Romantic Prairie Style

Have you seen the premier issue of Romantic Prairie Style magazine?

I noticed it in the magazine rack of my local drugstore and had to give it a look. The founder and executive editor, Fifi O'Neill, (you have to just smile when you hear a name like Fifi) shares that Romantic Prairie Style endeavors to inspire you to enjoy the charm, beauty, and ingenuity of the simplier lifestyle so many of you already embrace or aspire to.  From fashioning quilts and pillows out of scraps of fabrics, salvaging old lumber, refreshing with paint and repurposing with style to harvesting the best for the land, we celebrate the spirit, creativity, resourcefulness and sense of pride that is redefining a way of life from coast to coast.

I don't know which is more my favorite...the soft blush of pink paint barely there on the old lumber or the holes at the end of the table that hold a row of wooden spoons.

Pretty vintage needlework and drieds lend a warm touch.

RPS is rich with marvelous photography that will provide you with lots of decorating ideas, inspire your creative outlet and have you conjuring in your kitchen with good thing to prepare and serve.  Wait until  you see how easy it is to take old horseshoes and with a little spray paint, rhinestones and vintage jewelry and turn them into cowboy chic.

Yes, there is a blog site as well, please stop by and see what Romantic Prairie Style has to offer.   Blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch

Gynormous Squishy Marshmallows

Have you seen these?  I understand they have been available for several years now, but I just came across them.  They are huge, they are super squishy and they are perfect for fire pits and families and friends.

Non-commercial, public domain photo.
Campfire brand Giant Roasters are the softest, the squishiest and the tastiest.

 

 Non-commercial, public domain photo. 

Check out the size difference.  Giant Roaster vs standard marshmallow.  I had to send a bag to my son and his family at West Point, NY. They have a fire pit in their yard and all of the kids and neighbors often come by and gather around the fire pit, laughing, talking and enjoying the evening. These bad boys will be (were) a hit.  So much so that I ended up sending them two more bags. 

Ran around and did a little junkin with my sister on Saturday. Didn't find much, but the few items I did are already in the shop.

 

A lovely Italian print, hand colored and dated 1850.  Some foxing but easily repaired via a conservator.

 A fantastic roaring 20s wedding dress and veil.  Satin bodice with yards of lace, the hem stops right at the knees.  It's the bees knees and the flapper gal loved to show them off.

 Close up of the rows of lace and Lily of the Valley embellishment.

 Lovely headdress of bugle beads and was petals with  yards and yards of floor length train veil.

 Closeup of veil lace.

 Red, white and blue child's lounge chair from the 1960s and Lady Liberty picture.  I had just finished putting this booth back together, snapped the photo and a customer already grabbed the picture to purchase.

 A gorgeous Edwardian wicker rocker in marvelous condition.  It needed a cushion so I added this silk and goose feather pillow.  This was in the store 48 hours and then sold. 

 Pretty little vintage bentwood child's chair that had layers of paint that was chipping off.  I added a layer of beachy blue and then sanded it strategically for a chippy finish. 

 

I purchased this lemonade pitcher and glasses set a few years ago and sis saw it and grabbed the set.  She finally got tired of it and now it's in the store. LOL. Sis will often "test drive" what I find for a few years and then give it back. Six glasses and pitcher in marvelous condition.  So 1950s, so perfect for a retro patio party.

I love it when I can find decorative rugs in like new condition.  This beautiful Dhurri wool rug was a steal.

Girdle Gals is doing well and I've begun bringing in items for the Fourth of July festivities.  Lots of Red, White and Blue along with Gold and Silver sequined garments. 

 Love this metallic leather jacket.  Fitted with brass findings.  This has been a fun booth to maintain and I'm having a great time with it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and I'm off to read other blogs.  Blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch

Jersey Boys and junkin

My son and his wife gave me a pair of tickets to the Fabulous Fox theater to see the Jersey Boys for my birthday this past May.  One of my favorite shows, I was just delighted with this gift and couldn't wait to share the marvelous show with my honey.  I'm a "Jersey girl" and was a 4-H "Eager Beaver" who would learn to make tea towels and aprons at Mrs. DeVito's home in Belleville, NJ.  I remember her son and the other "Seasons" coming noisily into her home, grab food from the fridge and then go sit on the swing set at the bottom of the yard and smoke cigarettes and sing.  As a ten year old girl in 1964, I didn't know then that these were the Four Seasons.  I just thought they were very cute boys and were loud and rowdy.

 

Public domain photo.

The music is just fantastic from this musical and you can't help by smile as you hear those great songs.  Their stories are  amazing and all that was accomplished was by a shake of the hand.

Before we headed out to the show, I was able to do a little junkin. 

 Found a set of four lovely vintage Princess House water goblets with their original stickers.  

 

Nice, vintage cranberry transferware plate from the 1930s.  Souvenir of Petoskey, Michigan.

Sweet little stoneware creamer...the kind you used to find on every diner table in the 1950-60s.

