Homegrown and Handmade Book Signing

Deborah Niemann, author of Homegrown and Handmade, will be signing books at Old City Hall Shoppes on Sunday, Dec. 18 from 1-3pm. Deborah moved her family from Chicago to Livingston County in 2002 to be able to raise their own organically grown food. Deborah has since become a sought-after speaker on the topic of sustainable living. This book would make a great Christmas gift for someone on your list!

Read more about Deborah at her website.

Santa's been here...

and he bought this doll's house. He says his name is Amanda, but I'm pretty sure it was really him!

Merry Christmas!

 

 We have many vintage items in the shop which can be used in your Christmas decorating! And some ideas to take home with you as well. This year we printed large letters on old book pages to spell out holiday wishes. The tree is one cut from a friend's woodlot, and we painted it white. Burlap adds some nice texture too...you can easily use it at home for a rustic tree skirt or ribbon on a wreath.

  I've seen book pages used as wall paper, but we just used a bit of tape to make a backdrop for the Christmas season. By using several different books, we got lots of shades of mellow whites.

Springs from an old crib or bed make a great way to display Christmas cards and photos.

 Lots of shades of white, and lots of little white lights! Put some little lights in your house plants too!

 Crib rails can be used for magazine racks, trellis, towel racks, or use clothes pins or office clips to display your holiday cards. Antique cribs make great display pieces, but they are not up to today's safety standards, so we find lots of ways to use those wonderful old metal pieces.

 Vintage bottles, mirrors, prisms, and frogs

 Book pages, skates

 Vintage lace and glassware. Pull out all the red and green, and cut glass pieces. 

They sparkle in the Christmas lights!

Pennants and Prisms...

 

 Rah, rah!

  

I don't know what these prisms were a part of, but I like them...one side is mirrored and they reflect the light so nicely! Heavy too. They'd make great paperweights.

Thunderbird....

Gee..our visitors drive the coolest vehicles. This one was sitting out front when I came back from the bank. It really would be a kick to travel Route 66 in this!

 Such a dashboard...love that speedometer.

Traveling the old road...

This weekend we've had lots of international travelers on Route 66.

 The rain finally stopped and we have blue skies!

Mary Wolf is now selling her handmade bracelets at Old City Hall Shoppes. She can make them in whatever colors you like. In the last few days I've sold them to visitors from Sweden, France and Japan! So fun to meet people from around the globe who love Route 66!

Happy Valentine's Day

Our Christmas lights have gone all Valnetines on us. I just pushed heart shaped paper doilies over the lights (far enough so they don't touch the bulbs) and it looks pretty. Our tin ceilings look like part of a valentine too!

Pink and red pottery and textiles

The red glassware is always good for Valentine's Day. It shows up some much better if you can light it up, either in a lighted case or with some little twinkle lights like we do in the shop.

I got a little carried away with the hearts! It's like being in a valentine card.

Soaps and sachets make nice little Valentines for your friends.

More red and pink!