $5 for the cookie cutters.  The gingerbread man was $5.  The camel, and the small bird, are quite old.  They were a very good find.  Also only $2 each.  You may have to look in bowls or behind things to find these.  Some I dug out of old boxes.  The thing is they should not be too expensive, and the more messed up the better.  

While you are there, look for some old kitchen items.  This is a bit harder to find cheaply. Remember, I’m purchasing for a non profit to make money.  I have a strict budget.  Nice kitchen ware with green and red handles would be perfect.  BUT, I settled for other items that would just look neat with a bow.

Tea strainers are still very inexpensive.  Possible because they were given away in boxes of tea.  I found many types for just $1. Throw a bow on it and you have a great ornament. Have someone that loves tea? This is a present for under $5.

Spoons are also lovely.

Now is the HARD PART. Once you have your items and your ribbon, you have to tie the ribbon on.  THIS IS DIFFICULT.  The item must hang in a balanced way on the tree.

This is why on the horse the ribbon seems a bit oddly tied.  Only by one in the front and one in the back did it not tip forward.  Be creative. The spoon needed two bows so that it was balanced perfectly.  You want your item to SHOW on the tree or wherever it is hung.

BALANCE!  test with your finger! These were rather hard to balance.

If you do craft shows, I really recommend trying this.  Or if you make items to donate.  I try to keep the price of an item at least half of  the retail price.  The right location and the cookie cutters should sell for $10 each or more.  The older ones or larger ones should sell for more.  Other items, such as the Tetley tea strainer, should price for more as it’s just darn cute.  Someone that loves tea will purchase it.

newer style cookie cutter, still looks great with the addition of a few bows. 

So day one.  REALLY EASY.

PLEASE NOTE I DID NOT USE ANY GLUE!

It is up to you to use glue or not.  It would really help make this a much easier project.

These items are historic, but not worth a lot of money or rare.  As someone that was trained in conservation, I try to avoid glue when possible. But, no one will complain if you speed this up with some hot glue.  It comes off very easily.  The one problem with glue is that it might not stand up to ornaments that are stored in attics or basements.

Glue will become unglued.  But for an inexpensive ornament that’s not really a problem.

STAY TUNED FOR DAY TWO!!

Pigeon is very old, and tea strainer possible not that old.  But for $2 each, who minds? 

New style cutter but aged naturally enough to probably give you tetanus!  I love it!