Neighbor's Auction Gifts

My neighbor brought me these vintage items from a weekend auction. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Neighbor’s Auction Gifts

One of my neighbors surprised me today with a couple of vintage items she picked up at a weekend auction. We were meeting to try to identify the leaves of a tree she was interested in planting in her yard.. As we caught up on family news she gave me a couple of items that now are prominently part of my home decor.

If you notice the items we carry, they reflect my philosophy that we should surround ourselves with items that have good memories attached and yes, bring us joy. Although I have been clearing closets and donating items I no longer use or want this summer, I tend to keep things that make me smile. I think we need more smiles these days, don’t you?

Here are a couple of ways to inspire you to find gift items that will also bring joy to your family and friends:

One of my favorite garden residents are frogs. I have a lot of them, especially in my small front ponds. So does my neighbor, especially when the kids of another resident bring us buckets of spring peepers out of their swimming pool. We solemnly take them it, dump them in our small ponds and keep our fingers crossed that at least some of them will stay. We know the kids will come by later to check on them!

A friend gave me this print of orange poppies, each with their own frog. This sprint sits in the place of honor in the middle of my basement bookcase, where I have a tiny bar attached I call the “Bee Bar.”

The little oil and vinegar jars are now keeping the frogs company. I will now see those and remember all of the frogs we have shared over the years.

The oil and vinegar jars now are in my basement “Bee Bar” kitchen. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

As for the second gift, it is tied to where I live and all of the birds and bird houses I have set up around the property. Since I live on Bluebird Lane, my neighbor thought I needed this vintage blue glass bluebird, which is now keeping a couple of other gifts company on my den fireplace mantle. The glass swizzle sticks and glass jars were gifts from the glass blower and a Navy friend. The birdhouse was a gift from a publishing friend. The wooden bee was a gift from a local club where I spoke recently and now the bee has a friend in the bluebird.

The little bluebird has joined a gift bee from a lecture and a birdhouse from a friend. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

So considerate of my neighbor to share these with me and a reminder that you can bring joy to people with vintage as well as new items, the key is that they have something meaningful attached.

Charlotte

Reading Nook Disaster

This is reading nook central, where I do most of my writing, research reading and cat petting.

Reading Nook Disaster

I have been featuring a number of reading nook ideas I have around my house to inspire you to set one - or half a dozen - up in your home. Studies show having a quiet space where we can go to relax, read, unplug from our electronic devices and spend time with a pet - is a good way to reduce blood pressure and help us be happier.

I know the traditional approach is to show perfectly appointed rooms but that's not reality so here's my quite real, and a bit of a disaster, reading nook in my den off my kitchen. This is also reading nook central, the spot in my house I use the most because it has the largest side tables where I can use my computer to write, and where I can pile the most books when I do my research.

I know I said unplug earlier, and I will show you how I learned to do that in a minute.

In addition, the two-seater sofa has a bunch of throw pillows. I use some for a head rest, the others to fill in the gaps until I can have the two separate seat cushions merged into one large one. These tiny love sofas are not designed with stereo cats in mind!

A breakfast tray works well as a computer stand when I don't want to use the side table.

Even so, I still have some of the principles I showed you in other reading nooks, starting with the Four Season's Throw on the sofa back. I like to have quilts and throws close by so I can curl up at the first inclination of a cat nap. This sweet all cotton throw has four panels featuring each of the seasons so I can easily refold it to mark a different time of the year.

Right now I have it folded for the winter scene.

Four Seasons Throw has four different panels that can easily be featured on the back of the sofa.

Instead of a basket to hold books, I use an old wood magazine rack I refinished. Magazines don't sit up well in these contraptions but books do so I keep some of the ones slated for further study close by. If they graduate to the magazine rack they are slated for reading soon.

An old wood magazine rack works better to hold books slated for closer study.

I also have baskets, only in this reading nook I don't use some of them to hold books and magazines, I keep them on the side to hold items I need to repair. It's like having a little sewing area close by so I don't put off getting the things repaired because they are out of sight.

That poor little fabric turtle periodically disappears. I usually find it in another room in the middle of a pile of other cat toys, the victim of being purloined by my yellow cat Shirley Honey who has her own ideas of home decorating.

