Our New Year's Wish

Our wish for you is that 2009 will bring nothing but things that draw you closer to your family and friends! Thank you so much for becoming not only our customers at Artifacts, but our friends as well. Helping you find gifts for others or things for yourself, and then hearing about how well it went over or how much you smile every time you see the piece -- well, that's really the most satisfying part of what we do.

Here's hoping for great things for all of us in 2009 -- may we all grow closer as family, friends, neighbors, and a community.

Happy New Year!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like....

...something other than Christmas! :) I have everything down at the store except the tree & the Santa & Snowman in the back window. But.... we still have some great Christmas ornaments and some Christmas decorations at 50% off -- a couple of the sleek white Mary/Joseph/Baby Jesus figures, the glittery metal Santas, some angels, and lots of ornaments.

The front window, though, sure looks sad to me without the lights and the glitz. I will be changing it out tomorrow, probably something BRIGHT after having only black, white & silver in there for the holidays. Check it out in person, or the picture I plan to post tomorrow night, and let me know what you think!

Last minute gifts....

... if you're like me, despite your intentions to do better you have ended up with a few last minute gifts to buy. I have been pulling stock and putting it out for the past two days, and Artifacts WILL BE OPEN Monday, Dec. 22 & Tuesday, Dec. 23.

Also, if you're stumped, don't forget that we offer gift certificates that do not expire -- so the person you are giving to is not under any pressure to pick something by a certain date. They can wait until just the right piece shows up or they can do like a couple of people I know who are "stockpiling" those gift certificates to use on a big piece!

Just let us know if we can do anything to help you out -- give us a call at 662-983-8481 or email us artifactsbrucems@hotmail.com

Tour of Homes - 759 homes, for FREE and GUESS WHAT!!

Wow... I just found this & had to share it with you. You might snag some ideas for your own home! You can go to

and see her photos, and then if you scroll down there are links to SEVENHUNDREDFIFTYNINE other blogs with photos of their homes at Christmas!

You might even want to join in, but be sure & leave a comment here to share you favorite with me!

And for the guess what -- Artifacts' Christmas windows are featured in the Tupelo BizBuzz blog -- Click here -- to see our store window along with some other gorgeous ones from around North Mississippi. It makes me want to start planning now for next Christmas!

Appreciation for All Things Southern

How many times do we overlook what's right under our noses while searching for the latest chic item they are promoting on the West Coast or in New York City? Well........ guess what?? I found this photo on a blog called ArtsyMama and she has photographed her favorite store in NYC - Anthropologie. That's a pretty famous store -- locations on 5th Avenue & Broadway, but look at the items they've chosen for their display:

Yep, that's a rusty old tub of some sort with a rub board leaned up against it & filled with..... COTTON!! Wouldn't that be pretty on a hearth or on a front porch -- with maybe a few sprigs of evergreen in it and a big red ribbon somewhere? (don't know why Yankees didn't use color here, do you??)

But hey, if cotton and a rub board are good enough for 5th Avenue in NYC, it's good enough for Misipi, right!??

Beyond "the stockings were hung..."

... by the chimney with care. :) Look at this photo a customer sent me today -- it was just one of many she shared of the pretty Christmas decorations she and her kids have put up around her house.

I wanted to share it because it shows how adding little things like a collection of ornaments or Christmas plates to an unexpected spot like a window can say festive all by themselves! The great green vase on the left is similar to some we had for Christmas at Artifacts -- ours are thick mercury glass, like the thin, shiny stuff you see on old-fashioned glass ornaments.

Have you added just a little something to a spot where you spend a lot of time? Perhaps your kitchen window or your bathroom vanity? Think of a way you can perk up what's there year round -- maybe steal this idea and hang a group of ornaments with a similar theme. And then share what you do with me!

Pretty Kitchen

A very nice lady in Midland, Georgia recently ran across the Artifacts website and talked me into shipping her a set of taupe canisters and some accessories. And she was nice enough to send me photos of her beautiful kitchen showing how great they looked!

I'd like to drive to Georgia and eat at her counter, wouldn't you! More photos from her will be on the website soon.

That's Elvis, not Mike...

...wishing you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year -- if you have your speakers on, that is! If you don't have them on, turn them on to enjoy some Christmas music while you're on the internet! If you don't want to listen, you can click on the "pause" button on the playlist to the right of the screen (that's the one that looks like this ).

Since the newsletter, we've added another couple to our Bridal Registry -- Kelly Quinton, Bride-Elect of Chad Logan. Check out their photo on the Bridal Selections Page.

Happy Turkey Day!

Thanks so much for supporting us at Artifacts by checking out the blog, the web page, and the newsletter. We appreciate all our customers and have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know you over the past few years. You have welcomed us into your homes and your lives and we are truly thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

More Christmas Fun at Artifacts!

Our rocking chair has drawn another adorable kid -- enjoy this slideshow & come in and see for yourself how much fun a visit to Artifacts can be! :)

Beat the Rush....

