Christmas Morning, A Peppermint Wreath How To, Taking a Holiday Break

Hello!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to share a few images from our Christmas morning......

We stayed home and spent the day together as a family.....

I was able to snap a few pictures before the madness began on Christmas morning.....

Once again we weren't able to get the tree decorated before Christmas.....

We got our tree from a tree farm along Apple Hill a few days before Christmas....

It is a Silvertipped Fir Christmas tree....

(The vintage ski poles are from Belgium)

This year for wrapping paper we used Martha Stewart Packing Paper from Staples.....

We used a massive amount of MT Masking Tape : ).....

My favorite color of tape is the red and white designs.....

The girls wrapped most of the gifts this year and decided to stamp snowflakes onto the wrapping paper on some of the packages.....

We made gift tags using the image of Lili on the sled.....

The gifts were wrapped with Dutch butcher twine and then we added some fresh fir to the packages.....

I thought my son looked so cute wrapped up in his blanket he had just opened from his Aunt Nancy..... It is the cutest blanket from the Better Homes and Garden line at Walmart....

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On another note.......

Last year I had posted images of the peppermint wreath we made, and received a lot of questions about it, so I thought I would share a few more details with you on how to make the peppermint wreath......

I had hoped to share this post with you before Christmas and unfortunately wasn't able to find the time to do so..... I think it would be fun to do for Valentine's Day as well......

It is a really fun and an easy project to do with the kids......

All you need is a styrofoam wreath form, hot glue gun, glue sticks, and peppermint candies....

We got our wreath form at Michaels.....

You can choose the size you think would work best.....

Unwrap your candies......

The kids love helping unwrap the candy : ).....

Hot glue rows of peppermint candies around your wreath......

Make sure you use a generous amount of glue on each candy......

We then glue another row of peppermint candies around the wreath to cover the holes so you don't see the styrofoam.....

I had the boys put on their newsboy caps for the pictures : )......

I do not store my peppermint wreaths, we discard them and then make a new one the following year.....

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On a final note.......

I am taking some time off from shipping out packages in the shop starting today December 27th 

until January 15th.  You can still order items from our shop, just please note that your items will not ship until after January 15th.....

I hope you all had a Blessed Christmas and I want to wish you all a Happy New Year.......

Take Care, 

Maria 

Dreamy Whites Shop

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Two Special Contributors, Migonis Home and Rusty Hinge

Hello!

I have two special contributors today......

The first contributor is is Jen Migoni of the blog Migonis Home.

I love Jen's blog and home, and was so excited when she said she would contribute a story for my blog.....

Thank you Jen! 

I am sitting at this table all set up and our white large vintage lights lit beside me with a Christmas candle going... my son is sleeping. It feels like a calm, yet fun, Christmas so far. Last year I did a sophisticated natural take on Christmas and this year I decided to use our Restoration Hardware gorgeous blue ornaments, like I do every year, but with a fun twist. My son Drew will be two a few days after Christmas and I wanted to create a childlike atmosphere that he would adore.

When Maria told me she loved my tablescapes I decided to do one in the bonnet blue and red scheme that I have running through our main floor this year. I found the large ornaments at the Dollar Store and spray painted them colors that coordinated with our Advent Calendar.

I think I would find the color scheme too out there for Christmas if it wasn't balanced by a lot of greenery, and even though I love experimenting with fun decorating colors I find myself dreaming of another sophisticated, and calm, Christmas next year with varying tones of white.

I made some hot chocolate, added a little peppermint flavoring with the candy cane, and used that to mount the red napkins (an inexpensive Marshalls find).

Because every cup of hot chocolate should be topped with marshmallows I filled a little parfait glass with the mini version and then surrounded them with decorated sugar cookies (which I have unfortunately already eaten four of!Eeek!).

My husband, AJ, and I just took a weekend away and went to New York City. While there we stopped into Anthropologie and fell in love with their large textured reindeer displays. I found these reindeer at Michaels and then spray painted them to match our decor (and will probably spray paint them white for next year's theme).

I always think it's fun to see a set up from different angles so here are a couple for you...

