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Not just for special occasions

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Janet

I might be obsessing just a bit about dishes this week, but while I was enjoying a few vacation days I made an effort to do a little re-organizing of some of my dinnerware. We have a built-in hutch on one wall of our late-50’s dining room (it was probably pretty mod-looking when it was built, but I would love to find a way to shab it up a little) and previously, this unit was displaying some family keepsakes and my Depression Glass. Several of my most recent dishy finds were hiding in a cabinet in the Mom-cave, and I wanted to bring them out so they could be easily accessible. To accomplish this, I moved all the keepsakes to the top shelf of the hutch, moved the Depression Glass to the more un-accessible side behind the dining table, and used the two remaining half-shelves to make some pretty stacks. Here are some of the goodies now contained in the hutch, right next to the table where they might occasionally get used! Some favorite dishes | Vintage floral Cottage

Some favorite dishes | Vintage floral Cottage

In addition to my lone piece of Franciscan Apple (a beautiful serving platter, which was a wedding gift), there are lots of other lovelies in this small space – most of them thrifted or the result of disciplined eBay bidding. I don’t certainly have a collection yet to rival those of my favorite Blogland tablescapers, but I’m working on it! Here are some of my favorites: Some favorite dishes | Vintage floral Cottage

Royal China Currier & Ives, here stacked with a plain white/gold-rimmed dessert plate from Pier 1. These were a gift from my grandmother – she gave me complete service for 8, which we had used at family celebrations in her home for more than 20 years as I was growing up. I had also collected a few serving pieces over the years, but after the flood in 2008 I actually down-sized this collection based on what I reasonably expected to use. I now have 8 dinner and 8 bread plates, an oval platter and two round platters, plus a small tab-handled underplate and a lidded casserole dish. Some favorite dishes | Vintage floral Cottage

Homer Laughlin Glenwood – four dinner plates, which look lovely stacked with the Homer Laughlin Empire dessert plates I recently acquired. Some favorite dishes | Vintage floral Cottage

Cunningham & Pickett Norway Rose – two oval platters. Notice how similar they are to the Glenwood! (I’ve noticed other similarities between various C&P and HL patterns. “Veddy inn-terr-esting,” as Arte Johnson used to say.) Some favorite dishes | Vintage floral Cottage

Johann Haviland Moss Rose – three dinner plates and four berry bowls. Some favorite dishes | Vintage floral Cottage

Set of four un-marked dessert plates. Some favorite dishes | Vintage floral Cottage

And my favorite among favorites, Royal Albert Old Country Roses (again layered with the Pier 1 dessert plate). So far I have three dinner plates, three salad plates, two dessert plates, and one cup & saucer. I’m working on acquiring four of each of these pieces, but I’m determined that each and every acquisition will be a great bargain so it’s slow-going. My attempt to re-organize was met with some gentle teasing by Mr. Piglet, who thinks that because we have a three-person family we only need three plates. He doesn’t know I am dreaming of the day when I need a dedicated dish room!

Posted in Tablescapes | 3 Comments

Vintage linens pillow

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Janet

Awhile back I purchased a handmade girl’s skirt at the Salvation Army thrift store, not because it would fit me or because I have a little girl (my little girl is almost all grown up!) – but just because I liked (okay – LOVED) the sweet lavender fabric with the pretty violets.

This week I decided to use another of my great-grandmother’s hand-stitched pillowcases, and pair that with my violet fabric to make another of my vintage flap pillows (click here for the tutorial!). I have several of these pillow cases, but on most of them the front side of the fabric is badly stained from years of use. This pillow design allows me to preserve the pretty stitching. For this pillow, I was able to also use the back of the pillowcase as backing for the pillow itself, making this one extra-vintagey! (I swerved slightly off the path on this one, too, because I stuffed it with loose fiberfill rather than a pre-made pillow form.)

Vintage Linens Pillow | Vintage Floral Cottage

I do have some other pillow ideas in mind, but this one turned out so sweet and allows me to enjoy Great Grandma’s handiwork. And, bonus: I only used the front panel of the skirt, so I still have enough violet fabric to make something else.

I’m linking this sweet little project to Saturday Night Special over at one of my favorite blogs, Donna’s Funky Junk Interiors. Please click through for a ton of wonderful ideas!

Posted in DIY & Crafts | 5 Comments

Spring is blooming… indoors

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Janet

The weather has been really frustrating around here for the past 10 days… upper 40’s to mid 50’s and rainy, which actually means cold and damp. That means our fruit trees are going to bloom really late this year, but I was getting desperate for a little Spring cheer in the house. So I decided to bring some budded branches inside. It only took a few hours before the warm house coaxed these branches from our pear tree to open and provide a very pretty “show” in front of the dining room window. I have really enjoyed this vase full of blooms all week!

Blooming Pear Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage

A couple days after bringing those branches in, I noticed that a good portion of my one lone lilac bush had been broken off at the base, either by animals or high winds. This really “hurt my heart” (as my daughter used to say) because lilacs are among my absolute favorite Spring flowers and we only have the one shrub. Not about to admit defeat, I clipped off some greenery and the one piece that seemed to have some buds on it, and brought that inside to force as well.

Lilac Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage

This sprig hasn’t bloomed yet after several days, but I am giving it plenty of time – the buds had just appeared when the branch got broken.

Lilac Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage

And, here is the neat vintage green-and-gold vase I’m using. I’m not sure of the maker, it belonged to my grandmother and simply says “Made in USA” on the bottom.

Lilac Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage

Meanwhile, neither the pear or apple tree, nor the remainder of the lilac bush, appear any closer to blooming outside than they did ten days ago. Hopefully we’ll have some warm sunny days really soon!

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Easy zipper pouch

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Janet

Even though I totally should have been riding my motorcycle today, I decided instead to take on a few small projects that I’ve been thinking about for awhile. A couple of them were just spray-paint projects,. but my favorite is this cute little bag I made using Kate’s super-simple zipper pouch tutorial.