Vintage Inspired Holiday Tablescape: Delight in Red & White

This is the darling tablescape my mom and I came up with to enjoy the quiet days after Christmas. She came to stay with us from Christmas to New Years, and one of the things we enjoy is chosing the dishes/tablecloth/placemats/centerpiece every few nights.

My mom brought Hester & Cook placemats with her because that's how she packs (clothes, shoes, placemats) and they were the perfect complement to my vintage Santa and reindeer. After we had set the table with her mother's Spode Jewel china, my mom noticed my antique paper house on the other side of the room and knew it would round out the presentation. 

I'll show you the vintage paper house a little bigger in this photo. It is the wonder of a pop-up. When you fold the two halves together, it collapses completely flat the size of a 12" record. I saw it and bought it on the spot. This is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for when I am antiquing. Have you ever seen anything like it?

Isn't it cute? It was just the three of us having split pea soup, but we had fun making it look special. We didn't have the big family dinners in Michigan that we love, but it was Christmastime during Covid and at least the three of us could be together.

#christmastime #antiques #christmastable #holidaytablescape #redandwhite

White Antique China: Pretty As A Picture

They got me. I am usually driven by color and sugar, but I stopped in my tracks for this black and white masterpiece. It couldn't be more effective and I salute the vendor that put this collection together. 

Dan and I went on a Sunny Saturday driving trip and ended up in Bellingham, WA. We drove around town, looked in shop windows, shared a butterscotch milkshake and ended up stopping in the Penny Lane Antique Mall. If you're out driving, be sure to stop in and admire their selection.

I saw several collections arranged by color (bravo!) but this all white in a black hutch deserves my top honors. It is one thing to collect vintage items, being able to display them to their advantage is another. This is art. This is delight.

#seattleblogger #visualvitamins #whitechina #vintage #collectingchina #antiquing #winterweekend

Primavera Spring Market: A Vintage Show with Potential

It was sweet vintage show, but definitely smaller than I had hoped for. I had talked 2 new friends into a day trip to Snohomish to shop at the Primavera Spring Market and unfortunately, it felt like we were finished before we began. I am hoping that next year, many more vendors are attracted to this quirky show.

I did buy two things that I love. A small vintage green Pyrex bowl from JohnBOB's booth that I could add to my collection. It was a cheerful color and since it was March, I had no willpower again that happy shade of green.

I also bought one of the miniature egg/cup/flowering bulb arrangements (shown below). Mine had pale grape hyacinth planted in an egg resting in a small terracotta pot. There was a pussy willow arch bent to replicate a handle, as if it were an Easter basket from Uncle Wiggily. Love love love.

The booths showcased a variety of vintage and well-loved household items. Visually it was beautiful, but I didn't see a lot that I could use. I will always comb the calendar and try to find gems for you. This show has great potential.

#primaveramarket #springmarket #springprimaveramarket #snohomish #washington #antiquing #upcycling #vintage #vintagetreasures #girlstrip #weekendshopping #antiques #spring #springweekend #johnbobcooljunk 

That's the Spirit: Antique Pennants

I photographed this beautiful melange of pennants at booth in the Fremont Sunday Market. I wasn't ready to buy, but I can imagine someone pouncing on this collection to decorate a cabin or lake house with plaid blankets and vintage pennants. Look at this page from Midwest Living magazine to see what I mean. It looks warm and storied, just like a house should.

The Fremont Sunday Market in Seattle is not for the faint of heart. More crowded than a garage sale, far worse than a flea market...you have to be ready for an odd mix of items and ephemera. It is not on my regular route, but if I
m feeling lucky, I glance over the tables looking for a treasure like this. 

#vintagesigns #pennants #antiquing #collecting #Seattle

Spring Market at the Skagit Valley Fairgrounds

The Spring Market at the Skagit Valley Fairgrounds was exactly what I was hoping it would be: a kooky mix of vintage finds, garden art and upcycled items to buy and blend into your own décor. I had collected a handful of promotional fliers for upcoming antique shows at the Vintage Garden Market section within the Northwest Flower & Garden Show. Show exhibitors were promoting their upcoming events and I noticed that all of "the good ones" were going to be selling their wares at this Spring Market.

