Everyday Beauty

Flea Market Flowers

I have been working my tuckus off trying to get pictures of all of the new shop goods I have yet to list. There are over 50 items, and it's taking so much longer than I want it to. But I'm trying to enjoy the process instead of rushing through it. Well anyway, I took a break and snapped some shots of the things I found at the Big Flea over the weekend. It was millinery heaven...and cheap to boot!

 

 

  

 

Just a short little post today, girls. Thought you'd enjoy a millinery parade and a bit of Everyday Beauty. Now, it's off to work a little more before Sammy Lamby wakes up.

xo

Berry Basket Bliss

 

I was just thinking how I haven't shared with you my newest velvet strawberry purses. Wanna take a peek?

This one is my first with multi-colored berries. EEK! I love all those pretty colors together.

The one below was on ebay for $9.99, and I emailed the seller asking if she would consider changing it to a Buy It Now auction for $25. She did. And that is a velvet strawberry bargain these days.

 

Love the aqua berries.

 

And this little garden purse is fun. Found it on etsy last fall.

 

How adorable is the ear of corn, made out of pearls?

 

It would be cute to take to the fair, I think!

These make me wish I wasn't toting around sippy cups and books and snacks and diapers and wipes. These are "date night" purses for sure, perfectly sized just for a wallet, lipstick and sunglasses. I do get to use them occasionally, but they usually sit on shelves in my studio, looking pretty and making me happy as I tap away at the keyboard.

Recent Treasure Hunting

Do you ever start a blog post and save the draft and then foget about it altogether? Well, I do. A lot. I never told you about when Karla was in town and we met up for the day to have lunch and find some good junque.

Here's Karla with her tea at Pinkadilly's in Old Towne Fredericksburg. {And, I get to see her again this Friday for another round of treasure hunting with some other gals as well. Fun!}

And here's what I found that day. This charming little vintage sequined crown was a great find. I probably paid too much for it, but I've never seen anything quite like it and, well, I just loved it.

 

Such soft colors. And how great would this be as a First Communion headpiece?

 

I also found this beautiful old hat with ruched layers of beige Russian veiling. There are little turquoise velvet bows tucked inside here and there.

 

It's presently on a shelf in the kitchen. I know, it's a little strange to keep old hats in the kitchen, but they're all over the house and my family thinks nothing of it anymore. Poor things, they think it's normal.

 

And then there's the amazing crepe paper roses in the very first picture. {Sigh}

I found them when we took a family trip to New Jersey last month. We were driving through some quaint old towns, near the PA border, and I was about to jump out of the window to peek inside the antique shops. One after the other. It was torture that the car kept on moving. I knew George had NO desire to stop. But he did..... and he set his stop watch. "Go look for your junk. Thirty minutes. I mean it."  {sadly, without such time restrictions, I would be gone for hours, completely forgetting I had a family waiting in the car.}

"Yay! Thank you!" {kiss kiss}

And that's when I found the crepe paper roses. They weren't even for sale, but rather they had been stuffed inside an expensive vase, just for decoration. The clerk seemed surprised and amused that I wanted to buy them. For just a few dollars, I walked away one happy girl.

 Look how the pink turns to peach almost. Something only time could produce.

 

And I also picked up this Victorian love letter keeper. Don't you love the whole idea of that? Keeping love letters in such a special place. So, I'm going to use it for it's intended purpose. {Honey, if you're reading this, you better start writing me some love letters! Or I'm gonna die an old lady with an empty love letter keeper, for cryin' out loud!}

 

And that's that. My antiquing loot. Looking for beautiful old things never gets tiring, does it?

Avon Calling

So, I thought we'd continue on with a new edition of my Useless Collections. Does anyone remember these? If you're in your thirties or older, and your mom or grandmother ever bought or sold Avon in the late 70's or early 80's, this post might take you for a stroll down memory lane.

Some of these were actually mine when I was little, and some were acquired about 8 years ago when I became obsessed with figural lip gloss containers. Obviously, back then, I had a lot of free time! But they're cute, right? How sweet are the ice cream sodas? I wish they'd start making these again. I think they would sell oodles!

 

Even the boxes they came in had pretty neat graphics.

 

These cookies were always favorites. But the Sunny-Shine Up Egg is cute too.

 

Ice Cream Cone Lip Pomades.

 

This one is called Berry Nice Lip Gloss Compact. I have another one of these that I dug all of the old gloss out of, cleaned it up, and then I refilled it with my own new lip blam. I keep it in my purse....like I'm 5 years old. lol...

 

The Tasti-Mint was the hardest to find for some reason.

 

Chocolates!

 

Funburger.

 

#1 Hit Record......appropriate for the late 70's / early 80's. So funny.

 

This peanut is "mood" lipstick that turns pink or red when you put it on.

 

Frosty blue eyeshadow anyone?

 

These came out later....80's for sure.

 

I forgot to add this one and had to go back and edit! My dad is a coin collector, and he bought me  one of these when I was little and we were visiting one of his favorite coins shops. The owner had some of these for sale in his glass case. I remember it vividly. I guess there must be real copper in it since it's oxidizing.

The ones below contained suntan lotion. Sunana Banana, 14 Carrot Tan and Orangatan. I cleaned out and refilled the banana with sunblock, and we take it to the beach. Mario loves this one.

 

Just when you thought it couldn't get any weirder around here. I do collect some strange things, I'll admit. Now, in my defense, I no longer collect these! I just can't bear to part with them.

Confection Collection

You know the famous quote by William Morris? "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

Well, it's that beautiful bit that gets me every time. I actually ponder that quote frequently as I go through my house and reorganize and rethink some of the things I've acquired through the years. It's easy to get rid of useless things that are ugly. But, when they're beautiful, now that's a different story.

So, let's call this post "Andrea's Useless Collections....Part III".

Part I was the vintage barrettes, although in all fairness I do wear some of them. And Part II was my Prize Ribbon collection. Again, I do use them for projects here and there, but for the most part, they are useless. Beautiful, but useless. So, in that same vein.....

Candy boxes! Love 'em. Most of these were bought as souvenirs from places I've visited or given to me as gifts. In fact, I just received two more vintage candy boxes {as gifts} this past weekend.

The yellow tin arrived in the mail from Heather. It was filled with all sorts of wonderful ribbons and other goodies. Eek! Isn't it a beauty? I love it, and you know I love the cameo motif. And this one IS useful. It can hold all manner of small items from buttons to lace to jewelry.

 

A closer look at the pretty pattern and colors. I don't think yellow gets enough credit. I really like yellow, if it's the right, soft shade.

 

Then, my parents came to visit last weekend, and my mom gave me this vintage heart-shaped candy box for Valentine's Day. My dad couldn't believe I would want such a thing, but she assured him I would love it. She was right! Get this: she found it at an antique shop for $3! I've seen them on ebay for over $100. {Which is insane, but as they say, there's a customer for everything.}

 

Wish they still sold candy in boxes like this.

Santa tucked this round pink box of British truffles in my stocking at Christmas. How did he know I would love the box even more than the candy inside? Thank you Mr. Claus-arella.

 

This {very small} blush pink box with the French dragees inside was my lone purchase from Laduree in Paris. Had I been rich, I would've bought everything in that incredible patisserie! It was pure eye candy. I did have a hot cocoa in a demitasse cup while we were there. It was like sipping pure melted thick rich chocolate. Oh my gosh, it was good.

 

As you can see, I couldn't bear to eat all of the pastel dragees. Even 7 years later some are still there.

This old candy box with the velvet flowers came from an antique shop here in Virginia.

And the Leone and Fauchon ones came from other overseas travels.