There you have it: a simple, brightly colored and child friendly tablescape! I'd love for you to stop by Migonis Home and introduce yourself... it would make my day!

Thank you Jen!

I hope you get  a chance to visit Jen's beautiful blog, Migonis Home!

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My next contributor is Maria of the blog the Rusty Hinge.....

Maria has a beautiful home and I love her inspirational blog.....

Thank you Maria!

Hello everyone!  My name is Maria from Rusty Hinge.  It is such a pleasure to be here guest posting at Dreamy Whites today!  Thank you, Maria, for inviting me back to share a project.  Your blog is such a treat and your creative talent in both photography and styling is impeccable.  You have an eye for re-purposing new life into the old and vintage (I love, love your grainsack dog beds and tree skirts!)  In doing so, you are such an inspiration to me and others!  

I know we are smack in the middle of the Christmas season, so I shall be short and sweet with my post as I know all of you have presents to wrap, food to prepare, parties to run off to, and maybe some last minute shopping!  But first, may I show you my Favori French mosaic platter?

  Several weeks ago, one of my Favori (meaning "favorite" in French) dishes was broken.  Around the same time, an antique English transferware compote that I purchased online arrived in pieces.  Both were beyond repair and I was extremely disappointed.  Before throwing them both out, I noticed that the red and pink color hues of the two were compatible.  An idea began to form, and I proceeded in making a mosaic from the broken pieces.  

It turned out to be easier than expected although I did hit a few bumps.  I'll share with you some tips so that your experience will be a smooth ride!  I started by purchasing a heavy white serving platter as my base, but you can choose just about any hard surface.  Next, I took a hammer to the broken dishes to break them into smaller pieces.  If you want more precise shapes, use a tile nippers.  

I arranged the broken pieces in the general pattern that I desired with the pink compote pieces bordering along the rim of the platter and the red Favori pieces filling in the center.  I used Weldbond adhesive to attach them to the platter and let dry for a day until each piece was tightly secured.  Next, I began grouting the platter with Mosaic Mercantile grout, picked up at Hobby Lobby.

I advise that you fill an empty spray bottle with water and have a wet rag available during this entire process as the tile grout will need to dry with the proper moisture.  If it does not, the grout will crack.  When this happens simply spray with water and smooth.  After the grout has hardened somewhat, polish all excess grout off the tiles with the wet rag.  I let it cure for a couple days before applying tile sealer.  There you have it!  So don't despair when your favorite dish breaks, just remember to save your broken pieces to create your own mosaic!

Thank-you again, Maria, for this invitation.  It has been such a pleasure to be your guest!  

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!

Maria ~Rusty Hinge
Thank you Maria!
You can visit Maria's beautiful blog by visiting the Rusty Hinge.....

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  
Take Care, 
Maria 

Vintage European Sleds and Miss Mustard Seed is in Petaluma Today

Hello!

I just wanted to write a quick post today....

I recently found this vintage Dutch sled for the shop.....

I thought they would be so cute to turn into a little hot chocolate bar during the holidays....

They also can still be used for sledding...

Lili is standing on a vintage french sled, we actually used this sled in the Better Homes and Garden

Christmas story.... The kids' tree was displayed on it....

This is an image of some of my most recent vintage french farmhouse finds....

I will be listing all of these items in the shop soon.....

On another note....

I am headed to Petaluma with the girls to attend a book signing with Marian Parsons of Miss Mustard Seed.... Marian is one of the first people I connected with when I first started blogging.

She has been such an inspiration to me and I know she has been an inspiration to so many of you.

It will be exciting to meet her in person.

We are also attending one of Marian's DIY Holiday Decorating Workshops today.....

It will be a fun day to remember.

The book signing is held at Summer Cottage Antiques in Petaluma, CA from 5:30 to 7:30.

Hope to see you there.

Take Care,

Maria 

Dreamy Whites Shop

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French Farmhouse Christmas Items in the Shop, Wintersteen Farms Wreaths, and a Container Sale

Hello!

Last week I listed a few of our handmade French Farmhouse Christmas items in our shop along with some vintage treasures last week......

 I still have a lot of items to load to our site....

The house has been rearranged one too many times this past month for product pictures.....

