Mitzi's Miscellany

Relatives You Didn't Know About

I'm in the process of cleaning and organizing my crafting room/office.  It's a long, agonizing process!  As I go along, I keep finding wonderful things I forgot I had, like boxes of old photos.  Of course, such discoveries slow me down because I have to stop to scan them into the computer and share them with y'all.   I decided this group of lonely folks are long lost relatives we didn't know about, and they need to be assigned to  new families.  You can "adopt" them by clicking on the images and "saving" them, and using them in a future art project, or simply framing them and adding them to your wall of family portraits!

Your cousin Mildred, once removed:

The adorable brother and sister of your great great Grandfather:

Your depressed great great Aunt and Uncle, their two depressed children and their depressed dog:

Your great great Uncle Edwin:

Little Hazel, whose mother always curled her hair every day.  Hazel is somehow related to your dad, we're just now sure where she fits in:

Adorable little Edwina, your great grandmother's sister:

 Little Viola, your great-great aunt:

Your distant cousin's wedding photo:

Your dapper dressing great aunt Josephine:

The sweet children that are related to your father in some way:

Your great great aunt Wilhelmina, who marched to the beat of her own drummer.  She wore her hair short, dressed in men's clothing, and dared to smile during her photo session!

I know you'll provide a great home for these deserving souls!

Mitzi

Easy Crafting with the All-American Ball Jar

I was so flattered and excited recently when a representative from the Ball Canning Company contacted me and offered to send me a six pack of  Ball Vintage Style Jars if I would create something special with them and post it on my blog.  Of course, I said "yes!"

I came up with two easy projects with my jars.  These are projects that you can replicate at home, or put your own twist on:

Here are my ready-to decorate jars.  Look for the Ball American Heritage Collection at your local store.  They are affordable and useful for many things besides canning food!  What would you do with them?

Rather than run to the craft store, I looked around my house for materials I already had.  I came up with these Tim Holtz numbers and some burlap ribbon.  I also had some matte white spray paint and hot glue that I used to attach the ribbon and numbers to the jars.

I just wrapped a length of the burlap ribbon around the middle of the jar and glued an enamel number in the center.  I filled my new "vase" with dried cotton.  I think it's a nice complement to the burlap and the classic jars:

Cotton can be a tricky dried plant to work with because it has a tendency to break easily.  My remedy was to simply hot glue the broken blossoms back onto the twigs.  You can find cotton branches on Ebay and other sources on the web.

To make the spray painted jars, I cleaned the jars and lids first with soapy water, rinsed, and dried thoroughly.  Two light coats of the matte white spray paint was adequate.  Once dry, I sanded them lightly with a medium grit sanding sponge to bring out the highlights.  I glued the number on the rim of the lid this time:



I like how the blue glass peeks through the worn paint areas:



I left a tin ceiling tile outside all winter and the back of it rusted quite nicely.  It made a good backdrop for this shot:

Perhaps this post will inspire you to grab some classic Ball jars and create some fun vases or storage jars this weekend!  You can get more ideas at the Ball Pinterest boards here.

Mitzi

I'll be participating in the following link parties, so please stop by:  Friday Favorites; My Romantic Home; and Simply Designing by Ashley.

Expand Your Vintage Vocabulary Post #45

"Standard glaze" is today's term.  To get the definition correct, I went to a local Lansing Michigan expert, Mike McAllister of McAllister Auctions.  Mike is a pottery expert and gave me the following information:

"The term came from the Rookwood factory for their early works. Most of the pots were a brown hi gloss glaze, artist decorated. Pots from that era regardless of color could be called standard glaze if they were the gloss glaze. Often collectors and dealers call hi gloss pots from the other Ohio factories standard glaze."

 The little vase below is a good example of a standard glaze cabinet vase:

At the Antiques Market of Williamston, I spotted two vases in the standard glaze.  These might be Weller, I'm not sure, but they definitely fit the description of standard glaze:

Now that you know what it is, I'm sure you'll be spotting standard glaze ceramics every time you visit an antique shop!

Mitzi

Large Letter Crafting

Is there anything hotter in the vintage world than large letters and numbers?  I know for a fact I can sell vintage marquee letters and numbers faster than anything else in my Etsy shop.  They make fun wall art and look great as part of a vignette in a bookshelf.

I've given my brother Mike, my main "picker", the word to acquire as many letters and numbers as possible.  I prefer the old metal variety, but when he brought me some plastic marquee letters I decided to try a craft project with one of them.

I sprayed one coat of primer on the clean letter, then one coat of a flat blue:

Using diecuts of my favorite vintage wallpapers, I scattered them on the letter and adhered them with Mod Podge Matte formula.  I top coated the entire letter with Mod Podge too.

Here I am at the Mega Mall in Lansing, showing off my letter at the craft demonstration I did with my friend Lisa on Sunday, April 14:

 

Lisa and I had a good time and showed customers fun crafts they could do with flea market finds:

Lisa's specialty is up-cycling clothing.  She brought her sewing machine and ironing board!

One of our favorite customers:

If you want to try a similar letter project, try one of the readily available craft store paper mache letters.  You can substitute scrapbook paper for the vintage wallpaper diecuts, too.

Mitzi

I'm participating in Sweet Sharing Monday's Link Party.

Announcements

First and foremost, it is with great sadness that I have to report that our dear family friend Jack Harris passed away this week after a brief illness.  I have never known such a generous person, and if you've read my blog posts about Mr. Harris, Part I and Part II, you will see for yourself what I'm talking about.  Jack was responsible for making my parents' dreams of owning a business come true, and in the process changed the lives of everyone in our family for the better. 

I was fortunate enough to spend time with Jack just recently when I visited Naples, Florida in February to interview him for an article for IndieMade.  My mom took a picture of us that day:

In other news, I will be presenting a crafting demonstration on Sunday, April 14 at the Mega Mall in Lansing, Michigan, one of the three antique malls where I rent space.  I'm teaming up with my friend and talented graphic artist (she created this blog) Lisa Longlois, aka Lisa Bisa.  Lisa's specialty is up-cycling clothing into cool creations, and I'm going to up-cycle common flea market finds to give Mega Mall shoppers some ideas and inspiration for spring!  The demonstration is free and ongoing from noon till 4:00 p.m., so stop by if you can!

Something easy that kids can make:

We'll be making rolled paper wreaths:

Of course I'm bringing yoyos!

Hope to see you at the Mega Mall!  Also, stop by Lisa's Facebook group Super Fun Lolita Coloring Time to check out her cool anime art work and her blog to get to know her better!

Mitzi

Bright and Beautiful Italian Pottery in Naples, Florida

It's been a while since I returned from my visit to Naples, Florida, but I still have pictures to share from my trip.  For many years I have driven by the bright and welcoming shop, Taste of Sorrento & Positano on 430 9th Street North, but never stopped in until this year.

Owned by Raisa Soriero, Taste of Sorrento & Positano is packed full of Italian pottery from various regions of Italy.  It's a beautiful world of color and inspiration, perfect for the sunny Naples climate.

I'm sure local decorators frequent this shop:

There are large scale pieces and small items.  Something for everyone!

Raisa explained to me that each region of Italy has their own distinctive style of pottery.  I tend to favor the brightly colored pottery, but I can appreciate the more neutral variety too:

 

 

A Limoncino set, for drinking the popular lemon drink:

 

A delicious pomegranate:

The original shop has expanded to the storefront next door.  There are even more beautiful, large scale items in the new space:

 

I would have taken the time to write down the artist's names but I was on my way to the airport when I stopped in and my time was limited....

 

 

 

 This is the top part of a fountain:

And this is the base of a table.  It needs a glass top:

Fruit details on an urn:

 

 

 

 

Just look at these wonderful faces!

Even modern pottery is represented:

 

 

I really loved this lion:

Wasn't that a great tour?  I hope you will put Taste of Sorrento & Positano on your list of places to visit when you go to Naples/Ft. Meyers/Marco Island/Bonita Springs area.

