holiday decor

Oops, I forgot to make a blog post this week- but after 20 years of doing this, they kinda run together in my mind. But I never run out of things to say, so here it is, late but I’m still going.

Good JuJu, holiday decor
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Photos of my October look for Good Juju were posted online, but I forgot do add a blog about it.


I didn’t change a lot between my two spooky season sales, Sept. and Oct.  Some things got shuffled, this lady got a nice wig, but my inventory was so vast to start with, that I didn’t bring in much that was new.

I redid a few items to freshen the space, and consolidated the remaining fall/Halloween stuff from the first sale so I had room for a Christmas corner.

Some of our vendors were featuring Xmas back in September, and a lot had heavily vested in that season for October’s sale.  And I knew I should at least have a snippet of the ho ho ho started, so I made up an area to add the reds and greens.

The event has just passed, today I’m heading in to pack up all of the Halloween goods and turn the whole thing  into a winter wonderland, ready for Santa.

If I was smart, I’d have merchandized Xmas items sooner, but I was enjoying the fun, fall, freakiness that I’d created too much.  Maybe next year, I’ll bump up my schedule and get ahead a month.

If I did that, it would give me two months of Halloween goods (August/September) and three months of Christmas decor (October/November/December).

That might sound like a lot, but we are only open two days a month.  So it would be four days to sell the spooky stuff and six for holidays.

I’ll think on it while redoing today.

If I have time to think!

Our sale was Friday and Saturday, I have Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to eradicate all Halloween, and change the wallpaper, rearrange the furniture, and redo what I hang from the ceiling to create  a winter look.

Then, on Wednesday I’ll be flying to Florida on a sister trip.  Please don’t ask when I’ll pack, because I haven’t figured out that part yet…

When I return, I’ll restock the booth, but I need to have the background part done before I go.  Wish me luck, I’ll need it.

More with molds

holiday decor, paintings
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These silicone molds still have me hooked.  I used a set of holiday designed molds to add to some blank wooden ornies and jazzed them up.

I start by gluing down the pieces, then paint the entire piece white.  I add the basic colors to that.

Next a few more detailed layers of color.

(this is a different ornie, but the same process)

I cover the dried, colored in piece with watered down taupe paint.
(all of these are acrylic craft paints)

Then wipe off the excess with a damp – not wet –  paper towel.

Hmm, looks like I didn’t get a photo of it completed.  I add eyes and glitter too. But here it is 99% done.

This is one that’s  finished.

I’ve also ordered some gorgeous, cabbage rose molds and am planning to use them on the swans I showed you earlier.  There will be soooooooo many ways to embellish with these!   I’m so happy to have stumbled across this idea.

Pretty creepy

holiday decor, jewelry, Uncategorized
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Throughout most of the year, I’m not exactly a fan of arachnids.  And even when fall comes around and the Halloween decor starts to creep into my home, ugly spiders are never welcome.

But when a frilly tutu is wrapped around a spidey skelly, I’m all in.  I love the eight legged ladies when they get gussied up.  And this season, I’ve been obsessed with the beaded beauties that have filled my feed, and thought I’d try to make one myself.

There was a little learning curve to it, but each one got a bit quicker than the one before.

My trouble is, that I’m kinda over scheduled right now and had to limit my time for crafting them.   I gave myself some snuck in hours to indulge my newest hobby, then had to let it go.

But just wait til next autumn.  2027 will be the year of the spider for me.  I’ll be sure and plan for some free time to make whatever I want and not bury myself into having too much to get done and not leaving open time for play.

Well, that’s not exactly what happened this season.  Maybe I played too much and didn’t get my needed chores done.  I’ve had trips, visits, and days off, after months of recovering from shoulder surgery and did not get my inventory prepped for the last quarter of the year when retail is at its peak.  Now I’m down to the wire, knowing there are more trips planned and that I’d better pack up these beads and get my own self out of this tangled web of work before it’s too late.

So, no more spiders for now.  I enjoyed learning how to make them, and look forward to more in the future.  Right now, I’m headed to make price tags for my bins of holiday inventory.

And I have a feeling there will be some Christmas crafting time while getting it all together.

It’s mostly but not all spooky

Good JuJu, holiday decor
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Not every bit of my booth is dedicated to Halloween.  There is a large section designated for my jewelry boutique at the front of the room (sorry, no pics).  And this hutch is more fall, than fright.

See, full of vintage pretties!

Including this to die for alabaster lamp. (Oops, I went a little dark with my phrasing there)

But on top of the cabinet? Ghoulella is reigning over the room from her black, vintage wicker chair.

I don’t have her before photos.  Probably because they were ugly and I don’t want to embarrass this queenly beauty, garbed in vintage lace by showing you what a hideous guy she used to be.

But wait, I was saying that my spot at Good Juju wasn’t all gothic or ghoulish.

See?

Even though there is a plethora of black and white, it’s not all scary.  Like that cute pitcher with the kitty handle.

This shelf is witchy, but not scary, right?

I give up trying to find non spooky pictures.  I’ll leave you with the rest of the closeups I have of the booth.

Some spooky season crafts I’ve added to my booth for Good Juju this weekend

Good JuJu, Halloween treats, holiday decor
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There were so many ideas flapping around in my head like bats in my belfry, that could barely contain myself while planning my kick off to spooky season at Good Juju. Starting with vintage dolls, or just parts, painted ghoulishly.   And tiny notebooks dressed up like grimmories, complete with eyeballs on the cover.