I wanted to share a few images of some of the items you will find in our shop.....

Advent Calendars made from vintage grain sacks.....

We make these bags using grain sacks and then paint the numbers on the bags using Martha Stewart stencils....

The girls and I had fun making the advent calendars......

We used our dutch butcher twine to tie them to this vintage french orchard ladder.

We have grain sack ribbon available.....

Here we cut out the stripes of a grain sack and turn it into ribbon for making bows......

It takes almost an entire grain sack to make the ribbon...

We make gift bags out of the scraps of the grain sack....

A set of 12 gift bags comes with the ribbon.

My sister, Liz made this adorable pot cover that is made from a grain sack....

We now have these available in our shop....

This year I am crazy about these little Christmas trees......

(I get my trees from The Antique Gardener.)

I tried to find as many of these vintage french zinc wash buckets as I could.....

I have a few of these available in our shop.....

One of my favorite vintage french buckets that has found a new home....

We made some gift bags from mangle cloth......

A fun way to give a gift, put it in a bag made from vintage linens....

My sister designed these tree skirts made from vintage European grain sacks.....

Vintage French Wooden Spoons.....

A Vintage French Wooden Caddy

an enamelware canister filled with flax seed and candles............

vintage knives and vintage french yellowware

I will be listing some of these vintage french trivets....

I love these tin frames......

My sister in law turned some antique ceiling tin tiles into frames....

I have seen ornaments hung from old windows in the past, so I thought it would be a fun idea to do with an empty tin frame.......

I will also be selling a few Christmas cards in the shop soon......

I am hoping they will arrive in the next couple of days......

A special thank you to Sara Duckett of Sadie Olive for designing the text on our cards, I love how they turned out.......

Thank you Sara : )

I will be posting updates on facebook when new items are listed in the shop over the next couple of weeks.

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On another note....

I recently received my Wintersteen Farms wreath in the mail......

I have been getting my wreaths from Wintersteen Farms the past three years and love their wreaths.....

Their wreaths are one of my favorite gifts to give during the holidays.....

Wintersteen Farms is a 36 acre noble and douglas fir tree farm.

The tree farm is owned and operated by Jeff and Kelly Kansla.  Jeff Kansla is my cousin.....

The wreaths are hand crafted from start to finish.

The material used to hand-craft their wreaths are cut daily to ensure freshness that will last throughout the season....

My cousin Jeff Kansla and his wife Kelly are the owners of Wintersteen Farms....

You can find out more about the Wintersteen Farms wreaths by visiting 

Wintersteen Farms..................

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I recently shot a candy story for Souvenir Lifestyle Magazine........
 I shared my three favorite recipes in the Souvenir Holiday issue......
My sisters taught me how to make candy and I shared recipes that were handed down from my sisters
I wanted to share a few images from the story....
It is one of my favorite stories I have shot for Souvenir.....



Caramels are an easy candy to make and are such a fun gift to give to someone special during the holidays..... Here I displayed them in an antique french jam pot.....
These jam pots are fun containers to put your candy in and give as gifts.....
I will be adding more of these vintage french jam pots to my site soon.
You can find the rest of my candy story and my three favorite recipes in the
Souvenir Lifestyle Magazine.
It is available digitally on the Souvenir website.....
Souvenir Lifestyle Magazine.

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On a final note....
Marina Geest of Over the Ocean Antiques is having a container sale today at Sue's Country Barn in Manteca CA....
Marina imports beautiful unique antiques from Europe....
I wanted to share some images of Marina's space at the Chateau Sonoma Flea Market that was held this spring (I posted about the sale here)

Marina imports beautiful french antiques..... as well as items from Holland and Belgium....

As you can see Marina imports beautiful items....

Marina's sale will be held at Sue's Country Barn in Manteca, CA.....

Thursday, December 6th 6pm to 5pm

It will also be held

Friday December 7th through Sunday December 9th, 10am to 5pm

The address for Sue's Barn is

12607 hwy. 120, Manteca, CA

You can contact Marina Geest at 209-327-9440.....

Hope to see you at the sale.....

Take Care,
Maria

Dreamy Whites Shop
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