It's Lilac Time!

The other day I noticed the lilac bush loaded with beautiful blooms so I went out to cut some and in the process was inspired to post about them. So I got to thinking and planning and here is what I came up with.

With a vase full of blooms I staged this pretty vignette on my dresser tray...

using an antique postcard on a brass easel and a stick pin holder with a few purple stick pins.

Took a few blooms out of the vase and placed on some lace in my tray...

and had a little more fun with the pins...

Lilacs were a very popular Victorian subject for postcards and I have a lot to prove that. As you will see, lilacs were used on Christmas, Valentine and Easter cards as well as for general wishes.

Pictured below is a Christmas scrap piece in the shape of a paint pallette. Notice the white lilac, I have never seen a white lilac but was told they are more fragrant than the purple ones.

Pictured on this Easter postcard is a pink lilac. I have never seen a pink lilac before either, have you? Usually they are the light purple or the darker purple.

I have several Valentine postcards with lilacs on them. Look at the sweet little girls with their pretty dresses.

Another Valentine card with a cute little couple and their dog, all 3 dressed in purple with the boy holding a purple bouquet. I really don't think they are lilacs, but I'm saying it is for this post.

Here is a birthday greeting with a purple flower decorated horse and buggy. Not sure if they are lilacs either, but again, I like the purple for this post.

Another postcard with lilacs in a shoe, the lilacs were embellished with little sparkly beads

and for this last lilac postcard, my little faux birdie got out of its cage to join in the fun...

Well that is it for my lilac show, I hope you enjoyed it and have a wonderful week!

I am joining the following parties, I hope you will join us.

AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy at Dwellings-The heart of your home

HOME with Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage

WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Paula at Ivy and Elephants

TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY with Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours

SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY with Cindy at My Romantic Home

Ebonized Beauties

I have a thing for picture frames, I know, I have a "thing" for a lot of things! Something about these ebonized beauties caught my eye and I couldn't stop with just one.
These frames are from the 1880's, the Aesthetic Movement period. They are wood frames with an ebonized layer on them with white incised lines, flowers and other designs in them. They are very similar to the Eastlake design. These are table top frames, they have a wire stand attached to the backs to stand them up with. None of these had their original stands when I bought them, I made my own by copying from a small antique velvet frame that I have. They always had some sort of a matting, usually very fancy with handpainted designs and the usage of silk or velvet material.

Pictured below is the first one that I bought at an auction back in the 90's. It was in a box with some other antique frames that I got for a little bit of nothing. It did not have a matting with it and would you believe after a year of so I found one at an antique mall, it was $35 and I took the chance of it fitting the frame and it did!!
The photo I put in it is of my great Grandma. Her name was Zelma Lorene, born in 1901. Just look at that wicker seat!

This is a close up of the top with handpainted berries and flowers, and blue velvet and silk material.
The long section of silk was missing so I replaced it with some ribbon.

And here is a close up of the bottom.

I was so excited to find a matching pair at an antique show that I just had to buy them! And again, no matting. I got the pair for $35, same price as the above matting itself. So I thought that was a great deal.
I cut out and painted the matting myself, copying off of the above matting. Photos are of my kids. The frame on the left I hang on the wall instead of standing on a table like the others. I added a velvet matting to it and the old time photo in it is of my niece and nephew. And the little bitty frame in the front is one of my recent flea market finds that I saved for this post. Is it cute or what?! I had never seen one that small so of course, for $2, I had to buy it! I just left the photo that I bought it with in it.

A closer look at that cute little frame. Just look at the detail on those frames, I just think they're so neat.

I also have several wall hanging ebonized frames. Below are 3 of them. The one on the left has a marble looking veneer on it and I bought it with its original matting. The frame on the right has the original matting too, just not as fancy. And the smaller 5x7 size frame in front with the crocheted B once had an ebonized easel to go with it. I bought the frame thinking someday I would get an easel on Ebay but I could never afford one so I gave up. I guess everyone else wanted one too!

A closer look at the designs...

and a closer look at the cute little girl in this frame with the faux marble veneer. It too, is of my great grandma Zelma Lorene.

And below is a corner of a shadow box frame with a Victorian wedding veil/head piece with wax orange blossoms in it. Only the outer edge is of this frame is ebonized, it has been restored to some degree.

