Site for Vintage

Thanks to a message from a fellow vintage seller, I found a cool website, called VintageGazer. It is a curated photo gallery on the order of Pinterest, but strictly for vintage things, which is very exciting for us vintage types. Not only can items from vintage shops be listed, but there are antique photographs and ads posted also. Anything vintage or antique may be posted, but the photos need to be appealingly clear and crisp and there has to be some content as well.

 

My friend at ElsiesAttic posted this beautiful ring

Another acquaintance from the world of vintage, AnotherTimeAntiques posted this gorgeous photo

Then I just posted this (though it needs to be accepted before it will be published)

As I wrote this, I realized all three pictures are of green things--what a funny coincidence!

I'm not sure how long it has been around, but am so glad to have found it. A lot of folks who sell  "old things" have been longing for a site like this. So I'm putting in a good word here and am hoping you'll check it out and spread the word.

Charming Bracelets

As I was re-listing some 1967 newspapers, called The Ocean Press, I decided to re-take some photos. One of them showed an article on charm bracelets, that I found so delightful to read (I love charms bracelets, and most especially charms of all sorts). 

I took some close-ups of it to post here for you to enjoy.

Oh, what I wouldn't give to have a charm bracelet that lights up!

Christmas in July Sale

There's a Christmas in July Sale going on in my Etsy shop!
10% off everything that is $10.00 and over!
Just put in the coupon code CIJULY at checkout.
You can find books...

jewelry...

things for the home...

toys..

 

 ...even stuff for the guys.

 Offer good through 7/25/13 

If you don't find anything in my shop, just put CIJ in the Etsy search box and find loads of sales in other shops.
You can also head over to The Vintage Village to find even more sales!

Gypsy Craft

I've always had a fascination with gypsies, as I imagine a lot of others have. 

For Halloween one year, when I was a little girl, I dressed as a gypsy (with the help of my mom, of course) --that is, when I wasn't a pirate or a beatnik.  And I always wanted to live in one of those cool caravans, which are apparently now becoming popular for vacations.

 

So you can kind of tell, perhaps, that I am attracted to exotic sorts of things.

Yesterday, my mother (yep, same one) gave me some odds and ends of jewelry to either sell or incorporate into my own jewelry creations. The most interesting one was this necklace.

Then she told me a story about it that I had no memory of. She and my father traveled to the Provence region of France, probably in the 1980s (I forgot to ask). They rented a car and were leisurely going from town to town in that beautiful area.

Now there are many gypsies (or Tsiganes, as they are also known) that live in and around that part of southern France. They are travelers and make their living in various rather ways, that I will not go into here (but if you've ever gone to western Europe, you've probably read warnings about them).

My parents encountered some gypsies having an informal market, of sorts, so they stopped to see what was being sold. To make a not-too-long story even less long, my mom bought the necklace shown above.

The most interesting thing about it (besides the story, of course) is how it was crafted. It is quite primitive, which gives it a raw sort of  beauty.

The links were handmade, as were the jump rings. The chain and barrel appeared to be commercially made.  Lots of solder, most likely lead, was used, which would make it impossible to be sold in California.

The large piece of faceted purple glass

 is reminiscent of the color of wine.

This is such a dramatic piece, which I will eventually sell in my Etsy shop (with a warning about the solder). But for now, I will keep it and admire the exoticism of it and how it came to be in my family.

 

Silverware as an Art Form

I received an email message this morning that I had a new follower on Pinterest, which is encouraging, for as much as I like the site and have read that it is beneficial to those in retail, I admit I don't spend as much time on it as I should or would like to. There just always seems to be too much to do just to maintain the status quo of my business (like, writing a blog post more often than once a week, for example).

 Anyhow, I checked out this person's Pinterest boards and came across this delightful chandelier (yes, another chandelier, for those of you who read my test tube post).

inhabitat.com

I just enjoy how clever folks are. Don't you think it's perfect for the kitchen?

So this got me searching for similar things, as I seem  to have a bit of a weakness for the creative use of  silverware (not that I do it).

Next I found this...

shelterness.com 

...which is even more clever and probably easier to put together. Would have to use a soft-white bulb though.

Not too fond of jewelry made with silverware, but they're popular I guess, because they seem to show up everywhere. Maybe it is because they all look the same.
But when time is taken to add a little extra, this can happen. Isn't it lovely?

xeontribe.com

Then there are wind chimes, which, I think, is where my infatuation with the creative use of silverware  began.

www.learn2grow.com

I've never made one--don't know why, because I've loved wind chimes ever since I saw "Body Heat," a steamy, sultry 1981 movie starring
Kathleen Turner and William Hurt
(if you've seen it, you'll know what I mean). 

