My Handmade Wedding Dress

Christmas 1981, originally uploaded by stelladanza's confections.

Christmas 1981

I was a newlywed that December. In this photo taken by my sister-in-law, I am wearing my wedding gown which I upcycled from a vintage fine lawn eyelet bedspread I had bought from a sweet woman at a garage sale in Houston.

The pearls were a gift from my parents, the brooch an heirloom from my Dad's Mom. The narcissus in my hair was plucked from the neighbor's yard (shhhh!).

Vintage Miniature Girl Figure

Vintage Miniature Girl Figure, originally uploaded by stelladanza's confections.

One of the little treasures in my collection of miniatures is this vintage girl who stands about 3.75 inches tall. She has suffered damage and been repaired, giving her even more appeal in my book. I featured her in a little stop-motion video in a post two days ago. As I document my miniatures, they will grace these pages. Enjoy!

Pleasure Bright

 

This illustration is from the book The Brownies around the World (1894) by Palmer Cox (Canadian, 1840 - 1924). An impish Brownie holds a half moon and reminds us that "Every month brings pleasure bright, If the heart is only right...." This vintage Green Tiger Press Notecard would make a charming Valentine.

Teddy Bear Valentine, Black & White Version

 

The Green Tiger Press reproduced several versions of this charming Valentine in its heyday. Today the black and white version is being featured. Illustrator, costume designer, and cartoonist Albertine Randall Wheelan (American, 1867-1954) created this Teddy Bear Valentine image for St. Nicholas Magazine.

Teddy Bear Vintage Valentine

 

One of my favorite Green Tiger Press Valentines; this one is by Albertine Randall Wheelan, American artist, costume designer, and cartoonist (1863 - 1954).

Hand Mannequin

Hand Mannequin, originally uploaded by confections.

This expressive hand mannequin is a thrift store find which belongs to my sister; the ring and bracelet are from her private jewelry stash.

I've been sifting through some finds of my own this week and will be posting some additional photos as I unearth the treasures gleaned over the last year or so. A few will be put into my various online shops, others will find places of honor throughout my home.

Home is in My Mother's Eyes by Jessie Willcox Smith

Home is in My Mother's Eyes by Jessie Willcox Smith, originally uploaded by confections.

One of my favorites by Jessie Willcox Smith from my Green Tiger Press archives.

Josef Birthday Angel 9

Josef Birthday Angel 9, originally uploaded by confections.

A gift for my niece, who, although she won't be 9 until next year, was born on August 9th.

My sister and I found this angel and the #10 birthday angel at one of our favorite antique malls. Both vintage pieces have some damage, but not enough to detract from their essence. We gave this one to my niece yesterday as one of her early birthday presents, and she loves her.

Vintage American Pitcher (two)

Vintage American Pitcher (two), originally uploaded by confections.

Just a quick post of a favorite vintage American pitcher from my collection. The spherical shape of this one is so appealing, as is its graceful handle and spout.

I'll be heading off to an old historic shopping district in my sister's new home town in Colorado tomorrow. Who knows what lovely treasures await?

Vintage Velvet Japanese Millinery Rosebuds

Vintage Velvet Japanese Millinery Rosebuds, originally uploaded by confections.

I found these at a vendor's booth at the Road to California quilt show in Ontario, California, close to a decade ago. They are a precious part of my stash of notions and trims. I was thinking of incorporating them into an art yarn, but haven't spun it up yet.

Czechoslovakian Lady with Basket Figurine (Collage)

Czechoslovakian Lady with Basket Figurine (Collage), originally uploaded by confections.

This is another vintage find from my forays with my sister to our local antique mall. This figure (about six inches in height) was locked up in a corner of a glass fronted cabinet and was part of a 50% off sale.

Of course, as soon as I saw her, I was enthralled. Her little china basket is perfect to hold rings or other trinkets on my desktop. She is utterly charming. I think I will get some tiny posies at the farmer's market later on today and fill up her basket. Happy treasure hunting!

Vintage Handpainted Porcelain Salt & Pepper Shakers

Vintage Handpainted Porcelain Salt & Pepper Shakers, originally uploaded by confections.

I have a passion for handpainted porcelain, and these signed thrift-store salt and pepper shakers are bona fide treasures to add to my collection. The gentleman who waited on my sister and me had known the painter, Debbie Shattuck, who passed away a few years ago. These are dated 1952.

Other items painted by her had been donated to the shop, but these were the last of the lot. My sister got a set, too, and we feel lucky to have found them.

Blue Potato Vine Blossom and Tatting

Blue Potato Vine Blossom and Tatting, originally uploaded by confections.

I was outside photographing this lovely piece of tatting and a blue potato vine blossom (Solanum rantonnettii) fell into the picture.

During one of our forays to an antique mall a few weeks ago, my sister and I found some lace and tatting pieces. This one of variegated lavenders and purples was together with a cream one of equal beauty.

I am incorporating them into a mixed media piece dedicated to one of my third great-grandmothers.

Vintage Blue-Green Pressed Glass Creamer

Vintage Blue-Green Pressed Glass Creamer, originally uploaded by confections.

Continuing the saga of accoutrements for the tea table, here is a charming vintage blue-green pressed glass creamer. It has an elegant shape and lovely pattern that pleases the eye.

Its color reminds me of my engagement stone, a type of blue-green tourmaline known as indicolite.

Vallona Starr Sugar and Creamer

Vallona Starr Sugar and Creamer, originally uploaded by confections.

Here is a treasure I found at a local antique mall with my sister last week. It is a sugar and creamer set by Vallona Starr ceramics, active in California from the 1930's through 1953.

The lime color delights me and the gilt decoration makes it sublime. The set is quite diminutive, but a welcome addition to my tea table.

Tea Cups & Chopstick Rest

Tea Cups, originally uploaded by confections.

Featured today is a grouping of thrifted tea cups and a chopstick rest that my sisters, niece, and I found during their San Diego visit at the beginning of June. Total eye candy and great additions to our tea table!

Green Tiger Press Vintage Ephemera Now Available

 

A few vintage Green Tiger Press postcards are available in my Etsy shop as of today. More of the above images will be coming during the week. Please drop by and check out the art yarns and needlefelted items as well.

On Friday, I got a new spinning tool from a fellow Etsy seller whose shop is called Heavenly Handspinning. It's the Mother Marion Kick Spindle, and I have a partially done skein of yarn on it right now. I'll post photos later on after the sun rises! It's a beautiful, functional spinning device, which would be great for kids and beginners who want to spin heavier yarns. It's also great for old hands like me who love to collect and use all kinds of spinning tools. If you want to get a glimpse of it, please see this listing in her Etsy shop.

Have a lovely Saturday doing what you love to do!

March Winds--Vintage Ephemera Coming Soon to My Etsy Shop

 

 

 

The first lovely vintage image shown above, entitled "March", comes from Kate Greenaway's 1890 Almanac. It was reproduced by the Green Tiger Press in the early 1980's as a postcard and is from my collection of vintage ephemera.

I worked for the legendary Green Tiger Press for a short time in 1980-81 and was an avid collector of their images from children's books. When the business was sold in 1986, I went to their huge sale and stocked up on books, notecards, bookplates, and postcards.

The second image is called "The Real Princess" and is an illustration by Dion Calthrop from The Guide to Fairyland. The third postcard (one of my all-time favorites) is "Poppy Picking Vegetables" by Florence Upton from The Vege-men's Revenge.

I have had these treasures in my archives for all these years and have enjoyed them, but I will be offering some of them to discerning collectors in my Etsy shop beginning this spring. As soon as they are listed, I will let you know.

Enjoy the last little bit of winter and have fun anticipating the arrival of the Easter bunny!

Vintage 1930's Royal Portable Typewriter Collage

Vintage Royal Typewriter Collage, originally uploaded by confections.

Recently my teenage nieces were visiting from back east. On their way to California, they had visited some friends in Pueblo, Colorado, and found this treasure at an antique store. We had fun typing up a summary of our days' activities each night.

Back in March, at the same antique store, my sleuthing nieces had found some 100-year-old letters which they transcribed and researched. We were able to locate a relative of the letter writer through Ancestry.com, and share the contents. She, in turn, sent a photo of the author as a child. The letters are available to read at Euterpe, my niece's blog.

Vintage Effanbee Doll Collage (New Dress)

Vintage Effanbee Doll Collage (New Dress), originally uploaded by confections.

My vintage Effanbee doll (which I introduced in my April 19th blog entry) has been duly newly clad in a calico dress. She doesn't look nearly as forlorn as she did a few short weeks ago. Clothes make the doll!

I raided my stash of quilting calicoes to find the appropriate complement to my circa World War I era doll. I believe she is a prototype of the "Baby Dainty" Doll produced by Effanbee at that time. I found a reproduction Simplicity doll pattern for the bodice piece and gathered a rather long skirt to it, accented with a deep tuck. It's been donkey's years (oh, I miss Princess Diana!) since I have made any doll clothes.

My first major foray into sewing as a grade-schooler was cranking out Barbie doll clothes on my mother's vintage Singer treadle sewing machine. Barbie doll clothes are on such a tiny scale, they are quite tedious to sew, I think. Baby Dainty is about 14 inches tall and her chest is 10 inches in circumference, so sewing her dress was a breeze by comparison. She was all dressed up and I had promised to take her to a tea party, so off we went to meet up with my girlfriends and sister at Tea-Upon-Chatsworth for a delightful high tea and furrawn (per Anais Nin: soulful conversation that is deeply intimate).

My girlfriends each brought along a doll and a picture from their childhood. I shared one of me with my Ginny doll from the mid-1950's (shown below). Ah, sweet bird of youth!