Everyday Beauty

Pretty Pastels

 
Pretty pastels are everywhere in the house today. It seems I have projects happening in every corner. Quite a mess, but a beautiful one I think! There are painted eggs with pearly patinas, ready to be embellished. They will be in the shop in the next few weeks. Is anyone else thrilled that Easter is late this year? It's nice to have a little more time for Springtime projects and decorating.

 
A pile of Bella Notte swatches I got from a shop that closed last year. The colors and fabrics are scrumptious....velvets and linens, laces and damasks. I can just picture a little doll sleeping on top of these, kind of like the Princess and the Pea!

 
 
I can't tell you how much inspiration I get from these vintage Chalkware children. The soft colors, the lines, the patina. Love love love. Chalkware is one of those fairly inexpensive collectibles that really adds a vintage feeling to an area or space. This piece has been all over the house, but now sits on the buffet.

 
More inspiration. An old handmade pin cushion with lovely details, embroidery and soft-as-silk ribbon laced through the edges.

 
 
This rhinestone piece came from a flea market, where the seller told me it was a component for a headpiece that was never finished. I thought that was interesting.

 
And what would a pastel post be without a rumpled gorgeous old rose?

 
Spring is upon us, and I can't wait! Are you feeling the same way?

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 
Sending a hug to you this Valentine's Day
{and a little vintage style of course!}

 
 
 
 
 
 

Twinkling Teacups

 
Every once in a while I get the urge to clean out cupboards and eliminate things I don't love or need or use. I should do this much more often....you know how it goes. So, a month or so ago, I began pulling teacups, saucers, bowls and dishes from the buffet and cupboards. They were stacked all willy nilly in there, and I felt so unorganzied. It had been driving me crazy for too long already.

 
These are mostly pieces I use pretty regularly or have displayed around the kitchen. I washed them and organized them {hooray!}. I had them all spread across the table to take stock and {hopefully} eliminate pieces I no longer wanted/needed/loved.

 
Not sure what I was thinking with that odd angle above....it seemed like a good idea at the time.

 
Wishing they still made souvenirs like this....

 
I'm sad to report I was only able to part with one lonely demitasse cup. Sometimes I wish I wasn't such a sentimentalist. I get so attached to things, which is silly I know. But they do make the everyday tasks and rituals a little more beautiful, right? To me at least. I can't speak for my husband....he hates that none of these things can go in the dishwasher!
I found this "A Present from London" cup & saucer at an antique mall in Ohio. When I look at it, I feel like it really should be in the hands of Rachell Ashwell....LOL.. If I had her address, I would send it!

 
Oh, well now at least the cups and dishes are all twinkling clean, organzied and ready to be used and enjoyed again. Now on to the rest of the house.

Italian Florentine {for one of you!}

 
When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a set of Italian Florentine nesting tables, and I loved everything about them. I think every Italian Nonna had these tables, or at least something Florentine, back then. To this day, my grandma still has one of the tables set up next to a chair in her living room.

Years later, when I went away to college and would have my own apartment, she asked me if I wanted one of them. I did of course, and thus began my love affair with these hand-painted, gilded treasures.

 
These days, I especially love finding and using old Florentine trays, which I've had luck finding at flea markets, antique shops and even on etsy. They have a thin layer of lacquer over them, so you can actually serve drinks from the trays and not worry about spills. Such pretty patterns and detail.

 
I've found that these smaller ones are handy for keeping beads and findings from rolling off of the work surface when I'm designing jewelry. You probably know by now that I love form as much or more than function.

 
Jewelry boxes are another item commonly painted in Florentine style. This little one was a flea find from many years ago. I keep little prayers cards inside.

 
Teeny carved scallops on the sides.

 
But lately, it's not just the Nonnas who are loving Florentine pieces. It seems to be a trend right now, and lots of home decor boutiques are selling new reproduction pieces as well as the old ones. It can be hard to tell them apart, but the authentic ones are still carved, hand-painted and gilded in Italy.