And there's still more! Pictured below are 4 walnut and faux grained ebonized frames. The frame with the rose colored scalloped matting did not come with that frame, I bought it on Ebay. The little one (5x7 size) is really a cute one, I had not seen one that size before. So guess what? I had to buy it too! The men in it are my ancestors and it is through them that I am distantly related to Harry S. Truman. Cool, huh?

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you who the family of 4 is! Can you guess? Yep, it's me and my family and I'm looking a little stern there with no smile!

Another close up of the detail work...

So now that you know how much I like ebonized frames let me show you what else I have that is ebonized.
I have a pair of Renaissance Revival, Egyptian substyle chairs (circa 1875 or so). If you want to read more about  these chairs and see the before and after upholstery photos please click here.

Look at the thingy blowing on the ebonized horn. Isn't that neat?

I also have ebonized mantle clocks! These clocks once belonged to my great uncle, he was a collector and had hundreds of them.

Well, after all of that, it is TIME for me to go! Thanks for hanging in there with me and have a great week!

I want to thank Sandi for featuring my Titanic post on her HOME blog. I hope you will take a minute and visit her, you'll be glad you did. She lives on Prince Edward Island, Anne of Green Gables country!

I am joining the following parties this week, please won't you join us?
TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY with Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours
 SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY with Cindy at My Romantic Home
AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy at Dwellings-The Heart of the Home
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Patti at Ivy and Elephants
HOME with Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage

Titanic Grandeur

It is Titanic Week here at my house. We start the week on the 10th because that is when the passengers actually boarded the ship. And this year the 10th happens to fall on a Wednesday just like it did in 1912. During this time we pretend we are on board the Titanic. I say we, but  really it's only me doing the pretending!

For the occasion I went around the house gathering things for vignettes and taking pictures of pretty things that reminded me of the Titanic.

I added one of my antique postcards to this vignette because I think the sailor boy is such a cutie and I needed to photograph him somewhere, so why not in front of the Titanic. *winks* The picture is a reproduction tin sign of the Titanic and the ship below and in front of the postcard is a toy of my son's, when a lever is pushed back and the boat is set in water, it slowly breaks into and sinks to the bottom in two pieces, just like the real ship did.

And here's another postcard of this beauty boarding a steamer. She even looks like she's from Ireland with that pretty red hair, don't you think?

Adorning the interior surfaces of the Titanic were probably beautiful gilt decorations similar to the ones below. It is a shot of the front of my antique china cabinet, I thought it looked Edwardian and fitting for this post.

I had to "gussie up" the dining room a bit to get us in the mood so I brought in a framed Titanic picture that used to hang in my son's bedroom and hung it up. I had painted the frame the same elegant colors as the Titanic - black, white and gold...

and I brought in my cherub urn from the parlor because it reminds me of the lamp that sits on the newel post of the Grand Staircase on the Titanic...

with its sweet little face.

I brought out this hat because I think it looks a bit Edwardian...

and I brought out these gloves for an "afternoon tea" vignette. The poor teacup used to have its saucer until I accidentally broke it! I bought it on our first visit to the Traveling Titanic Exhibit. It is a reproduction teacup from 2nd class. A good friend of mine gave me the brooch, it isn't antique but I think it looks like it is.

And now for the dining room table! On our second and third visits to the Traveling Titanic Exhibit I bought 4 reproduction 1st class dinner plates and 4 rimmed soup bowls for our table and tried to recreate the table setting from James Cameron's Titanic movie...

and after finding tealight lamps at a flea market over the summer, this is what my table setting looks like...

I didn't want to spend any money so I did not buy any fresh flowers like the one's shown on the table in the movie, I just used these faux roses I already had.

The plates are actually 1st class luncheon plates, the 1st class dinner plates were dark blue and white with some gold, very beautiful and elegant but I knew they wouldn't look so good with my red floral wallpaper.

Please know that although I am having fun decorating for the week and dining in "Titanic style" I have not forgotten the reality and the tragedy of the Titanic hitting that iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14th, 1912.
Or the final minutes of  April 15 when at 2:20 a.m. ...

the Titanic disappeared into the dark Atlantic Ocean. It took only 2 hours and 40 minutes but for those poor souls on board that no doubt must have been the most terrifying 2 hours and 40 minutes of their lives.

Because of all the movies that have been made it is so easy for us to think of it as just that...a movie and we forget that this tragedy really did occur. There were 2,208 passengers aboard that ship, and out of those, 1,496 did not survive. They came from all walks of life. Whether they had only a penny to their name or a million dollars to their name, one thing was for certain, at that fateful hour they all had one thing in common, the will to survive. And unfortunately, many did not survive due to the lack of lifeboats and/or the lack of status. The majority of those who perished were the ship's crew and 3rd class passengers.

