These special Vintage Christmas Ornament Wreaths trigger nostalgia and churn the feelings of tradition and remembrance. With no beginning and no end the wreath is a symbol of eternity and welcome; hung in plain sight like the front door or over the mantle, a sign of giving and gathering.
Junia Cahill IS Retrowreaths! With a keen eye for color, shape and just the right positioning, she hand assembles the most beautiful wreaths made from vintage Christmas ornaments and other kitschy treasures. The average size from “outer ornie to outer ornie” is about 17 inches in diameter, but she does make sizes in 19 and 23 inches.
They can be of one or two similar color tone (which seem to go really fast) or traditional multi-colored and most certainly have a special item like a santa, an elf, a church or a silk dove or two, for added interest and impact.
With her two pups, Taki and Sweetie Pie under foot, Junia Cahill steps out onto her Tucson patio and fires up her glue gun. She’s protective about the “size of her gun” as most in the west are, but says they are the kind that burn your fingers, so she is precise and deliberate in her application. “I have the Catalina Mountains and saguaro cactus surrounding me – I turn on the “Oldies Station” – music from the 20s-70s, and I start gluing! I’m spoiled because I can work outside most of the year.
“I have to say that my inspiration came from my Mom! She was ‘depression era’ – born in 1917 and although I never knew my maternal grandmother, my mother had many of her mother’s ornaments from the late 1800’s Germany, that she would hang on our tree. I loved the old ornaments, the stories told about each one as we were decorating the tree. My Mom was really the ‘artist’ – she was ‘first class’ – went to the Art Institute of Chicago in the ’50s. I grew up around art – primarily ‘mid-century’ art – and furnishings. I choose to have those items still surrounding me. I’ve always loved re-purposing items. Therefore, ‘re-purposing’ the vintage ornaments and kitsch was right up my alley!”
Ms. Cahill is currently working on a project of vintage family ornaments sent to her to have custom wreaths made for family heirlooms. She also creates ornament trees and can do different shapes as well and has dabbled in other holidays and events as “supply” comes available. She created two Easter wreaths that sold immediately! But MCM and vintage are her preferred style and “vintage Halloween is hard to find!”
Find Junia and shop Retrowreaths at:
https://www.facebook.com/Retrowreaths
https://www.etsy.com/shop/RetroWreaths
IG: @JuniaCahill
We love vintage Christmas Ornaments here at the Retro Christmas Card Company too! Visit our shop to see the Vintage Ornaments Christmas cards. 
Special thanks to Kelly Kaiser for being our guest blogger for this entry. Kelly is a blogger, production specialist and chef. Read more of Kelly’s work at her blog: kayannkelly.wordpress.com
