Thanksgiving Kitsch

Thanksgiving is not the easiest holiday to decorate for. It's like the forgotten child between Halloween and Christmas, both of which I love, but Thanksgiving is the holiday we get to host, so I want to make it count! I'm very pleased with my display, especially since I spent a total of $2 in new items to pull it together. It has a slight "poultry" theme, since I happened to have the Miss Chicken Big mug and Foghorn Leghorn glass already. I definitely use what I have!

Deck the Halls for Halloween!

You know I love decorating with records! Here's our Halloween record display, with a bunch of tiki mugs thrown in for good measure. I consider it a warm up for Christmas, when I will go really berserk with the hall decking. Have you decorated for Halloween? I would love to see what you've done!

The Velveteen Lounge Tour of Records Begins

On our live broadcast Sunday evening we mentioned that there are record album covers decorating most of the corners of our house. They change seasonally and, in some cases, with every Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en episode. I love decorating with album covers because they're typically very inexpensive, fun and they make unique wall art. And how many pieces of wall art can you listen to?! Here are just a few of the album covers we have on display right now:

Our tiki dining room

The headboard of our bed

The Liberace Powder Room

Nautical cocktail records - a collection within a collection!

If you're inspired to begin collecting album covers for your walls, here are my best tips:

Great album covers are everywhere! You'll be able to find striking covers most quickly if you visit eBay and stores that specialize in vinyl, but don't overlook thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets and library sales. It takes longer to amass a collection that way, but you'll save lots of money!

If you're looking for albums recorded for mid-century cocktail parties, "how to" records and the like, look for bins marked "Weird," "Strange," "Oddities," etc. These are typically not arranged by artist.

Allow plenty of time when hunting for records. Many of the best scores are in the $1 bins, which stores typically keep on the floor, below the shelves with more valuable records. They're usually in no particular order, so it can take a while to comb through all those bins!

Dress for crawling around on the floor. I often don't follow my own advice and find myself on the floor in a little dress, trying to stay covered. Not ideal. Comfortable shoes are also recommended.

Craft stores, such as Michael's, carry album frames, which make even the cheesiest $1 records seem downright artistic! Save money on those frames by downloading store coupons, which they always have online. Don't pay full price, since you will never need to!

More of our albums coming soon, since they change constantly!