White Wednesday

For White Wednesday, I decided to share a few photos of one of my favorites in my personal collection:  a divine lacy organdy dress, circa 1920, with unbelievably beautiful pink ribbonwork flowers at the waist.  I have such a vision of what its owner might have worn it for.  I think it would have been the hit of any garden party.  What do you think?

 

The detailing of the embroidery work and the lace is simply stunning.  This vintage dress form is in her glory with this beauty adorning her. 

Please check out Kathleen's blog for more White Wednesday participants.

Until next time,

Happy Pink Saturday! Two Years and Going Strong...

First of all, let me say that I know my friends in Blogland must think I have fallen off the face of the earth.  I assure you, I have not, but thanks for asking.  It has been a busy few months re-installing our yard after 2+ years of constructing my studio (which still isn't quite done, but I digress), running around with kids, making a couple of trips to Texas for an aunt's funeral and an aunt's birthday (different aunts), having a yard sale, and doing some housecleaning.  And then there is this little issue with our how-much-can-you-love-a-camera-Canon Rebel which, through some stramge turn of events which are a bit vague, involving two precious little boys, the camera on the tripod, and a very big "oops", causing the focus to work sort of, I have been on an extended Blogiday.  I've missed you all, but I've been taking care of business that needed to be taken care of, so it has been good.

Second of all, we all need to wish Beverly, our Pink Saturday hostess a happy second anniversary or would it be birthday???  She has been tirelessly hostessing Pink Saturday for TWO years.  I am amazed at her faithfulness.  There is a bumper crop of participants this week for that very reason, so if you pop over to see her at How Sweet the Sound, you will have links to more pink than you can shake a stick at.  It will probably take all week to get around to everyone, but I know it will be fun.

Thirdly, I guess I should introduce my post for Pink Saturday.  I told you I had a yard sale.  What I didn't tell you was that it was with a friend and fellow antiques dealer named Karyl.  This is a dangerous thing to do.  While I did actually get rid of more than I came home with, take a look at some of the darling things I picked up from Karyl's offerings.

Beautiful pale pink vintage hat, vintage millinery rose, and a handpainted silk hanky holder.

The cutest old stationary boxes you've ever seen.  Who can resist their pretty pastel colors?

A darling vintage clothespin bag.

Check out the close up of the flowers. 

Wonderful metal...thingies.  Who can resist the sword and crown motif?  Not me, apparently.

An old daguerreotype, a vintage music holder, and the coolest angel metal piece I've ever seen.

Plastic bulb covers in the shape of tulips.  Can't you just see these with little white lights to celebrate spring?

The shabbiest antique silk skirt and blouse dripping with character.  Also mostly falling apart, but it was SO pretty, I had to rescue it anyway.  The fabric is a watered silk with pink roses.  My pictures didn't even come close to doing it justice, but trust me, it is divine.

Don't you love the lace up back?

Anyway, that's what I brought home.  I love everything I got.  Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Memorial Day weekend with friends and family.  We are finally getting some warm weather, so we are all doing the happy dance. 

Until next time,

The Prettiest Pink Roses Vintage Wallpaper EVER!

Happy Pink Saturday everyone!  Do you ever see something and your jaw just drops because it is SO pretty?  Well, that's what I did when I saw this vintage 1940s wallpaper roll.  It is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen.  And I just had to share it with you on Pink Saturday.  And I'm willing to share it with you in a literal way if beautiful old wallpaper is your thing.  You can purchase a yard or more of this rosie beauty right here, right now.

The pertinent information is as follows:  the paper measures 20 1/4 inches wide and is UNPASTED as was all wallpaper from this era.  It is in excellent condition, not at all brittle.  It will arrive rolled up, in uncut lengths based on how many yards you wish to purchase.  The color on the close up picture is the most accurate depiction.

PRICE:  $12/yard which will include shipping to U.S. addresses.  If you are out of the U.S., please email me and I can let you know how much extra first class international postage to your location will be.

When you click on Add to Cart, you will be redirected to Paypal.  At that time, you may indicate the quantity of yards you wish to purchase. Quantity is limited, so don't miss out!

Thank you for indulging the merchant in me.  I might also add that I have begun selling on eBay again after a 4 month hiatus, seller name french*laundry.  Check it out when you have the chance as I have some truly lovely feminine antiques.  Perhaps we can manifest spring by looking at everyone's lovely offerings over at How Sweet the Sound where Beverly is hostessing another fun Pink Saturday.  Stop by and enjoy on this snowy weekend.

Until next time,

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours...

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Pink Saturday!  As we prepare to share a day of love with our spouses, boyfriends, and significant others, I thought I would share a little of my home decor with you.  The sweet little bisque doll above has her quiver at the ready just for our special romantic day.

 

I just purchased this incredible hand painted Limoges trinket box from the amazingly talented china painter, Sara Miesner of Our Cottage Garden.  Although this beauty resides with me, you can find similar items here.

Colorado Springs artist Stan Awbry painted this most delicious cherub and roses painting.  It resides in my pretty parlor.  He really has the spirit of the Victorian rose painters down-and he's a guy!  Go figure...

These little sweeties grace a bookshelf that, until last week, held primitive salt glazed crocks.  I think this better reflects who I am right now.  I smile everytime I look at these little darlings...

 

Lastly, I have made up this pink wooden heart that is covered with a mosaic of vintage china and one of my original collages under glass.  It brings a smile to me every time I look at it and, if it makes you smile too, it can be purchased here.

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your special someone.  Before you do though, be sure to pop by Bev's place at How Sweet the Sound and check out the other Pink Saturday participants.  It should be an awesome week to make the rounds!

