Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and we have some great ideas for making your holiday fun and creative!


A vintage iron plant stand does double duty as a serving table when you put a platter on top instead of a plant.















An old birdbath filled with nuts is a great, unique way to keep your snacks available - just make sure you have a nutcracker handy













Get creative with your table centerpieces! An old tool carrier filled with gourds and pumpkins makes a great rustic Thanksgiving centerpiece, and a vintage light fixture is a great starting point for a tablescape - just add candles or greenery.
















Vintage millinery flowers make great napkin rings!














Serving a holiday punch? Freeze some of the punch in one of these gelatin molds, and not only do you have ice cubes that add style to your punch bowl, they won't water it down as the melt!

Vintage Clothes

The great thing about vintage clothing is the almost 100% guarantee that no one else is going to have the same thing. While we love the sense of uniqueness, it's not always practical to go all vintage, all the time. Here are some great ways to incorporate vintage pieces into your every day wardrobe

A great vintage slip can be paired with jeans for a funky, night-on-the-town look











For a daytime look, a full vintage apron creates the same effect










Hats, gloves, scarves, and purses are small ways to bring a vintage touch to a modern wardrobe














And vintage millinery flowers add a touch of romance to a plain cotton shirt

Evolution of an ottoman

We chanced upon an amazing yard sale today! Among the other fun and fabulous finds, we purchased a small ottoman with an upholstered seat and metal base.







Thinking we would give it new life by updating it with new fabric, we snatched it up and brought it home, eager to see how it could be made new again. We discovered that we were not the only ones who thought changing out the fabric was a good way to update.







We flipped it over and began removing the top layer, an 80's/90's preppy plaid, only to discover layer upon layer of fabric. We pealed off the plaid to find a classic 70's nautical pattern underneath.






Below that was a very hip 60's houndstooth,











and finally, the original layer, 1950's black and pink!






We literally watched the decorative evolution of this small piece of furniture. The irony is that, while our original plan was to continue the style evolution by adding a modern and updated fabric to it, we decided to leave it in its original condition. They say that style is cyclical and everything comes back into fashion eventually. In one afternoon, we were able to witness the complete cyclical evolution of style!

Creativity

Part of the fun of antiquing is finding something unusual, or something that's no longer able to serve its original function, and giving it new life! This week at the flea market, not only did we have fun selling items we'd re-purposed, but our customers gave us tons of new ideas of things they've been doing. Here are our favorites:

Andrea stopped in to browse our booth, and I commented on how I loved her bag! It was large and sturdy, with a beautiful floral print on the front. She told us she'd made it herself using a vintage tablecloth! She was kind enough to share with us how she made it, and even offered to give us her pattern!


Amanda's idea doesn't involve re-purposing an antique, but rather an item most parents are likely to have lying around the house these days - silly bands! She told us that, while having friends over for dinner and drinks, they discovered the varying shapes and colors of the silly bands make perfect beer charms for bottles and pilsner glasses!

We got into a conversation with a mother and daughter about what they were planning to do with the frame to a broken mirror we had - their idea involved chalkboard paint, which got us talking about our new found obsession with the stuff! The mother told us her favorite thing to paint were her old terra cotta flower pots - they become instant chalkboards! She likes to write "Grow Grow Grow" on hers, but the possibilities are endless.

Justine, a fellow antique dealer, was hit with inspiration when a a customer purchased an old baby dress we had for sale. She suggested sewing up the bottom of a baby dress or top and using it as a clothespin bag! It's the perfect way to put to use all those clothes left over from childhood that you just can't bear to part with.








Now here's our challenge to you! We pulled some drawers out of an old, falling apart dresser. We have some ideas for creative ways to put them to use, but we want to hear what you think. Leave us a comment with your suggestions :)

Vintage Linens

We love linens. Sixty year old sheets have a much more luxurious feel than brand new ones; vintage table cloths from the '40's and '50's have so much more character than their modern counterparts; even vintage dish cloths seem to work better. But it's like striking gold if you find any vintage linen that is stain free. Even a tablecloth or sheet that was never used is likely to have developed age stains. Here are some tips for caring for your vintage linens:

If you have a sturdier linen, such as a retro table cloth or an old chenille bedspread, here's how we do it: Soak the item in bleach water for a few hours, and if you feel like the item can handle it, run it through the washing machine.

If you have a more delicate piece, like lace or crochet work, soak it for a few hours in lemon water.

Don't put your vintage linens in the dryer. Wait for a sunny day, and lay them out to dry on the grass. Not only is it better for the linens than tumble drying, but the photosynthesis process in the grass helps get out any stains that are left behind.

The flea market find!

We stopped by the local flea market today, just planning to scope it out and see if it'll be worth our while to sell there this summer. While strolling the aisles, we found a gentleman selling things from his mothers estate. We began pawing through a large box of goodies, and decided to just purchase the whole box on the spot. We were so excited to see what kinds of treasures were just waiting to be found! It was so worth it! We got it home and started pulling out one fantastic thing after another. Here's a sampling of our fun morning: