Red For Richard

This is a post I promised quite awhile ago. It features the red vintage and antique items in my collection.
The round red leather box is from WWII Italy and was a gift from my Dad.
Red ceramic box was made by Jeff's Mother.
Vintage red photo album, a garage sale find.
Red and clear glass dish, church rummage sale.
Red and clear glass lamp, curb treasure. (it was sitting on top of a pile of trash believe it or not!)
2 pairs of Victorian earrings. Garnets set in pinchbeck and red paste in base metal. These are incredibly hard to photograph and this wasn't my first try!
The lamp is sitting on three antique books.
A clear glass dish hiding antique red glass buttons.
Red transfer ware plate, garage sale. I love this plate.
The heart shape box and paperweight aren't antique but they do have red in them.

Fabulous Giveaway

Susan at Between Naps On The Porch is hosting an awesome giveaway for a Silhouette machine. I wantz it! Visit her to get entries in before the Monday deadline.

More Lace

I found a couple of really nice handkerchiefs yesterday. I flipped back the battenburg tablecloth so I could use the pink damask tablecloth for a background. This tablecloth is the fabulous. I found it and 6 matching napkins at a Weatherford garage sale. I'm really digging my pink and white table. I have some new china to use in a tablescape but I have to change to a dark green tablecloth and I just don't feel winter colors.

Net lace and fine linen. Modern but with a vintage feel.

Batternburg lace and cotton

Scalloped with embroidery. I love the way the red rose hangs over the edge. (I'm sorry it's a little blurred but it was the best picture in the lot.)




Bobbin lace. I found this last year but I never posted a picture of it. This particular garage sale didn't have a lot of vintage items so I was surprised to find it.




Whitework and cutwork doily. I found this at the local thrift shop this past winter. Not really in the handkerchief category but it was handy and ironed LOL!


And in the category white and embroidered. Well, not so white but I'm working on it. I found matching pillow cases at a church rummage sale. They are hand made from cotton lawn and have the tiniest exquisite stitching with an M monogrammed in raised embroidery. They have some age fraying on one side and storage yellowing. Once I get them presentable I'm going to gift them to my Mom whose last name starts with M. They will look great in her old-fashioned country guest bedroom.



I also picked up a few pieces of silver. Nothing fancy but when it's 25 cents I have a hard time leaving it.

I fully expected this to be marked triple or quadruple plate silver. It has the same type of edge that my older silver pieces have. I was surprised to find no markings at all.


Hotel silver serving dish. Missing the top but still usable.

Cute Art Deco style handles

Lacy Lovelies

As a historical costumer I've learned a little about lace, at least enough to recognize the good stuff. I came across this handmade battenburg lace doily at a garage sale. I think I paid 10 cents for it.

Unfortunately it has some stains that I haven't been able to soak out. I think it's beautiful anyway. Speaking of Battenburg, I need to repair the lacing on my tablecloth. Not a hard repair, I just need to do it. Along with a hundred other things LOL!

This bobbin lace doily came from a thrift shop. I spent a lot of time (and money!) at the thrift and antique shops this winter.

One of these days I will excavate my sewing room and drag out the lace trim to show you all.

Im In Love

Garage sale season has started in earnest so it's time to dust off the blog. I found a beautiful pink milk glass bowl yesterday and I am in love with it. The guy running the garage sale gave me carte blanche to pick through the containers in the garage. This beauty was buried deep in a plastic bin in a tiny bathroom.

Jeannette Glass Company Shell Pink Milk Glass Lombardi Bowl

How much? $1.50!
A couple of pickers showed up at this garage sale. They were a marvel to watch. They were very fast and were very good at spotting the vintage stuff. They beat me to the cheap cast iron plant stands but Miss Amateur here beat them to the milk glass.

I did most of my hunting Friday. It seemed like a fine thing to be able to go on a Friday as I am usually working. But thanks to Spring Break and a tax return I was able to go out and have a great time.

I added to my china collection. I really should stop though. I over-loaded my cabinet that I keep my china in and had to box up most of it. I'm eyeballing the closet in the media room thinking it would make a great place to put shelves to hold my hoard.

This was a set of 7 dinner plates and 7 bread and butter plates. $3.00 for all.
It has a pattern of white on white with platinum trim. I tried to capture the pattern but couldn't quite manage it.

