Out With The Old.....In With The New....Sort Of

Before & After

Transformed!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

In this disposable world we live in today, people are getting rid of the old and getting new without thinking twice.  Granted, there are times when it's time for something to go, but more times than not they just need to be tweaked a bit and shown a little TLC.  There was a time, not so very long ago,when people planned and saved before making a new purchase and repaired and restored things and kept them as long as they were useful.  Today, not so much.  We live in a world of MORE, MORE, MORE and instant gratification and don't think twice about discarding a perfectly good item and purchasing new.

  I love going to thrift and antique shops to look for treasures and I always wonder what the people were like who owned  those treasures, the stories behind the items and how many memories were made with them and while I could go out and purchase new, I love giving new life to something old yet still useful.  I love taking something I already have and transforming it and that just what I did this week.  

Old wreath undergoes transformation.

  Year before last I purchased 3 new wreaths for our home in South Carolina to replace the much smaller wreaths I'd had  for many years (approximately 13 years).  Before purchasing the smaller wreaths I'd always had "a" Christmas wreath or some type of decoration on our front door, but that was about the only outdoor decoration that I had.  After moving to North Carolina  and having 6 front windows and a door I thought it would be nice to have a wreath for every window and the door, so off to the craft store I went  to purchase 7 standard pine wreaths and 7 VERY basic red velvet bows.  I fluffed the wreaths, attached the bows, hung them up and Voila! within no time the house looked like a picture from Currier and Ives (minus the snow).  A few years later my daughter and I decided it was time for something with a bit more pizazz , so after scouring a myriad of magazines and the latest Southern Living Christmas book we had our inspiration and were off to the our local discount store for some embellishments to give new life to our demure little wreaths that had served us well, but were in much need of a makeover. We filled the cart with a few spools of the perfect red, green and gold stripped ribbon and several boxes of very basic glass ornaments in a variety of colors and a paddle of floral wire.  After we arrived home with our treasures we spread them all out on the dining room table and got to work.  We removed the old bows, fluffed the wreaths and began attaching hundreds of shiny glass ornaments to them and then topped them off with a dazzling new bow.  Our little wreaths that only a few hours before were looking a bit drab were now spectacular! Now instead of looking like a picture from Currier and Ives our house looked like the cover of House Beautiful ~ December issue!  The little pine wreaths had been given new life and adorned our house for several more years, not only in North Carolina, but for 4 COLD and SNOWY Decembers in Massachusetts before returning to sunny South Carolina.   After spending 4 years in the snow many of the glistening bulbs had lost their luster and some had cracked from the cold so I tweaked them a bit by removing the cracked and lack luster bulbs, added a few new ones and hung them back up for 2 more years.  That's where the 3 new, larger wreaths came into the picture.  The new house in South Carolina had 2 VERY large front windows and one door and the little wreaths looked lost so they were on their way to live with my sister in Tennessee to adorn her house, that is until we got our His and Her's houses (see previous post)  so one of them returned to North Carolina from whence it came and underwent yet another transformation.  As you can see, the little pine wreath was given new life once again and is all gussied up in her newest Christmas attire and ready to deck the door, or in this case the fireplace with grandeur.  Not only do I have a beautiful new wreath (for very little money) I've had a lot of pleasure regenerating them and lots of memories from the Christmases the little wreaths welcomed family and friends to our home.  

  Isn't this what the Lord does with us?  He keeps the old and breaths new life into it to make it a thing of beauty and just like the little wreaths we occasionally need to be tweaked and shown a little TLC.   There are times when we are affected by the elements of the world and start to show some wear and need to be fluffed, enhanced and given a new commission. He finds pleasure in restoring and seeing the beauty of His handiwork.  
  What do you have around your house that could be transformed?   I hope you will look for something that you can give new life to either for yourself or someone in need.  And remember, He is the Reason for the Season, He came to transform the old and make it new and He never tires of renewing.

To Everything There is a Season

To everything there is a season... Ecclesiastes 3:1

The current season is winter, not my favorite, but one that the Lord created so it must have a purpose.  Every year right after Christmas when the Christmas wreath comes down off of the front door and gets stored back in the garage I'm left with an empty front door in desperate need of something cheery that says "WELCOME" to our home!  Here in the South where temperatures rarely drop below the 20's and we have  a variety of evergreens and pansies that bloom all winter, it's still difficult to come up with something that doesn't look too Christmasy or too Springy and that is fitting for the season.  So this year I was determined to find a perfect and fitting solution.   I had my old standby red berry wreath, but wanted something with a bit more pizazz so I decided to look around my yard and see what "wintery" things I could discover.  Of course red berries were everywhere as was Spanish moss and ivy.  Although our magnolias aren't covered with the gorgeous white blooms they are known for this time of year they do provide interesting pods in the winter which were perfect to add interest and texture.  If you haven't "murdered" your Crepe Myrtle yet, they too have some very interesting little pods that look like fluffy brown blossoms that are perfect for filler.  We are not at a loss for branches and vines that can be braided or twisted together and used for a base, but I cheated a bit there and used a bare grapevine wreath I already had.   With some new elements and ideas in hand I went to work and put together the new focal point for my front door.  All I was in need of now was a bit of whimsy and since we don't have snow, snowmen, snowflakes or icicles wouldn't work, but there is one thing that we always have plenty of and is very fitting for a "beach" home.......shells!  I chose starfish and a beautiful ribbon bow to top it all off.  I am very pleased with my new "Winter" wreath, what do you think?  If you're in  the same quandary then bundle up and take a stroll around the neighborhood and don't forget to take a basket to collect all the treasures you will find.  If you decided to take the wreath challenge, please leave a comment and let me know where to go to see your winter wreath masterpiece!  Happy hunting and designing.