I have poison toadstools, ghost fairies,

painted cat figures, more altered books,

a baby witch,

cake toppers for ghost brides,

ghosts with teeny pumpkins,

and brooms.

My broom salesperson is wearing a hand dyed wedding gown.

Oh, did I mention pumpkins from vintage fabrics?

And pumpkin paintings too.  And glittered crows with crowns, a ghoul queen, and on and on.

I have made myself stop.  Time to go hog wild on Christmas decor now that my space is set and ready to welcome shoppers for September and October’s First Friday Weekends in the Historic West Bottoms of KC.

But I still hear teensy, glittered skellies calling my name.  I think more of them wanted to be ballerinas.  I might just have to help them out.

Ephemera flags

antiques/junking, holiday decor
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These are different for me.  And not the typical, traditional style flags you’d expect.  My interpretation includes velvet ribbon, rhinestones, and a vintage brooch.

Or vintage wallpaper with millinery posies.
And of course, lace!

They’re displayed in a whole red, white, and blue zone, also different for me.

I added some of my quilty creations and genuine stone bracelets so the grouping still has my vibe.

The flags dangle from a candelabra topped with baseballs instead of candles.

And look at these cuties- what a find!  WWII Cockade rosettes from Japan made for sweethearts and mamas to wear in support of their loved ones.

But wait, the Japanese made patriotic pins for the USA during a war we fought with them?  I’m confused.

If you have any explanations, I’d love to hear them.

Spring tulips and the Easter weekend sale at Good Juju

flowers, holiday decor
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Aren’t these tulips so springy and bright?  They have such a realistic look, everyone is surprised to find they are fakes.  My friend, Mindy, had some excess inventory and offered them to a few of the dealers at Juju the other day while we were all working there.  There were a LOT of blooms.  I have plenty to plenty to use around my space, plus took these home.

This year, due to my surgery, I haven’t set out any Easter decor around the cottage, or even anything spring themed.  I was happy to have these.

I do have holiday goods at the antique mall.

For the March sale, I crafted quite a bit of bunnies and eggs, plus had a couple boxes of vintage too.  After the sale, it didn’t look like anything was missing.  But when I went through sales receipts I was surprised to see just how many bunnies had hopped away with customers.

In retail, you need to be a few skips ahead, so March was the time to sell Easter goods.  And our First Friday sale this week is actually the holiday weekend, so those who needed decor items, most likely already got them. And their minds were turning to all the things they had to pack away, instead of planning new arrangements.

Being smart, I’d have packed my own wares away and used the real estate space for another box of stuff to sell.   But I was enjoying the festiveness and let it stay.

Sometimes my displays are more about entertaining myself than good business practices.

Oops, did I admit that out loud?

Heck, I guess a lot of what I do at Good Juju is to make myself happy.

One of the reasons that I moved into a larger booth was to indulge my design and display dreams.

Im not really missing having my home all Eastered up, since I got to indulge myself at the store.  Now, of course I do hope that shoppers will be attracted to the goods and choose a few for themselves, but I know the odds are lower this month.

And I’m still happy to be doing it.   I hope you’re enjoying your holiday too, in whatever way you do it.  We will have a quiet day, just Rich, the dogs and myself, along with that joyful bundle of fake tulips.  Maybe a walk in the woods? Probably some physical therapy exercises for my arm too.

Party number two

holiday decor, We're having a party
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I always say that the best time to host a party is when you already have one planned that week.

The house is already cleaned, extra tables and chairs have been carried in, sometimes you can even make enough food to serve two times.

That part of the plan didn’t work completely., but sorta.   I made fresh quiche for both days, but I did sautee all the veggies and meats ahead of time so I could assemble the pies easier.

For the second get together, I didn’t set the table, it was served buffet style.  The earlier Bookclub gathering was a set number of people, this 2nd one was more open ended and I wasn’t sure how many we’d have.

I’m always looking forward to throwing a bash, setting up for a party is every bit as much fun as redoing my booth at Good Juju.

We had a festive day, and a lovely group.

Angie made a peppermint pie that is now up there on my list of all time best foods.

And aren’t these roses from Beth full of holiday cheer?  Everyone was very thoughtful, and generous.

Like I said, a lovely group.

The Cottage at Christmas

holiday decor
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My holiday decor is a bit lighter this year.

As I was setting it up, I started to feel ill.

So some boxes were left unpacked.

Even in that scenario, I seem to have set out plenty, huh?

As I pack it away January first, I typically fill a tub per tree, so when it is time to set it out again, it’s all sorted into different categories.


Such as nature…

Pastels…

Handmade with vintage paper…

Sentimental or family items…

It’s a loose system, with variables.  And when I unpack, I don’t exactly use the items the same as the year before.

It makes things go a little quicker for set up, even when I’m changing it up for the season.

It also makes tear down time go more quickly too.

Set up is a full day, because I have to pause, admire, reminisce, and enjoy all the baubles.  But tear down is usually one afternoon.  My record time is under 3 hours, but that was because we had an emergency where the floor needed ripped up and major repairs handled so those trees needed to be gone.

I guess my antique dealer past is helpful training in doing a redo quickly.   Plus, it makes me happy to do it.  An enjoyable task can just zip by, huh?  Well, unless you have guys with saws and tools waiting for you to get your precious pretties out of the way so they can tear up the floor to get to the foundation.  Not quite as much fun.

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