Mitzi's Miscellany

Meet the Grandparents

I'd like to tell you a bit about my maternal grandparents, Fred and Harriett Newton.  They were salt-of-the-earth folks from Mid-Michigan, no doubt about it, maybe not so different from anyone else's grandparents.  But I think you'll find their tale of entrepreneurship interesting.  I'm in the process of writing a series of posts related to "My Story", and I definitely have to attribute some of my entrepreneurial spirit to my grandparents.

My mother's side of the family was from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and so am I.  To illustrate, hold your right hand in front of you so you can see your palm.  Now, with your left index finger, touch the center of your palm.  That's where we're from (no GPS system needed).

 

As newlyweds, my grandparents moved to Florida so my grandpa and his brother could work on new roads being built in the wilderness there. Coincidentally, my grandpa's brother married my grandma's sister. The two young couples lived in tents near the beach for a year. "Roughing it" would be an understatement.  Florida was nothing but swamps and mosquitos back then.  My grandma kept herself occupied by making jewelry from shells and worked on various needlecrafts.  One of her favorite sayings was "busy hands are happy hands", and I know I get my love of crafting and needlework from her too (more on that later)! 

Here are my grandparents in their home sweet home:

 

Living in a tent is even less glamourous than it sounds. When they returned to Michigan, they bought a house and started a restuarant and catering business called The Harmony on the main floor.  They lived upstairs, which was a smart business move at the time because the Great Depression was about to arrive, and having your home and business in the same building really saved on expenses. 

My grandmother, below left, grandfather, and my paternal great-grandmother in 1930.  I think it's safe to say that I didn't get my sense of humor from my grandfather's side of the family: 

 

Newspaper advertisements such as the one below show The Harmony's desire to please their customers:

 

By the time my grandparents had their three children, Louise, Lucile (my mom) and Joe, they were running their successful restaurant and raising their family upstairs.  They escaped the ravages of the Great Depression through some luck and sheer hard work.  Situated near Central Michigan University (then called Central Michigan College) campus, the Harmony fed the various sports teams and my grandparents catered many college events. 

Note the price of a meal during the Depression:

 

Little Mt. Pleasant was somewhat insulated from the Depression because there was a mini oil boom in Isabella county around this time that provided jobs and pumped money into the local economy.  Still, there was evidence of hard times, like when the hobos that rode the rails would stop in town, asking for handouts.  My kind-hearted grandmother would feed them a full meal on the steps behind the restaurant.  Just the thought of the vagabonds having a delicious meal in a dignified manner courtesy of my grandma makes me so happy!  (The pic below is a stock photo of Depression-era hobos):

 

The success of their restaurant eventually led to CMU asking my grandparents to run their College Cafeteria.  They were now serving my grandmother's wonderfully homemade food to pretty much everyone that attended the college, because the dorms didn't serve food back then.  Faculty and students were treated to homemade cinnamon rolls and bread, baked corned beef hash, Hungarian goulash, and beautiful chocolate cake or caramel cake, to name a few examples.

Here's my hard-working grandmother, Harriett Newton, planning a menu for the College Cafeteria:

After running the College Cafeteria for around 15 years, my grandparents were ready to strike out on their own again, and started Newton's Dining House, another successful venture with the family living above the main floor restaurant.  When they advertised "Home Cooked Meals" they really meant it!

Apparently, Newton's Dining House relied more on word-of-mouth than signage.  In the picture below, my grandpa Fred Newton proudly stands in front of his restaurant:

Fast forward a few years, and my grandparents were ready to retire, at least from the restaurant biz.  They purchased some lakefront property including a series of cottages on Michigan's Crystal Lake, and ran an old-fashioned lakeside resort. What makes lakeside resort "old fashioned"?  Back then everything, including the scratchy wool swimming suits, could be rented.  Most people didn't have all of the personal swimming accessories that we now have.  

 

Crystal Lake was actually kind of a hot spot in its heyday.  They had a palladium for live big-band music and dancing, and a lovely old merry-go-round that folks fondly remember.  Rumor has it the entire Crystal Lake merry-go-round was dismantled and donated to Michigan State University, who has it in underground storage.  Most merry-go-rounds were sold in pieces for the valuable carved wood horses & such, so it's very special that a complete example exists locally, even though it's all packed up. (Pictured below is a generic carousel):

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any memories of life at the lake, because my grandparents sold the resort around the time I was born and moved back to Mt. Pleasant. Every time my family went to their house for dinner, my grandma would make a child size loaf of bread just for me.  We would always peek to find out what kind of cake or pie was cooling in back of the kitchen.  Coconut cake, spice cake, raspberry pie made with my grandpa's own homegrown raspberries, or my favorite, lemon meringue pie was often found.  All of the meals were served on my grandma's collection of chartreuse Fiesta Ware, and after dinner we'd watch Lawrence Welk.

