Vintage Ornaments on Parade...

One of my residential clients has these AMAZING ornaments...they are vintage, made of velvet and felt and silk and rhinestones. Just incredible detail. Karen and I add them to her tree in 'stories' , color-coordinated groupings, so that they will stand out. There are groups of gold, white, yellow, peach, and two shades of green. Hanging them this way really makes a statement on the tree, too, rather than having them all spread out.

I love this one the most - look at the sweet little girl in the hot air balloon! The client's two year old daughter just adores it! (So we hung it low enough for her to SEE, but high enough that she can't TOUCH it!)

The story on these ornaments is that our client got them from her husbands' mom. Well, mom was there this year when we decorated, so we asked her to tell us the story - were they made by family members, handed down thru generations of women?

Nope! They were made by a group of women in West Seattle in the 1940's & '50's, and sold at Frederick & Nelsons' Department Store here. (I love it - enterprising women with a cottage industry back then!) Mom's MOM had bought them for herself, then handed them down to her daughter, and once her son married, she passed them on to his wife. What a lovely tradition!

I just thought I'd share these lovely treasures with you....