Ancestral Portraits Gone to the Dogs!

Venues for treasure hunting increase as the approach of fall means a gradual decrease in  temperatures. People are returning from travels up North, where they've escaped the furnace-like blast of hot air that greets us in the sunny Southwest each time we open a door!

There were estate, garage, yard and moving sales all weekend, but my favorite was a sweet little lady selling all sorts of china, crystal and art. I found a pile of paintings and prints to sift through and immediately picked up a charming twig framed postcard from 1908. The subject of the card is two roses on a black background - striking! The humble bent twig frame gives the roses a "homey" feel and would be perfect in a cabin or bungalow!

Cute as that was it didn't compare with the treasure I found further into the pile! Nine prints framed in black wooden frames - all identical - of dogs in ancestral costumes.  I bought them all, remembering the beautiful dining room at Ballyduff House in Ireland last fall, where ancestral paintings graced the dining room. Not having my own, I figured the dogs would suffice, and will probably hang them in the guest bath rather than the dining room!

Research gave me the artist - Thierry Poncelet, who put together a book of his dog paintings you may enjoy titled "Sit! Ancestral Dog Portraits". I'm not sure if these prints were taken from the book, or another source.

Here's a sampling of the prints I found:

Now all I have to do is add little plaques with the names and - ta da - an ancestral wall of my own!

Finding Uses For Cute Vintage Cups

October is a wonderful month for sales in the Phoenix area. The weather was nice and cool this morning as we stood in line at Angie and Linda's  estate sale, and people were chatting in small groups instead of clinging to whatever sliver of shade we could find.
Yes, there were treasures to be found! On tables, under tables - everywhere! The house was packed.
The jewelry table was full, and I found some vintage pieces from Sweden that I can't wait to share on eBay.
Lately, though, I'm finding myself drawn to the kitchen/dining area almost as much as the jewelry table.  Why, you ask?
Three things: cute little cordial glasses, demitasse cups and demitasse spoons!  Perfect for serving small portions of dessert, or any other treat - these beautiful little glasses and cups make whatever you are serving extra special!

Check out these finds:

 These very fun demitasse cups are from Bavaria, and have matching saucers.

 Eight cordial glasses. 2 each of 4 colors - ruby red, sapphire blue, olive green and amethyst purple. So cute for the Holidays, picture them with a sweet treat in each!

 Set of 6 Russian lacquerware cups on a beautiful matching tray. Add an elegant chocolate!

Some of my favorite silverplated demitasse spoons - the perfect way to eat the dessert in the cordial cups - or stir some sugar into your espresso! An estate find!

You'll find these items on eBay soon, or find similar items at a sale near you. With the Holidays coming you could put together a great gift for a friend using demitasse spoons and cups and a gourmet coffee; and if you live in the Phoenix area a box of chocolates from Chocofin in Fountain Hills would be the perfect finishing touch!
Happy treasure hunting!

Treasures for Your Table

The wonderful memories made when you host a dinner for family and friends are a treasure. To make it even more special I like to hunt for fun vintage pieces that have an heirloom feel. A set of silverplate flatware from the 1920's caught my eye when I found it at an estate sale. It came in the original felt lined wooden box and had all sorts of extra serving pieces included with the eight piece place setting. The elegant pattern is Grosvenor by Community Plate.  It adds a warm glow to the table when kissed by candlelight!
I've added an eclectic mix of serving spoons, meat forks and gravy ladles to the collection, giving the elegant a playful touch. I find these at estate and yard sales, just like the silverplated flatware. One woman confided that she was selling her silverplate because she didn't like to clean it, and so a beautiful teapot, sugar bowl and creamer made thier  way home with me at the unbelievable price of $2.00!
However, the woman is correct - silverplate is beautiful, warm, romantic - and requires work!
I use Wright's Silver Cream that is readily available at most grocery stores, Walmart and Target. It comes in a tub and has a sponge included, and best of all it doesn't have the terrible rotten egg smell that some silver cleaners do. Cleaning the silverplate is a labor of love, like planning and making the food - a way of showing the guests how special they are!
Since my silverplate collection is running over, some estate finds are up for auction on ebay. Perhaps one of these items will add sparkle and shine to your table:

Vintage silverplate napkin rings by International Giftware - these are heavy and in like new condition.