 

To end this post, I'm including my grandma's Caramel Nut Slices, also attributed to my Aunt Louise.  These are super easy and were known as "refrigerator cookies":

Caramel Nut Slices

1/2 C margarine

1 C Brown Sugar

1 egg

1 3/4 C flour

1 1/2 t soda

1/4 t salt

2/3 C chopped nuts or shredded coconut

Cream first three ingredients.  Add pre-mixed dry ingredients and mix well, adding nuts or coconut last.  With a spatula, scoop the mixture onto a piece of wax paper, making a log shape.  Roll up and chill well.  Slice into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges brown.  This recipe freezes well too.

Enjoy!

Mitzi

Vintage Wallpaper 101

I'm passionate about vintage wallpaper.  If you've been reading my blog you've probably noticed. If I had to rank order my vintage obsessions, number one would be feedsack fabric yoyos, and number two would be vintage wallpaper.  Today I'd like you to get on board the vintage wallpaper bus with me, and we'll take a tour through the decades to get up to speed!

Our wallpaper tour begins with the papers popular during the Victorian era, when everything was over-the-top, lush, full of pattern upon pattern and color.  During the 1800's, wallpaper was printed with carved wooden blocks, some of which will still pop up in antique stores. I've never gotten my hands on actual paper from the 1800's, but I have acquired some of the printing blocks.

 

Designer William Morris had a huge influence on design during this time period.  Here is an example of a very stylized artichoke:

 
Even more complicated and elaborate designs were created as printing innovations came about.  Victorian homes required attention to every detail, and papers came in sections called "friezes",  the more familiar borders, ceiling medallions and more. To see examples of what I'm talking about, please take a detour to Bradbury and Bradbury Historical Wallpapers, and prepare to be amazed!  B & B also has a delightful blog that I just discovered.  One of their readers, Beverlee, submitted this photo of her incredible dining room she completed in an elaborate neoclassical B & B set of papers:

 
Photo credit:  Bradbury & Bradbury

American-made wallpaper circa 1910's was more readily available to the average Joe.  I have a nice example of paper from this era that I purchased from my friend Sharon that illustrates the artistry of early wallpaper (below).  Aren't the touches of gold metallic ink divine?  I love this paper so much I've had a hard time finding a use for it, because my hands start shaking if I even get near it with scissors!

 

The papers from the 1920's and 30's are also gorgeous, and still plentiful enough for us to acquire and use for various applications.  Marilyn Krehbiel, owner of Hannah's Treasures, a wonderful resource for a huge array of fantastic vintage papers from the 1920's through the 1970's, has generously allowed me to borrow some of her images to share with you.  Here is an example of one of Marilyn's offerings from the 1930's:

 

I've purchased a couple old wallpaper sample books that are really fun to peruse.  These pop up on eBay quite regularly, if you are interested.  I've taken my sample books to Staples and color copied my favorite patterns so I could use them in collage projects without tearing up the book.  The wallpaper sample books from the 1920's or 30's are much smaller that those huge, heavy books from later years that we are all familiar with.

This wallpaper book from 1926 is listed on eBay right now:

 

Look at the multiple layers of colors and pattern creating depth in this wonderful example:

 

Some of the borders available way-back-when:

 

This is what Grandma or Great Grandma wanted her living room to look like:

 

Styles changed with the times during the 1940's and 50's.  The colors during the 40's turned toward rather odd combinations such as gray, yellow, and maroon.  Exotic florals were introduced, such as large tropical flowers and huge palm fronds. Vinyl became a selling point for kitchen wallpaper during the late 1940's.  Homeowners were able to wallpaper every room in the house with specific papers designed for that room.  Angel fish in the bathroom, novelty paper with teapots in the kitchen, and florals in the bedroom. 

This example from Hannah's Treasures was undoubtedly intended for the powder room:

 

The 1950's homeowner wanted the all the modern appliances and wallpaper that represented the changing times.  During this era, more geometrics were used, including fun space-age designs. Pre-pasted wallpaper was a 1950's innovation and certainly convinced homeowners tired of stirring lumpy wheat paste to give wallpaper a try again.