Before all the big retailers start their big time holiday "FAUX-motions" (that's my attempt at a clever play on words for what they do when they mark something so high that they can then mark it down and call it a promotion) -- stop by and check out what's available in Artifacts and around Bruce -- remember, if you buy it here, you get service here. :) Oh, and the latest rather goofy one I've heard is an "After Thanksgiving PRE-SALE" this weekend. Yeah. Still trying to wrap my brain around how you have an after Thanksgiving sale before Thanksgiving!

We have in lots of new lamp sets, some of the cutest shades we've ever had (should have a photo for you tomorrow evening) including one polka-dot green/pink one that is adorable. I will try to get a mini-newletter out this weekend, because I'm expecting some new furniture by then, too.

Come see us! :)

Sing Choirs of Angels....

In my last newsletter I posted two emails I received from readers who collected vintage Christmas items and I was lucky enough to see just part of one of those collections this weekend. Gayle invited me to her home to see some of her great vintage pieces (more of which will be pictured in the next newsletter) and I just had to go ahead and share this one with you. Aren't these little darlings cute??

I'm betting you have some vintage ornaments or other Christmas goodies that you haven't used in years tucked away somewhere. Make this the year you get them out & mix them with your new pieces and enjoy them all over again!

Talent

I mentioned these in a recent newsletter and I wanted to show you these hand-carved Santas we have this year created by the extremely talented local artist Tammy Jackson. She takes cypress knees and turns them into these detailed and expressive Santas!

Please visit the web page's Home Decor, Furniture, and Lighting sections for new photos just put up this evening. Give us a call if you see anything you just have to have!

Photos & Web Page Update

Santas and Snowmen in the cute "package" design like the candleholders that we have in the front window. You can see these guys in the front window, too.

See more photos on the Home Decor section of the website, and the Lighting Page. I didn't have time to get pictures of all the new lamps and furniture pieces that we got yesterday, but I'll try to get those tomorrow afternoon.

The good news is I just tonight downloaded a new program to update the web page with, so I can now concentrate on getting those new customer photos I've been promising you. AND, I can now get my old computer out of the middle of my floor and spend time learning this new program!

See ya soon!

The goodies, the goodies!!!

I was really going to post photos tonight because I got such great things today and I think you'll love them, but the camera card (with Brett's Vardaman football photos) is still at the CCJ because I forgot to pick it up before they closed today. I will get it tomorrow, take photos, and hopefully post tomorrow night. Got Santas and snowmen that match the cute "stacked packages" candleholders that were such a hit the past two weekends, metal Christmas trees with jingle bells, a gorgeous woodland Santa that will knock your socks off -- and so will the price, in a GOOD way! HA!

And on the non-Christmas side beautiful palm design pottery, knock-out turquoise pottery, more glass bowls and stands (so great-looking on top of an armoire or dresser), lots of metal wall decor, glass jars............ photos tomorrow if nothing happens. Check this blog or the Artifacts web page tomorrow evening.

Teaser for one of the items -- I was looking for a photo online just in case some company had one and I did find a picture of the palm jungle vase - you can go to this site and see it, BUT I want you to know first that I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the price of this online -- $169.95? Say WHAT? You can buy a piece of furniture from Artifacts for that! I marked this vase this afternoon for.... $42. Clearly, I need to re-think this Artifacts business and start selling online!
See vase here.

Oh, and about that tree in the Museum.... I really really really really do want to do one. I am going to try. I even have a great theme for it, it's just a matter of finding time to get it done.

Oh Christmas tree.....

Don't you love the trees in the Museum this year? I walked down just before we closed today to look at them and they look even better up close. If you haven't seen them up close, you have to make the effort!

I decided I wanted to put one in as well, but a certain male member of my family (the one I'm married to that happens to have a white beard & look a lot like Santa Claus) thinks I have too much to do to put a tree up in the Museum. I think that might be because he thought I was going to ask him to help with the project, but I wasn't.

Anyway, I think I actually will be putting up an Artifacts tree in the Museum this weekend. So keep your eyes peeled for it when you're checking out all the other pretty ones.

Don't forget
Sunday, November 9 is the shower for Lexi & Justin Haire. .
Silent Auction for Celia Miller Scholarship Fund at Mt. Comfort Church -- ends November 23
Silent Auction for Friends of the Bruce Library - at the library ends at 4 PM on Tuesday, December 9

Open House at Artifacts

WELCOME to the Artifacts Blog!

Pretty Kate enjoys a break during her visit
to Artifacts during the Open House weekend.
More cute photos of Kate during Open House in a SlideShow below!

Lucky Kate was one of the few who had time to enjoy a break! We were (thankfully) swamped this weekend with nearly 300 registering for doorprizes, and probably nearly that many more that didn't sign up.

We appreciate all of our visitors and hope you will all find time to come back and visit again before the holidays are over. For all those who have asked, you can click here for recipes for my mom's pecan brittle, and for my foolproof fudge.

Pecan Brittle Recipe
Foolproof Fudge