8 dinner plates, 8 B&B plates, 2 berry bowls $5.00

I've been entertaining myself at the thrift and antique shops while waiting for garage sale season to start. I finally have a silver tea set! The tea pot came from a thrift shop, the rest are garage sale finds.

Me, My RV & Paula Deen

My sister just created a blog to showcase all the lovely food she cooks. Anne is a talented cook and has graduated from Le Cordon Blue as a patisserie chef. I'm always begging her to make me chocolate truffles! She's also Queen of the Creative Folded Napkin after working for years in the hotel industry. One of these days I'm going to have her show me some new tricks.
Please stop by and have a look at her first blog feast! To make it even more amazing she created all this in an RV kitchen with a toaster oven. The woman is dedicated!

Me, My RV & Paula Deen

New Year's Tablescape

I'm so glad Dollar Tree was open today. I remembered seeing some nice white china plates with thin bands of gold and I wanted them for my table. We had company for dinner tonight and I wanted something extra nice that wouldn't break the bank. I hit WalMart's 75% off Christmas decor sale for table decorations. I'm going back tomorrow and buying 8 red chargers for $2.50. They're plastic but it's a start down charger lane.


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I gave the middle daughter, Richelle, a demonstration on the care and feeding of silver-plated flatware. She will be inheriting this set and with proper care it will last to be handed down to her children.

Glass tea goblets Dollar Tree
Plates and soup bowls Dollar Tree
Gold and cream napkins Garage Sale
Boopie candle holders Goodwill
Flatware The Nanny Collection
Chargers Walmart
Glitter decorations WalMart
Linen tablecloth Garage sale

Super Goodwill Goodness!

Lookie what I found yesterday! It was marked $5.00 but they were having a sale so I paid less than that. I'm not that wild about the subject matter but it's pretty and it goes with the theme of old prints in my dining room. Jeff even liked it and I have to admit I was surprised that he did. I figured I get an eye roll at the very least LOL!

Close-up of the frame

The original gold leaf has been painted over but it still has the original glass and I'm going to assume the original print. What's amazing is the gesso is mostly intact. There are only a couple of small damaged spots. Turns out it was donated by the cashier who checked me out. All she could tell me is that it had hung in her Grandmother's house for many years. It was given to her Grandmother by her Aunt in Houston and it was old when she bought it.

Ornament Placeholders

For those strolling in from Between Naps On The Porch the instructions for the eggs are towards the bottom of this post. Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas is past and ornament placeholders are now passe. BUT, if you will scroll to the bottom I will show you how to make a placeholder out of just about anything. If it has a hole, or you can make a hole and it is able to stand upright you're in business!




I loved the ornament place holders on the tablescapes of BNOTP and the The Tablescaper. I loved them so much that I thought I would make my own and share that process with you.
The first way is the easy way and works great in a pinch.

You'll need
1 ornament
2 wire ornament hanging loops (scavenge the second one from another ornament)
Sand, bath crystals, rice, peas or what have you to use for ballast to keep the ornament upright.
I used

Ok, it was all I had on hand! Sand or bath crystals would be best if you are going to make them ahead of time or leave them out for a few days. Ants or other bugs crawling out of your place holders wouldn't be a good thing during dinner.

Here are your parts. Remove the top and pour your ballast into the hole in the ornament until it is about half full. Put both loops into the top and replace on the ornament. Gently shake your ballast to even it out so the ornament will stand upright. You may need to do this a few times until you get it just right.


Viola!



The second method is more fiddly and is great if you need to get your craft on.
You'll need
1 ornament
Thin wire. I used 20 gauge for this demonstration.
1 pencil
Wire cutters
Needle-nose pliers
Ballast


Cut a length of wire that is comfortable to work with. I cut mine to 9 inches. Straighten the wire as much as possible. Place the pencil against the middle of the wire and wrap one end around the pencil twice to make a double loop.


Remove the pencil. Leaving about about 2 inches of tail on each wire, trim the bottom of your wires evenly. You will want these rather long so that they expand against the inside of the ornament. If you cut them too short your wire loops will wobble around in the top of the ornament and aggravate you to death

If you need to, slide the pencil back through your loops and adjust until even. Then slide the wire through the ornament top. Pull the wires apart to create a little tension.
Replace the top on the ornament being careful not to bend your wires in too much.
You're done!


