We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

I love the Christmas season!  It is in all reality the most wonderful time of the year!  December has been a flurry of tree decorating, Christmas cookie frosting, present wrapping, and cozy nights spent tucked under blankets with hot chocolate!  I am finished decking the halls, so let's take a little tour, shall we?  Settle in and kick your feet up, because like last year's Christmas home tour, it's a loooong one!

A simple cedar sprig and scraps of antique grain sack from a previous project adorn a French bistro chair.

Grain sack stocking ornaments made by Maria at Dreamy Whites hanging on a wire store display atop a stack of vintage breadboards create the perfect table top tree.

A vintage wire apple picker gets a holiday makeover stuffed with greenery and Shiny Brite ornaments.  It rests on a stack of antique French linen sheets on a chair in the living room.

I love to stick fresh greenery here and there to add a festive touch!  Cedar works wonderfully indoors because it lasts throughout the season.

Give last year's Christmas tree new life by spray-painting it white and stringing with lights!

Vintage sleigh bells fill a mottled ironstone bowl on the kitchen island.

I love implementing vintage pieces, such as this old grain scoop.  It makes a great holiday table centerpiece displaying antique bottle brush trees resting on a French wooden dough board. 

Even the bath gets a touch of decor with faux greenery and berries.  Tiny mercury glass balls rest in my lavender topiary pot that is wrapped in vintage German "Kaffee" and "Salz" sacks.

You might remember my Advent calendar from last year.  This year, I propped it on a vintage wooden cubby in our entry room.  The "countdown" ornaments store perfectly in each of the holes until ready to be hung!

Well, I shall end the tour here!  I very much hope that you enjoyed yourself and that I didn't take too much of your holiday time!  It is precious!  I wasn't sure how often I would be able to post between now and Christmas so there is lots to hold you over until then!

Despite the whirlwind these last few weeks have been, I am trying to slow down and enjoy every moment, because these truly are the special times.  Let's remember the real Reason sent to us in a tiny manger on Christmas day.  And for that, we can all have a very merry Christmas!


"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6


"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
II Corinthians 5:21


Thank-you very much for your visit and taking my Christmas 2012 home tour!



Merry Christmas!



Maria ~Rusty Hinge






I'm joining these parties:

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!



I'm joining these parties:

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