Mitzi

Pelican Bay on Dwellable

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #44

A couple weeks ago we had a March Madness Sale at the Antiques Market of Williamston.  As I walked around the mall and took pictures of the wonderful goods for sale, I spotted two charming ceramic pie birds for sale in the booth of Kathy Branch and Fred Muse:

For those of you that aren't pie bakers, pie birds were actually functional as well as cute.  They were designed to vent steam from a baking pie and prevent the pie juices from bubbling over in the oven.  The inspiration for the bird figure came from the old rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence", which has the line "four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" in it.  Pie birds were very popular around the 1930's, and they make a fun collectible now.

Here is a common example of a black and yellow glazed pie bird that I found on Ebay.  It sold for $17.00 plus $6.00 for shipping and handling, just to give you an idea of current market value:

Pie birds were made by various pottery factories, such as Shawnee and Nutbrown.  And not all pie birds are birds!  Collectors might branch off into other figural pie vents such as chefs, other animals, and female figures.  Some will have a maker's mark on the bottom which will be helpful for identification and valuation.

Mitzi

Jewelry Making On My Mind

Last night I returned home from my jewelry making extravaganza weekend in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, home of B'sue Boutiques.  I had great fun and learned so much from my patient teacher and new friend, Brenda Sue Lansdowne.

Here is the charming storefront of B'sue Boutiques:

Inside the shop is a mix of finished jewelry items, jewelry supplies to make your own, and instructional books on jewelry making.  As you can see, the shop is just lovely:

The many drawers below contain "stampings" that jewelry is made from:

I got a special tour of the back room, where an order of stampings just came in.  This is what all the stampings look like when they come from the plater.  The order included several boxes like this that needed to be sorted, bagged and organized:

Here I am with Brenda Sue Lansdowne, "B'sue", learning about jewelry making:

One of the things I learned is how to take "raw brass" stampings and colorize them using various products.  The cuff below was once just plain brass.  I colorized the various components, then assembled it.  I ended up finishing it later with a red button center:

The necklace below started as a piece of vintage furniture hardware that I created a collage upon.  We finished it off with vintage beaded chain and a lovely clasp:

The piece below has more of B'sue Boutiques components in it than the previous necklace.  I started with a brass stamping of a woman in a heart, which I spray painted with a matte white spray paint.  I sanded it down a bit and added some Gilder's Paste, a waxy colorizing product, in Patina Green.  After buffing, it got a coat of sealer, a filigree backing and some brass "book chain" on the left, and some pearly beaded chain on the right.  I might be adding more doo-dads before I consider this piece finished:

Another collage necklace made with a furniture hardware base:

I re-purposed a broken Art Deco brooch to make a pendant for this piece:

A pretty vignette from the shop:

More items from my worktable space:

I couldn't resist buying a handful of these little glass leaves:

B'sue is a pretty organized crafter herself.  Look at her jars of goodies:

I spent all afternoon Friday and all day Saturday taking lessons with B'sue in her shop and observing the finished pieces for sale there.  It was interesting to get a tour of her "back room" and watch her dedicated staff, most of whom are relatives, work to fill and ship orders from her website and Etsy shop.  B'sue and her staff couldn't have been kinder or more welcoming!  On Saturday, a lovely local gal named Shirley stopped by with cookies for us.  She knew I was visiting because she belonged to B'sue's Facebook group.  It was very evident how well-liked B'sue is both locally and in the bigger social group that is Facebook. 

 

It might sound a little extreme to fly out of state to take jewelry making lessons, but for some reason I felt compelled to do it, and once an idea like that gets in my head there's no stopping it, so I really had to follow my heart.  Now that I'm home, I'm completely satisfied and feel that I did the right thing.  I'm motivated to move forward and become a real jewelry maker!

Mitzi

My Jewelry-Making Extravaganza Weekend

Over the last few years I've dabbled in making jewelry, all of it using some vintage components.  I make cuff bracelets covered with my beloved vintage wallpaper; pendants from old tintypes; and bracelets from old earrings that are broken or have lost a mate.