Until next time,

The Beauty of Buttons

Susan is one of our dear customers at Our Cottage Garden.  A while back, she shared some of her incredible hand painted button collection with us and I asked her if she would do a guest post for me about her love of these magnificent little pieces of artwork. Susan is a dealer of fine porcelain on Ruby Lane and her beautiful wares can be found here.   She graciously agreed and her thoughts are below. Enjoy swooning over the pictures on this lovely Pink Saturday and when you are able to catch your breath again, pop on over to Bev's, our hostess with the mostess and visit some of the 167 other Pink Saturday participants. 

I am fairly new at collecting antique items;  I started about 12 years ago collecting pottery.  I loved the warm feel and the individuality of each piece.  But when I bought my first piece of hand painted Limoges porcelain – I was hooked.  I became a P.A. – Porcelain Addict!  I rapidly sought to fit in some antique display cabinets in a rather small house that was already over loaded with furniture.  A few select deletions, and I had found a space here to fit in a cabinet and a space there to store my ever growing collection of Limoges.  When we had our kitchen remodeled, I added 3 display cabinets to the plan – who cares about food storage when you can look at all that beauty!  One of my favorite items over the years have been collecting hand painted Limoges baskets.  They range from dainty  to huge; and since many of them are not painted much on the inside, lend themselves very well to filling up with buttons or pins.  I have about 4 baskets now that are filled with buttons and one fruit bowl that is gradually being filled with pins or brooches.  My major source of purchasing these beauties is from Our Cottage Garden – a wonderful online site that is beautifully organized and filled with treasures.  I take pleasure every day in viewing my lovely pieces and appreciating the individual work that each artist put into his or her expression of beauty.  

Thank you Susan for sharing some of your passion with us.

Until next time,

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day with family and/or friends. I am getting ready to watch my favorite movie of all time, "It's a Wonderful Life". And maybe make a second pie run...YUM! Anyway, I will leave you with a few random Christmas pictures I wanted to share.  Click on the photos if you want to enlarge them.

One of my little antique bisque dolls that I dressed up for Christmas...

A glimpse into my talented friend Melanie's shop, called appropriately "Handcrafted Santas and More".  She makes the most divine large Santa vignettes, using beautifully put together antique and vintage items that she gathers up from estate sales, flea markets, garage sales, and antique shows.  I'd have one in every room if I had the space.  This little guy was so wonderful.  Look at the colors on his coat and accessories. 

This fellow is a "sewing" Santa done up in shades of pink.  How could you not love it?  All of Melanie's Santas have some sort of theme whether it is sewing, music, cooking, reading, etc.

This creamy white seashell Santa is glorious...

More randomness...

I didn't do much decorating this year, but this was one of the "use what you have" things I did up and just fell in love with.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.  Just wrapped up some empty boxes with old papers, added some pretty ribbons and laces, and topped them off with old jewelry.  And added a little glittered dove for an extra punch.  Voila!

Still loving the dove theme, I used another one perched on some old maple sugar molds and antique tinsel I've had forever and added the wonderful 1920's rhinestone and feather millinery piece I just got at an estate sale.  All were nestled on an old Italian pottery compote.

Finally, a present I wrapped up for my friend Denise. I made her a darling doll which was inside, but she loved the wrapped box so much, I'm not sure she has opened it yet! I admit it, I was proud of myself at how cute it turned out.  I think glitter and tulle make everything better, don't you?

Well, that's about it for now.  My last Christmas movie calleth.  Go make the rounds through the leftovers once more before bed.  Diet is just DIE with a T at the end, ya know!

Until next time,

Yes, Judy, there is a Santa Claus...

The participants of Pink Saturday hosted by Bev are doing something special this week. We are sharing one of our favorite holiday memories. This is mine...

As an adult, I've always heard how much kids love to stay at home for the holidays. Judging from my own children and the children of my friends, I'd say this is generally true. However, it was not true for me. I absolutely LOVED going to my grandparents' homes for the holidays. I loved seeing aunts, uncles, great aunts, and cousins.  My parents grew up within 9 miles of one another, so we had the routine down pretty well, spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my dad's folks and then Christmas mid-day meal and late afternoon with my mom's folks. After my dad would get off work on Christmas Eve, we'd get in the car and make the 2 1/2 hour or so drive to my dad's parent's house. We'd usually arrive in time for a short visit before supper and then more visiting and maybe the news before little kids like me were shuttled off to bed.

When I was about 5 or 6 and starting to "wonder" about certain jolly fellas in red suits being real or not, we were watching the weather portion of the local news. The newscasters broke in to say that Santa had been sighted and was due to arrive in the area around midnight. They even had the radar blip showing him and his sleigh (and don't forget his 8 tiny reindeer). Being a child who wanted SO BADLY to believe, I was SO relieved. I mean, they wouldn't say it on the news if it weren't true, right? Sort of like Virginia and her letter to the editor of the newspaper, I suppose. Ah, childhood innocence...it wasn't more than another year or so that I pretty much had the truth figured out, but on THAT Christmas Eve, one little girl in Texas went to bed very happy and satisfied that the Santa Claus was real and all was right with the world. That feeling sticks with me every year when I put up my Santa collection and trim the tree. Whenever I think back to my childhood and my family at Christmas, that is one of those cherished memories that gives me the "warm, fuzzy" feeling.  Nowadays, it isn't always easy, but I choose to believe in the magic of every day, especially at Christmas. Won't you join me?  You'll be glad you did. 

Until next time,