This method also works for plastic Easter eggs. Use a hot ice pick to poke a hole in the top. I used a cork screw as someone took mine out of my toolbox. I wonder who that could have been? cough Jeff cough. The corkscrew left a ragged hole on the top so if you have to use that you'll want to cover it up with some decoration. You'll need to experiment to find the right length to cut the tails. I used the wire loop from my ornament demonstration and it's a little long but it demonstrates the concept. Why an Easter egg? Christmas is gone for another year and there is a whole year of tablescaping ahead. I just wanted to give you an idea to get you started.


Labels are easy. I would suggest a sheet of blank business cards and your printer. I don't have pretty handwriting so that is the route I would take.
You could dress up plain ornaments with glitter, paint, lace or fabric. Let your imagination guide you and have fun!

Please visit Susan at Between Naps On the Porch for more great Metamorphosis Monday!

New To Me

For years my Mom had a shadow box hanging in her living room. I always thought it was the coolest thing. But then I have a fascination with mirrors as anyone who has ever visited my home can attest. I've always wanted my own shadowbox but they aren't exactly in vogue nowadays and buying one on e-bay was out because of shipping costs. Well I got lucky is all I can say and found one at a local antique shop.
Ta-da!


I even got them to knock 5 dollars off the price. Heh. Jeff hung it for me like the sweetie he is. He asked me if if I had anything to put on it. You bet! It was filled in less than 15 minutes. My little bird plates are held to the glass with tape, they wouldn't stand on their own. They sure look pretty.

Christmas Tablescape

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a great Christmas with good food and lots of presents. Today I am posting the tablescape I created for the occasion. I love creating tablescapes and the best part is that my family enjoys them too. I think I am getting a little better at photographing my tablescapes.

This Christmas tablescape is a mix of inherited pieces and vintage items picked up at garage sales. I think from now on I shall refer to the inherited items as the Nanny Collection.
Lucky me, WalMart put their holiday linens on sale BEFORE Christmas. I snapped up this pretty tablecloth and 8 matching embroidered napkins for less than $20 dollars. I like those kind of deals!


I started with basic white ironstone for the plates and added some sherbet cups that were a garage sale find. Green glass ornaments were added for a shot of contrasting color to a predominantly red and white table. (I'm still working on bringing back the sparkle to the sherbet cups. I've picked up several pieces now that have a slight yellow cast. You can't see anything on the glass but whatever it is gradually washes away. I call it cabinet funk for the lack of a better term.)
In this view you can just barely see the gold bottoms on the ornaments. I found them at Dollar Tree and I wish I had been able to get more than one box.
This is my favorite shot. The centerpiece is in focus while the surrounding objects are softened and a little blurred. I made Jeff drag out ALL the boxes of decorations this year so I could find the little ornament candle holders. I haven't seen them since we moved here and I wanted them for my tablescape. I bought them at Hobby Lobby aeons ago.
The little flameless votives were half price at Big Lots. The design is flocked and not painted. Makes for an interesting texture but I hope I never have to wash them.

The ice tea glasses are from the Nanny Collection. She used them at holiday gatherings and so I included them in my tablescape in her honor. I don't know who made them or what the pattern is. My Dollar Tree ice tea goblets don't really coordinate but I needed some filler.

The silverware is Rogers Adoration from the Nanny Collection. We inherited a basic service for 8 that I have expanded to service for 12 with serving pieces. Thank goodness for for e-bay! Here is a shot of a couple of the serving pieces. The set came with two serving spoons. I've added two meat forks and a casserole spoon. I almost had a pierced serving spoon in an e-bay auction but lost the bid. I still need to add the ladle, pierced serving spoon, cake/pie server and a bon-bon spoon.

Another addition, individual butter spreaders. This silverware was introduced in the 30's and was offered again in the 70's. This set was purchased in 1974 for her birthday. We still have the card that his Papa gave to Nanny with the set. We keep it in the box with the silverware.

Now I am off to have my favorite post Christmas breakfast. Ham, grits and biscuits!

Be sure to visit Susan at Between Naps On The Porch for more fabulous tablescapes!

Merry Christmas!

