No no no no n- well, okay

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Janet

Have you ever got “stuck” with something on Ebay because people were bidding against you and darn it, you just weren’t going to let them have it cheap?

No? Maybe it’s just me…

Anyway, recently while scouring a flea market I came upon a Christmas tree figurine from Precious Moments that plays “Silent Night.” Now I am not a collector of Precious Moments figures – but I did like this tree:

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

The color palette was soft and “shabby,” if you know what I mean. And I thought, maybe I could just collect one piece of Precious Moments – even though I didn’t currently collect it.

(The photo above is courtesy of PJ’s Precious Collectibles on Ebay – who by the way is a wonderful seller of Precious Moments figures if you are looking to buy them.)

But the asking price was $25, and this was a thrifting trip, and that was just too much money.

So I came home and looked it up on Ebay, and watched a few auctions. And while I was surfing Ebay, I came upon this little piece: a little car with a Christmas Tree tied to the top, and a worrisome little puppy anxiously looking out the car window.

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

It wasn’t $25, and it featured free shipping. And, seriously, I really thought it was adorable. So – against every fiber of my being, I bid on a Precious Moments figurine.

And was immediately out-bid. Well! Not about to let someone snatch this out from under me so cheaply, I entered a maximum bid just to be sure that the other bidder wouldn’t get such a grand bargain. Only this time, I became the high bidder at $15. And over the next few days, I stayed there, wondering if someone would come along to outbid me. To save me from myself.

They never did.

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

I did use my penance time wisely, by researching the piece I had bid on. I learned it is part of a Christmas Village series called Sugar Town, pieces for which were manufactured in the mid-80’s through mid-90’s. I decided that it didn’t really make sense to own just a car from an entire Christmas Village, and that if I won the auction, I would need one more piece to put with it so at least I would have a little scene.

The Sugar Town series is not short on pieces – I narrowed my options down to something under $10, which meant I would get a mailbox, railroad crossing sign, fire hydrant, split-rail fence, or other small item to suggest that the car was part of a larger universe.

The day I won the auction for the car (at $15 with free shipping), I also did a “buy it now” for the split-rail fence ($9.75 with free shipping).

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

So if you are doing the math, you have just realized that I spent $25 on Ebay on two pieces of something I do not collect, all because I did not want to spend $25 at the thrift store on something I do not collect.

Fortunately, my pieces arrived safely (both on the same day!) and they really are adorable.

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

I still do not collect Precious Moments, but now I have two pieces. (Update 3/24/13 – um, make that five pieces.)

Maybe I need the little lighted Sugar Town Chapel, so that Sam the Puppy has a reason to be driving his little car.

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

(Update 1/9/14 – what can I say, it takes a village.)

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

Sugar Town Village | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

Posted in Decorating, Holidays | 4 Comments

Christmas with Old Country Roses

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Janet

Okay I am sort of not really thinking of my table settings as “tablescapes,” because honestly, all I do really is set the table. But you have to understand, using a tablecloth and clearing the table of electronics before eating is really special in our house and only happens maybe twice a year. So it feels monumental, like a major tablescaping effort has occurred, even when most people would say it’s just a centerpiece and tablecloth.

Still, because such a monumental effort did occur, I feel compelled to share. 🙂  I was able to use my new-to-me Old Country Roses dinner plates and many other thrifty bargains to set a lovely little table for Christmas lunch.

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

The place settings are made up of a sparkly gold round placemat, Old Country Roses dinner plate, Anchor Hocking gold-rimmed bread plate, and cloth (gasp!) napkins with a gold-tone deer motif ring.

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

My sweet daughter, not realizing I had purchased the gold charger mats, gave me a set of four pretty red sequined placemats for Christmas. The photo doesn’t capture the scarlet color – they look more orange-red in the picture, but they are a beautiful deep red, a close match to the tablecloth.

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

I used the gold as planned under the plates, but I did use one of hers to anchor my centerpiece. The centerpiece incorporates the free greenery I found at a tree lot, my faux mercury glass attempts, and two pretty, heavy crystal votive holders I found on a recent thrifting expedition.

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

Drinkware is vintage from my grandmother Verdie, flatware is vintage Oneida Chandelier from my great-Aunt Hazel, and the S&P set is vintage from my mother-in-law. All of these delightful ladies have passed on, but I love using pieces from their collections.

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

Finally, here are the OCR pieces I used on the table, all (hand-) washed up after lunch and dried with a cheerful vintage dishcloth.

