Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Take Our Holiday Tour!...

A big thanks goes out to all of my collector friends who braved the bitter, arctic cold this past weekend and joined us at our 11th Annual Holiday Folk Art Show & Open House! It was a pleasure to see your smiling faces and the delight in your eyes. All feedback was very favorable towards our new arrangement, showcasing all my holiday art in the front living room and redirecting check-out toward our back sunroom. Many mentioned that they enjoyed sipping cider, mingling and munching on treats while they waited for their name to be called. The flow was much improved over last year's bottleneck, and we were pleased that our guests agreed. An extra call out goes to my dear friend Lori for wrapping and sacking my art, non-stop for 2+ hours! Her generosity gave me the chance to chat with so many of you! And, it was an extra treat to have my parents in town who kindly helped us prep for all the festivities! For those that missed this special event, please enjoy my collection of photos from this past weekend's festivities....

ENJOY!...

Artist-Johanna-Parker-144-Q

* That's me, striking a quick pose before we opened on Saturday....

Open-House-Entrance

* Here is the cheerful scene upon entering our front door...

Open-House-Table-of-Snowmen

* I tucked our dining table up against the window this year and layered it in a wintery scene of whimsical snowmen... The chilly snow on the ground outside cast a bright glow on my displays!

Open-House-Ornaments

* Here are a few of my latest Juggling Snowmen ornaments, slated to debut next year! I suspended them from a vintage red gramophone horn that will someday serve as a wall sconce in our new vestibule...

Open-House-Goodies

* I tucked my holiday notepads into an old primitive planter and surrounded it with visual holiday delights...

Open-House-Mantle-of-Originals

* The mantle was a magical scene with my holiday originals twinkling in the sunlight...

Open-House-Original-Snowmen

* Taking a closer glance, a trio of one of a kind snowmen awaited the arrival of collectors. These three were gone in a flash! (And yes, all of my Christmas originals have sold)

Open-House-Originals-by-Johanna-Parker

* Here, I snapped a crop of my mantle delights.... I grew up with the vintage red velvet reindeer who always made an appearance at my grandmother's Christmas table... Love them!

Open-House-Holiday-Goods

* More holiday goods fill a side table and entice shoppers to take a closer look!

Open-House-Central-Santas

* For ease of flow I added a smaller, round table to the center of the room, topped it with a Santa tree and surrounded it with more collectible pretties for the holiday season... Off in the distance, our vintage Duffy's cooler brought a splash of mint green to the scene!

Open-House-Santa-Rattles

* Atop that old cooler, I had a collection of my Santa rattles and other wintery characters...

Open-House-Corner-Cart

* In the corner, my funky mannequin lamp cast a warm glow on a cart of Christmas characters. And speaking of characters, Jack insisted on making a quick photo op before the guests entered!

Open-House-Holiday-Delights

* An old child's stove in red and white made for a fun prop, and fortunately no snowmen melted during the making of this show :)

Open-House-Decor

* Winter friends stand a-front an old antique mirror and invite us to peer into its reflection...

Open-House-Juggling-Snowmen-&-Trees

* Across the room, a vase spray of aluminum tree branches delight the eyes with shiny vintage baubles, framed by my juggling snowmen and bottle brush trees...

Open-House-Ornament-Door

* Close by, an old French door displayed more dangling ornaments along with a life size snowman head, inviting friends to explore the kitchen for tasty eats, treats and hot cider!

Open-House-Kitchen-Goodies

* We scurried to set the counters with an inviting spread of edible delights!

Kathy-Parker-in-the-Kitchen

* I caught a quick pic of mom, arranging the sweets!

Lori-&-JP-at-the-Check-Out

* And JP and Lori went over the last few details regarding check-out procedures before we opened!

Open-House-Johanna-&-Parents

* Me & my parents rushed to the mantle for a quick picture! We look so calm, but it was only a fleeting moment :)

Peeking-through-the-old-door

* Then, Tick-Tock went the clock, and it was 10am! I went outside to welcome those that were braving the cold, anxious to enter our cozy home!

Shoppers-Rush-In

* Shoppers grabbed box trays and rushed in! I think they were ready to warm up as temps were in the single digits outside!! (It's usually NOT this cold in Colorado... sighhhhhh)

Open-House-Shoppers

* Guests perused the collections, looking for gifts for others as wells as gifts for themselves!

Open-House-Happy-Shoppers

* And, smiles were contagious :)

Open-House-Shopping

Thank you again for joining us this year! It is a pleasure for us to open our home to you :) If you missed this year's event, make sure to mark your calendar for the first full weekend in December, 2014! We'll do it all over again, and hopefully by then, we will have our new arched front door, vestibule and other remodeling goals complete! Fingers crossed :) As always, thank you for your support!

Have a Very Merry Christmas Holiday!
xo,
~ Johanna, JP & Jack


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5 comments:

Unknown said...

Love the photos! Thanks for sharing an inside peek of your home and show. I wish I lived close enough to attend. I bet you are ready for a rest! I can't believe all the handmade creations you made for your show...do you every sleep?

Are you going to Atlanta in January?

Shirley Hudson - Hudson's Holidays said...

Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos....there are so many of us who would have loved to be there!! This cheered up my day!
Shirley

Chicken Lips said...

Absolutely MAGICAL! Honestly, you should leave your house decorated like this all year long!

Johanna Parker said...

OH thank you all! And yes, Teresa, I tryyyy to get sleep but the last week or so before the show, my waking hours greatly out number my slumbering hours. And now that it's over, our focus has turned towards getting the house back in order and a bit more live-able! We've been without a dining table for a couple weeks, and we're starting to really miss it! Haha David - If I had another house to live in, I would keep our cottage shoppe in tact!.... That what be fun :) (and a lot simpler) And Shirley, I'm glad I brought cheer to your day!

I hope you all can join us one of these years :)

Best Wishes,
~ Johanna

Elma said...

Love the pictures and of course your home!! How fun to have your parents there to help you!! I so loved the life size snowman head!!