Several baskets grouped in my central reading nook help me get things repaired quicklyl

I also shopped for several flat baskets to keep my magazines nearby. Storing them flat prevents them from getting wonky when I tried to keep them standing up in a magazine rack and I can easily retrieve them when I need them. They have also been known to be used as cat napping spots.

Flat baskets add nice magazine storage space under my den coffee table.

Other simple home decor items have also been re-purposed. An old glass candle holder now holds TV remotes and hand cream. A sweet ladybug candleholder keeps my jump drives and multi-purpose knife handy.

The greeting cards I use for book marks sit in this whimsical ceramic napkin holder. I also tucked an address book and some notepads to keep them where I can easily get to them.

This ceramic flower vase now holds pens, emery boards and thread snips. Interesting flower vases can easily be repurposed so that you can enjoy seeing the actual vase.

This cute frog ceramic flower vase now serves as a pen, emery board and letter opener holder.

And last but not least, I have greenery. Studies show having green plants around us helps reduce stress and relax.

During summer, I have vases full of cut flowers. In winter, I move blooming plants to the corner of the table, this orchid a dendrobium from Burma that started blooming for the first time for me. Love having fresh growing flowers close, especially when everything outside is gray and gloomy.

This dendrobium orchid from Burma is now blooming and sitting on my den coffee table. Greenery can be as simple as a small blooming orchid.

In winter, my larger plants are scattered through the house, this is an orange tree.

To keep my den reading nook green, I left my large orange tree hanging over the side of the sofa. This was an orange seed someone planted 25 years ago and the tree became too big for their space so they asked if I wanted it. After a little trimming, it's now part of my moving collection, sitting on casters so I can easily move it outside to my deck after the danger of frost is over. Many butterfly caterpillars have been known to munch onthe leaves mid-summer.

Do I relax in this space? Yes, the cats make sure I do, even when I try to work. Margaret the white cat is an expert at cat naps and she likes to have company. She has chewed on the computer cord a couple of times to let me know when she sits in my lap, I am to set the skinny gray box aside so that I give her my full attention.

She's right, we were not meant to spend all of our days attached to electronics, 10-20 minute naps are an excellent way to unplug and recharge our personal batteries. Reading a book to take a break is a close second but only if the cat approves!

Charlotte

Flower Garden Cutter Quilt Santa Dolls

An old flower garden quilt was made into Santa's long suit in this unique one of a kind Santa doll.

Flower Garden Cutter Quilt Santa Dolls

Sometimes one has that one quilt that is just so special but so ragged it just can't be used as bedding but you don't want to give it away or discard it. That's the story behind these Santa dolls made from old quilts like this Flower Garden Cutter quilt santa doll.

Santa's face is made out of brand new cotton muslin with a muslin beard, as are his arms and legs. His hat and gown are made out of a salvaged old Flower Garden patchwork quilt that was falling apart so the good parts were salvaged.

The nose is a wood dowel covered in fabric, which doesn't sound very charming but it is once you see it finished and on the doll face.

This Santa is ready to sit on a mantle or under a Christmas tree!

Since these are made from old quilt remnants, each Santa doll is unique.

To make it easier for Santa doll to be incorporated into your home decor, each Santa doll is shipped with a metal doll stand so you can pose Santa doll standing. The doll will also easily sit on packages, on a mantle, in a sleigh...

Customers who have purchased these Santa dolls have said these are "nicer than they expected them to be." Much better than being naughtier, don't you think?

Charlotte

Birthday Wishes Vintage Postcard Friends

Vintage birthday wishes postcard now has baby birds in a nest salt and pepper shakers.

Birthday Wishes Vintage Postcard and Salt and Pepper Shaker Friends

The vintage postcards were a gift from my grandmother. She used to include them in the books she gave us from Christmas, sometimes writing a personal note in pencil on the back side.

I now use the vintage postcards to mark special holidays and occasions. I keep a small collection of them already framed, and change them when I want to try something new. The vintage postcards mark special occasions, from birthdays to favorite holidays. There are even a few postcards about favorite subjects, such as cats, and bees.

The vintage postcards sit on a silver tray on a wooden cart in my kitchen, a nice way to greet me in the morning. My kitchen is the heart of my home so it makes sense to have something special where I can enjoy it. I started adding salt and pepper shakers to the vintage postcards last year, a nice way to add charm to the vintage postcards.