I invited a new friend of mine named Amy to come along on a day of gallivanting around the Skagit Valley. I told her that I'd pick her up at 10, we'd drive 1 1/2 hours up to the fairgrounds and spend as long as we wanted shopping the fair. It was a beautiful day and we had high hopes. This market was fun because almost every booth had flower arrangements for sale or moss covered baskets or little live plants in interesting pots. It made the rusty-dusty items seem bright and happy.

Our adventure paid off almost immediately! I collect Chelsea china and I am always on the hunt for dinner plates and unusual serving pieces - score! I bought these 3 open pedestal cups and one large dinner plate from the first booth I looked in! I tried to explain to Amy what a unique find this was and she was tickled that I found something right off the bat.

I noticed that many booths had botanical prints and some of the drawings had been glittered. They weren't necessarily old, but they were beautiful and interesting. I haven't glittered anything in a while and it made me want to get back into it.

Amy and I were both drawn to a booth full of vintage watch parts called Steam Punk Junq. I knew immediately that I'd like to buy a few sets of watch faces and make a necklace by combining them with vintage buttons. You can see how my first necklace (above) is taking shape.

We went to this show on April 1st and Easter was right around the corner. Many of the booths had vintage Easter cards and decorations. Amy found a set of Easter cookie cutters in their original box in this booth. So sweet!

We had a wonderful time and even managed to drive around and see the fields of yellow daffodils in bloom. It was a great day. Meet you there next year?

*NOTE: 2018 This event name and date seems to have changed. I'll confirm and post new info here.

#springmarket #girlfriend #shoppingday #skagitvalley

Mount Rainier: The Perfect Vintage Postcard

I have a weakness for messages written on postcards. I can't resist picking them up and seeing what the person had to say. When the postcard is pretty, I imagine turning the image into a pillow.

Since I am new to Washington, I was immediately drawn to this beautiful image of Mount Rainier. I haven't had a chance to drive over to this grand national park (but Dan has hiked on it), but I admire it from afar whenever she shows herself.

Did you know that people refer to Mt. Rainier as they would the moon? They describe whether or not it is clear enough for the mountain to be "out." The distance and clouds can keep her (the mountain is also referred to as feminine) from being visible for days. 

What really sold me on this particular card sent in 1937 was the statement:

"I found some new views of Rainier and Alaska, nice to see some new ones for a change. This scene is taken at Paradise Lodge same as most of the Rainier cards are."

It tickles me that back in 1937 they were tired of the same old images that always appeared on the local postcards. Some guy named Brown found this new card and had to send it along to his old friend. Little did he know that we'd be taking about it 79 years later. 

He goes on to say:

"Sure would like to make a trip up there over the 4th as I get 3 days off but I'm short on cash right now. hope to get up there this year tho. The trip isn't bad but the dollar to get in the park makes it just too much if you only go up once during the year."

He would think it was outrageous that I paid $2 for his musings. But I will protect this little piece of Washington history, Brown, don't you worry.

Pacific Galleries: Seattle Auction House and Antique Mall

What a fun way to spend a rainy Saturday! We drove to downtown Seattle and nosed around this enormous antique mall called Pacific Galleries. It's in SODO (south of downtown) and I first heard about it at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show last year. They have a intriguing area of booths called the Vintage Garden Market, which features antique and gently used household items that have been up-cycled into new treasures for sale. I must have talked to someone who suggested Pacific Galleries to me because I've been hanging on to their postcard for a year now.

At first, you'll see rows and rows of tiny treasures in glass cabinets. Then as you turn the corner, you'll see much larger spaces side-by-side, filled to the brim with each vendor's offering.

We really enjoyed shopping and reminiscing about different eras. You can see that I was tempted by this vintage nativity, but in the end I resisted. My mom and I look forward to a time when my Aunt visits us out west - I know that as an antique dealer, she'll love this grand space full of treasures.

