Bling is not my thing..... usually!

 If you have spent any time here

at the Polohouse....

you will agree, 

bling is not my thing.

Buy this here

Not that I don't love it for other people

and other homes and other situations,
but come on ... I live in a barn!

I'm just pri-tee laid back and casual.

No crystal or sparkly objects...

they don't really belong here.

Buy this one here

I am more of a jeans, pearls,

 and preppy plaid kind of a girl.

Buy this here

BUT..... then there IS

my little addiction to Putz.

I

love

it!

 Glittery and sparkly vintage sweetness
collides with architectural cardboardiness ---
my new word. Just made it up.
:)

Buy these fabulous new ones made from recycled Christmas cards here

Buy this church

It's all about PUTZ.
You know it, 
but maybe 

you didn't "know" it!

So what IS Putz?

Wikipedia says:

A Christmas village (or putz) is a decorative, miniature-scale village 

often set up during the Christmas season. These villages are rooted in 

the elaborate Christmas traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch. 

Mass-produced cardboard Christmas villages 

became popular in the United States during the early and mid-20th century.

In the 1920's,  dime stores and catalogs sold small 

cardboard Christmas houses. In 1928, the houses were then 

decorated with "snow" made of mica, translucent windows, and lights. 

There are various types of Putz houses from the US, 

Japan, Germany, Italy and other countries

  In early-colonial American Moravian homes, 

the construction of a nativity scene, or putz, 

at the base of a Christmas tree was very common holiday activity. 

The term was derived from the German verb putzen, 

which means "to clean" or "to decorate." 

These nativity scenes soon became very elaborate, 

and often included sawdust or fine dirt spread to represent roads 

leading to the manger; stones and fresh moss to represent grottos or caves; 

and sticks and branches to represent miniature trees. 

These details were in addition to the carved wooden figures

 that represented the Holy Family, animals, shepherds, 

and other traditional nativity figures.

Buy these little Putz lambs here

If you remember... my roots are in Pennsylvania

and I grew up seeing these little houses and churches

but it wasn't until I started selling antiques for a living

that I really got the bug to collect them.

Aren't they the sweetest?

(I am busy trying to get my house decorated for the holidays

and will show you my collection of these little cuties once they are in place.

I started this blog last February and missed the whole experience of seeing

all of your holiday decor last year! Let me tell you.... I am beyond excited to

see how all of you decorate your homes and cabins and cottages and castles!!! )

So tell me,


do you collect vintage


Putz mica pieces too?