Jingle Bell Junk Swap

Yesterday, I told you about the Jingle Bell Junk Swap and my vintage item came from Abbie, the genius behind Five Days...5 Ways



 Here's what I started with:

And here's what I came up with:

See it in the center of the wreath? 

Taking off the candle holders and stringing it in the wreath gave me just the little touch of brass I needed...and with a few more accents and a string of twinkle lights, it's just right for the corner of my newly board and battened dining room.

Vintage brass bells, a gold ribbon, and a gold-toned cherub finished the look.

Honestly, I sat and stared at this thing for weeks and just couldn't see Christmas in it. There was always the option of paint and glitter, or making it into a Christmas tree as my husband suggested, but none of those options seemed right. So I'm cheating a little bit and using just the brass parts as an accent and not using the glass candle holders at all. But most importantly...I like it and this little vignette makes me happy.

Oh, and what's that table you ask? It's another fun project I came up with that used up a ton of pennies, some scrap wood and an unloved sewing machine base.

 The copper and brass accents work so nicely with this wall color. In fact, you might be seeing the start of a theme...

This is a tough room to photograph, even with a sunny day. But the color is a beautiful neutral taupe color. Totally different than what I had planned on using in this room, but sometimes plans have to change, right?

Here's my before of the table base:

Dirty, greasy, with a contact paper-covered plywood top...well, my husband couldn't see why loaded it in the moving van.

But with a little cleaning and some scraps of 1x2 wood, paint and pennies, and a little styling...

These screw heads are supposed to stick out - I like the look of them exposed.

The pennies aren't resined in or glued down or anything...why go through the trouble? They don't move around and this leaves me with options. And options are good.

My husband loves the penny table and I love how it works in this corner. 

And that's my contribution to the Jingle Bell Junk Swap. Now go see what the other contributors to this fun event came up with (and tell them I sent you!)

Happy Holidays!