Well, Merry Christmas Friends! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful day with your family and friends. We definitely are. But, I promised that I would share a little bit of my Christmas decor this year and some of my vintage Christmas finds as well. So, here you have it!

I fondly refer to all my Christmas stuff as “Christmas Crap” but really they are some of my favorite treasures. I’ve spend years and years (20 to be exact) decking my halls out. Somewhere along the way I found my “Christmas Style” and now most of the things I own kind of go together. A big part of what I own is either something I made or something I found thrifting. Vintage “Christmas Crap” gets me every time. If it’s something that resembles something my Grandma had, then I’ve gotta have it. If you are just starting out, or maybe want to find a common thread to your decor, I think a great way to start is with a collection. It gives you something to hunt for each year. And then I’m only buying a couple ornaments and trinkets here and there each year. I always love Martha Stewart’s Living “Collection” column. Even the tiniest, simple items, when grouped together, can make an awesome display and statement.

My tree definitely has a mixture of ornaments, but for the most part, they are gold, white , silver and green and most of those are glass. And for the last 15 or so years, I’ve collected pine cone glass ornaments. I hang these on a little silver tinsel tree separate from all my other ornaments. I also collect vintage glass ball ornaments, in the same colors (gold, white, silver and green). These are just keep in a big bowl or tray. Sometimes I add a string of battery operated lights to the bowl as well. I buy just 3 or 4 a year at antique malls and flea markets. The more worn and old they look, the better and I love when they have a little hand painting or flocking on the outside. These I pay about $1-$3 for each (therefore I only add a few each year).

I hit the jack post this year with this brass all seasons wreath. I found it at an estate sale, actually the estate sale for the house my parent’s bought. It’s the perfect addition to our mantel mirror.

My santa mugs are a newer collection, and I actually added 4 new ones this year, including the green santa I shared on Instagram. He’s my favorite, of course. I think these mugs are the only Santa themed Christmas items I own. Most of these mugs are from the early 1950’s. I sit them out by my coffee machine, and whenever anyone is in need of some tea, coffee or hot cocoa, a Santa mug is a must. Nothing puts you in a more festive mood then sipping from Santa’s smiling face (that might have come out wrong).

Bottle brush trees are a fun item to collect. The ones pictured here are all vintage, but you can actually find new bottle brush trees everywhere now and in every color. The hunt for vintage ones can still be fun. I added the little gold colored tree to my collection this year.

Little candy dishes and plates are fun to collect. I found this pair of tree shaped dishes for less then $5 at an antique mall. I love when my Christmas decor is not all overly Christmas themed, then I can leave out a lot of these pieces throughout the winter season.

Here’s a few of my glass pinecone ornaments.

And definitely not everything that I own is old, but this vintage pick of mercury glass beads sure looks cute in the new little vase I bought from Dream Green DIY. These are fun to find. I think they are Japanese made, and were intended to be icicles for your tree. But, they can add a little sparkle to a vase and you don’t have to worry about them dying.

So, there you have it. A little look at our holiday decorations. Now, it might be too late for this year, but it’s never too early to plan for next year. And actually this is the best time of year to buy Christmas decor, because it’s all on sale! Even antique malls and thrift stores will put their holiday decor on sale after Christmas. They don’t want to store it all year, so start hunting, and make them an offer, I’m sure they will be willing to give you a discount.

This post is sponsored by Minted. Thank you for supporting the companies that help make this blog possible. 

I think a lot of you can relate to this if you live in a new build. Often the smaller bedrooms are really just simple square rooms without much for architectural details or interesting moldings. Sometimes these spaces just need a big BANG of color, pattern and texture. I can’t wait to tell you guys about Minted’s new Wall Murals. But, you can see for yourself, these murals are absolutely  STUNNING!

This room definitely went from blank to beautiful!

I’ve long been a fan of Minted products and when I heard about the launch of this latest product, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Minted curates designs from a global community of independent artists and designers. So, you always feel like you are getting a one of a kind piece for your home. The model homes I have been working on are almost ready, so I decided the nursery needed a punch of color and this Tomah Wall Mural by Lorent and Leif is one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen. And I’m actually really kind of sad this isn’t in my home.