A fantastic silverplate over copper footed water pitcher.  I will fill this with hydrangeas and then put it in my booth.

A marvelous Victorian quadruple plate serving plate.  Love the pretty etched design in the center.  I will keep this for myself and will use it during the holidays.

A slew of cabinet photos that I will save for Halloween ideas.

 

A pretty vintage carnival glass cup. Brilliant orange lustre.

 I love vintage capidomonte display pieces, especially the ones that are so delicate that you can see the fingerprints on the petals from the craftsman who created it.  Soft watercolor was glazes and these look like the real thing.  This large piece still has the original paper label and the blue hallmark.

Found this nifty birds nest candelabra for votive candles at my local Goodwill for $2.92 and painted it my favorite color...beachy blue.

Another Goodwill find that I also repainted beach blue.  This one holds three, large pillars.

Girdle Gals is doing well and I had to fill the empty hangers that buyers left behind.

Found this marvelous Sugar Street Weavers tapestry jacket at an estate sale.  Lovely tapestry design of sailboats at dock by water colorist, Nick Boehme.  

It was a lovely weekend and way to short as weekends always seem to be.  I'm hoping the rest of the week goes quickly because I'm anxious to get to next weekend already.   Blessings to you and those you love and have a terrific week.  Sea Witch

Best Find Ever!

Many of you know that my son graduated from the United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point, NY  in 2001.  While he was a cadet, I had begun searching for vintage/antique USMA items.  One of the hot items that other USMA collectors are interested in is the old "mess hall" china from 1930s.  I have been fortunate to locate a few pieces but they often come at a dear price so my collection is very small.  So you can imagine my surprise when I walk to one of my favorite dealers booths and see a large, white stoneware bowl with a pattern that I recognize. Could it be, was it a piece of mess hall china from USMA?   My heart is beating as I make a bead for the bowl before anyone else in the store.  I remove the napkins that are placed in it and YES!!!!  It is a piece of USMA cadet mess stoneware.

 Isn't it beautiful?  I can imagine it piled high with freshly made mashed potatoes and passed around the mess table by hungry cadets. Not only is this a primo piece to find, but I hope you are sitting down as you read this because I paid $4.00 for it.  I couldn't believe my sea witch  luck.

 

I expect to hear from my lovely daughter in law saying, "Mom, when you are ready to give up these pieces, I'll be glad to take them off your hands."  LOL  She will get them when I'm ready to down size one day.  We must keep these in our West Point family.  Who knows, with 6 grandchildren and another on the way, one of them may be a future cadet.  Yup, this is my best find ever.

Just when I thought I couldn't possible find anything else as cool as this, the same dealer has a set of mermaid salt and pepper shakers.  OMG - this is a Sea Witch treasure day. 

These sweet little mermaids were a steal at $3.00 and are now on my oak buffet.

 

Found this pretty Belleek candle pillar holder.

I love these jars from the 1930s and this one still has its pretty kitchen decals that were applied by the homemaker.

 

Love glass cases/terrariums of any kind.  This tall, 3 shelf glass unit can be hung as well.  

 

Pretty Austrian two handled vase with pretty Edwardian woman on it. Small, hairline crack at edge but still a pretty piece. 1900s

 

Darling little vintage cloisonne cricket cage.

 

I adore antique transfer ware and this little charmer is the newest piece in my collection.  Black on white, paper thin soft paste pottery, this piece is no bigger than about 3 inches.  Circa 1870s

 

A few weeks ago I found this sweet, vintage French white ware creamer.  On Saturday, I found this darling white ware covered sugar bowl.  Patterns, though different, marry up nicely. 

 

 A very sweet little bone china, handle less tea cup from England.  Hand painted and just to cha cha for words.

A gorgeous wooden top and base with straw ribbon basketweave purse from the 1940s.  Bakelite handle and fruit at the top.

 

Okay, another great find is this marvelous early Victorian blown glass water pitcher.  Beautifully needle etched along the bulbous, fluted base with gold lustre trim.  

 

A closeup of the beautifully etched base.

And finally, this magnificent burgundy velvet Tallit (Prayer shawl) bag.  Hand embroidered with gold bullion, this lovely bag is from the early 1900s.

Okay, what do these candle pillars...

 

and these cuffs from men's shirts have to do with anything?  Well, I saved them from the shirts I repurposed into Lacrosse shorts for my grandsons.

I thought they would be perfect to slide down candle pillars and they instantly become a great Father's day gift.

 How cute are these?  What a fun way to decorate a candle pillar and if you repurpose formal ware, what a great look for a rehearsal dinner or cocktail party.

So you can see it was a marvelous weekend for finding treasure and this sea witch came home with a prize in that USMA bowl.  Wishing everyone a marvelous week, it's a full moon this evening and we will have that brilliant moonlight shining on us over the next few days. Get out and soak up some of that moonlight if you can.  Blessings to you and those you love. Sea witch