Most of us have some sort of
old Christmas ornaments
hiding out in our stash, and it’s
amazing the stories they can
tell about who we were. It’s
almost like going on a
archaeological dig through our
life that shows our taste. From
the handmade by us as children
to the shiny brights in odd colors
they reflect what we loved, and
who we were.
Going through my boxes of ornaments brings back memories of how enamoured we became with some styles, and colors.
From my crafty times there were the handmade felt mice with embroidery thread whiskers, cross stitched hearts still containing the faintest whiff of potpourri. The pearlized angels and delicate glass and gold ornaments from the eighties, big hair, big glitz, big trees.
The Victorian years when we were into French horns, antique sleighs, and lace, everything had lots of lace, ribbons, and was covered in dried flowers.
There were the red years, with red shiny brights, boxes and boxes of them, masses of red berries, and if stayed still long enough to glue a red plaid ribbon on it, you would.
Copper was a big draw for years, it started with a few antique pale shimmering shiny brights from my childhood given to me by my Mom. It evolved into a collection of copper colored, tangerine, orange, and russet ornaments that I still love but need a break from for a year or so.
I moved from copper to chartreuse, that vivid eye popping green that was in my wardrobe, my ornaments, even my wallet was that color…and now I just can’t understand my infatuation with it.
Now it’s turquoise, I love turquoise, can you tell….let’s just hope that this love affair outlasts the others. Turquoise…you are my true love, all those other shades of Christmas were just the runners up to your shining beauty.
So what interesting color combos do you have hidden in your stash, or are you a love em and leave em kind of Christmas decorator, do you shop and drop, changing from one year to the other?
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Your decorations are so pretty Jen! I have a star just like the one you have. There are for sure some decorations I can't part with, even though I don't use them. They get unpacked and looked at every year when I am decorating and they bring back memories.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a beautiful weekend!
xo Catherine
How lovely your photos and ornaments are... I bought antique ornaments from the 50s when I first married and love them still. But now the tree is filled with ornaments our son made or friends and family have given to us. xo
ReplyDeleteMe, I have what my kids call designer trees. No Hallmark sentiment on my tree. I've had red and white checked, now my daughter uses them. I have a set of miniature ornaments when I have my long trunk artificial woodsie tree out. This year, I'm back to the cream, white and gold, with a little turquoise for good measure. (Matches my living room furniture)
ReplyDeleteMy Christmas ornaments are the same pretty much every year...so many have such precious memories; things the kids made in school, places we visited and a small collection of vintage ornaments that I inherited from my parents. Every year I pick up one or two and that pretty much signifies the time. I love your ever changing style! The turquoise looks beautiful (gorgeous pics!). Have you done your tree yet?
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend, Jen!
XO,
Jane
I think the turquoise and copper are definitely keepers. The chartreuse? Ew, hard to imagine we ever liked that, isn't it! lol
ReplyDeleteFunny you should write about this today. This is the first year I've decorated my tree differently, opting for a simple, almost sparse assortment of miniature coloured balls. Every other year, it's almost felt like a betrayal, not to include the odd assortment of weird and wonderful decorations that I've garnered over the years as personal selections and gifts from others - some store bought and others hand made. I felt like a rebel this year, deciding to take a different route and I like my little tree.
ReplyDeleteOh they are pretty ! I like all kinds of colours some really . Papa will be wood working his magic in making more of our decorations and I may paint them or leave them natural . Have a great day !
ReplyDeleteHe he he... an archeological dig indeed! We love the memories the special ornaments bring. Love turquoise too... always have, always will. It is lovely with the copper too!
ReplyDeletewhat beautiful colors and decorations. they can tell a lot about a family, I agree.
ReplyDeleteI think your kitty will definitely want to check this out:
http://www.takeahappybreak.com/2012/12/first-doggie-tours-white-house-at.html
Boo, this is about Bo the White House DOGGIE!!! Mr. Cheddar was not amused. LOL
All of my ornaments have memories tied to them, as I purchase something on my trips (no matter what time of year) that can be used on my Christmas tree. Unpacking and using the ornaments sparks memories of places and the adventures surrounding them.
