Christmas Inspirations
Where do we find it? How do you come up with new and original ideas for Christmas decorations? I have been doing themed Christmas trees before Martha Stewart's Magazines and websites, in fact my very first themed tree was when I was 12 years old, and that was 54 years ago (ouch). Inspired by a Better Homes & Garden photo shoot, an all gold tree was my burning desire. My mom agreed I could do it, but would not pay for new ornaments. She did buy me a can of spray paint, so I doggedly painted a bunch of ornaments and with some inexpensive ribbon, Ta Da, the first magical tree was born on the cheap.
The only disappointment was that the presents under the tree, gifts from friends and relatives, did not match my theme. The ones from us to them, did match the tree, why I did not do the math and figure out the end game, put it down to youthful inexperience.
Now the current go to for ideas and inspiration is of course Pinterest. A great browsing tool, that gives everyone access at no cost to some tremendous visuals and creative how tos. So we use Pinterest to post our images to not only promote our business of decorative rentals, but also to give our trees a wider audience to enjoy.
Sometimes a single ornament can trigger an idea of your own. Go with it. A long time ago my children were introduced to Rudolph. The old version, with Burl Ives and the Land of Misfit toys. You know the one. so the small ornaments we collected became the focus of an entire Christmas tree after numerous years of finding ornaments here and there and stockpiling them for first a tiny tree, and then a full sized one.
The oversized Rudolph was won in a carnival game of chance, probably the most expensive Rudolph on the planet as the kids were determined to win it.
Many people collect vintage ornaments. My very first vintage ornaments were found in a barn in an antique shop, here in Massachusetts. Tossed to the side, in old fashioned Christmas boxes, they were obviously the ornaments of a woman who had passed away and her things had been discarded by her family. I did not particularly want them, but could not bear to leave her treasures just tossed aside. While not enough for a tree, several more years of collecting brought me many versions of those first ornaments. One of my favorites is this old Santa.
A little tired and worn, his face sold me, so kind and happy, and he was and is the inspiration for many Christmas displays, as well as an entire Christmas tree of vintage Santas and modern versions of the old gent as well.
Everyone's home is different, everyone's budget is different, storage can be a problem, and now as so many women are working, time is an issue too. That is why we came up with the idea of we do the work and you rent our expertise. A unique concept that we are bringing to the public. Our collections of vintage ornaments and table settings are available for rent.