I have a few of these pretty trays and would like to give one to one of you.

You girls are a such an important part of my creative world. 

And I love to give gifts. Just love to.

Simply leave your name and email addy, and I'll pick a random winner this weekend. Sound good?

This round one with a scalloped edge and an aqua and cream motif is the one I'll be gifting away.

 
And I'll also send along a bunch of my favorite Italian Amaretti cookies. The wrappers alone are irresistible, and the pillow-soft Amaretti are divine. The whole package will be wrapped up like a present and tie with ribbons {but of course!} and sent off to the winner sometime next week.

 
**On a side note, thanks so much for all of your votes for Mario. He didn't win, but he was close, and I know so many of you cast your votes for him more than once! You're awfully sweet for taking the time to do that for my little guy. It was a fun photo shoot and contest to be a part of.

Well, I'm going to go get Sleeping Beauty from her nap now, and think of something to make for lunch for me and Sammy. Have a lovely day, Lovelies!

EDIT: Comments have now closed for the drawing. Thanks!

Seaside Souvenirs

 
So, the heat index here was 112 degrees yesterday. I don't need to tell you {but I will} that it was incredibly HOT!

 
I stayed inside and tinkered around & organized a little bit in my craft room, in between Sofia's feedings. I've been doing some summertime crafting, and this box of vintage seashell jewelry always makes me smile.

 
I think I showed you some of these pieces a couple years ago, but a few more baubles were found while flea marketing last weekend, so I took some pictures. Not to mention the colors are just perfection!

 
Just imagine, these are the types of things tourists would buy in those wonderful little beach shops back in the day.

 
I would love to take a trip back in time to a quaint bustling seashore town in 1950. Wouldn't that be fabulous?  Lay on the beach, eat salt water taffy and shop for pastel shells..........The souvenirs were so much better back then {and so were the bathing suits!}

It looks like some of these pieces were handmade by crafty beach goers. How fun.

 
Love the little pink rosettes above.

 
I'll be back next week {I hope}with some pictures of my own little shell crafts. Happy Weekend!

  

The Vintage Millinery Flower Club

 
What is it we love so much about rumpled, faded old millinery flowers? Don't you think we should start a club? A sisterhood of vintage flower lovers.

 
Maybe it's the soft floppiness of the cotton blossoms.

 
Or the silky velvet and satin petals.

 
The palest pink buds, perhaps?

 
I'm loving this pretty pile of roses on the kitchen table.

 
And sometimes one all by itself is simply enough.

 
These pink roses are in Sofia's nursery. I figured I should initiate her into the Vintage Millinery Flower Club at an early age.

 
Some more favorites, on my dressing table.

I wish we had such a club. What fun we could have searching for, collecting, trading, displaying and creating with these lovely old blossoms!

Treasure Hunting

 

I haven't felt too much like waddling through antique shops lately, but I did pick up a few things that I love the past couple of months. Thought I'd share...

This vintage tiara is a favorite, and it was a bargain compared to what they go for on ebay. I think it will look precious on a shelf in the baby's room.

Found lots of linens and laces and collars at one particular booth. All half price!

I couldn't leave these old iron towel bars behind. Again, I'm thinking these will be perfect in the baby's room with little dresses and tutus hanging from the bar.

 

Look at the pretty rosette detail. Heaven!

Another old wedding cake topper for the collection. This one is so perfectly dingy and discolored.

A great old straw hat loaded with flowers. The mannequin was a Christmas gift from my mom and dad. George is scared to death of it, so I told him it's going on his nightstand. :)

 

This little plastic frame was a dollar...I'll figure out something to do with it.  

 

We have a long wooden farm table in out kitchen, and this linen runner fits it well. 

 

This velvet one is much smaller, more like a little dresser scarf. Such pretty colors.

 

Well, that's the scoop for today, girls. Just thought I'd share some pictures of pretty old things. 

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?