Vintage Christmas Mantel

I am in a whirl this holiday season - decorating and planning for the season. I hope you are enjoying the hustle bustle too. I wanted to share this image of our mantel - it looks so sweet with my vintage Putz houses arranged in a village with a swag of ornament below. The house colors are in the same happy shades that the vintage Shiny Brite ornaments were made in and my whole first floor is leaning toward a whimsical jelly bean color scheme right now. That's what happens and I'm embracing it. I found the yellow Shiny Brite balls at an antique show this November and I love them! They really liven the palette up.

#vintagechristmas #vintage #shinybrite #retro #vintageornaments #putzhouses #collecting #christmas  
 

Putz Houses: A Cardboard Village of Vintage Japanese Houses

I was the happiest girl at the antique show that day! I found a basket full of vintage putz houses for sale. I chose the 8 that I wanted to purchase and the dealer made me an incredible offer to buy all of them - I bit. I am the proud owner of 19.

And then the December 2014 issue of Martha Stewart Living arrived in the mail a few days later.  The cover was a wreath covered in vintage putz houses! I didn't change my plans for the houses when I saw the magazine, I still want to arrange it on a table or plate rack, but I loved that Martha and I are still on the same page (wink).

The photo above shows the collection as I bought it.  I have mold allergies, so when I first got them home, I put them all in a giant Ziploc bag and placed it in the freezer for a few days. I've heard that freezing can kill spores and so far I have not suffered a sniffle. 

I've since washed the windows with a Q-tip and Windex, re-glittered some of the rooftops, painted the blue trees a proper green and painted the exterior walls of a few buildings to add variety - for example, the white house in the front left is now a lovely shade of apricot. It is okay with me that the homes are a little worn, I am not trying to take the vintage out of them. Just a touch or two to freshen them up.

I posted this photo onto my Moments of Delight Facebook Page the day I was working on them with the line "You never know what I mean when I say home improvement!" I love these little houses and they make me happy every time I see them.

I will show you my holiday village on display once I settle on a zip code in my house. They've been in several rooms so far and I just can't decide.