This home has a pretty traditional vibe, and I wanted the nursery to be gender neutral and have lots of nature elements to it. It turns out, I just had to pick some pretty neutrals, a couple vintage brass pieces, a few black + white patterns and the wall mural did the rest of the job for me. Walking into this room really changes your mood, it definitely transports you to a lush green landscape. And instead of just having one window, it’s like the whole room is a picture window now.

The mural was so much easier to put up then I thought. It came in 5 long panels and I had visions of messing up one of them or putting it on crooked. But, really it went up like a breeze and the material was so easy to work with. It laid super flat, was easy to readjust if I needed to reposition it a bit and the seams came together beautifully. I do recommend having a friend to help, you could definitely hang it by yourself, but a second set of hands is really helpful when you are going up a down a ladder. Minted’s site also provided awesome step by step instructions, but I’ll list a couple things we figure out along the way.

Tips + Tricks

• My assistant Bree helped my put this mural up, her motto is, “When in doubt, squeegee it out!”. And a simple shower squeegee was a handy tool to have, you could work from the center of the panel out and get any bubbles or folds out very easily with a little squeegee action.
• For the first panel, you can’t trust the the corner of the wall is a totally straight line. So, we measured an inch shy of the width of the panel and used a level to draw a straight line down the wall. They we had a true straight line to follow and if the corner wasn’t completely straight, we had an inch that could be cut away at the end. After that first panel was in place, we just followed it as a guide for the rest.
• Before we removed the backing at the top of each panel, we first used a little painters tape and taped it in place where the pattern matched up the length of the panel. Then we would peel back about 6 inches of the backing from the top and adhere it in place. The the weight of the panel wasn’t pulling on the top, and we knew that it would line up perfectly even when we got to the bottom.
• We had a few inches to spare on the both the length and width of our panels. So we didn’t started right at the very first edge of the mural, we gave ourselves 2 inches of play. This way if the ceiling line wasn’t totally straight, we would end up with a gap on one end. They we just trimmed away that excess at the end.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that this wallpaper is completely removable. So, if you are a renter or just afraid of permanent installations, this can be taken down in minutes with no damage to the walls at all.

And even once all the panels were up, it was so simple to trim the excess. The lines in the corners, baseboards and ceiling all came out really straight with just a simple x-acto blade cut.

I kept the rest of the room pretty quiet with a couple of black and white prints. A simple alphabet chart and an adorable llama was all the room needed. The dresser I bought at a second hand store for $30 and my dad gave it a fresh coat of paint for me. Originally I thought I would put gold hardware on it, but the black pulls just looked so sharp and played nicely with the pretty Jenny Lind black bed.

I also feel like this is a mural that a child can grow up with. Even though this is a nursery now, it’s not a necessarily a baby-ish scene. I could easily see this being a very cool teenager’s space. Gosh, I want this mural behind my bed.

So, the question is, what do you think? Would you put a mural in your home? Is there a room that is just begging for a bold statement wall? You should definitely go check out Minted’s selection of murals, there is literally a color, pattern, and style for any space.

How about a little sneak peek of what is to come tomorrow morning. I miss this blog. I’ve been so busy with projects and client work here in town that poor O+P hasn’t seen any love in a while. But, finally one of those local projects is getting a little closer to completion and I can start sharing the finished product with you. Remember the Tarina Homes Inc. model homes at Shamrock Hills I’ve been talking about for over a year? Well……. I have one room ready for you to see, and it’s a pretty darn cute one.

The nursery is almost DONE! The full reveal is coming soon, but I thought I’d share the mood board with you first. Just to give you a little taste of what’s to come. And don’t fret, all the sources will be linked as well.

But, without a doubt, the Minted Wall Mural is the star of the space. Those rolling green hills and puffy clouds are going to be the backdrop for the crib. What baby wouldn’t want to live here.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy what is left of your weekend.