Honoring the Past: When Embroidery Captures a Moment in Time

I found a treasure! Someone spent hours embroidering this darling kitchen scene.  Just look at the details...there is food and wine on the table, a kettle on the stove and pots hung on the wall. She even stitched a small china windmill, a popular souvenir, sitting on the kitchen shelf.  My mom thinks that this dishtowel was stitched before the depression when there was time for needlework and pretty linens - late 1920's? I've always loved collecting vintage Pyrex as a way to honor the American kitchen. This dishtowel fits right in with my aesthetic. 

I plan on starching it and framing it on the wall somehow. Wouldn't it be darling in a blue and white kitchen? Stay tuned.

Hey Sugar: A Flower Arrangement to Delight

My mom gets all the credit for this lovely display. She found the antique canisters (tea, coffee, oatmeal) at an antique show. She knew that they would make darling vases. All she had to do was wait for the hydrangeas and roses to bloom and Voila!

Arranging tablescapes is part of the fun of being up at the cottage. Every few days we change from placemats to tablecloths, from nautical blues to vintage pastels and make a flower arrangement to suit.

I assure you, everything tastes better with a centerpiece like this.

The Reeves Library and Antique Pots de Creme

I think I have mentioned "The Reeves Library" to you before. I was given full control over our upstairs hall linen closet when we built our house and what began as a place to keep my Victoria and Martha Stewart Living magazines, quickly expanded to hold all of the issues of magazines that I love and want to keep.  I have all of the issues of the short-lived Blueprint magazine. Years of the outstanding publication American Homestyle and Garden and at least a decade of Country Home.  Every shelf is full. I am almost to the point where my library needs an expansion.

I tend to store my issues by brand and by month, rather than by year.  That way all of my February Victoria issues are together and I can pull out 8 and have all the inspiration I need for Valentines Day fun.  Most people that tout organizational philosophies or methods get rid of magazines first. But I am not most people and I certainly use what I keep. My library is active and I love it.

Here's proof.  I pulled out the Victoria magazine from Jan/Feb 2009 and look what is on the cover. A pot de creme that is very similar to the set of four that I found at the West Palm Beach Antique and Flea Market. I knew that I had to have them, but its also fun to see that they are cover-worthy. 

The article "Pots de Creme: A Taste of History at the Table" was written by Katie Brandon ans she says "These intricate creamy white cups are a reproduction of an 18th century design from the Pont Aux Choux factory..."

I have yet to bake in them yet. I want to make sure that these antique vessels can handle the heat of a water bath first. 

Have you ever bought anything that you then saw in a magazine? 

Flower Arranging: Vintage Canister is an Unexpected Vase

In the spring, summer, fall, I am flower driven. My interests collide when I can take a vintage oatmeal canister (my mom's find from an antique show) and fill it with flowers from the garden.  Could this arrangement be any prettier?

A melange of color and texture that gets your attention and holds it for a few beats.  When I see this arrangement, my brain ping-pongs around these thoughts:

• How can the colors of that hydrangea be so delicate? Pale celery green and puff pink together is perfect. 
• Why don't they make more pretty china canisters - clear plastic Oxo containers are just not beautiful.
• This grouping would translate beautifully to fabric. Where is Laura Ashley when I need her?
• I have to plant bellflower and more yarrow next year (then I write that in the Notes portion under May in my 2014 calendar.)

Looking at beautiful things is good for you.  Making a bouquet and seeing it every time you walk into the family room is even better.

Ring Bling

Look what else I found at the West Palm Beach Antique and Flea Market! Ring bling!  I stared at these gems and cut glass masterpieces sparkling in the sun for so long that the vendor thought I was in the market for a new bauble.  I was just entranced by the collection as a whole.  

This kind of girly grouping is so effective.  Take any of these items away from the rest and they aren't quite as magnificent.  But en masse, they shine.  

Wouldn't this make a terrific puzzle?

Antique Pot de Creme

I am one step closer to checking something off my "never list".  

