A Vignette, by Judy

I noticed while at my sister and brother-in-law's home on Thanksgiving Day that she had lights on top of her kitchen cupboards.

That gave me an idea.

My kitchen cupboards have no tops (yet) but this hutch in our dining room was calling out for.., well.., something.

And, I like the final (final, as in so far) results!

I bought the little cardboard houses at Michael's Craft Store. Every time I went I bought one. This made the cost SEEM minimal. They were $1.99 a piece. At first I was going to make my own houses, but learned after several failed attempts that $1.99 IS a fair price. Trust me. And, as a side note, it is harder than one would think to get the milky smell out of those cardboard creamer containers. Anyway...I was going to paint these houses white and sprinkle them with glass glitter, but, I think they look just fine plain, so unless I suddenly get a large amount of complaints about why I have plain old cardboard houses on the top of my hutch, I shall leave well enough alone. That, my friends, is something that I rarely do, so go ahead and savor the moment.

Everything else visible in the above picture came from either a clearance sale, a thrift store or was a great deal at an antique mall.

The cake plates are all thrift. The end two are made from candle sticks and small plates. I have glass cake plates all over my house. Once I get an idea in my head.., okay, now where was I? Oh, yes.

The hutch was a great find at one of our favorite antique malls. I am amazed at how much this thing holds.

The tinsel came from the thrift store.

The lights were after Christmas clearance bought for Daughter's wedding nearly five years ago.

The three glass covers I picked up for .99 cents at the thrift store. They are very heavy and were intended to cover a cheese plate.

And, see that Precious Moments nativity? It's the very large one. It was a gift. Won at a Christmas party many many years ago.

The tree top finials I found after Christmas last year. They were also on clearance. I snapped up all four of them and leave them out all year round. Full price, the four of them would have cost $80, I paid $8 for all of them.

I'm rather pleased with how this looks. But, as always, I am open to suggestions.

Tonight is our family's St. Nicholas Day party. We shall be feasting in front of this arrangement. Although, I quite possible will have to draw attention to it myself or else it may well go unnoticed.