This wallpaper sample book from the 1950's includes this abstract fish design.  It's for sale on eBay right now:

Near the tail end of the 1960's and into the 70's, the psychedelic era influenced wallpaper design, especially the colors.  Flocked wallpaper became popular, sometimes with "foil" or Mylar background.  Several years ago, I might have scoffed at these designs, thinking they were tacky. That might have been because I hadn't touched them and appreciated the craftsmanship that went into these wonderful papers. I've purchased several rolls of flocked papers, so I have quite a stash!  But I always want more.....

 

Let's take a look at a couple flocked paper samples, compliments of Hannah's Treasures, the go-to website to purchase vintage wallpaper at affordable prices.

First we have this devilishly red flocked paper for those that aren't afraid of color:

 

This bold plaid features flocked stripes on a silver Mylar background:

 

A little bit softer non-flocked floral pattern from the 1960's/70's with a sublime combination of colors:

 

What uses are people finding for vintage wallpaper?  One lovely example is Pressed Petal Designs, a new Etsy shop owned by Marilyn's daughter.  She creates note cards from authentic vintage papers.  Other uses include scrapbook projects, all sorts of decoupage applications, collages/mixed media, covered bandboxes, and even simply framing sections of the paper to use as wall decor. 

 

Are you still with me?  If so, let's stop at Second Hand Rose, a New York City store and another fabulous resource for vintage wallpaper. They also stock linoleum, which deserves its own blog post because it's so darn wonderful!  Although pricey, their selection of papers is simply fantastic, and their website is a work of art in itself. The collections of papers are organized by pattern for a visual feast of paper delicacies.  Think damask, floral, geometric, novelty and chinoiserie.  What's chinoiserie?  It's oriental scenic paper, with tranquil depictions of pagodas and Asian flora and fauna.  This style of paper seems to have increased in popularity lately. Can you see why?

 

If these beautiful wallpaper examples get your creative juices flowing, perhaps you should consider purchasing some vintage wallpaper to use in your winter craft projects.  As for me, I've been beavering away this month filling two large orders for my wallpaper cuff bracelets.  These are a great way to show appreciation for vintage wallpaper and will attract attention every time they are worn.  I've got several listed in my Etsy shop right now.  The examples below are for a customer that plans to give these as gifts to friends and family this year:

 

I hope you didn't mind a little sales pitch at the end of our bus tour.  Thanks for coming along with me, and as always, I appreciate you, my readers, for spending time visiting my blog!

Mitzi 

New Flowers from Old Fabric

Although I enjoy crafting before Christmas, I'm busy with so many other things it gets a little hectic.  It's January when I can really hunker down and get some serious crafting done.  I decided to start 2011 off with some flowers.  Lots of them.  I've made these yoyo flowers before, after seeing the idea in Flea Market Style magazine.  I put my own twist on them by adding buttons for the centers and ribbon or fabric "leaves". 

 

I'm constantly on the lookout for partially finished yoyo quilts, and now I've got so many yoyos now that I can share them with others.  See my Etsy shop for packages of yoyos.  Besides flowers, they can be used in many other craft and sewing projects.  Applique some yoyos to a sweater or canvas tote and embroider a few stems and leaves to create lovely floral embellishments.  Yoyos can even be used in scrapbooking projects.  You won't find these vintage fabric yoyos at Michael's or Hobby Lobby!

I don't think a tutorial is necessary for these flowers.  All you do is spear a couple of yoyos in graduated sizes, smallest first, with a knitting needle.  I used a little hot glue on the last yoyo to keep them in place.  The buttons were attached with E-6000.

   

These are so much fun to make, I just kept going until I made a huge bouquet.  By the way, this is as close to a completely "green craft" as you can get.  All items used are vintage, the only thing new is the glue!  And this project is so easy, it's perfect for little girls to try.  Instead of button centers, a touch of glue and glitter might be a fun option for younger crafters.

 

Quite some time ago I purchased some little stars that were part of an unfinished quilt.  These were very old, judging by the fabric.  Some of them had begun to deteriorate a bit, and I didn't really know what I would do with them.  Until now....

Fabric Flower Tutorial

Materials needed:  Fabrics of choice, fabric stiffener, paper wrapped wire stems, assorted buttons

Tools used:  Glue gun, awl, sponge brush, muffin pan, star template

Begin with star shapes cut from your fabric of choice.  My stars were wonderful vintage quilt pieces, but using an 8-point star template on your favorite fabric should work just fine (just Google "eight point star template").  

You will need to cut two stars for each flower.  I used contrasting colors for interest.  You might want to use the same fabric for both stars, or have fun pairing various patterns and colors.

After pairing them up, I put the pairs on a paper plate and coated each side with Stiffy fabric stiffener using a sponge brush. (Yes, there is a product called Stiffy.  I can hear you giggling....)