Let us take a moment and remember those 1,496 passengers who lost their lives on April 15, 1912.

Thankyou for visiting and have a blessed week.

The Lord bless you and keep you.
May his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
and may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 7:24-26

I am joining the following parties, I hope you will join us too.
AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy
TEA TIME TUESDAY with Sandi
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Patti and Paula
TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY with Pamela
HOME with Sandi
BE INSPIRED with Debra
SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY with Cindy

Flea Market Finds!

During Spring Break I went to some flea markets/antique malls and bought a few things and I wanted to share them with you. A few of the things I'm showing I bought within the last couple of months. This is going to be a long one, with lots of photos because I got lots of cool stuff! *winks* I'm going to save my favorite (and weirdest) find for last! So here we go!

I bought this little group of items at the same mall, different booths, so when I sat them on the counter to pay I realized that they all looked good together. So Springy looking with the pastel yellow and pastel blue needle work on the towels and the blue paint on the Easter egg (yes, another egg!) and a little touch of shine coming from the silver plated candlesticks. Polished a few too many times but I still liked them, especially for the low price of $10 for the pair!

I knew exactly where I would put them once I got them home...

and here they are now, on the same dining room table...

Okay, back to the towels for a closer look at that needle work...

And speaking of needle work, check out this needlepoint bell pull! The metal hardware has "Austria" stamped in it. I'll show you several views of the pull. The photo below shows the gold and pink petit point bird...

and this photo is of the blue, pink and gold petit point bird.

And then check this out! On the back is a little torn hole where the wires were cut and then at the bottom you can see the imprint from where the round metal piece that the cord/wires once wound around has laid since the wire was cut (and the round piece is still in there! I've never seen one with that in it). The wire would have went up through the top of the pull and into the wall that led to the kitchen or servants quarters where once it was pulled the bell would ring and the servants would come running. ;-)

So anyway, that is all I know about that so if you can tell me anything about its age or more about how it actually worked, or how it hung on the wall, please let me know. I just have it hung on a little brass nail. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I only paid $20 for it!
Here is where I hung it. Because of the lighting and the tray ceiling shadow the photo didn't turn out very good. Sorry...

Since we're in this room I'll show you the rug I bought at an antique auction. The rug is huge, it is 11' x 16'.
Once again, the lighting makes it hard to take a good picture in this room. I'm still trying to decide if I will keep the rug.

 The view below is with natural lighting so you can see the colors a little clearer. I got it for a steal at $30!!

Now for my teacups and the other little cup. The teacups were featured on my Happy 1st day of Spring blog but I didn't show the other little cup. It's so small (2" tall) and so elegant looking that I couldn't resist for $7.
The teacups I got for $5 for the pair, they are Limoges and date from 1892-1907.

It didn't have a saucer but it fit perfectly in this butter pat!

I also got these cute little glass chick ornaments for 40% off, making them $4 for a box of 6...

I thought they would be a cute addition to my Easter tree.

And now, for my favorite Spring Break find! Are you ready?! I'll give you a little peek...

and I'll take IT out of the box for a better look...

and then I'll take the ribbon off and this is what we have. A bird dome gone bad!!! There are 4 small birds in there but only two have some feathers still on them. See all the grey fluff all over? Yep, those are all feathers...

that came off of this poor little wretched guy...

and the other little guy at the top has lost most of his feathers too. The other two have half of their feathers, but barely hanging on their bodies/bones! I got the dome for a good enough price thinking that if I couldn't make it look presentable or find an old taxidermy bird or two on Ebay to replace these with that I would come out okay on the dome itself. It is an oldie.

So I cleaned all the feathers out from the bottom and with a little hairspray I got the remaining feathers to stay on the two birds that had some left on them and here is what it looks like cleaned up...

and this is where it will stay for now. Anybody have any taxidermy birds for sale? *winks*

Thanks for hanging in there with me and I hope you enjoyed seeing all my latest finds. Let me know which one you like best. Have a great rest of your week!

I am linking up with the following parties, please come and join us!

HOME with Sandi
WHAT'S IT at Ivy and Elephants
TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY  at From my Front Porch to Yours
AMAZE ME MONDAYS with Cindy