I'm sitting here typing this, and I see 3 more boxes. Should I go take a picture? They are pretty ones. Well, no, the sun's gone now. Maybe later. {I just had that entire conversation with myself.}

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the little Confection Collection. Let's see what else I can unearth today. I'm working hard to get this room in tip top shape, and one never knows what I'll find!

Streamers, Pleats and Rosettes

Well, hello! So, that was a fast week. I can't believe I haven't blogged in over a week! Jeez, I'm such a slacker. All of the prize ribbon hullabaloo has had my head spinning. {not to mention 2 sick kids and an out-of-town husband}... Calgon....where are you?

The Daily Candy feature brought a whole new batch of customers outside of our crafty blog world, mostly from the New York City area. There are some prize ribbon-lovin' girls out there! Who knew?

So, I thought I would show you some of my vintage prize ribbon collection since they sort of started the whole thing for me. It all began with one lone ribbon years ago and just kept growing. I mean, what's not to love? These old 1950's and 1960's ones are so silky {unlike any you will find these days} and the old typefaces they used were wonderful. Frivolity at it's best, for sure. Nothing deep and meaningful here today folks, just plain old fashioned I-think-these-are-pretty-and-thought-you might-like-to-take-a-peek-at-them-too.

 

The ones with horse shoes are my favorites. They seem to be much harder to find than the ones with horses on them.

This one in particular is my absolute favorite. Pink, cream and gold. Love those 3 colors together. And the pointy rosette is so unique. Those satin pleats are SO soft.

  

Here it is with streamers and all.

   

And the one below holds a special place in my heart because it is from the city where I grew up! I had purchased several ribbons that were all together in a box and didn't even realize they were all from horse shows in Ohio. Good old Greensburg, Ohio. The name has since been changed to Green, but when I was growing up it was Greensburg.

 

And looky here. Designing prize ribbons must be a genetic predisposition. My mom is a member of her local Orchid Society, and she's in charge of the prize ribbons for their annual Orchid Show. She gave me one for my collection.

 

Here you can see the orchid embossed on the button a little more clearly:

 

So, that's my show and tell for the day. Show and tell is fun. We don't do it nearly enough as adults, do we? Mario gets so excited to bring a favorite toy to pre-school every few weeks when it's his turn. He loves sharing the fun with his class. I know I always enjoy seeing other people's collections, and I hope you've enjoyed seeing this one!

 

Treats for Tresses

I never really set out to start a collection of things. But before I know it, I have. Case in point: vintage hair accessories. Having no daughters, you would have to wonder why I have all of these barrettes. I'm with ya...but I just love them, and they usually only require a little pocket change at flea markets, so it's hard to resist.

When we were "home" at Christmas time, I was chatting with my teenage and 21-year old cousins {did I ever tell you I have 37 first cousins....my grandma had 12 kids}. Well, anyway, we were chatting, and apparently wearing bobbie pins and little barrettes is "in" right now. My cousins had their bangs swept over to the side, secured with a bobbie pin, and I loved the look. So, I came home and sorted through the collection I never meant to collect....and look at all of these pretty little things I can wear!

These rhinestone ones {above} are the ones I'm wearing most often.

Oh, and this Mother of Pearl one, too. Love the shape.

I think the plastic pieces are sweet but maybe a little too precious.....not quite the look I'm going for. But how cute would these be for a little girl?

Cute.

Cuter.

Even cuter! Love this cowboy boot too.

 

I had them all clipped onto these velvet ribbons, hanging on my inspiration board, but I decided to put the ones I wear in a little dish on my dresser. Makes more sense than having to go to my craft room to get a barrette for my hair!

 

I've been organizing {does it ever end?} and have come across some other "unintentional" collections. I'll gather them up and take some pictures soon.

 

Here's to a good hair day!

My Christmas Colors

 

I had made a decision to decorate with only silver, gold and cream this Christmas....

And then I opened these boxes and changed my mind. I love the colors and all the chipped patina, and I simply cannot keep these beauties hidden in boxes!