 

 

Once the fabric is coated with the fabric stiffener, I placed the stars up with wrong sides facing each other, that way the finished sides would be seen on both the inside and outside of the flowers.

Put the pieces in a muffin tin to dry and give them a cupped shape. I checked periodically to make sure the fabric wasn't sticking to the pan as it dried.  I could have used some Pam spray to help, so keep that in mind, especially if you are going to leave it to dry overnight.

 

After these were dry, I punctured them in the center with an awl.  Then I simply inserted a paper wrapped wire stem (purchased at JoAnn Fabrics in the floral department), with the tip bent at an angle to secure it inside the blossom.  A dab of hot glue will keep the stem in place.

 

The tips of the stars/petals curled in a flower-like manner.  I think they are so cute!

 

The last step is hot gluing a vintage button in the center.

 

 

My last flower creation was Queen Anne's lace.  I had the fortuitous find of a baggie containing "32 tatted snowflakes" at an estate sale.  This is the exact kind of thing that I look for, just like the quilt piece stars:  someone else's hard work that I can use for my own crafty intentions!  Believe me, you won't see me sitting around this winter tatting 32 snowflakes!  I just don't have the time.  Little crocheted rounds will work for this project too.

The directions for the Queen Anne's lace are ridiculously easy.  Just coat tatted or crocheted rounds with Stiffy, making sure it soaks all the way into the threads.  Then, rest it over a muffin tin to give it a cupped shape, just like the fabric flowers.  Once dry, I didn't need an awl this time to puncture holes, because I was able to thread a smaller green floral stem through two of the holes near the center of the blossom.

 

That pretty much sums up the flower making binge that I've been on this January.  I hope that one of my examples will inspire you to try some yourself!

I have linked this project to the FaveCrafts Blog Hop and want to welcome visitors from FaveCrafts!  If you have time, check out some of my other craft projects here at Mitzi's Collectibles.  I love using vintage materials to create something special and "new".

 

Copycat Crafts: Framing Vintage Typography

Have you ever visited a site called Copycat Crafts?  They are pretty darn clever over there, let me tell you!  The whole premise of "copycatting" is finding a cool projects from Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, or Ballard Designs catalog and making your own version of them.  Copying the original craft project of other bloggers is a touchy subject, but I think most of us agree that copying items from an expensive catalog or shop is OK.

I was all excited to copy Pottery Barn Catalog's framed typography and submit my project to Copycat Crafts until I popped over there and found someone else had already been there, done that.  So now I ask you:  Is it OK to copy a copycatter?  And if so, shall we agree that if you copy the double copycatter (me) we wouldn't even call it copying anymore, but rather "reproducing", which sounds a heck of a lot better.

When I came upon a book full of various examples of the alphabet I became giddy with excitement.  My initial thought was to scan each page into my computer for future use, such as framing several examples and getting them up on a wall, but I didn't get around to it until I saw the Pottery Barn catalog and it jogged my memory. 

 

I took a couple of the examples of the "Ornamental Alphabets" and printed them on cream card stock, then framed them in simple document frames.  Let me stop here and do a mini product review.  Because I didn't have the proper size vintage document frames, I purchased some at Hobby Lobby for half off.  Originally $7.99, these frames were flimsy and just plain cheap.  Called "floating frames", I thought they would consist of two pieces of glass, but actually they were one piece of glass and one plastic..  I wouldn't recommend them, especially at full price.  Michael's didn't offer anything much better.  I purchased a three-pack of simple document frames and when I got home, the center frame in the package had broken glass.  The glass was very thin, and the "frame" was plastic. 

Isn't this 17th Century alphabet beautiful? 

 

I hope you are inspired to frame a couple of these beautiful examples, like this "Rustic" text, which might look good in someones man cave:

 

Or how about "Letters Varously Shaded":

 

One more example is this XVIth Century alphabet:

 

I'm not sure where my framed typography will be hung permanently, but for now I've made a little vignette in a corner of the master bedroom:

 

 My last shot is the victim of over-cropping, but you get the idea:

 

 I hope you are inspired to print out the vintage typography examples and frame them up yourself!

Dan, the Yellow Snowman: A Symbol of Buyer's Remorse

Today I'd like to talk about "buyer's remorse", something most of us can relate to.  My first incidence of buyer's remorse occurred when I was about eight years old and received my long-anticipated package of Sea Monkeys in the mail.  After following the package instructions and watching the cloudy water for signs of life, I began to get a sinking feeling that my Sea Monkeys were not going to perform tricks and look like the examples pictured in the comic book ad.

