Flea Market Christmas

New Twists on Old Objects

Add unexpected depth and character
to your wall spaces with these
hanging vases.

Decorating with vintage treasures and collectibles discovered at flea markets, antiques shops, and yard sales gives your home distinctive personal style year-round. During the holidays, highlight your favorite prizes by using them as focal points for holiday decorations. Using the ideas on these pages for inspiration, take a fresh look at your own collectibles and their possibilities for creative new uses.

Painted Canadian maple syrup buckets have become so popular that manufacturers are producing new ones in a similar style. Whether you have rusted and worn vintage buckets or newer reproductions, consider displaying them on the wall like three-dimensional art.

• If you want the bucket to hug the wall, simply slip the hole in the rim over a nail. To let the buckets hang forward slightly, thread picture-hanging wire through the hole and twist it into a loop, then hang the loop over a picture hanger.
• For a temporary display, simply fill the buckets with branches of greenery -- don't worry about water.
• To keep the greens fresh for several weeks, place the stems in a plastic container filled with water, and set the container in the bucket. Older buckets are likely to have rusted at the seams and may not be watertight.