An Evening on the Beach

This evening down on the beach felt more like October than July and we were thankful for our sweaters as soon as we neared the water. The sun tried peeking through occasionally but was mostly hidden by the clouds that have hung around all month.

We passed several beach goers who weren't deterred by the briskness and spent most of the time crossing patches of cobble stones washed in by the tide.

A determined beetle took a brief break on his journey just long enough to pose for a picture.

We also passed several castles, the one below being the most elaborate with careful landscaping and bridges.

Another had pebble paving and a thoughtful bridge.


As the sun dipped lower, it grew chillier under thickening clouds and, calling it a day, we headed for home.

In the Garden

photo by Ann Weber, Smithfield Gardens, Suffolk

There's been some major gardening going on around here lately due to the dreary weather. That's right, while the rest of the country broils, our temps are barely reaching the high 60s and we haven't seen the sun for ages. Definitely one of the strangest summers yet, but perfect for working in the yard, and I've been taking full advantage. About 50 tropicanna rhizomes have been unearthed over the last few days. Their striped foliage and pretty red hues are right up my alley and they're super easy to separate and cultivate. This isn't the time of year to divide them, but in coastal Southern California they're hearty as can be, and in no time will be looking like the ones above.

Last Day of the Christmas in July Sale

Just a quick reminder that our Christmas in July sale ends tonight July 25th at 12 midnight EST. Until then everything in our etsy shop is 15% off. Click HERE shop now!

1940s Sunday School Lithograph Posters

Today I wanted to share a few 1940s Sunday school lithos with you. They have such charming images and can be used for so many different projects, that is, if you don't want to simply frame them and hang them up.

Wouldn't they be adorable decoupaged onto wooden blocks and made into a puzzle? A project like that would require eight different lithos to have an image on each face of a block. They'd also be cute decoupaged on letter blocks, so some faces would have images and others would have letters.

The attention to detail is so sweet. Here's a series of closeups from the images above.

A word about the printer, in case you were wondering:
The Providence partnership of Harris & Jones entered into business as commercial lithographers in 1868, and became the Providence Lithograph Company circa 1875. In 1878, the firm began to emphasize religious lesson material for Sunday schools, and grew to become the leading printers of Sunday School lesson material in the country. Most of their work was done directly for the educational and publishing wings of the larger Protestant denominations. They also published periodicals and a small number of illustrated religious books under the imprints of Harris-Jones and the Religious Press.

Dresden Foils & Trims From Germany

It's no secret that we love Dresden foils and trims. And in the last couple of weeks we've added several new styles in a range of colors, like the blue fish above, and several trims, stars and autumn designs:

We couldn't resist the running pumpkins and golden kitties above, and the silver birch leaves hint that fall is just around the corner.

Florals are always useful and, in pretty colors like pink and seafoam green, add a touch of elegance to a plethora of projects.

Last but not least, pretty sheets of mixed halos and stars are something we reach for time and again. The black come in handy for Halloween projects while the colors are versatile for any time of the year. We're also stocking silver and gold in both our etsy shop and on our website.

Vintage Stamen and Peps from Germany

We're super excited about a group of vintage flower stamen and peps we received last week. Exclusive to our etsy shop, these are all 1950s vintage German and even more awesome in person. Glittered, dipped, fuzzy, fruity, single-ended, double-ended... here's a quick sampling:

I can't get enough of the glittery sticks in aqua, red lilac and more! They look positively sugared.

The realism of the shaped ones is outstanding. From the above three, it's hard to pick a favorite.

The group above left are meant to be lily stamen. Any ideas what the next two are?

Cool Christmas Stuff for Crafting and Decorating

The Christmas in July sale over on etsy is in full swing! In keeping with the spirit, we wanted to share a select sampling of a few of our Christmas offerings. Above, a trio of miniature bottle brush trees to embellish or decorate with as is.

Next, three groups of blown glass ornaments -- elongated tear drops, nuts and colorful drops.

Above, a shabby cast iron tree stand, a vintage-inspired stocking and a group of silver mercury glass beads.

We can't get enough vintage glass beaded garlands. In fact, we love just about all glass beads!

Everything pictured here can be found HERE, and through July 25 is 15% off. Merry Christmas in July!

Christmas in July on Etsy.com: Save 15%

The 3rd Annual Christmas in July Sale has arrived! From now through July 25th we're offering 15% off everything in our shop, excluding shipping. These are our lowest prices of the year, so if you've had your eye on something now's your chance to get it for a great price.

If you're participating in the sale yourself and need a banner or avatar, scroll down to the next post.

Free Banners & Avatars for Christmas in July on Etsy

Here is a large group of free banners and avatars for you to use for the upcoming Christmas in July Sale on etsy.

Just click on the image you like to enlarge it to the correct size, then drag it on to your desktop. Banners are sized at 760 px by 100 px and avatars are 75 px by 75 px.

The above banner can be semi-customized with your own text using basic photo editing software.


Here's another pair, one ready to go, the other ready for you to customize.



Here's a more contemporary pair with avatars in several color choices.






We're looking forward to the sale and will be posting more details about how we'll be participating as it gets closer.

White Wednesday: Counting Sheep

Here's a shot of one of my favorite farm scenes. It usually hangs in the kitchen so I can glance over and see it while washing dishes. I love how the artist captured such great detail while retaining a dreamy quality. Let's zoom in...

Let's zoom in more...

Be sure to visit Faded Charm for more lovelies in white. Hope you all enjoyed the weekend!

It's Christmas in July at vintage-ornaments.com!

We're having a Christmas in July sale at our website! Save 15% on your entire order now through July 16th by entering CIJ at checkout. Click to enlarge the flyer above to see a small selection of the many items you can save on, then click HERE to begin shopping.

Chrissy's Woodland Wedding

Our favorite weddings are ones with a completely personal touch, so we are beyond excited to share a glimpse into Chrissy's wedding with you today! Recently held at Seaquest Park in Castle Rock, Washington -- at the base of Mt. St. Helens -- Chrissy's ceremony was an example of DIY at it's finest. We were particularly taken with her terrarium centerpieces and just had to know more:


*What was your inspiration for the terrariums?

I had a love of moss since I moved to the Pacific Northwest, and love vintage decor. I remember once seeing kitschy terrariums on the Brini Maxwell show a number of years ago, and found a 70's book on making them. The ones I made for the wedding were with dried moss and some plastic ferns and your mushrooms so I wouldn't have to worry about them dying.


*How long did they take to make?

It took me a while to gather all the materials, and I'd been collecting glass containers from thrift stores for almost a year, but I put them together in a few hours.


*Did you also make the bunting?

I did make the buntings, I used vintage sheets for the tablecloths, and the scraps and some other fabrics from my stash.



*What kind of cake? The ferns look so real, are they green icing?

And the cake was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, made by a local lady (it was cute, but turned out not-so-tasty) and the ferns were frosted on. The bunnies on top were vintage, flocked, and found on ebay.

Special thanks to Chrissy for sharing her talents! All photos courtesy of the talented Lara Jenkins.