Treasure Hunting

Hello and Welcome Spring

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? Ours is unseasonably mild, high-forties and sunny. No complaints from me, though I'm not foolish enough to think it will last....

Have you found any treasures lately? I had a ball out picking this past week and even ended up finding a few keepers.

The pretty cup and saucer is marked "Summer Glory" Royal Albert England. I couldn't resist it at $1.99. I'll grab a little bit of spring wherever I can find it....

The two small plates are Syracuse China (.49 cents each). I'm a sucker for restaurant supply dishes and have collected several sets in different patterns. I like the scalloped edge on the pink and white plate, but I rarely see this pattern in my travels; when I do it's either a lone saucer or badly scuffed.

I think I'm in love....this old bowl is so elegant and the towels are my favorite fabrics and colors. They have already found a home in my linen closet.

I spent about $30 and had some much needed fun. I picked up a few old and well-made antiques to resell on eBay and a few things to put away for the Etsy store I haven't yet opened. ;-)


Happy hunting!
Diane

Linking up at:

Cabin Fever

And a Happy February 1st To You.....

Just think.....only a couple more months of winter, depending on where you're at. I'm ready for spring.

I'm more than ready.....in fact, I now have an official case of cabin fever. I'm dying to get outside. I want to build something. Or prop something up. I want to see how the blueberries and rosa rugosa that I planted last spring are doing. Did my trees make it? In November I planted two white pines next to the new tractor building; they're out there somewhere buried under three feet of snow. I want to hang out(side).

Tell me this, is cabin fever contagious? Check out my newest favorite website:

Cabin Porn

Meanwhile, here's a few titillating teasers. LOL. Have I got it bad.



Pine Tar Stain  100% organic. I wonder if it repels flies....

Northern Ontario. Nice framing. The floors are repurposed palettes. More about the construction at mycabininthewoods.tumblr.com.

A farm is in Skammestein, Norway. This barely looks like a photo.

A 21-year-old industrial design student built this cabin in an archipelago in Finland.

This cabin in Norway looks like it's sitting on a Bigfoot rug.

Swedish simplicity. What era do you think that sofa is from? Late forties-early fifties? You can see more images of Urnatur here.

New Hampshire. Maple sap run, the smell of new lumber. Heaven.

Best woodpile ever. Just goes to show you can be creative in whatever you do.

Think Spring!

Diane

Fun Vintage 1950s Valentines

Hello All,

Aren't these a hoot? If you're old enough to remember Valentines like these.... my condolences. ;-)

Can you guess how many 'hearts' are in the image above?  Lips, earrings, turban, etc.......I count 14, not that I'm necessarily known for accuracy!

These cards are all from the same estate. They are unused and each have a little yellowing on the back, probably leftovers that were never given out.

They are also quite large (about 10 inches tall). The upper portion on each card has a small grommet so that the head swivels and can fold to fit in an envelope.

I scanned them at 300dpi. They should print up nicely on your b&w or color printer.

What could be more fun on a lazy, Sunday afternoon than rummaging through old paper stuff? On second thought, don't answer that!

What do you do for fun?

Vintage Valentines for You

 

Hello. It's a cold winter day in the Copper Country, so I'm staying inside and doing a little housekeeping. For me that means organizing ephemera and putting things back in place after my daughter's visit over the Holidays. She likes old cards and paper, too. The hum of the scanner was constant while she was home.

This morning I found a stack of old Valentines she left on her dresser, so before I put them away I thought I'd scan a few and post them on my blog. Maybe you have a Valentine project and can use them?

All I can say is, "they sure don't make 'em the way they used to."

Aren't these 1930s Valentines adorable? I'm amazed at how the colors are still so vibrant after all these years.

And the verses are so sweet....

I have boxes and boxes of old greeting cards. I just love them. I have been collecting paper since forever.

Several years ago I made personalized gift cards using scans of turn of the century Christmas cards. I used snapshots that I had taken of family members and "photoshopped" their faces in place of the ones on the original cards.

My brother became the jolly Santa ready to descend the chimney; the rosy-cheeked girls sledding down the hill had my nieces' happy faces. You get the picture. It was trial and error, but fairly easy once I got the facial proportions right. I printed them on natural fiber card stock on a high-quality color printer. They were so cute! I think everyone liked them better than their gifts. I gave a complete family set to everyone.

This little sweetie has a red ribbon and a message in pencil on the back: To Gertrude (signed Kerttu Ylitalo 1922).

What kinds of fun and creative things do you do with vintage cards? I'd love to see your creations.  Enjoy!

~Diane