Always a Museum

Thrifted, new, old, vintage, antique, junk, cheap, tacky--It all says who we are.

Thrifted, new, old, vintage, antique, junk, cheap, tacky--It all says Happy Holidays!

Thrifted, new, old, vintage, antique (chipped and cracked), junk, cheap, tacky-- It all says museum.

Thrifted (glass chandelier drip tray and drops), new (candles), old (cabinet--at least 100 years old), vintage as well as antique (Hub's silver candlestick gift to his parents back almost 50 years ago), junk (Dollar Store glass candlesticks from the thrift store for $.10 each), cheap (winter blocks for $.50 at charity shop), and tacky--It all says Shelfie #12 on Wetcreek Blog.

It all says--Wetcreek Museum!

Vintage Kohler Hand Crank Sewing Machine

Click here--Wetcreek Blog

Please visit my Wetcreek Blog (www.wetcreek.blogspot.com) for more photos and explanations.

Beltway Museum

We are busy refurnishing our apartment in The Netherlands. Nothing expensive. Even a little modern here and there. 

But I have to share our auction finds that we added.

And

And

And

And

These pieces all have the same provenance. Bought online from Atlas Auction House, Deventer, The Netherlands in late March 2014. We only saw photos of the items on their online catalogue. 

Guess who cleaned and shined them up! 

Olympic Winter Games, 1936 Picture Postcard

If you read my Wetcreek Blog back in September 2013, you saw this great old photo postcard of my great in-laws as spectators at the Winter Olympics in 1936 in Garmish.

As the Winter Olympics 2014 are in full swing, I thought I would include the postcard in our Wetcreek Museum Blog today.

See if you can find Oma and Opa (three rows from the top, sort of right center, wearing regular winter hats --not berets).

Note:  My 50th Wetcreek Museum post!!!!
AND Dutch are doing well so far in Sochi!

Laundry Room Gallery

The areas above and behind our utility sink in the washroom were left bare when we built our house seven years ago. A couple of years ago, a tile setter put in the backsplash with some of our leftover bathroom tiles. But still there was something missing. A shelf and towel rack. I had one! Bought many moons ago for practically nothing and still safe in my collection of "maybe will come in handy/too cheap to leave it in the store."

After fiddling and faddling, my husband installed the shelf. Perfect fit! And now I plan to use it. Maybe not for hanging wet towels, but as a little art/junk display area. My latest Heart Art has found a place there, too. 

Looks useful with the dust cloths, doesn't it?

Glassware found behind my neighbor's house. She gave these to me, and I finally got around to extracting all the mud. Think her husband had found them behind old deserted homes in our area.

Old Dr. Pepper bottle. Can you believe my Dutch hub likes Dr. Pepper?

Look carefully! This is an old RC (Royal Crown Cola) bottle. Wonder how many Moon Pies were eaten with this cola?

French's mustard jar. I threw away the rusty, crusty lid (oops!), and there is a huge chip on the F.

My favorite Dutch hand crocheted window treatments. Bought many, many years ago for a pittance at the Catholic charity shop in Zoeterwoude, The Netherlands. More old bottles and ball jar lids from my collection.

(By the way, I like to party with the following:

http://thriftermakerfixerfarm.com

http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

http://cityfarmhouse.com

http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com

http://www.ellaclaireinspired.com

http://www.thecottagemarket.com

http://www.blackbirdhasspoken.com

http://missielizzie-meandmyshadow.blogspot.com)

Geo. Z. Lefton Kissing Angels and My Heart Art

This is my latest Wetcreek Designs creation. It is definitely a thrifty craft, since it is a start to finish charity shop product and cost was 60 cents and 20 minutes of my time. Check out my Wetcreek Blog http://wetcreek.blogspot.com for a few more details.

Speaking of thrifts, I found these Lefton kissing angels at GW yesterday for 50 cents. Does this imply the beginning of a new collection. Oh dear!!!

