Vintage Christmas Gift Tags

Folded into the vintage wrapping paper I recently found were a few vintage gift tags. I really love the mid-century illustrations on each of the tags, especially the Santa. They're the perfect thing to put that final touch on a gift for that special someone.

Lessons from Mid-Century Design

I just came across Build's "10 Forgotten Lessons of Mid-Century Modern Design."

1. Modestly nestling the home into the site rather than building “on top of” the ground feels better.
2. Keep it simple.
3. Good design creates a progression between privacy and transparency.
4. Connecting the inside to the outside creates harmony with the site.
5. Old school passive design is highly sustainable.
6. Small, efficient bedrooms are perfectly pleasant.
7. Outdoor rooms are just as important as indoor rooms.
8. Screen walls offer privacy without cordoning off the interiors.
9. Let nature do the work.
10. Quality of light is more important than the light fixture.

They're good lessons for sure, but I'm not sure anyone who actually lives in a mid-century home or mid-century modern house has actually forgotten any of these rules. They kind of come with the territory of living in a MCM home.

Alexander Girard Bearbrick Art Toys

Source

Worlds collided for me today when I found out that there are Alexander Girard art toys out there. They're great little toys, but I don't think I'll be adding them to my art toy collection. I try to stay away from platform art toys (toys with the same shape, in this case a bear, that different artists and designers use as a base). Also, they sold out a long time ago, making them hard to find and a pain in the wallet when you do.

Kikkerland Retro Alarm Clock

I'm starting to fall in love with all the vintage-looking clocks that are available. For example, this Kikkerland alarm clock, which would look great on a mid-century guest room nightstand. Pair it with this retro wall clock in the kitchen and all of your time pieces start to become retro-inspired details that complete the look of your mid-century home. It wouldn't hurt to have a few originals around the place too, like a lovely mid-century world map clock on the mantel.

Vintage Wrapping Paper

I did some attic crawling recently and found some interesting vintage wrapping paper.

There was the classic, "ho, ho, ho" situation

And the Santa by a Christmas tree, with a list, down the chimney look

There was some more recent Team USA Olympic wrapping paper

With Olympic rings and snow flakes

But maybe the most interest vintage wrapping paper was the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas wrapping paper, with the full story on the paper

It's interesting how the old wrapping paper would dare to put an entire Christmas story on the wrapping paper, even if you didn't get to read it all before you ripped open your gift.