By Shelly Thompson

I think days spent making Kleenex roses, creating nylon netting bridal vales, and drying flowers from my grandma's garden for cards...were the beginning of my LOVE of DIY...with anything. I so admire people who take all those industial pieces and make the most amazing creations...but me, I find an old pair of shoes, or a scrap of paper with cool writing, or an old book with beautiful vintage font...and I know I must make some type of DIY item. 

I honestly think I could write a book titled "Why the heck are you saving that?" that's my husbands favorite question, when I find a scrap of paper from the 1800's that makes me gasp aloud with sheer delight in the beauty and history it contains. Later, when I show my husband how I used my amazing find...that was probably discarded truly as nothing, or I paid .50 for it (which he felt was WAY too much for my little treasure!)...he is always amazed. You would think that continual question, "Why the heck are you saving that?" would cease...well, no it does not. But, I am not deterred by it! 

You shouldn't be either. Let's get busy and let me show you some things that might get you looking through your home for some unique things to amp them up and make them into creative pieces that people can't resist asking about when they come in your home this Christmas! 
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Hodge Podge!

I love this no frills, fun, colorful grouping of 'hodge podge'. It contains a small old gardening bucket (with a little garden dirt you can't see...yikes!), a left over roll of colorful plaid material with snowflakes, a pinecone I collected from my yard, two bottle brush trees that are missing the bases...so they make great tuck-ins for the planter and Santa mug, and the final jewel in this hodge podge...a vintage santa mug that is lonely...as all the other ones in this set of four are long gone. But the mug shines here. This is a great grouping for an entry way, on top of a stack of red books, or beside the soap and towels in the bathroom...it would be great anywhere. 

And, it truly is a collection of...hodge podge...that looks amazingly perfect together! 

Silent Night House

Thls little glass 'house' piece had been sitting with some small plants in it. I decided to use some dark ink and 'paint' it. I painted the words 'Silent Night' and dated it 1910 and painted two tall evergreens. I added snow, a little house, and some trees and then placed the little house on top of the books and easy peasy...it's all ready!  The best thing...the paint can be scrapped off after Christmas.

Shoes...or boots. 

I love tucking a shoe in my decor somewhere, or a pair of gardening boots with a pencil Christmas tree poking out of them. I look for shoes at every flea market, garage sale, estate sale...anyplace. And, here's the really great news...if you see a pair of shoes or boots that you really like, but perhaps the color isn't what you want...seriously...paint them! Dixie Belle or Annie Sloan paint will have your shoes looking any color you want with one coat (don't dilute the Dixie Belle as if you were applying to furniture). 

These sweet red gardening shoes are perfect with pine cones from my yard, and a 12" pencil tree tucked in them. These would be perfect in an entryway with a little wood block by the toe that said 'Hello'...what a fun greeting for guests during the holiday, and these actually look great for Christmas, but could also transition into a winter decoration as well. Who doesn't love less work????

Use what you love. 

Use what your heart loves. This could be a photo of my favorite things I love...vintage tape measures, chippy spindles, bingo cards...these little things just make me smile. Using spindles gives height to bottle brush trees, or you can place a santa mug on top, or a bird can perch on these adorable spindles to bring some nature into your space. Tape measures make great 'trim' for small trees, and with the font's and different muted colors they give that vintage feel to whatever they happen to be placed on. I like to fill some of my old glass coffee jars with an unrolled measuring tape. It just adds some texture and interest. 

Never let a ceiling light fixture go to waste! 

I love old ceiling lamp bases. They are usually chippy and perfect. Whenever I have them for sale in the shop, people often ask how I would use them. Here's one way I style my ceiling lamp base at Christmas.

This ceiling light base is from a 1920 home. it looks great with a book, bird, greenery, and a small pine tree. I also added a vintage pillar (part of a stairway rail) with a bird sitting on top of it. 

Add some some battery operated twinkle lights around it and it's even better! 

These are so much fun all year to decorate with! They make great plant holders too! 

A good "rule" for great decor! 

This vintage cupboard door got the perfect repurpose with rulers and a snowflake. 

There are so many ways you could create a ruler tree. You might want to place Christmas gift wrap or scrap book paper behind your rulers, or just keep it simple. 

When you see old yard sticks, grab them because this is just one of many things you can do to repurpose them! 

Adding vintage game pieces to your decor gives it a vintage vibe that you'll really enjoy. Even the contrast of the letters creates texture and a layered look.

Look for boxes of these vintage letters at thrift stores and garage sales! You'll find multiple ways to use them throughout the year! 

"Fishing" for a great Christmas Decoration

This vintage red tackle box became the perfect focal point for this little vignette. I removed the green tray and filled it with a few fishing lures and some Christmas items, including small bottle brush trees. Then, I scoured my book collection and found this fishing book with a green cover! 

it looked adorable! You could always tuck in a photo of your favorite fisherman! 

Books.

Stamping and embellishing books is fun and fairly inexpensive, especially if you purchase your ribbon and embellishing supplies during garage sale season for pennies. Often you can find bags of little items that are perfect as book embellishments for .25 per bag. The stamps can be an expensive investment, but often Michael's has coupons for half off, or buy one get one half off so you can collect a variety of sizes, without spending tons of money on stamps. 

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One more stamp idea.

So many cute things on this chair...notice the vintage playing cards spelling Christmas along the edge, and the vintage black pot stamped with silent night. Remember, once you have your stamp sets, you can use them for many things. You might have to get a different stamp pad ink for different surfaces, like metal, but it's totally worth it. This little pot would look great in an entry way, or counter top filled with some holiday chocolates for guests to take as they leave, or a few bottle brush trees. 

You'll be singing with happiness at this project! 

I've loved old music rolls literally as long as I can remember. That yellowish paper, the tiny holes for the music to play, the way it rolls, and many have the most adorable little dangle things at the end of the roll. Some music rolls have the words to the song printed sideways. What's not to love about a music roll? It's an inexpensive mini roll of art in sound. 

There are many ways to use music rolls, the easiest is stamping as the one shown on my window. i love how the light comes through. You can also get thin decoupage papers that come in vintage papers and they look stunning in a collage on the music roll. If the bottom dangle is missing, you can get little bells, or dice, whatever you like and glue it on. 

Remember to use old photos of your family tucked around with your groupings. I made this old photo pictured into a tree topper. 
I hope you've enjoyed some DIY time and I've given you some fun ideas. And remember, do not listen when your husband says, "What the heck are you going to do with that?" Pull out your phone and show him these pictures! 

Hopefully, you've found some inspiration in these ideas to get you started on your way to repurposing, salvaging, and loving the fun you can have doing it! ​