Vintage Inspiration #113 Christmas Inspiration from the Vintage Suitcase

Even though most of us haven't started decorating for Christmas, I know we're all looking for ideas and inspiration. I'm wanting to do something a little different this year, so I'm soaking up all the "Christmas" that our local Open Houses have to offer. I visited Robin's Vintage Suitcase yesterday and walked in to a Christmas wonderland. Whites and Brights, elegant, with a vintage flair. The store was a feast for the eyes.

Robin's Vintage Suitcase 

Christmas Open House

November 9,10,11

Friday and Saturday 9-9

Sunday 11-4

724 S. Scenic

Spiringfield, Missouri

And speaking of Inspiration

here are a few links from last week...

Pam from House of Hawthornes has an interesting thought on collecting these Napco Turkey salt and peppers, candleholders, and planters. It will make you laugh and feel guilty at the same time.

Becky from Buckets of Burlap

welcomes November with a wonderful  rustic
Farmhouse Autumn Tablescape

Holly from Down to Earth Style 

shared her Master Bedroom with her creative
 Rustic Vintage Simple Style.
(don't you just love that pillow?)

Geneva from My Hearts Song created a simple but heartfelt banner 

out of shipping tags with a perfect message.

and oh my, 

this chair from Simone of Fleaing France

no words needed...

...And stay tuned for tomorrow evening 

for a Give Away from Dee at French Bleu Vintage

Party Time

Hope you'll join in 

with anything that's vintage or vintage inspired.

recipes, DIY, decor...

Please have a link back to Common Ground

 within your post to be featured.

And check out my Friday party gal pals while you're at it!

 See you tomorrow evening for the Give Away!

xoxo,

The Top Three from Vintage Inspiration

Hey Everyone, 

I made it this week to share the top three visited links from last week's Vintage Inspiration!

Megan from Restoring the Roost shares kitchen updates of her amazing Farmhouse kitchen that's full of personal vintage touches.

Kristen from Sophia's gave us a wonderful Thanksgiving tablesetting

that combines rustic and glam; inspired by a set of vintage goblets.

and The Curious Boys are dreaming of Christmas

 in their shop with a fabulous white tree 

decked out with industrial house numbers 

(and a personal favorite photo of mine)

Hope you'll come to the party tomorrow
as I'm sharing some of the glorious Christmas fun from
Robin's Vintage Suitcase
remember 
"anything vintage or vintage inspired"

See ya then,

Planting Paperwhites

One of my late Fall traditions of the last few years has been planting Paperwhites for the upcoming Holidays. Each year I look forward to their wonderful pristine white blooms filling the darkening days of Fall and Winter.  I've collected quite a few vintage "containers" in the last few years, so part of the fun of planting the bulbs is digging out my stash and deciding which ones to use.

I unbagged my bulbs and have them in an old strawberry flat with boxes that I've whitewashed. I just enjoy looking at them, while they wait their turn to be planted.

I'm going for a Nature themed Christmas this year,

so these will be just the first of that inspiration coming up.

As you can see, my helper is here.

Now if I can just keep her away from them.

I don't want chewed shoots...

A McCoy matte vase, an old chipped sugar bowl, and a new find, which is a French measuring pitcher, are readied for my first planting.

I use pea gravel as a base, then just a little potting mix. Just enough to cover the bottom 1/3 of the bulb. Too much water or soil will cause them to rot. In a day or two I'll sprinkle moss on top, which helps hold in the moisture.

They'll be here on the baker's rack for a while,

so they can have some good light to get started.

If you haven't planted them before I'll encourage you to try it,

the kiddos love them too.

You can hardly mess them up,

and I love to see them grow each day!

Hope you'll run by and check out my 

Paperwhite Pinterest Board too.

And if you haven't stopped by

The Marketplace

then just scroll down to the next post.

More of my Paperwhite Posts Here and  Here

Joining in for these parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Blissful Whites at Timewashed

All Star Block Party at Red Hen Home

Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

House Party at No Minimalist Here

From My Front Porch to Yours

Primp

Stuff and Nonsense

The Charm of Home

Shabby Art Boutique

At the Picket Fence

French Country Cottage

Rooted in Thyme

Craftberry Bush

Jennifer Rizzo

My Romantic Home

xoxo,

Welcome to The Marketplace

Hello to you all!

