Sprinng Thyme

I am so glad that it is Spring Thyme here is San Diego! This is my favorite time of year!! Here are some photos of Spring Thymes past at Vintage Rabbit Farms!! Enjoy!

http://www.thevintagerabbit.typepad.com/

Vintage Garlands

A beautiful way to display your favorites in your ephemera collections! Fluttering on vintage seam binding, these garlands crafted from postcards, text pages, French wine labels, calendar pages, photographs, and dress pattern covers, are all available at VintageScraps.etsy.com

Insignia Buttons

Buttons are a weakness of many a collector... Their diminutive size and variety of subjects/types make buttons one of the most collectible items, alongside stamps and coins. I thought I'd do a series of posts on the topic of buttons since I myself love them and can't seem to get enough!
One of my favorite type of buttons are insignia pieces. This field ranges from old store buttons to policeman and railroad pieces. It's an intriguing puzzle to figure out exactly what the button's design means and how it was used. Some are quite easy to interpret (such as the police force button shown).
Others, such as the button above, are rather tricky to interpret. But that's part of the thrill - A little research never hurts!
Another police example


So, I hope I've encouraged you to look a little closer at these wonderful pieces of history. Buttons are a fascinating topic and connect us to the past in a way few other collectibles can.

My Thing for Books - and my Emotional Ride

Ever since I can remember, I have had a fascination with type, fonts, and books. I can't explain why really - I don't read as much as I should (blogs and magazines dont count), my parents are not readers and the only person I remember as a reader during my childhood was my Grandmother. She, however, always had harlequin type paperbacks by the side of her bed and we got in trouble if we even got near them (and their seductive covers)!!! But I digress.

So, today, I had a chance to go the the flea market and was instantly drawn, as usual to the boxes of old books. I am always still fascinated by the fancy binding (especially the gold lettering), the different font types, and most of all, the embossed covers. I love it when a french book has notes, when there is sentiment to/from on the cover, or the beautiful school taught penmanship of the past that we all sigh over deep inside. Plus, the fact that leather was used to present a book still seems somewhat magical to me. Any how, I have had to narrow my collection to anything as close to 1900, and if possible, to certain colors. I thought I would share with you some of my collection.

My oldest book is this little school Grammer booth from 1823....isnt it beautiful?

So - the best thing about garage sales is taking the time to learn about each piece. I thought my 1823 book was the crown of my collection - however, she has been temporarily replaced. Today I stopped at a sale here in Roseville. Nice family, lots of books - newer. But in the stacks and stacks, I found this little childrens book with tons of character - it was only $1.

As I checked its date and started to pay for it, I noticed a stamp inside: St. Marys Orphanage Galveston. The book was dated 1900. My heart began to sink. I told you I dont read much but the ONE book I have been reading lately, to my kids for history class is Isaacs Storm by Erik Larson. This book is a history of the worst storm in American history - the hurricane of 1900 that wiped out the town of Galveston, Texas. Some of you may know about it. If you dont, its a story of the perfect storm and the story of Isaac, the US Weatherman stationed in Galveston and how the storm was missed. After the storm, you could imagine the life lost. The worst story was that of the orphans and the nuns of St. Marys drowned in the rising water and how they were found. I am welling up writing this - you will need to go out and find out how they were found because I cant write it without crying. The book that I found today was published the year of the storm, prior to the storm and somehow, survived the storm. To think the nuns read to the children from this book really hits my heart. I talked it over with the my family after showing it to them and the book will stay with me only until I can get it back to Texas somehow. By the way, the gentleman I bought was from Galveston. His father was carried on the grandfathers back in the flood waters to safety as they survived the 1900 storm. He started to cry this morning telling me the story. And yes, I did ask to leave the book behind but he refused it knowing I knew the history of the orphans and St. Marys. I never knew my love of books would take me on such an emotional ride but you never know the history you carry in your home. Take the time and meet the people you buy from - everything has a story.

Vintage Pink

This is the front of a really old cabinet. As seen in the photo below.

Some vintage pink photos.

It's Party Time!! And You're Invited

Ha! I bet I gotcha' with that title. Drew you right in didn't it? :) Just a little post today on the vintage party line. Everyone loves to attend a good party, from the food to the music, parties are a great time. One important feature can be the decorations since they can really set the mood for the party. They can liven up any party. I once was invited to a "tacky party"....... interpretation left up to the attendee. I made a platter of spam and cheese squares on vintage floral picks. They were a hit! Throwing a retro vintage party is a great way to celebrate a milestone party particularly for the big 40. Or how about a child that loves whistles and trains? Vintage party favors are the way to go. Remember the pink ballerinas from years past? What modern little girl of today wouldn't love a pink ballerina birthday cake. I recently was very lucky to run across a stash of "new old stock" party items, most in the original packages. Most of these can be found at OneLittleCandle.etsy.com or TheVintageNest.com.



What's not to love about pink? Particularly these vintage pleated crepe paper nut cups or my favorites, the waxed pink and white stripe baskets.

Check out this hostess Party Setting package. It says it's for the perfect hostess. It's a 40 piece ensemble that includes matches (love the fleur-de-lis design), coasters, napkins and drink stickers. This is from the 1960's. Absolutely love the Mod styling. What a great set to use at a lady's bridge or card party.



Perfect vintage charm.......whistles and pink ballerinas for the little ones.


How charming are these party toppers? Perfect for stacking cheeses and fruit or as cup cake toppers. The little red hatted ladies are spun cotton with hand painted features and have chenille arms.


And look at these adorable little pink bonnet girls. They are candle holders. Perfect cupcake toppers and keepsakes.

Life's a Party! Have fun!

Best Wishes, Lynn @ TheVintageNest

Green Wednesday

Worn shades of green are among my favorite colors!

Last weekend I thought I'd try my hand at decorating some bottles. Since they're just for me, I put all the stuff that I like on them ~ lace, rust, & old jewelry.

How do you recycle/reuse/repurpose your green?
posted by: Polly ~ Counting Your Blessings/French Cupboard