January Treasure

My first treasure hunt of the new year found a few nifty pieces.  Hope this is a good sign of things to come.  With the present economy and disposable income quickly drying up, I am a little nervous about whether the antique buying community is hesitant to make purchases these days.  Conversations with other dealers all share the same concerns.  As the weeks go by, I will be sharing how sales are moving along and invite your comments and insight on your selling and buying experiences.  Anyway, I removed the last few Christmas items from my two antique booths and did a huge refresh in them as well.

 Found this pretty art nouveau, flow blue bowl with transferware climbing roses in center at my local goodwill.  Nice size piece.

 How cute are these BEANO cards.  Before there was "Bingo" there was Beano.
It was a country fair game where a dealer would select numbered discs from a cigar box and players would mark their cards with beans. They yelled "beano" if they won.  When the game reached North America in 1929, it became known as "beano". It was first played at a carnival near Atlanta, Georgia.

 Love this big and heavy, concrete cherubs and scrolls decorative element.  If it doesn't sell, I won't be sad as I have a place picked out for it at the house.

 Set of five, Taylor, Smith and Taylor dessert plates.  Rare pattern with rich, 22K gold banded edge.  All plates in terrific condition.

A lovely green transferware sugar bowl and creamer.  Very early, mid-Victorian pieces are Hexagonal and filled with pretty scenes.

 Sweet little hand painted lady on berry bowl.  Circa 1900s

 

Terrific and big Bavarian mustache cup.  Has some chips around the lip but this is common from these well loved and used pieces.  

 

Fell in love with this pretty covered sugar bowl by Grindley, England.  Has lots of little chips but it is so pretty that I just didn't have the heart to not snap it up.  Got it for pennies and have priced it low as well.

 

Picked up these two, very large glass pieces at my local goodwill.  Filled them with pretty red drieds and pillar candles.  

 

Valentines Day is just around the corner and I had to bring out this lovely Victorian hand mirror and brush set.

 

 Love this pretty hand embroidered linen frame and Edwardian print.  This piece was originally in a round frame as you can see a clean area around the linen. 

 Found some marvelous pictures over the holidays and this is one that I carried back from Denver.  Pretty vintage print and frame.

 One of my favorite finds from Denver, a 1865 Marriage certificate that is for a couple from Yates County, New York.  The man, Charles E. Wells, is also listed in the NY Civil War roster.

 Pretty Reward of Merit card in white frame.  These were handed out to Victorian children for good behavior in school.

 

 

 I'm a softie for pictures of Victorian, Edwardian and depression era women and this pretty flapper does not disappoint.

 Pretty hand made hat of the softest pastel roses.  
Circa 1960s.

 I changed the entire booth around today to freshen existing merchandise and showcase new pieces. 

 

Moved the large stained glass window off the side wall and it now makes a lovely backdrop for some of the refreshed items.

 

 On a disappointing note, I have had to close my Girdle Gals booth at Queen of Hearts. The owners decided to have no designer clothing booths at all and any dealers who had sold those items had to either close their booth or convert it to a general line.  I was not interested in a third antique booth so I closed it.  Will move Girdle Gals to an online shop instead.  So disappointed as I sold very well with Girdle Gals and made good money for myself and the Queen, even in this economy.  So I had to move this pair of very large and very ornate framed french slippers into my main booth.  They do look good on the side wall and I hope they sell to a home that will appreciate them.

A corner view of the revamped booth.

 Found this pretty braided rug at goodwill as well.  It's a Shabby Chic make and a pretty little thing.  

 

Now I have to get into the garage to clean up and store the Christmas items that I didn't sell (thankfully, that is only 3 boxes) but I have fixtures from the Girdle Gals booth that I need to find a home for and still get my vehicle in the garage. It was a busy weekend and enjoyable.  I always like the treasure hunting but it's back to the job that provides the medical bennies tomorrow.  Sigh. Wishing everyone a marvelous week.

Daylight Saving Treasure

Loving the time change and which brings the longer days.  Although, the sea witch in me says leave the time alone, the days will get long (and short) as nature intended.  I lived in Arizona for several years and that state does not follow Daylight Saving Time (although the Navajo reservation does).  It was a natural cycle that worked.    Anyway, enough of my soapbox,  found a few items this weekend and spent time pricing more items for my third booth, Girdle Gals.  With such lovely weather, it was a joy to work outside  repainting displays as well.

This is one of the two vintage, wrought iron displays I picked up a few months ago.  I used a wire brush to remove any peeling paint and then spray painted one of them a gold bronze.  I then put black marbled tile in the three shelves.  Gonna work on the second one this week and bring that one in next week.

Close up of wrought iron shelf and tile.  I really like the look and the accessories look wonderful on the tiles.

 

Got the racks full now and added more gowns.

Now to work on the sign that I will install above the booth.  I have been cutting out letters that spell out Girdle Gals that I will cover with glitter and then attach to the top beam over the booth. I can't wait to get my sign up.

From Girdle Gals to my main booth.  Time for a "fluff up" as merchandise gets moved around all of the time.  Easter items are moving so I brought a few last pieces in and rearranged so things looked fresh. 

Came across this marvelous antique stained glass window in the palest shade of lilac and frosted glass.  Original lead is still intact, a few pieces of glass are missing, but it is just so lovely that it really isn't an issue for me.

It's a good size about 24" by 32" and in the original window frame.

Pretty Copeland Spode teacup and saucer.

Marvelous double handled soup or bouillon bowl, also a Copeland Spode piece.  And finally, onto my Victorian booth for a fluff and rearrangement.

Moved the settee away from the mantle and loaded up on pretty bone china which is displayed on the marble and walnut table.

How about this for a nice Victorian find.  I love these dual servers for lobster and oysters.  So Victorian and this server is a dual shell with a decorative coral handle.  Huge and in marvelous condition.

A terrific find, 7 pretty little Limoges France beaded edge saucers.  These date from 1890 and are just lovely.

Close up of all that pretty bone china.  Makes me want to brew tea and serve pretty little sandwiches and tea cakes.

Displaying a pretty Edwardian day dress on vintage dressmaker dummy.

Moved the Edwardian desk in front of the mantle.  Really opened up the booth and shows off the pretty desk.  I also like the sweet little  bunny hiding under it.

Corner shot of the booth.  Spent an hour rearranging, but I really like the finished look.  So, there you have it.  Got a lot accomplished and now I'm ready to begin my work week.  I hope everyone had a marvelous weekend and is enjoying the extended light in the evening we now have.   Blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch