VINTAGE BLING for WARDROBE GLAMMORIZING

TIME there is simply never enough time and I am always amazed when darkness shows up and my day for blogging has slipped away. Miss Spring has not yet arrived to my part of the planet yet so the Wiarton Willie from my area told a fib! YUP he said " I didn't see my shadow so an early spring it is.", while Shubenacadie Sam said "Shadow has been seen! Six more weeks of winter! " and I wasn't pleased with his statement, but he got it right this year!!!

Tomorrow is a celebrity day for me, once again the age meter is shifting upwards. I can attest it really is old age because it isn't just the body wearing out but the brain is winding down as well! I certainly have become a vintage item!!!

How do us old gals do it? Shoe shopping has become somewhat a nightmare when all you see displayed in the shop windows are verrrry high heels leaving me wondering what kind of tragedy awaits the wearer. In my olden days, there were high heels but never this high, this fine a heel that I would consider not dressing up my wardrobe with a choice of footwear to don that working day.

To my way of thinking, Vintage Shoes are really in demand lately and I see this demand as a safety featured part of your working day and getting through it all in one piece...Try as I might I cannot imagine ever wearing these fashionable heels on the rave in the 21st century! YUP, you guessed it, I am old...

Aren't these shoes just the ticket for dress up and safety? YES you guessed correctly, these can be found at BYGONERA!

These are chic with just the right heel for the sake of safety and from the 1950's, designed by Bruce Carswell, all the while to my way of thinking are chic and stylish and for the woman who likes her feet to look as stylish and in mode as the outfit she is wearing, these are really quite a great bargain....

Many women don't go home after work if an evening out has been planned, so these are just perfect for glamming up! These beautiful shoe clips can be found at VINTAGE AND CHIC FINDS

where you'll find an interesting array of very beautiful Vintage Brooches, Bracelets, Earrings, etc. You really will not mind browsing this shop and if you need to have more information contact the owner, she'll get back to you with an answer or a solution.....

These Rhinestone Bows are simply

perfect for glamming up those comfy shoes you wore to work!

Sometime though when Ole Man Winter has been forced back to his ice cold home, it's time to shed winter wear and look to something a lot lighter!

These are 1960's lacy navy blue pumps with a small cocktail heel, made in Montreal, Canada. Perfect for spring, perfect for work but more so for events such as weddings, or an evening out on the Town!

These to are perfect for glamming up using those pictured above very pretty Rhinestone Shoe Clips I found.

IF your outfit needs a quick glam job too, this Pewter and Rhinestone belt buckle is absolutely perfect as a wardrobe change up to accessorize along with those shoe clips.

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Having belt buckles and shoe clips not only glamorizes your wardrobe up a notch from work day to evening out, but oh so versatile!

Etsy's Vintage Shop owners find such interesting accessories, don't you agree? Come and spend some browsing time with us, you'll be pleasantly surprised at what we have on offer.

Time to say cheerio for now and take a bite out of birthday cake, which, I am happy to tell you is not vintage!

Yesterday was 20+ years and more for VINTAGE SELLERS!

YESTERDAY could have been 24 hours ago, or, for those of us who sell Vintage and Antiques it is much longer!  

Since my family members are no longer here with me, I go through the 100 or so boxes and totes of their possessions.  Some days I am washed out from the memories these provkoe when I unpack some treasured item which belonged to them, but being a disabled pensioner and living in a tiny space, I have to dispose of these.  I see people just sending to the thrift shops or garbage disposal bins, and I just cannot send them to landfill sites, and have sent much already to thrift shops, but these that I list inside my shop need to find new homes. 

Imagine the sounds of laughter my memory conjured up when I unpacked this old Rummy-O game!  

Alas, with no one to play with me so now it needs to go to some family who enjoy playing board games, bringing forth laughter and fun.

Where I live Winter remains, and this year it seems more brutal to me than many other winters I have lived through so game nights would be terrific while being locked indoors and out of the cold and damp snowy weather which makes roads like ice rinks...brrrrrrrrr

Whereever you are I hope your enjoying life be it out of doors or locked away inside.  

I intend on introducing you to other wonderful vintage shops which live here on ETSY shops which hold the wonderful memories from our pasts.  Things I see in many shops reminds me of the articles which my family couldn't stand keeping anymore and got rid of, or, things my family members collected and enjoyed every day of their lives. 

So stop by, my shop or other shops which eventually you will find here and browse to your hearts content, if the treasured articles bring forth wonderful memories, or sounds of laughter, or just to take you on trips down memory lane your all so very welcome inside.  We hope you will give us a visit someday, you'll be most welcome....

From the snowy One Thousand Islands region of eastern Ontario, Canada, I bid you a wonderful day and if your travelling in this winter weather I wish you safety  and warmth.

Vintage Hoard what to do?

Hey there, happy Sunday to you!  I have been missing in action and really struggling to keep myself upbeat and continue on with the normal (if I can call my daily life normal) day to day activities. 

As you know from earlier posts, I have Etsy Shops.  Life on Etsy for me isn't great, I have a vintage hoard to sell off, but all from family.  I don't buy it to re-sell it, I simply inherited it!

