Nostalgia

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

I’m telling my age by writing this, but a memory of a cardboard “fireplace” came to my mind the other week. I asked some people I know around my own age, ahem, and they all remembered the fake red brick fireplace, brought out at Christmas time. It had fake flames, a fan and a light to simulate a fire.

Now, I don’t know if we actually had one of these cardboard Christmas time wonders. I should ask my older brothers… Any way, I may have seen one somewhere. A cousin’s house, maybe? Or a neighbor’s?

Nostalgia got the better of me. I googled,  I searched Pinterest and found lots of pics of what I remembered. 

Not wanting to drop any money on either a vintage faux fireplace or a new version,  I decided to collect boxes from work and make my own.

I found Charlie and Snoopy at a big box store and thought they could flank either side of my homemade version of the cardboard fireplace. Charlie and Snoopy are full of Nostalgia of their own. All will go out onto the blue porch, along with a collection of snowmen and a Nativity scene.

Christmas is coming Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

I Know It’s Not Even Thanksgiving Yet….

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

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I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. And I know I’ve been preaching against rushing the seasons, but I guess I’m going to blame the frigid cold spurt we’ve had this week, for my Christmas ornaments project.

The tinsel tree never made it to the attic last year. It was boxed up, but not squirreled away with the other decorations. I’ll admit I have recently been tempted to set it up, not festoon it with baubles, just put it quietly in the sitting room corner.

Instead of pulling out the tree, I pulled out unused canning lids, pretty Christmas tape, seasonal paper, pompoms, miniatures and old buttons to make vintage looking, dioramic ornaments.

 

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Here’s what to do: First trace around a canning ring (like Ball or Kerr) onto a piece of Christmas paper and cut it out with scissors. Using craft glue, pipe a bead along the inside edge of the lid. Place another ring, bottom to bottom, on top. Put these together with pretty Christmas tape. (Hobby Lobby has many options.) With two canning lids secured like this it makes a wide enough inside surface to place the miniatures. I chose tiny Christmas trees and deer and shiny little Merry Christmas signs. Cut up white pompoms look like snow glued at the base. Material scraps and small old buttons came together for a hanger on top.

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Crafty Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen at Flowers Proper.

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