THE CAVENDER DIARY

About 20 years ago, I bought a small bag of vintage ornaments at a thrift store for about 4 dollars. They were hand painted Polish ornaments with poinsettias, and snowy log cabins. I was fascinated by how beautifully aged they were, the way the colors had speckled and faded to look almost like old metal. These first few really got the ball rolling with my old ornament obsession and every time I would see Polish, Czech, German, and even American Shiney Brites for a buck or 2 each…I’d buy them. I’m not just limited to November/December shopping either because I find them cheaper throughout the rest of the year…in junk shops, thrift stores, flea markets and even antique malls. So every year when I pull the tubs out of the attic, it’s Christmas all over again discovering all the new treasures that I had purchased and stashed through-out the year.

 I start with a 3 foot chicken wire wreath that I’ve wired over an old mirror. It’s wrapped with thin silk garland and about 100 b-lights (just for glow). I painstakingly hook each individual ornament into the chicken wire, starting at the bottom, until the whole thing is one giant packed ornament wreath…..Takes about a half a day.