I didn't have complimentary salt and pepper shakers to add to the birthday wishes vintage postcard until an afternoon of hitting local antique malls with a friend. I don't plan to collect salt and pepper shakers, I just want a few that can keep my vintage postcards company for easy home decorating.

How do I decide? Quite simple, they have to make me smile. These two yellow baby birds in a brown nest came home with me. Price $2.80.

The yellow birds are easily removable from the brown porcelain nest.

The yellow birds are removable from the brown porcelain nest. Both are shakers, see the tiny holes in the nest?

The little salt and pepper shakers add some whimsical charm to the birthday wishes vintage postcard, don't you think?

Charlotte

"..not even a mouse."

My fireplace mantle village has a portion full of little mice gift figurines, only one a purchase.

"...not even a mouse."

"Twas the Night Before Christmas" is the inspiration for this little scene on my fireplace mantle, although I didn't set out to create it. See the little mouse stocking on top of the Christmas tree?

The mouse stocking has been part of my family stocking line-up for decades, a whimsical tribute to the mice I have escorted out of the house because my cats over the years couldn't be bothered. Not that I wanted the mice to be injured; I would much rather have had them stay outside than running across my kitchen floor the day after the first hard frost and my having to catch them.

In honor of some of those mouse-catching adventures, friends have given me mouse gifts over the years. I grouped them together one year and they have been sitting together ever since, appropriate to be hanging out on the side of the fireplace mantle away from the cat stocking hangar. 

Such a simple little scene but it makes me smile every time I see it, especially the little girl mouse tucked in bed. I was trying to put my finger on why this charms me and I know why, and so do you. It represents the magic of Christmas.

"'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...."

Charlotte

Vintage Postcard Holiday Scene

A vintage Christmas postcard joins a small decorated tree and presents in my kitchen.

Vintage Postcard Holiday Scene

This little holiday scene is the first time that greets me when I go into my kitchen. Sitting on the edge of a reclaimed silver tray on my kitchen island, the little holiday scene makes me smile. It's a simple way to add a little holiday cheer to perhaps the most used room in our homes.

The little artificial tree is stored in a tote all decorated so all I have to do is pull it out and place it with the vintage postcard. For fun, this year I looked for little salt and pepper shakers to place under the tiny artificial tree.

I found this little bear porcelain pepper shaker at a local thrift store for 25 cents. Without its mate, I guess they thought the chances of its finding a new home were slim to none. 

The little rabbit on wheels to the right was a Russ toy I picked up at a yard sale a couple of years ago. I think that find was $1.

My other find this year was this charming porcelain doll salt shaker. In my mind, she was a perfect mate for the little bear shaker.

Great way to repurpose those salt and pepper shakers that once were highly collectible. I am finding a set to keep each of my favorite vintage postcards company marking the different seasons. I am still missing a few vintage postcards but those are also on my wish list.

Half the fun is the treasure hunt!

Charlotte

Personalized Santa Gourds

If you have left over Halloween and Thanksgiving gourds, fun way to personalize them by painting them into Santas and writing someone's name and date on the bottom.

Remember to set them on their sides so the bottom can dry.

Here is another gourd painted into a Santa, this one was among a collection of Santas at a landmark restaurant "the Landing" in Van Buren, Missouri.

What is Christmas without at least one Santa Claus?

Charlotte

Merry Christmas!

I collect vintage postcards and change them with the seasons out of 4x6 picture frames.

Pick a subject you like, and look for vintage postcards that have that topic reflected in some part of the vintage postcard.

My collection includes vintage postcards with flowers, birds and cats. You can also collect different picture frames to compliment postcard colors. Vintage with modern makes a nice combination. This vintage postcard is framed on a table next to my front door so I can see it every time I walk by.

From my home to yours, may you have a very Merry, and interesting, Christmas!

Charlotte

Welcome

Welcome to Made Just For You.

I started Bluebird Gardens in 1998 on the premise that everyone can make
something; they just don’t always think of it as being special.
In my world, it is the thought that counts.
I’ll let you in on a little secret; making something for someone is
sometimes more fun than giving it away.
I’ll be featuring those wonderful homemade handmade things,
and the people who are special enough to get them.

What are you making?

Charlotte