It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I know it's only Thanksgiving, but it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!  I wanted to post sooner, but I have been a busy-little-bee transforming our home.  Out went the orange pumpkins and gourds piled high in my wheelbarrow and in came in red and green plastic totes from the garage filled with vintage ornaments, glass bead garlands and holiday baubles.  Let the festivities begin!  

I try to decorate a little differently from year to year to keep it fresh and new.  If you missed my Christmas home tour from last year, *Click Here* to take a walk through.  Because this week is filled with busy family and Thanksgiving fun, I am now only giving a peek at my holiday decor this year, but the full home Christmas tour is coming soon, I promise!   

...AND you will find some of my Christmas decor featured in the new Winter 2012 Homebound Edition!  For the first time ever you can view this wonderful FREE e-zine right here at rusty hinge!  

Jam packed and filled with so much wonderful holiday cheer and amazing talent, you are going to want to spend some time and not miss a single detail, so kick your feet up this afternoon with a cozy blanket and a hot cup of coffee and take a well-deserved moment!  It is such an honor to be included among contributors such as:

Sonia Crouse- Creating Vintage Charm

Heather Kowalski- Pretty Petals

Maria Marcusse- Rusty Hinge

Loretta Ellenson- A Finn in the Kitchen

Lynda Naranjo – LyndaNaranjo.com

This Winter 2012 Homebound Edition is also available in print!  To order it and have it mailed right to your doorstep, simply *Click Here*.

On another note, I want to introduce my newest sponsor, Simone from Fleaing France!  As I mentioned in my previous post, I love, love her Brocante and always find wonderfully unique antiques to take home!  If you are looking for authentic treasures straight from France, Simone has what you want and she ships worldwide as well!  Here is just a very tiny sampling of some French treasures in stock at her Brocante...

To see much, much more, take a little visit yourself, but hurry these one-of-a-kind picks won't last long and when they're gone, they're gone!  (I am tempted to snap up that cheese pot in the middle photo to add to my collection! :)  If you are interested in becoming a sponsor here at rusty hinge, feel free to send me an email at mgmarcusse@gmail.com for details.

Please come back again soon for the full Christmas home tour!  But before I go, I want to thank Chas for inviting me as a guest on her lovely blog, A Woman's Haven.  Thank-you again, Chas, it was such a pleasure!



 I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving day!




Maria ~Rusty Hinge





PS.  Does anyone have an extra copy of Vintage by Nina Christmas?  I am looking to buy a copy, but can't seem to find one anywhere.  If so,  please inbox me at mgmarcusse@gmail.com.  Thank-you!



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Cheese Pots, a French Bag and Dried Hydrangea Blooms!

Today is Election Day!  I just voted, how about you?  If not, there is still time to go exercise this great right of ours! 

I get asked a lot where I go to shop and find such treasures.  Besides local fleamarkets, antique stores and garage sales, I love to utilize the internet to find those unique pieces not found locally.  Today, I want to highlight two of my favorite French sites.  Not only are the antiques real and direct from France, but these lovely ladies are such a pleasure to shop with and sweet to boot!

The first is Simone of Fleaing France!  She moved to France to open her very own French Brocante.   She works hard at searching the Fleas to keep her shop always stocked with a variety of treasures.  Often it is a whole different shop every time, so if you spot something you like, snap it up quickly or it will disappear.  She ships worldwide as well! 

I recently found these adorable cheese pots at her shop.  These vintage pots were used to make cheese.  The whey would drain out the holes, leaving the cheese solids behind. 









The second lovely lady is Susan Vaillant.  Her Etsy shop is always stocked with wonderful French wares brought back from her frequent visits to family there.  In fact, often times she is happy to pick up or search for any special items upon request!  To contact her simply shoot her an email at sbvaillant@yahoo.com for further information. 

  Susan found this wonderful woven, French tote for me as well as a couple large sized French grape harvest trugs.  I previously displayed one of them on my coffee table for summer decor.  If you missed that post, you can view it *Here*.