 

I'm going to leave these 12 mini pink ones in the old Shiny Brite box and display it somewhere, just as it is. I think the box itself is an interesting little decoration.

 

Some other fun ornaments in pastel shades.

 

This vintage little lambie was found at the bottom of a box of junk at a flea market.

 

I don't know who I'm kidding thinking I'll only use silver, gold and cream. I'm bored now just thinking about it!

Hunting & Gathering

I've been sorting through my jewelry boxes, and trying to {yet again} organize them and group things in a way that makes sense. This all started because I need to gather a few favorites for projects at Silver Bella. And also, I will be selling vintage jewelry {among many other things} at the Bella Market Faire! So, one thing has lead to another, and before I know it, the floor is covered with piles of jewelry and buttons and other old trinkets. Let's play!

Rhinestone buttons. {go to thrift stores and buy old clothes and cut them off!} You'd be surprised how many you can find sometimes.

 

Crowns, crown, crowns....don't we all love them so? 

Strawberries of course.

Bows! These are especially easy to find at flea markets and antique shops. Very popular back in the day, I guess.

 

I wonder how this locket ended up at a flea market. Someone's LOVE. He looks very serious, doesn't he? Cute cleft in his chin!

Carved Roses. Another favorite and fairly common find.

 

I wear this ring all the time.

 

I've showed you my vintage seashell jewelry before. Very Florida, no? I love Florida. Met my husband there {while on vacation with friends back in college}.

 

Some fun rainbow seashell cabochons.

 

I originally posted this photo back in the summer of 2007. I love how Mario is peeking over the table to see {and grab!} the shells.

And more shells.

Well, I suppose I'd better get back to sorting and organizing now. The next few weeks will be consumed with Silver Bella preparations and there is a list a mile long. Oh, and I meant to say, I am only taking a shop break, not a blog break. See you soon!

Flea Market Fun

Hello Friends!

Just a little reminder, One Hundred Wishes is closed while Hope and I finish up the last few details and get the new look all ready to be uploaded. I wanted to take the site off-line for a little longer so I could have a mini-break before the next phase of shop fun begins. This Thursday, the shop will reopen with a fresh new look, new logo, new colors and designs, new items and some fun giveaways! You will just have to check back for the details....I don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet.

We just got back from our trip, and boy was it nice to spend the long weekend relaxing and enjoying the company of family. My niece, Mallory, turned 1 and had a watermelon-themed birthday party that was too cute. She wore a sweet pink dress with embroidered watermelons along the neckline. There were watermelon balloons, bowls of watermelon taffy and other pink and green candies, watermelon cookies, watermelon cupcake picks, watermelon dishes, napkins, you name it! My sister-in-law has been planning the party for months, and it turned out to be a sweet event for Miss Mallory. And I just love a well-coordinated party!

As always, my mom and I hit the local flea market, and I thought you might like to see some of the treasures I uncovered. This child-size hat box (above) is one of my favorite finds. The vendor had filled it with old handkerchiefs and wasn't even planning to sell it. I think she was surprised that I was so excited to find it. It was only a couple of dollars and the soft cotton blossoms on top are so perfectly tattered.

Old jewelry is a big flea market focus for me. Here are some of the pieces I gathered this weekend.

I must have found at least 100 pieces, and I was being picky!

There is just so much out there if you look in the right places. Isn't this rhinestone safety pin wonderful?

 

Some of these pieces will be kept and worn as is, other pieces will be sold in my shop, and still others have a future as part of the jewelry designs I've been working on. Coming soon!

I can always use more vintage china with roses. Our kitchen is cream, pink and beige, so I use these things as everyday serving pieces. The more mismatched the better, but they all tie together with the roses motif. I love the silhouette of this $2 footed bowl.

 

Some old lacy bits to add to my stash. Yum.

Well, that's it for now. I'd better get going and unpack the suitcases, clean the house, tackle the laundry and work on the website. The kids will only nap for so long!

See you tomorrow!