 

Silverplated individual salt shakers by FB Rogers Silver Company. The silver lattice is placed over rich cobalt blue glass.

A cute set of demitasse spoons!

You can find these treasures for your table at HTTP://stores.shop.ebay.com/Caryd-Away-Treasures, or check out www.Estatesales.net to find a place to go on a table treasure hunt!

Celebrating a Real Treasure: Our Freedom!

Not all treasures are can be held in our hands or seen with our eyes. There are treasures that have no price tag, but could only be bought with sacrifice. Tomorrow we will celebrate such a treasure in our country. The treasure of freedom.
My Grandfather was a WWII Veteran that spent the war years on a ship in the South Pacific. He left behind a 4 month old daughter when he shipped out in December of 1941. His wife had just died from tuberculosis. It was a sacrifice for him. It was a sacrifice for his daughter. It was a sacrifice he willingly made because he treasured freedom.
I've learned a lot about treasure hunting from various family members, but Grandpa P taught me more than all the rest. He taught me the importance of knowing what to treasure - and that it may require great sacrifice to keep it!
In honor of  Independence Day I'm sharing some vintage jewelry treasures from the WWII era!

All these patriotic pieces were found at an estate sale. They were just part of a collection of a patriotic jewelry collector.

Hope you enjoy a wonderful Holiday weekend!

Happy Fourth of July!

Treasure Maps

Shipwreck salvage crews spend hours in research. Finding a ship that hundreds of years earlier succombed to a savage storm and sunk to the bottom of the ocean is partly luck - and mostly alot of time with your nose in a book - or online - or studying maps! But the payoff - perhaps a chest of gold coins - is worth every minute!
Vintage treasure hunters can learn from these hard working ship searchers. Getting to the sale is only a small part of actually finding a treasure. I've watched a line of people pass by a table filled with treasures, but because they hadn't done thier homework - well let's just say they missed the chest of gold coins!
Spend an afternoon wandering through an antique store. What appeals to you? Concentrate on those items and look in books or online to find as much information as you can on the items you were drawn to. The next time you go to a sale and you see one of them you will know it's value - and if you should be taking it straight to the check out line!
Here's a book I recommend if you are trying to figure out what treasure you'd like to pursue:

"Garage Sale and Flea Market Annual" Collectors Books published by Schroeder Publishing Co.

I purchased my copy through www.Amazon.com . There are other books along the same line, but I liked all the pictures in this one.

The research pays off - your eyes will be opened to a whole world of treasures once you know what you are looking for!



Road Hunting

Jump into the car with your gear and head for a country road. Your friend drives while you keep your eyes focused on the ditch at either side. Looking for that elusive gamebird. It took a trained eye to find him hiding in the winter bleached grass.
Same principle applies to vintage treasure hunting. The gear is slightly different. Newspaper classifieds from the Garage Sale section. Estate sale listings from Estatesales.net for your city. Something to carry your treasures home in. Watching for the signs on the side of the road that advertise a yard sale takes a trained eye - one that can see which direction the arrow on the sign is pointing so you can get in the right lane and make that quick turn.
I bagged this treasure last week during a hunt:

A beautiful vintage SANDOR brooch and earrings set!

Day two of an estate sale, and I could hardly believe that this enameled Sandor set was still available! I added it to my eBay store http://stores.ebay.com/Caryd-Away-Treasures  today at $19.99. I thought it would add a charming vintage touch to something summery!

This time my road hunting skills landed a treasure! But that's not always the case; sometimes, my husband told me, the bird would fly away before getting caught. That's how it feels when I pull up to a sale and someone is walking away with just the thing I was hunting for! The bird that got away!