On a similiar note,  I am very excited to introduce my new sponser, Alison from Bayside Vintage!  Her shop is packed with wonderful antique wares as well, but don't take my word for it head on over to see for yourself!  You will not want to miss out on these lovelies and she ships worldwide!

{French Egg Basket}

 {Chocolat Metal Sign} -LOVE this!

{Large German Breadboard} -LOVE, LOVE this!

(You're still here... head on over to tell Alison hello!) 

On another note, I am extremely honored and excited to be asked back as a contributor for Winter Homebound!  I had so much fun setting up for this photo shoot!  Being a Christmas themed issue, I hauled Christmas boxes of ornaments and garland out of the attic early and had a blast decorating in mid October, although my family thought I was nuts.  Oh well, I just cranked up the Christmas music a bit louder and got to work!  Here is just a tiny sneak peek at Homebound's wintery goodness!  You might recognize the mirror in the cover photo!  Wow, what a compliment!  Thank-you, Heather!  If you have not already signed up to receive the free version of this magazine, *Click Here*!  Hurry you won't want to miss out on this issue!

Last but not least, I want to send out some HUGE thank-yous to the following blogs for featuring my fall decor!  It is always such a compliment to be featured and I can't say enough how much you made my day!  These three ladies have amazing blogs which are among some of my favorites!  Please give them a visit by clicking on their button, you will not be disappointed and love the inspiration found there!

I would also like to thank The Style Files and Chabrowe Pole for featuring my Autumn decor on their beautiful sites as well!

Well, I hoped you survived my hodge-podge-of-a-post and thank-you again for coming over for a visit!  Just another quick reminder to make sure you head out to vote today!





Maria ~Rusty Hinge

Halloween Harvest Table

It's that time of year again!  The time when all the little munchkins cutesy up in adorable costumes and go door to door trick-or-treating for candy.  Yup, it's Halloween!  I normally don't specifically decorate for Halloween itself, rather I just add touches of natural fall decor to my home.  But after seeing loads of fun Halloween inspiration on blogs that I follow, I thought it would be fun to put it all together on my outdoor harvest table.   

In case you missed it, you can see some of these photos and more over at Jennifer's The Old Painted Cottage of the Month!  I have to give another shout out and say thank-you once again to Jennifer for featuring our home for October COTM!  Thank-you again, Jennifer!

I would love to hear what you are all planning for this fun day.  Are you going to get your kiddos all dress up and take them around the neighborhood?  Do you have a Halloween party to attend?  What costumes did you choose this year?

Before I leave, I want to send out prayers and encouragement to our neighbors on the East coast.  Here in Michigan, we have been feeling the effects of Hurricane Sandy with strong winds, rain and sleet, but it does not even touch what they are experiencing in any way.  We still have power and a warm house.  They do not have these and many have lost their homes.  Let's get on our knees and pray for them, and lift up those that have lost so much.  Let us all pray that they truly know God's grace in this storm.



Maria ~Rusty Hinge





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Fall is in the Air

Welcome back!  Fall is in full swing over here.  The brilliant red, gold, and fire orange leaves have peaked and are starting to fall to the ground already, but the temperatures are still moderate so it calls for a lot of time spent outdoors.  Today is going to be especially beautiful with a high of 70 degrees and sunny, so after I post, I am outta here to take full advantage of this glorious last day!  There are tons to fit into the schedule today.  I have a deck to stain, a garden to put to bed, flower pots to clean, stack and store, and winter clothes totes to haul in from the garage.  It's going to be a busy day.  Let's hope I can stay motivated!

  

But before I head out, I'd like to highlight a few more corners of our farmhouse that received a touch of fall decor.  Previously, I gave a more complete fall tour, but if you missed it *Click here*  to view!

A French grape harvesting trug filled with miniature pumpkin gourds sits on a bistro chair in the kitchen doorway.  I love displaying these trugs everywhere!  

What do you know...another trug sits on an old farm bench in our entryway!  

 Well, it's back to work for me!  What about you?  What projects do you have to complete before winter sets in?    




Thanks for your visit!




Maria ~Rusty Hinge





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