Blog Partying with the following:

http://thriftermakerfixerfarm.com/thrift/thrifter-share-11/

Thrifter Share

Ivy and Elephants

Traditional Dutch Dress

The first time I saw these clever "klederdracht" tiles was at the Winter Bazaar of the American Women's Club of The Hague, The Netherlands.  As I was a collector of authentic Dutch traditional costumes and more, these tiles really intrigued me. In other words, I wanted a few.

Since my favorite Dutch village with traditional native dress is Staphorst, I purchased these two cuties.

We also visited Spakenburg a few times, so this couple joined the other two.

The artist has expanded her collection to not only Dutch traditional costumes, but also German and other countries. Plus I noticed on her website that she makes lovely tile tableaux. If you are interested, here is more info about her work.

http://www.eigenwijzetegels.nl

Frouwien Soenveld
Atelier”‘het blauwe hek”
Bernhardstraat 10 a
6707 Cm Wageningen
tel 0317-415637
f.soenveld@planet.nl

In the meantime, our Dutch cuties are on display in Wetcreek Museum ;)

I am partying with http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2014/01/wow-us-wednesdays-151.html and at http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com.

Have I the Real Spirit of Christmas ? -anno 1938

                                                            Christmas

    Christmas, you know, is the holiday that everyone celebrates in some way. One person might celebrate it one way, while another celebrates it entirely differently. Some people lose the real idea of Christmas in the maze of parties and gaieties they attend and give during the holidays.

     The idea of gifts at Christmas was originated when the three Wise Men brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ Child. They gave these to Him, thinking that He would benefit by them. Through centuries and generations this thought has come down to us. We help those who need help, and in doing so we make ourselves happy.

      The celebration of Christmas is stressed in every country for the same reason, but is different in some way in each. Still the spirit is the same.

       During this whole holiday season ask yourself this question: "Have I the real spirit of Christmas?"

(By C. -Editor Chapman)

On Facebook yesterday, my dear brother published this piece written by my dad when he was the editor of the sophomore journal publication in January 1939. I took the liberty to transcribe it above for easier reading. [As a side note, Daddy's father (our grandfather) passed away on December 24, 1940.]

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2014! Hugs, Linda

One More Garland

Last week while decorating my mom's tree, she mentioned that she wanted a new garland for her fireplace mantel. 

So while we were out for her doctor's appointment on Friday afternoon, we stopped off at a local garden center to see what was left in their sale items. You guessed it! Not one, but two garlands! She chose the one with colored lights to match her "vintage Christmas tree," and we came home with the clear lights (Hub's favorite!).

As our mantel was already decorated with a similar garland, I looked for another suitable place to decorate. And I found it here in our hallway:

But it looked rather bare, so I added these cuties:

This bearded fellow is pure Scandinavian bought years ago at a Christmas Fair in Europe.

Isn't she sweet and so simple? Let's get another view. 

And another. 

Must have bought that in Europe, too.

What an angel!

This cutie has been in my Christmas collection for over 30 years. Still see the glued on arms!

Must be a collectable!

A "real" vintage nutcracker and a stuffed Santa.

Now to get these back up to the "box room."

Simple is Better

This beautiful mirror graced my in-laws' foyers for many years. It was always flanked by sconce-type lamps. We left off the lights, and this cutie shines on its own.

You can see it in the background of this following photo:

Speaking of this photo, my thrifted dry bouquet (free from our front yard) looks great in a 33 year old white Delft vase on top of 40 year old white American pedestal cake plates.

Think I like it better on top of the pedestal cake plates, don't you?

And here are close-ups of the seed pods.

The Holidays are Here At Wetcreek

The first Christmas for our new fireplace mantel.

I am still happy that I thrifted that lighted garland a couple of years ago.

The start of a collection? Maybe ;)

Simple, but blingy.

Wish I had the real gong "hammer." The vanity set is a family heirloom, though.

Mr. Snowman does "smoke" a really stinky incense. He is in charge of these "nutty" crackers.

Attention!

What an angel! More a Prima Donna than a Prim Doll.

Oops! Wrong house! These were some guests at our son's 30th birthday party on Saturday night.