❤♫❤♫❤♫❤ .•*¨`*•..¸☼ ¸.•*¨`*•.♫❤♫❤♫❤♫❤.
╔═════════ ೋღ❤ღೋ ═════════╗
ೋ ❤❤❤~~Merry Christmas~~❤❤❤ ೋ
╚═════════ ೋღ❤ღೋ ═════════╝
❤♫❤♫❤♫❤ .•*¨`*•..¸☼ ¸.•*¨`*•. ♫❤♫❤♫❤♫❤.

Mango Chutney

This is the best stuff to serve with ham. Every year I am searching for the recipe so I am posting it here.

Simple Mango Chutney
Fruity bites of mango and golden raisins are energized with ginger, vinegar, cinnamon and sugar and caramelized into a golden sweet and sour treat that glistens like polished glass. This easy recipe will amaze your friends and family and eliminate the mystery of the costly gourmet chutneys you’ve seen at the store.

INGREDIENTS
1 bag (12-16 ounces), frozen mango chunks thawed
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 box (12-16 ounces) of golden raisins
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and pour into a heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to a medium heat.
3. Cook until thickened, stirring regularly to avoid scorching, for 20-25 minutes.
4. Chill before serving.

Goodwill Goodness 2

I am trying to ignore the siren song of potential garage sales on this fine, chilly, sunny Saturday morning. I will not grab the pile of shiny quarters beckoning from Jeff's nightstand. I will be content with the 50 cent spending spree at a garage sale on the way home from work yesterday. I will not die if I don't go to a garage sale.
So, in an effort to distract myself and possible entertain you, my readers, I present my latest Goodwill find. A Reed and Barton hotel silver bowl. Reed and Barton supplied the Navy with silver serving pieces at one time and I think this may have been one of those pieces. It has USN stamped into the bottom.

Before ( I actually remembered to take a before shot!)


After.

Someone loved this bowl and took care of it. It polished up like a dream. Too many times I've brought home something that took an hour or two of polishing to make it look half this good.
I think perhaps it will go on my dining room table. When I go grocery shopping Monday I am going to buy some apples to put in it. ( I hate Monday paydays.)
For now I am going to take a bath and then work on my problem child. My Mother gave me this silver pitcher and it is the cutest thing. It has some kind of film on it that is an absolute beoch to get off. It's getting there though.

I think the garage sales have shut up now. I don't have the money and it's more fun if I have 20 dollars to spend. If I go sure as anything I will find at least 5 things that I've been looking for and will have to leave them behind. Which is why I had to leave behind the green glass Wexford salt and pepper shakers I saw at that garage sale yesterday! Grrrrrr!

Let There Be Light

I've recycled this post for Metamorphosis Monday with Susan of Between Naps On The Porch.

A neighbor recently passed away and her daughter held a garage sale after she cleaned out the house. I went by several times over the weekend as they were still putting out stuff from the storage shed. I found a few pieces of vintage glass but this little lamp was nowhere in sight. On Monday I was headed to work and I noticed a large pile of stuff put out on the curb for the trashman. Well Miss Opportunistic here wasn't going to let that trash pile go unpicked. A milk glass lamp caught my eye so I stopped and when I picked it up I noticed this little gem. This is the after picture. Who knows how many years it's been since this lamp was actually used but now it is shining brightly.

The next picture is as good as it gets for a before. I'm terrible about taking before photos. I just go excited and start going for the after. When I picked up the lamp I couldn't believe that the glass was intact, no breaks, chips or cracks at all. It was filthy and the wiring needed replaced but that was small stuff. I couldn't say the same for the milk glass lamp, it had a huge piece missing out of the base and only one piece was salvageable.

This is the lamp cleaned up and ready for assembly. I painted the metal parts an antique bronze. I felt this color was more suited to its age and dignity than shiny fake gold. The football lamp was intended to supply replacement parts but the socket was riveted together and I couldn't get at the wiring. Instead of spending 10 dollars on a replacement kit and another 10 dollars on a shade I thought I would save some money and buy a cheap lamp and use its innards instead. Well that didn't work out but the cheap lamp had a shade that was perfect for my lamp. I have quite the collection of spare lamps so I was able to scavenge the wiring and fitting from one of them and Viola! A new old lamp!