Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Deck The Halls 2011

So, its mid-November and Jill and I already have our Christmas decorations UP!  Well, in our space at Faded Elegance we do...

The Autumn sky was blue and clear on Monday, and for that we are grateful!  Many trips back and forth to our vehicles and upstairs to our cozy little space we went.  Kimberly (proprietor/owner of FE) had hot cocoa, mini cupcakes and other treats to keep up our energy.  And, yes, there was Christmas music ringing throughout the store!


Here is the back wall nook.  We were concerned how we were  going to fit everything in, but with a little maneuvering, we did it!


Handmade glass music sheet ornaments, with glitter stars.


Glass angels upcycled from outdoor walkway lights.  My dad handed these to me awhile ago asking if I could do anything with them.  They came from the house I grew up in.  I like them not only because they have personal meaning, but also because I glued a jingle bell onto each one as the angel's head.  I don't know why, but they make me laugh!  


Our tree has both vintage ornaments, as well as handmade ones.

Jill and her husband Kevin constructed a mantel out of old fence wood.  Also shown here  are music sheet trees (far right), a vintage snow sled (bottom middle), and snowy pinecones and fresh greenery in an old barrel.


Jill found this cool vintage Coca Cola wood crate, which worked great for displaying some of our vintage ornaments.


This is the back corner of our space, showing  all of the goodies ready for you to come  shop for your  must-have treasure.



Jill gave this old stool a festive flair with a fresh coat of paint and then stencilled  on the title to one of our favorite holiday songs!


Lots of goodies for you, including the white boa trees (middle of pic).  You must see these in person, they are too cute!  Also shown here, Peace On Earth signs made out of barn wood.


Ice skates ready to hit the rink! 






Bring the outdoors in and upcycle what you already have around your house to decorate your home this season.  I lightly spray painted this old terracotta pot and hot glued some fresh greenery to the top.  Adding a candle to the center and it makes a nice addition to our mantel.  Imagine what they would look like lit in a group of three.  Very cozy!

Jill and I would love to have you come visit our Cozy Winter Lodge at Faded Elegance.  There will be a contest for best decorated space.  When you vote, you are entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate to Faded Elegance!  How great is that?  Please vote for our space, the COZY WINTER LODGE!  For those of you who live out of the area, I hope you have an idea of what you are missing this holiday season!   Maybe it will inspire you to do something new with your holiday decor in your own home.  We hope so!

Thanks for all of your support!  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Cheree and Jill

Friday, November 11, 2011

A Sneak Peek at Christmas

Cheree and I are hard at work creating, glueing, wrapping, painting, stenciling, buying, hammering and designing in preparation for our Christmas Holiday display at Faded Elegance.  We are both exhausted, but excited to create the coolest "cozy cottage" scene to get everyone inspired for the holidays.  I am busy making "Peace on Earth" signs out of old Snohomish County barn wood, and we are both creating vintage inspired Christmas Tree ornaments to beautify your homes. As always, we try to repurpose, reuse, and recycle so that we keep our dumps free of beautiful trash.

Here is a sneak peek of one item we have created for this holiday season.

A grab bag of old mismatched tree ornaments..........

.........Made just a little more beautiful!

As the holiday season approaches, we wish you all peace and wonderful times with your family!

Jill and Cheree

Retail Therapy...Shop Local and Shop Small Businesses

I've been seeing a new commercial on television that promotes shopping local and at small stores this holiday season.  Being a business owner myself, and with the economy still being what it is, this is a subject that is near and dear to me.  Go out and shop local and shop at small stores this season!

A shout out to our two favorite shops..

Nest Home & Gifts, Mill Creek has been a big supporter of With A Twist and began carrying our products back in 2009.  Nest is located in the Mill Creek Town Center and is the gem for offering up unique home decor and wonderful gifts!  My favorite feature of Nest is that it has something for everyone on your shopping list.  Whether it's a beautiful flameless candle (holiday designs are now available!), a snuggly fleece robe, Lollia bubble bath, a Sid Dickens Memory Block, or...new this year,  a gorgeous Christopher Radko  collectible ornament, Nest has it all!  And, much more!  All decked out for the holidays, Nest is open Monday through Saturday 10am to 7pm, and Sundays 11am to 5pm.  Grab some girlfriends and head down to enjoy some retail therapy!

Faded Elegance, Snohomish is With A Twist's new home and we have a lot of support here too.  Faded Elegance is located in Historic Downtown Snohomish and is filled with treasures sure to please anyone on your gift list.  There are so many talented vendors that bring their own flare to this shop, you will want to visit often to be sure not to miss out on anything!  Faded Elegance is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sundays 11am to 5.  This Monday, November 14th FE will be closed to allow the vendors time to decorate and dazzle their spots for the holiday season.  Jill and I have been busy little elves and are so anxious to bring it all in for you to enjoy. Here's a hint .....

Vintage Snowy Window Pane
So, please come visit these shops and enjoy a little retail therapy while supporting small businesses!  Thank you so much!

Hugs,

Cheree and Jill

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A Nod To Storage Wars and Picker Sisters

Today I was reminded that a lot of what Jill and I do resembles what is featured on current television shows.  In fact, this afternoon as we drove through the city to meet up with one of our contacts, I was thinking of the television series, Storage Wars.



Being a fairly new fan to this series, I had a Storage Wars Marathon this weekend to get caught up on what I had been missing.  To my pleasant surprise, my son and husband are now fans too!  If you can look beyond the occasional 'bleep', it's entertaining to say the least.

When Jill and I arrived at our spot today to check out new treasures, we got out our vans and heard, "Hey!  It's the Picker Sisters!".  We laughed and thought, "Wow!  Now there's a stretch!"  But, we thanked him nonetheless!   If you are not familiar with the Picker Sisters, he was making reference to this series here.  Love them!

P.S.  We have two of "him" (i.e.  our handyman husbands, Keith and Kevin)...they are easy on the eyes too :)


While, we are certainly FAR from the fame and fortune that these shows depict, we can relate on a small scale and appreciate the spotlight they bring to an industry that we adore!

So, here are just a few pictures showing a glimpse of our "Picker Sisters-style day"...

Visiting our "contact".  This was fairly late into our day, after cleaning up our spot at Faded Elegance and shopping for supplies at the local craft store.  Wish I could camp out and see what's inside all of these!  I'm so nosy!

A possible prospect...just has a tricky drawer.

Jill saying something like, "Hey don't take a picture with me in it!"  Sorry, you look too cute to pass up!

This is what we came home with today.  Doesn't look like much now, but to us...we think she's a beauty!

Although we might not be quite ready to leap onto the television screen, we sure do enjoy all of our wonderful Blog followers and Facebook fans who support us every step of the way!  Thank you so much!

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Cheree and Jill