ReplyDeleteI have only a few traditional round ornaments and those are from my childhood. I also have the turkey wishbone from 1977 as well as some small toys that have strong memories. My Christmas tree is a link to times past rather than something that reflect decorating colors/trends.
Your turquoise decorations are gorgeous Jen. I like a bit of everything but particularly vintage glass ornaments and newer sparkly or glass ones. You will see a lot of turquoise on the tree though - old and new. I have a bit of everything in the house with red and white in the kitchen. My Hallmark ornaments are in the bin and I've given the kids ornaments to them for their trees and I still have lots that aren't on the tree.
ReplyDeleteMy ornaments probably say something like, "this woman is all over the map." I have sentimental ornaments collected over the years, and lots of gold, silver and sparkly ones to fill in. That's about it. I love those turquoise balls you have, and the copper looks pretty, too.
ReplyDeleteI definitely am a "love em and leave em" kind of girl. I get so bored with stuff that I very seldom use the same thing twice. I do have some decorations that I use yearly but generally, I really change things up.
ReplyDeleteJudy
You definitely caught my attention with, "The Victorian years when we were into French horns, antique sleighs, and lace, everything had lots of lace, ribbons, and was covered in dried flowers." The girls say Queen Victoria upchucked all over the place. Pay no attention to them. I no longer dress them in velvet skirts and pose them in front of the tree. I do it for me. I love every memory. I love unwrapping the tissue and finding another keepsake. I love Christmas. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that the same ornaments (with a few new additions) come out year after year. Some are from my childhood, most are from my childrens' and a few are gifts we received through the years. I do like the fact that each one has a bit of a story and I think that's what my kids liked about our tree. However, I am a great admirer of the themed trees and take great delight in living vicariously through many bloggers and designers' images. I don't have a tree yet! It's been such a strange holiday season thus far, but I hope this weekend to get a small tree and bring out those old decorations. Ann
ReplyDeleteYou've brought back neat memories with this post. My phases were more long-lived because in my house growing up the ornaments never changed significantly and never were color coordinated (which drove me nuts). So as an adult I first started out with a cream, peach and pale foam green assortment. Then years later I switched to an aubergine, raspberry and gold collection. The year after 9-11 we had red, white and blue. For a few years now, I'm very understated with little color other than the color of fresh greens with just hints of pale robin's egg blue, pale green and silvery tones. It's been my favorite since I was little and now I've finally lighted upon it as an adult.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of your ornaments. Love the turquoise ones. I have a collection of teddy bear ornaments.
ReplyDeleteFor me the color is Victorian pink and gold. I used to do two trees. One with all of the vintage decorations from my grandmother's tree, my mother's tree, my husband's grandmother's tree, and the decorations I had when my children were little. Then several years ago I began decorating a pink and gold tree. Then we moved and I don't have room for the big pink tree, so now I decorate a smaller tree and have added another tree for the kitchen with wild birds. I'll blog about them soon. I love your colors, too. My friend ha a different theme each year. Hope that you share your decorated tree.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos as usual Jen... my Christmas ornaments have remained packed away for the last few years as I haven't put up my large tree... mostly victorian style decorations. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to look back at what we once loved. Chartreuse??? What were we thinking? I am into subdued colors. My favorite Christmas decoration is the nativity scene my two daughters made and gave me a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Laura
Let's see ... there are the homemade stars made of paper dipped in hot wax and glitter ... the birds and toy soldiers ... the angels made of woven flax ... the ornaments with pictures of the kids from the pre-school years, made as a gift by their day care provider. It's true, the ornaments contain a collection of memories.
ReplyDeleteI have boxes of ornaments I haven't seen in years...I am a whim eclectic ornaments buyer...so my tree was always colorful and interesting...I was a Santa collector so i have many Santas...love the new color Jen!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I love the blue!
ReplyDeleteI have my Shiny Bright tree and the other tree has mostly handmade and gift ornaments..I have never gone with the fads..I always march to my own drummer..although your turquoise is beautiful:)
ReplyDelete