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

I have a hard time explaining why it is that having family dinner on Old Country Roses seemed so special to me – I suppose because it took me a long time to get enough pieces together to be able to do it. At any rate, our lunch was delicious and certainly this was the prettiest table we’d enjoyed together for quite a long time.

Christmas with Old Country Roses | Vintage Floral Cottage

I’ll be sharing my sweet Christmas table at Tablescape Thursday (even though this is really just a table setting – LOL) at Between Naps on the Porch!

I hope your Christmas was as lovely as mine!

Posted in Holidays, Tablescapes | 16 Comments

Fabulous Peanut Butter Fudge

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Janet

Quick, easy, amazing… those are the three key ingredients that inspire me to try a recipe. I was digging through the box of clipped recipes that I got from my dear mother-in-law, and came upon this little gem from the “Quick Cooking Collector’s Edition. The clipped recipe was submitted by Mrs. Kenneth Rummel of Linglestown, PA. I decided to try this and it is simply outstanding, so felt I had to share. The photo shown here is my own.

Peanut Butter Fudge | Vintage Floral Cottage

Peanut Butter Fudge

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1-1/3 cups peanut butter, creamy or chunky
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme

Butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan; set aside. In a saucepan, bring sugar and milk to a boil; boil for 3 minutes. Add peanut butter and marshmallow creme; mix well, blending thoroughly. Quickly pour into the 8-inch buttered pan; chill until set, about 2 hours. Cut into squares.

Posted in Recipes | 1 Comment

Son of Zipper Pouch

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Janet

I’ve been on two cruises in our lifetime, and both times we took the exact same boat and the exact same itinerary. We’ve been to the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota twice, and both times we took the same route and the same scenic rides. So it’s not too surprising that when I needed to make a second zippered pouch, I used the same fabrics, with the same details, that I used the first time around.

Son of zipper pouch | Vintage Floral Cottage

The first pouch I made using Kate’s super-simple tutorial at See Kate Sew turned out so cute… my daughter loved it as much as I did, and she used it as her pencil pouch at school until the day her car was broken into and her backpack stolen. The little pouch disappeared that day too, along with her camera, some personal letters, and a couple of textbooks.

Now that she’s headed off to college, she asked me if I’d make her another pouch so of course I couldn’t say no. I used all materials on-hand, so the trim is a little different – and I’m still working without a zipper foot so I had to work carefully around the zipper pull. But overall this “second draft” turned out just as cute as the first one, and again I just have to say how easy the tutorial was for this project.

Son of Zipper Pouch | Vintage Floral Cottage

Son of Zipper Pouch | Vintage Floral Cottage

Son of Zipper Pouch | Vintage Floral Cottage

Son of Zipper Pouch | Vintage Floral Cottage

I may need to make a few more of these!

Posted in DIY & Crafts | 1 Comment

Pretty Creamers survive the decades

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Janet
I am participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday at ColoradoLady’s lovely blog! Be sure to click through to see many more treasures!
(Please note that the photos in this post are watermarked by my previous blog, Painted Piglet.)
Today I’m sharing two very special Depression Glass creamers. Special because, not only have they survived many, many decades of use and display, but they’ve been handed down through my own and my husband’s families – so they’ve not just survived, they’ve remained in the same family hands all this time. 

Fenton Orange Tree Creamer | Vintage Floral Cottage

The first creamer is a Fenton piece in the Orange Tree pattern. This pattern was introduced in 1911 and was one of Fenton’s most popular over the many years it was produced. It features an iridescent finish in the marigold color. Apparently, many footed Fenton pieces of this era suffered damage to the feet, even just coming out of the mold during production. I’m amazed that this piece, which was passed down through the paternal side of my husband’s family, has no damage whatsoever – to the feet, the scallops, or anywhere. 

Bird & Strawberry Creamer | Vintage Floral Cottage

The second piece was made by Indiana Glass Company in the Bird & Strawberry pattern, which was introduced around 1916. My grandmother passed this piece to me when I first professed an interest in Depression Glass as a young adult. She told me it had been purchased new by my great-grandmother. Since Great-Grandma had married in 1905, and had children in 1906, 1908 and 1910, I imagined her purchasing this for her young family’s breakfast table. It, too, has survived the decades with virtually no damage – a tiny nick in the spout is the only imperfection.
Both of these little creamers have long been retired from daily service and today sit in the built-in hutch in my dining room alongside several other pieces. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to share them! 
Posted in Secondhand Lifestyle | 6 Comments