Being a child of European WWII survivors has ingrained in me the inability to throw anything away!  Picture this, I have something in my hand but the hand just won't let it go....so, selling was a way for me to empty my brimming to overflowing second bedroom and storage locker.   There isn't a cupboard or closet or floor space to store it all...YIKES what to do?  I am a minimalist!!

I thought opening a Vintage Shop would help the hoard to disappear,  thinking someone who values vintage might want some of it!  Well, is isn't going so quick at all.   Still I just can't wrap my head around of throwing it all away.  

How can I simply dismiss these beauties?   My parents were gifted with these when once they held liquor.  Once emptied many, many moons ago, they made those empties into bedside lamps and these still work well, though they should be given new electrical. 

Self talk isn't working.....the constant is always a question I have avoided answering, do I close the shop(s) or, HANG in there to see if the advent of Spring will help sales pick up????

What would you do?  Any and all opinions are appreciated, help this ole lady out, send me a sign, what to do?

Another Day for a Celebration

Easter, then Mother's Day have come and gone so quickly I haven't had time to draw breath, now in Canada our May 24th Statutory Holiday Victoria Day is upon us, and Memorial Day in the United States.  Looming on the horizon is that special day of each year to celebrate Father's!

Father's are just as special as are Mother's!  Dads are their children's' heroes, they in a daughters' eyes are the Knights on White horses, they're the one who gives great cuddles, reads bed time stories and walk their daughters down the Isle.  They become the teacher on how to with mechanics, basketball, hockey and the sports their sons enjoy playing, they coach, they drive from venue to venue, they pay for the costs of those sports or sporting events, they are strong, they can do anything and everything.  This is the generalities of Father's Day and why we celebrate them with reverence as we did last month with our mother.  

From SOCIALTYES  my shop for mens' vintage fashion accessories, I am sharing some of those wonderful retro items there are for men...

Have a wonderful long weekend, whether it be Victoria Day or Memorial Day, be safe on the roads and enjoy your time together with family and friends....

Accents of Copper

I am certain you are aware of Copper and how over the ages it has been treasured to beautify a room with copper planters, or a kitchen with copper cookware, or just because you love the look of copper.  What ever your reason for your appreciation of this red-brown metal the items made from it can be endless. 

My late mother so enjoyed copper products for her home, she collected it for over 50 years and used it not only to cook with in her kitchen, but used copper as a focal accent in many rooms of her home.  Her love of this metal and how it casts its brilliance in a room was as I said focally used, such as planters, and accents which she managed to place in small niches where the shine of the copper would draw the eye to itself and whatever surrounded it.  Many times it one piece or another would catch someone's interest and a lengthy conversation would begin, where it came from, did it have history, what was its functional use, if it had a use, etc. 

I am pleased to share some of the many Copper pieces I have in the shop with you today, such as this wonderful Kettle with its Delft blue with white handle.  NO, it was never used to boil water in or the making of a pot of tea, but it was a beautiful accent set upon the hearth of the huge fireplace where other smaller copper pieces such as planters or copper jugs were also place and used to hold wonderful succulent trailing pearls of the sea, or a wandering jew.  Flowers and plants are a staple in a dutch family home to be certain. 

This little pear shaped lidded canister was one of my favorites while growing up.  When I was little and still played with dolls, I used it for a doll purse, which of course made my mum laugh, but the rule was, put it back when not using it...my father would use it once in awhile to leave my siblings and me treasure hunt messages and if we were sharp enough we'd be rewarded with a chocolate bar or some licorice at the end of that hunt..

This piece always sat on the round maple table in the Den with a brass candlestick holder as well as a long handled brass bell.  During my teen years and while these were accent table ornaments were also made use of on occasions.  When some of my fathers' colleagues would come to visit the ashes were emptied from ashtrays into this and the candlestick held a candle to cut the smoke from their cigarettes or cigars....

This copper 1 Liter milk can was used years and years ago to collect milk from the dairy farmer whose cart stopped along side homes.  In Holland before the convenience of super markets and plastic containers came into being, households would buy much of their staples from vendors who made their wares available, their vendor carts were filled with dairy products, fresh breads, flour and spices for baking, vegetables, and even freshly caught carts with fish and eel.  What vendors did not sell on their carts were sold in neighborhood shops, where a huge leather shopping bag was always a necessity as paper bags were a luxury item and plastic shopping bags not in existence yet.

Planter pots as I has told you were popular in so many Dutch homes, these planters came in many shapes and sizes from long and oblong, oval, round, as well as rectangular and square.  This is but one of those little copper planters used and placed out of doors during the spring and summer months filled with a blooming flowering plane, or in winter with trailing greenery.. 

As stated Copper is a beautiful metal and throughout the ages has been used.  The Dutch are a people who made this metal come alive and be useful within their tiny homes to make is pleasingly cozy. 

Goodness only knows just how many pieces of copper I have unpacked so far and if more pieces will become unearthed as I wade through the locker and each time I find another I am taken back to sometime or another when my mother would handle it, either to care for her plants, or place fresh cut flowers and use it to hold a creation she'd made. 

Our Victoria Day (May 24th) here in Canada is looming, Harry and Meghan's wedding just a full day away, and Memorial Day for those of you living in the United States....so we are all in for some great activities and events this weekend, Enjoy and be safe.