These bracelets are made from old earrings.  I buy the bracelet blanks from B'sue Boutiques, and they are made in the USA.  That's important to me:

 

Neon colors are so popular right now.  I used vintage wallpaper in the centers of these pendants.  I bought these years ago from an Etsy shop.  Probably made in China, unfortunately.  Now I try to buy Made in USA whenever possible, and that's why I buy from B'sue:

Something for men:  old police and firefighter badges:

 I buy angel wings from B'sue Boutiques and add them to vintage frozen Charlottes to make angels:

These are vintage chandelier crystal pendants with vintage wallpaper:

Just a tiny fraction of the bits and bobs I've been saving to re-purpose into "collage jewelry":

So this weekend, I've hatched a plan.  I've admired "B'sue", aka Brenda Sue Lansdowne, so much over the years that I had the audacity to ask her if I could come to her home in Ohio and take private jewelry making lessons from her.  Well, she said "yes", so I'm flying to Pittsburgh Thursday, then driving to her small town!  I need to learn some serious techniques for colorizing metal, drilling, and other construction skills.  I think I have the design concepts in my head, at least enough to get started.  I'll be staying at a hotel and renting a car so I can explore the nearby antique shops.

B'sue is a master of "Collage" style jewelry, "Five and Dime" style jewelry, and "Kitchen Sink" style jewelry.  I love all of her colorful, lush creations.

Photo credit:  B'sue Boutiques

Photo Credit:  B'sue Boutiques

For more eye candy, you'll want to visit B'sue Boutiques Pinterest Board.

Just because you can't fly to B'sue's and have one-on-one jewelry making lessons, don't feel bad.  You can zip over to YouTube and watch her wonderful series of intsructional videos and learn all of her techniques!  She adds new videos regularly, too.  Who knows, maybe I'll be in the next one!

B'sue's style is perfect for me to learn.  I save all sorts of little items, too:

Photo Credit:  B'sue Boutiques

Besides B'sue Boutiques main website catalog, she also has an Etsy shop which carries sale items and other goodies.  Be sure to check that out, too.  B'sue also has a wonderful newsletter that you must sign up for.  She'll keep you informed of new items in the shop, lovely jewelry designs she and others have made, discount codes for ordering, and so much more.  Details can be found on her main website.

Photo Credit:  B'sue Boutiques

I hope you will stop by B'sue's YouTube channel and learn something new along with me this weekend!  And once you start ordering supplies from B'sue Boutiques and making wonderful creations, it's really fun to join her Facebook group (a closed group, you'll have to request permission to join) and show everyone what you've made.  You can also ask questions of the group members and learn so much from the experienced members.  Right now, there's over 900 members in the group and it's growing fast!

If you are lucky enough to live near East Palestine, Ohio, you can visit B'sue's storefront and buy some of her items in open stock.  Be sure to check her website first for hours of operation.

Last but not least, B'sue has a blog called Jewelry Making Outside the Box that's just fabulous.  B'sue tells readers that "anyone can make jewelry", which is very encouraging.  I need to put it on my sidebar so everyone can find it from now on!

Mitzi

Expand Your Vintage Vocabulary Post #44

Today's term is "Aesthetic Movement", which occurred during the "Aesthetic Era", which was the end of the 19th century.  Although this movement influenced styles of literature, architecture, and all aspects of design, for our purposes we are concerned with the decorative arts here.

 The Aesthetic Movement came about as a new and fresh approach to design, rather than a re-hashing of past design motifs such as classical (think Greek and Roman) designs.  The emphasis was on nature and natural themes.  During that time there was great interest in the study of birds, insects, and plants.  Asian motifs were very commonly incorporated as well.

The majolica items below are a great example of Aesthetic design:

These Bristol glass vases also show an appreciation of nature:

Even this cabinet card back reflects the design principals of the Aesthetic movement:

Other things that were popular during the Aesthetic era that are not pictured here:  ebonized (blackened) wood; peacock feathers; and blue and white porcelain.

 Mitzi