I've always liked the dreamy quality of this late 19th century lithograph. From her white gown to the wild flowers beneath the tree, the artist, Philip Calderon, captured all the details perfectly.
Called Spring Time, she stays out all year. In fact, can you spot her in the Christmas photo in the blog post below?
Hard to believe that it's only six months until Christmas -- that means decorations come out even sooner! Above is one of my favorite shots of one of our trees all lit up with a roaring fire. The mantel has a snowy village scene with clusters of vintage decorations -- spun cotton animals,
I can't get enough millinery! This time of year, when the garden suffers from summer heat, paper and fabric flowers decorate the house as everlasting bouquets. Above is a group of vintage sprigs from Japan displayed in a footed cloisonne vase. The beach scene in the background is a painting from several Christmases ago; it's my absolute favorite place in town besides home.
Zooming in... made with meticulous attention to detail, these blossoms are nearly as good as the real thing!
They're also displayed in an antique sterling pitcher. I just love the handle featuring Mercury.
Be sure to visit Faded Charm for more pretties in white!
This time of year, with our workshop in full swing and supplies all over the place, I start to get super excited about Christmas. How I'll decorate, when I'll do it, where the tree will go, and what gifts I'll make are all on my mind. I wanted to share a few of my favorite Christmas supplies with you, just in case you're also thinking Christmas.
Last but not least, we have a group of spun cotton mushrooms from Germany, a trio of multicolored bottle brush trees and lustrous embossed foil trim that looks so gorgeous lining shelves or on a mantel.
Over the years I've seen so many beautiful dishes that strike my fancy, it was inevitable I'd become a dedicated mix and matcher. These two are part of a small luncheon set I couldn't resist, made in Limoges, France by Haviland.
This turkey always makes his way into the rotation come fall.
And this cow! He's one of my very favorites -- I love the way he's curled his hoof under.
It's not uncommon at all for us to keep holiday pieces out all year, like the Victorian bunny nodder above. He makes his way around the house, mixing with other favorite items, but never finds his way into the closet to be put away. Currently, he's hanging out with a still bank and a Victorian yardlong of flowers and music. The kitty bank has been a favorite of mine since childhood.
Here's a close up. I love the little ribbon around his neck.
We have Christmas on our minds all year -- planning, creating, prototyping, collaborating -- but as soon as summer begins our Christmas activities go into overdrive. This time of year we create most of our stock for the upcoming season and our workspace goes from relatively organized to a whirlwind of sparkle, supplies and finished pieces.
Once we decide on a design, we create its pieces and cut them out of sturdy paper board. Next comes painting, putting cellophane in the windows and gluing pieces together. Then we add one or two bottle brush trees. After all glue has dried, we apply "snow," Dresden trims and mica, plus vintage glass beads to decorate the trees.
Can you ever have too many seashells? I think not! It's easy to find pretty ways to store them -- jars, bottles, boxes. Here are some of my all time favorites stored in a vintage seed box with tiny iron animals keeping watch.
Zooming in on the box, above and below.
Zooming in a bit more to see the shells.
Journals in detail.
The first journal up for grabs.
The second journal features pretty flower girls.
The third journal has an extra large pair of angels.
A peek inside.
Posting has been light this week because we've been on the road busily sourcing new supplies. An adventure to the north yielded a car load and included these glamorous finds...
Above we have a couple of vintage velvet appliques, clear Czech rhinestones by the yard and a spray of reflector flowers in red. I can't get enough of these reflector flowers and had to show them to you in some other colors (we also found some in clear).
Wishing you all a wonderful start to summer! Anybody have any big plans for the holiday weekend? We're expecting warm sunshine so I'll hopefully be down on the beach!
It's easy to find ways to use my favorite cake stand even when I'm not baking. This one, from France, used to be my mom's. At Easter time I like to use it as a stand for an egg display. The rest of the year, I change it up for the seasons.
Here an old cast iron child's toy sheep stands next to a Victorian glass rose bowl filled with paper flowers. Below is a close up of the pretty white flowers from the painting in the background.
Making sailor's valentines was a common craft in the early 19th century, practiced mainly by men on sailing ships at sea for months on end, as gifts for their sweethearts or mothers and sisters back home. You can continue the tradition with just a few readily available supplies and the design can be as simple or detailed as you choose to make it.
You'll need: a sturdy box (cigar, wooden, papier mache), scissors, seashells and glue. Foil paper trims and lace are optional. We're using a papier mache heart shaped box from Germany. We don't use glue guns, but prefer a quick drying glue like Alene's.
Keep your design simple and don't worry about perfection - no two shells are exactly alike and that makes them even more beautiful. When placing the shells, we work out from the center.
We've glued vintage lace to the base and trimmed it close to the box edge.
A band of paper Dresden foil trim finishes that edge. We've also added a band of paper foil inside the box, to continue the design from outside.
A vintage brass stamping of an angel finishes the top.
This box works well for small jewelry and other treasured pieces.
Keep in mind that you can paint your box or work directly on the original surface; Dresden trims come in a large variety of widths and colors; you can find a huge selection of seashells, both natural and colored, in our etsy shop.
This flamingo keeps watch over an ornamental garlic and group of impatiens.
This guy belonged to my great-grandmother. She gave it to my mom and my mom let me have him.
I love how the wood grain is exposed.
This pelican came off his stake, but sits quite nicely at the base of a newly planted king palm.
A close up of how the stake is attached.
