Monday, December 12, 2011

Monday Montage with a Twist

For today's montage I decided to add one of our family traditions into the mix.
My gramma H started this one.
In the 1950's they came out with these little elves.
Some were green, others red.
There were even ones that were striped in red/ white or green/ white.
Others were dolled up in burlap.
They all had one thing in common though.
Those cute chubby cheeks, bright eyes and an adorable smile.
I know most of you remember these little guys.


This red elf on the left is from the 60's
while his older cousin on the right is from the 50's.
The Santa box in the middle are cookie cutters.

Now this tradition that my gramma decided to start was that once the farmhouse was decorated for Christmas, the last thing she added was her green little elf.
She would place him in a spot where us grandchildren would have to find him.
There was only one rule to finding the elf. He would never be in a bedroom or bathroom.
Now you are probably thinking that would be easy,
but you see my gramma had a HUGE farmhouse,
with a large galley kitchen, large dining room,
living room and parlor..not to mention the 2 covered porches and the mud room.
So we were glad the 4 bedrooms and baths were not included.
Then there was her stone basement..eek..glad she did not put the elf down there!

Once we found the elf we were treated to a Christmas cookie...
well more like two or three or four.
It was fun because every time we went to grammas house during the holidays,
the elf would be moved to a different location, and we would have to look for him again.
It was a fun tradition that my own parents handed down to their grandchildren.
Now I am doing the same thing with my own grandchildren.
Even now, I still have fun looking for the elf at my mom's house!

With this montage I have more pictures of my home.
For the twist,
see if you can find my elf in each of the pics.
I hope you enjoy!

( I did make it easy for you) LOL

My dad made this snowman out of wood for me 30 years ago.
The scarf came from an old wool skirt that my mom wore before she cut it up.


I like to collect vintage Christmas boxes.
They have so much character to them!

One of our vendors in our store is selling these adorable little mice.
I just had to take him home and put him in my shoes.
His tag reads "Be Thankful"
If any of you are in the vicinity of Port Sanilac,
Sara has a wonderful prim shop up there called Gull Cottage.
She also has a space in our store too!


 This is one of my little trees in the kitchen.
All of the cookies were hand made by me from one of my patterns.
The sprinkles on the stars are all hand sewn glass beads in shades of green and red.


This tree consists of cinnamon ornaments that Michael and Mikayla made last year.
They had so much fun making these and they still smell yummy!

View from our living room looking into the kitchen.
The piece of wood behind the hanging drieds is an old store floor mat.
It was on the floor just inside of the door where folks would scrap their boots off.
I just thought it was such a cool piece that looked different on the wall.
I get asked all of the time what it is...

Another one of my original handmade Santa's


Last but not least.
Christmas wishes to everyone!

Take care,
Janice



8 comments:

  1. Lovely pics Janice - I was lucky enough to inherit some of those cute elves...I love them!
    Christmas blessings

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  2. Janice! Love the elves, love the decor, love everything! Blessings, Shirlee

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  3. Great Pictures Janice. I have a little red elf that was mine. Did a post about him retiring a week or so ago. We do the elf with Darbee Rae when she comes here and her Mommy does an elf at home. Makes it so much fun during the month of December. Love the door mat from that store. Such a neat idea. And your Santa is too cute. Love the mouse in the shoe also. Have a great Tuesday.
    Angela

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  4. Everything looks so festive! One of these days we are going to make it down to your shop. Dawn

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  5. what a fun tradition! my mom had an elf ornament that looked alot like the one you have ~ it was always one of my favs to put on the tree!

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  6. Loved this post Janice - and all your adorable elves....My niece started that tradition with her son a few years back (his name is Kirby - the elf, not her son....) Makes me wish I could go back and do a re-do of my childhood. Love that old door mat - seriously cool piece! Hope to post my birthday giveaway goodies tomorrow - for some reason, my photos don't want to cooperate today....Smiles & Monday Hugs ~ Robin

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  7. Janice
    What a fun tradition~ Your vintage christmas items are darling~
    wonderful post~
    brought back some memories of my family traditions as a child
    smiles
    Teresa

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  8. Oh my, those elves bring back the memories! We had them too, although I think ours were only green, white and red. I took a couple when I got married and used to display one in a little metal car that we had. One year I found it in my pots and pans cabinet and realized the cat must have snatched it from the car and hidden it. Thanks for sharing your lovely decorating photos! ~Roberta

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