My never list is a tally of things I'd like to make or try, but haven't had the chance to do yet.  It isn't a bucket list, as in something that is important for me to do before I die, it's more of a mental list of things that I know about and somehow haven't tried yet.  I notice that when someone mentioned something, I'd say "I've never tried that," hence I call it my never list.

I recently checked off make a souffle, char tomatoes, have a Slurpee and eat morel mushrooms. 

Anyhoo, hovering on my never list has been "make chocolate pot de creme."  It is a rich pudding placed in small containers made specifically for pot de creme and cooked in a water bath.  I have looked for these lidded vessels in popular cooking stores, but I couldn't find any.  I saw these pots de creme online, but I was more in the mood to buy them in person.   

When I was in Florida, I mentioned wanting to make this petite dessert to my Aunt Carol and lo and behold, she found some antique pots de creme!  My mom, aunt and I went to the West Palm Beach Antique and Flea Market on a Saturday morning a few weeks ago.

Would you have spotted these pots de creme?  My aunt saw them and immediately knew that they were what I was looking for.  I bargained with the dealer and bought a set of four for $15.  I love them!

I need to wash them gingerly and cross my fingers that they can take the heat of a water bath.  They are marked "Made in Italy" on the bottom.  When I make this coveted dessert, I'll show you a picture and post the recipe. Wish me luck!

Antique Chocolate Molds

Have you ever seen such a display?  I first saw Dad's Follies in person at the Ann Arbor Antiques Market a few years ago, but I had been well aware of their chocolate molds for years because of articles about their magnificent collection in various shelter magazines.

The company has amassed a selection of over 2,500 antique chocolate molds over the last 35 years and to be able to see this collection in person is a bit overwhelming.  All I could think of was the people behind the molds - those that used them in their heyday to make chocolates for shops, restaurants and to spoil their friends and family.  What a neat skill to have - chocolatier.
I was really happy that Dad's Follies still exhibits at the Ann Arbor Antiques Fair (only on certain months, so check the schedule).  I was going to spend the morning at the fair with my friend, Angie, and I wanted her to see this amazing display for herself.  She loved it too and even found a few treasures for herself.

While I am apt to try molding a chocolate rabbit (I love the challenge of making something cute), my dad is apt to bring one home from the candy store!  Remember this one?  If it's Easter, my dad is on the lookout for a giant chocolate rabbit.  He just can't help himself - and I love it!

Dishwashing

I found myself standing over a sink filled with lavender-scented bubbles this morning and when I looked over at the plates drying, it looked so pretty that I thought I would show you.

A friend came for tea yesterday (I'll tell you about the fun we had tomorrow!) so this morning I took my time and hand-washed the antique dishes we used.  

One of my favorite dish washing liquids is the lavender scent by Farmhouse.  The soap is gentle and the suds smell wonderful.  Wash, rinse and set your dishes aside to dry on a monogrammed dishtowel.  Celebrating the beauty of everyday moments.  

Silver Patina on Ice Bucket make Arrangement even Prettier

I was at my friend's recently helping her get the house ready for a party she was throwing.  We tried different tablecloths on the table, compared various combinations of plates (chargers, dinner and salad) and pulled out all of her cloth napkins to find the pattern that worked the best.  It was really fun and when you have a friend to talk it over with, design decisions are easy.

When we pulled out the bottles of wine and sparkling water to chill, she said she was disappointed that she hadn't had time to shine her silver footed punch bowl.  She thought it would have looked neat filled with ice and all the different bottles.  When I saw that it was such a beautiful piece, I convinced her to use it anyway (it became a wonderful addition to the bar) and cited my silver ice bucket above as an example of the beauty of old silver.

I told her that since my ice bucket was an antique that had gone without being polished or care for for years, it had acquired a unique patina, along with delicate scarring and a grey haze in some areas, that I simply couldn't buff off.  But it is beautiful!  And I think that the fact that it looks like an antique makes it even better.  If we wait until our silver pieces are perfectly shined, we may never use them at all.  The next time you are ruling out a silver vase or tray because you don't have the time or energy to shine it, ask yourself if it doesn't look a little bit beautiful with a patina.  You might just see it in a new light.     