Well, we're into November now and with that comes all the fun of getting our game on for Christmas shopping and decorating. Today I wanted to share a few great shops that have wonderful items for Christmas. I've learned that when I'm looking for something specific, I head to Etsy first to see if I can locate that item. And Online Boutiques are fast becoming a unique and easy way to shop for anything we might want in gifts and decor items.
Many of you know Rosemary Barnes, who always "wows" us with her flare for her wonderful re-creations using amazing painting techniques. Lately Rosemary has been creating a new line of clay tags that have an old world look of antiquity. I just received a box of her beautiful tags that I'll be using this Christmas. Below is one of her Cherub plaques. You'll want to head over to her Etsy Shop and save it as a favorite, as she has a lot of beautiful items that she'll be listing soon.

Handmade Clay Cherub Plaque

from Rosemary at Villabarnes

Another wonderfully talented blogger, Dawn from The Feathered Nest
has shared some of her Christmas inspired items like this

Fabric Angel Wings, No Sew Tutorial

at Sew Many Roses. 

Aren't these adorable?
Ruffle Cuff Leg Warmers 

from Polly at Counting Your Blessings

Shabby Vintage Light Fixture 

that can be used as a candleholder

from inhis2hands

And nothing like the glow of candlelight
to bring in the spirit of Christmas

with this French Market Soy Prayer Candle 

from Okio B Designs

And today, Becky from Timewashed is in the Sponsor Spotlight.

Becky may need to hire some elves for her Christmas Workshop. These are just a few of her wonderful items that she has in her Etsy Shop at the moment. But just wait, I hear she has great plans for a bunch of new fun Christmas items!

Christmas Holiday Holder

French Country Urn Gift Tags

White Ironstone Oval Plates/Bowls

Thanks Becky for sharing your beautiful blog,

Timewashed, with us, too!

Hope you will join in today on the link party if you have an Etsy Shop or Online Boutique. This link up is for items that are FOR SALE ONLY. Feel free to link up to three items from your shops, don't be shy, we love to see your different items. You don't have to have a blog to join in, but if you do, just wanted to let you know I finally fixed a new button for the The Marketplace. I don't have code with it. just grab and save and stick on your sidebar, clicking "shrink to fit" with a link back to Common Ground. 

Thanks for joining in, and if you're here to shop that's wonderful. The Party stays live all week, so be sure and check back throughout the week for new listings.

thanks for coming by, 

Have a great week!

No, it's not a Christmas tree...yet

I won't deny it, I'm antsy for Christmas decorating, but I still want to honor "Thanksgiving". So I'm trying to do a little of both. I like to bring in my two smaller lighted Christmas trees and get them set up for a quick turnaround after Thanksgiving. I have a few "nature themed" ornaments that I used to decorate a tree downstairs, but they have migrated to the Dining Room this year and I've put together a little Autumn Nature tree. I'm going woodsy and natural this year. There will be some glitter thrown in, but I'm craving a more simple theme this year, with hopefully, less stress.

It's always bothered me that there is really only one month to decorate and celebrate Christmas. With all the work that it goes into preparing and decorating, I want to get rolling with it so it's not such a difficult task to accomplish. Some people leave up their Christmas decor until the middle of January, but for me come January 1, I want a clean slate and a fresh start. The greenery and poinsettias are still here, but everything else is put away, (hopefully)

I found these adorable white floofy "baby" snow owls at one of the shops in Ozark this week, and they are perfect for this tree.

These little glass owl ornaments were picked up at The White Rabbit in St. Louis last month. I had a feeling my owl obsession would carry over into Christmas.

Right now I have some faux bittersweet vine in here along with the burlap ribbon, but I think I can change it out for Holly and some red berried vine after Thanksgiving.

A favorite little deer...

and rabbit

Little birds in nests and some old clay flower pots, 

that I'm going to fill with moss and potpourri.

This tree sets in a pretty white urn,

but for this year's nature feel, 

I'm using an old fruit basket and a burlap coffee sack.

Do you have a "theme" for your Christmas decorating each year?

My favorite has always been "nature".

I also wanted to remind you that I host a link gathering 

for all of you that have Etsy Shops and Online Boutiques.

It's a place to come share some of your shop items 

each Monday Morning 

and then the shop is open all week.

Hope you'll come by and join in,

or just come to shop.

We'll be showcasing wonderful Christmas handmade

 and one-of-a-kind items

for your Christmas Shopping List!

So nice to have an extra hour today, and some sunshine.

I have some garden clean up to do so this will help.

joining these parties this week;

Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House

Met Monday at Between Naps On the Porch

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Cowgirl Up at Cedar Hill Ranch

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Blissful Whites at Timewashed

xoxo,