I often make mistakes here and there when purchasing antiques to resell.  Usually, this occurs at an auction, and more often than not I regret buying things that I haven't inspected thoroughly before bidding on them.  Often, things look good from a distance but when examined up close it's not hard to figure out why other bidders were avoiding the item.

I'm using poor old Dan, my yellow snowman, as a more recent example of buyer's remorse.  Truth be told, Dan came in a big bag full of vintage Gurley holiday candles I bought last year, many of which were great and have already sold in my antique mall booths.  I got lucky, because I hadn't really inspected the bag in which Dan was offered.

 

If there's one tip I can pass on to anyone just getting their feet wet in live auctions, it would be to inspect the items you are interested in before the auction starts.  Most auctioneers will state that everything will sell "as is, where is".  They expect you to know the condition of the items you are bidding on, and that they won't tolerate bidders who change their minds after the gavel falls. Once they say "SOLD", it's yours.

Not all of my buyer's remorse occurs after auctions, however.  I have suffered from a condition known as "rose colored glasses syndrome" which often flares up from time to time while shopping at estate sales and other antique shops.  Sometimes I'm just in the mood to buy, and everything looks good to me.  I start overlooking flaws and let my emotions take over, and end up with stuff that I can't resell easily. 

When I saw this Victorian-Era tatted lace and blue silk pillow cover (and a matching full size bed spread) I was in love with the color of the silk and amazed at the mounds of tatting that made up the pieces.  So much work went into this set, I just had to have it.  I went ahead and purchased it knowing full well that the 100-plus year old silk had begun to "shatter".  Once silk begins to shatter, forget it.  There's not much you can do.  By the time I displayed the bedspread in my antique mall booth for a couple weeks, all the silk was in shreds from customers handling it.  I brought it back home and now I'm contemplating what to do with it. 

 

Here's a better view of shattered silk and detailed tatting:

 

In order to prevent future occurrences of buyer's remorse, to me or you, I've compiled a list of things to avoid when buying at an auction, flea market, or other antique-selling venue.  I'm writing this from a dealer's point of view, but it should be helpful for collectors too:

Things To Avoid:

Oil paintings that are very dark and need cleaning.  A professional cleaning can cost $100 and up.

Glass that is cloudy.  This is also known as "sick glass", and although there are various remedies for sick glass, the best plan is to just avoid cloudy vases, bottles and jars to begin with.

Anything with a strong musty or moldy smell (suitcases, trunks, leather shoes, textiles).

Damaged glassware (chips, cracks).  This can't be re-sold easily and really can't be repaired.

Textiles that need a lot of TLC, such as the yoyo quilt (below) I purchased on eBay that had loose stitching and required a lot of time repairing it.

 

Mechanical toys that don't work or have missing pieces.

Picture or mirror frames that have crumbling applied plaster, or that have replaced glass (customers don't like new glass or new mirrors in old frames).

Lamps that have unsafe cords and need re-wiring.  To test a cord for safety, unplug the lamp and gently fold the cord in half.  If cracks appeared in the plastic, then it needs to be replaced.

Clocks that don't work, unless you just like them for their decorative appeal.

Photo albums or books that are delicate and have come loose from the bindings.  Once customers have handled these, they will fall apart.

 

If I end up with something that isn't what I hoped it would be, I have connections with wonderful repair people that have helped lessen my buyer's remorse numerous times over the years.  There's a doll and teddy bear hospital that answers my 911 calls; an excellent pottery repair person; a friend that will re-wire lamps for me; a furniture repair expert; and a fantastic all-around handyman who's helped me rig up a lot of things in my antique mall booths.  Many antique malls will have business cards or other connections  to repair people if you ask them.  Craig's List is another source for repair people.

My friend and fellow antique mall dealer Norv repaired the chips on these Roseville pieces, matching the glaze colors perfectly.  I bought these knowing that I would have them repaired, so the price I paid was quite reasonable:

 

Over the years, I've learned how to do some repairs myself.  My forte is matching colors, so therefore I can touch up many things that are painted, such as tole ware trays, or furniture with decorative paint motifs.  I know how to fill in cracks and chips in plaster or "chalkware" figures and touch up the paint.  I've even learned how to patch punctured canvas and paint the repaired area to match the painting (I wouldn't attempt this on an important piece of art, though).

The beginning of a new year is a great time to gather things you've purchased that need help and vow to get them repaired.  I'm going to be doing this in the next few days.  Unfortunately, I don't know anyone that can whiten Dan, my yellow wax friend.  I suppose he would make a great "white elephant" gift someday if the need ever arises.