Archaic Inspirations

Well, now that Christmas sadly has come and gone, I can share about my holiday gifting craft. I saw a beautiful tray on ebay this summer that was made from a window pane and I just adored it. While I didn’t bid on it, I did imagine making one of my own. About August I was pondering the idea of making vanity trays from picture frames, and from that idea these were born.

Over time the trays evolved from merely a table-top display to a glass-etched initialed screen for collages of “a few of my favorite things” that can be displayed standing upright, laying flat or hanging daintily adorned with favorite pieces of jewelry.

This was a precious craft because I was able to personalize each tray and choose colors and ribbons that reflected personality. My hubby also designed the presentation instructions for me – he is so artistic and he knows how to produce the pictures in my mind. Of course that comes of having a husband who lists web designer among his many talents.

Our oldest daughter expressed how much she wanted one of these and I wasn’t sure if it was a heartfelt desire or if it was simply because her perception of the amount of work that was invested made it appealing. However, when she opened the gift (as I was already making one for each of the girls), she smiled gratefully. It wasn’t until I went up to her room to say goodnight that evening and saw that it was already hanging above her bed with a cross and favorite hat dressing it that I knew she really did love it.

That gave me such a warm feeling inside…the kind of feeling that encourages me that I may not always fall short of the mother I would like to be.

I will be adding precious, handwritten notes to these frames on their birthdays along with new bookmarks, patches, photos and such through the years. They will be like my own personal message board to the girls. I also look forward to dangling a lovely new gift of jewelry on them on special occassions.

Here it is! This is our winter village scene…1 church, 1 school house and 9 homes. It was quite the project but I knew that with a wee one on the way that next year would probably not be conducive to such a time consuming project that required drying time without little hands of investigation.

I got this pattern out of my December 2000 Martha Stewart magazine – it only took me six years to get to this craft! I scanned the patterns into my computer and proceeded to enlarge and hold tracing paper up to the monitor to trace them out (of course our printer went on strike only days before I planned to start this project). So, the houses would probably be condemned if they were life size but they are so cute in their humble miniature form that you forgive them their shortcomings. It’s amazing what a heap of “snow” will do for a shoddy roof job!

As you can see, I went on to create templates and then to cut and score them piece by piece. We had several pieces of cardboard inserts from copy paper boxes and those worked like a charm. The next step was to spray paint them with primer and glue them together. Then it was on to the painting. We have an eclectic little village here with no HOA rules to stifle the Miami-ish vibes that permeate a home or two!

The school and church were my hubby’s painted and shingled works of art, while I threw together the other nine like an Arizona day laborer trying to get home for my afternoon siesta. Heaven knows I contemplated what a great idea that cultural ideal was after constructing these!

Next year we plan to add a post office and fire station to the collection and we are considering doing those in wood and then gradually replacing the pieces with wooden replicas over the years. Hubby loves wood working and as long as the project is not overwhelming (like 11 houses in a week) he will enjoy the journey.

My recommendation to anyone who is wanting to do this project for next year is to start now and do one a month. Also, you may want to cut a slit in the backside of each home to insert a strand of lights. This will illuminate the homes’ vellum windows quite nicely while allowing the homes to stay planted firmly on the ground.

I plan on enjoying our winter village through the month of January, in the least, because living in Arizona deprives us of much of a winter and there is nary a snowflake to be seen. Our children have fondly claimed the green and brown two-story home because it resembles our own. So, in our own magical way we did have a white Christmas.



I had resolved to have no wreath on the door this year since in years past we have purchased a fresh wreath from Costco and I didn’t like the wreath they were offering this year. It was just “too much” and it already looked kind of dead. Now, I am pretty picky when it comes to decorating so for me to say it was “too much” just meant that the ribbon and adornments were not my taste. I prefer simplicity to excess any day.





BUT, I stopped by Lowe’s to check out their rosemary trees because I wanted something to plant in the pathetically lonely pot next to our front door and I happened upon a sign…”50% off all Christmas merchandise”. Now, mind you, I had already spotted their artificial Christmas wreaths and had balked at spending anything remotely near the price they were marked. However, sale signs have a way of beckoning you back with fresh eyes, and the fact that I also carried a Lowe’s gift certificate in my purse sealed the deal. I picked up a wreath for about eight bucks and found some lovely rustic looking ornaments fashioned out of metal and wood.





I had a few baby pinecones and some marvelous vintage, red, wooden beads that my hubby’s mum passed on to us this year. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to receive those! I love them because they remind me of strung cranberries. I also learned that Christmas wreaths were fashioned as a symbol of the crown Christ wore at His death and that the red cranberries found on many wreaths are symbolic of the blood He shed.





A twist here, tuck there and here we have it…it just makes me feel happy to see it on our door. I love seeing the red, vintage, wooden beads. I love knowing that I will see it again next year and get the same happy feelings that are unique to Christmastime. Now if only it smelled like a real tree…