Antique Blue Lustre Tea Set

Must. Stop. Antiquing.  What am I going to do?  I fall in love with too many things and the question becomes where to put it all.  But really, didn't I need this blue lustre tea set for my living room?  Especially considering that the woman at the community garage sale looked me in the eye and said "7 dollars."

I'm not kidding!  This tea set included a tea pot, creamer, sugar, 4 cups and saucers, 4 dessert plates and came with 2 wood oval serving trays - the age shows in the luster coating on some of the pieces, but the set has no chips or cracks!  From my sleuthing online, this seems to be a Japanese tea set from the 1920-30s.  The simple design and combination of biscuit and blue lustre took my breath away.  Love, love, love - that is all there is to it.

What becomes fun is decorating with it.  First and foremost, the china echos the colors in the antique quilt I have on the wall.  Then I used a paper placemat (that my Mom saved and gave me) from the restaurant, PAUL, to line a tray that I had.  Remember when I wrote about PAUL?  The restaurant in Florida has closed, but the locations in France are going strong.  I'm so glad my mom had the wisdom to keep her placemat - it looks perfect here.  I showed her the other day and she took a little bow.  It was also her idea to move my "macaroon" candles to the dessert plate.  Cute!

So, yes, I need to slow down on the antiquing.  Just not quite yet.

Vintage Cheese Labels

You know what I love about modern life right now?  Scanning.  And then Printing.  And then Crafting. 

I love that I can take vintage items, scan them and then print them a million different ways without hurting the original.  This process preserves the value and charm of the antique, but allows me to use the image over and over again.

At Christmastime, I was trying to think of a unique way to package some of my handmade necklaces as gifts.  I decided that if I decorated a small round black tin, it could serve as both the "gift wrap" and "jewelry box" for the necklace later. 

I scanned this antique French cheese label that I bought in Paris at the flea market and then printed the image onto clear sticker project sheets.  All I had to do was cut out the round cheese label "sticker" and adhere it to the top of the tin.  (I did add a touch of copper glitter to the dirt road to add some depth, but it was a piece of cake.)

I decorated three tins this way and they turned out beautifully - the tin was a gift in itself!  And I still have the original cheese label and the cheese label image stored on my computer.  It is a win-win scenario, over and over again.

Have you ever scanned something precious and then felt free to experiment with the printed copies?

Player Pianos

Can you hear the music?  My friend had Auld Lang Syne playing on her antique player piano on New Year's Eve.  So nostalgic!  Look closely and you can see that a white key is being played...this is an action shot!

When my friend Kim and her husband bought their house, the previous owners offered to leave this Story & Clark player piano in the basement.  It didn't play, mind you, but my friends could see the potential. 

When the time was right, they found an expert in player piano restoration (a blind man with an incredible ear for music) and the piano was taken off site for a complete overhaul. 

Voila!  This historic piano plays like a dream now and based on the serial number we think it is from between 1924-1931.  It came with a large selection of music (paper rolls with a pattern of holes that triggers the keys) with dreamy names like "Midnight Waltz", "1924 Rose Marie Fox Trot" and "Oh Boy, What A Girl!" 

Kim's basement holds a time capsule of romance.  Is your dance card full?

Antique Calendars

Do you love it?  When I noticed this paper plaque (the top portion of a calendar) at an antiques show, I could immediately see it on display here on my baker's rack.

I went to an antiques show with my parents and I had only been there about five minutes when I noticed this gorgeous plaque.  I couldn't play it cool.  I didn't bargain or act aloof.  And I certainly wasn't going to walk away, only to circle back later.  I couldn't risk having someone else snag this!  I was smitten and I'm sure the look on my face made it clear to everyone that I simply had to have it.

Lucky for me it was very reasonable, being that it was only half of the original piece.  If the paper calendar from December 1930 (?) was still attached, I know that the price would have been much higher.

I love it, love it, love it.  Pressed paper in shades of mint green, aqua, pale rose and mustard depicting a perfect moment in the countryside.