I was going to put  a video of the movie trailer here,
but it is rated "R," so I decided not to do that.
If you watch, turn up the volume:
Body Heat

songbirdblog.com

Autena Handcrafted

A few years ago, I started to create jewelry, more specifically bracelets, using vintage and new  buttons, along with old charms and bits and bobs  (love that expression!) of other oddments. I've started listing some in my Etsy vintage shop and decided to show them off. They are not technically vintage, but all have some antique and vintage (read, old) parts, so I think that counts!

Watch Face Bracelet in Silvertone

I've developed a fascination for antique ladies' wristwatches and really like disengaging them from their bands and cleaning them up a bit. This is my silver version (actually stainless steel).

My gold version, with decorative connectors, which are actually pieces from an old bracelet.

Watch Face Bracelet in Goldtone 

 The sort of vintage watches I look for are becoming more difficult to find at a reasonable price. I don't care if they work, although I prefer to place a working one in the center position, in case someone wants a real timepiece. Either they are too expensive or someone has taken them completely apart to sell the workings.

This is a talisman bracelet, made from copper wire and embellished with broken earrings, another watch face, beads, and who knows what else.

Talisman Charm Bracelet

I'm looking forward to making another, perhaps out of silver wire. It's a great way to use up things that have been sitting around. One is supposed to imbue the piece with good karma while working on it, which I guess I've tried to do. It brings me a smile when I look at it because it is rather quirky.

A MOP (mother of pearl) bangle, made with memory wire. The buttons are flat shanks, placed on both sides, so it is reversible.

Mother of Pearl Bangle Bracelet

I had to put a clasp on it because the buttons caused the wire to "lose" it's memory, so to speak. I think it would be perfect for a wedding, if the bride is an adventurous sort.

I have been branching out into necklaces and have also done some earrings, none of which are yet in my vintage shop. Maybe I'll show them off soon.

Hunting the Antique Mall

Took a highly anticipated 20 mile trip the other day to my favorite (huge) antique mall to look for material to use in my jewelry creations (old jewelry to repurpose, buttons, charms--little found objects) and also, if truth be told, to scout out some inexpensive goodies to sell in my vintage shops.

We spent many hours there and it was getting to be late afternoon. I had found jewelry items, but not too much resale stuff, other than a couple of old children's books. We got to the locked glass cases, which tend to hold small things (good for resale) and expensive things (not too good for either of my quests). But suddenly something caught my eye and I rang the button to have someone come and unlock the case, so I could take a closer look.

     This faux leather case full of cuff links, tie bars, and tie pins enthralled me because it's always good business to mix in a few things for sale for the guys.

I looked it over as carefully as one can when a salesperson is standing nearby waiting to see if you want it or not.

I turned several pieces over  and though some were unmarked, many others were signed (Swank and Hickok are both well-known companies).

The price was, well, let's just say, it was a bargain.

  Counting each set as one piece, it averaged out to be around a dollar each.       Yikes! I HAD to get it! Fourteen tie bars, eleven sets of cufflinks, three shirt studs (one oddball), several tie tacks, and an ugly old case 

are mine now.
Hope they sell!

Now I picked a few to show in close-up. Most are in good condition, though all will need cleaning prior to listing.

 A maple leaf and a traffic light --how cute are these tie tacks?

I think this is a set of golf clubs, pun intended.

Great set here if your name is Nick or Nathan.

Of course, there is always a dud in the bunch, and this group was no exception. Check these out... (even the tie tac decoration was glued back on, rather messily.

Oh well, that's okay. They can always go into the odd and ends stuff --someone somewhere will want them, I'm sure!

Pinteresting Site

Lately, I've been reading more and more about Pinterest  , the online pinboard, where you can create "boards" with images and comments about most any subject (no pornography or other blatantly offensive material, of course). It is a digital scrapbook of sorts.

 

People have been writing about how much they enjoy it and how it is good for raising the views on their shops. One cannot just sign up, however, because it is by "invitation," only.  Perhaps because Pinterest is fairly new and they are possibly trying to create an allure. After all what a great way to spread the word. 

 

So I took the plunge and requested an invitation. It took about two days for them to get back to me. I was accepted! (don't think there is much in the way of criteria here). Here is the link to my page, if you are curious... autenavintage

 

For my first board, I decided to use buttons as my subject, due to my new-found interest in them. Diving into an Internet search for items beyond the ordinary, I found these and made my first, which I call:

• Brilliant Buttons

   
   
  

  
  

  Due to copyright issues, they must be credited, which the site does for you, along with a link to where they were found.
  
  

  I belong the the Ecochic team on ETSY, which consists of vintage jewelry sellers. So, to be a good participant and promoter, I pinned some pieces of garnet (my birthstone) jewelry from some of their shops:

• January Jewels

   

   

  

  
  

  As an avid reader, I've been lucking out in finding some extraordinary writers lately. Thought I'd share off some of my finds in the third board:

Explore These Books

 

   

 

They are all a work in progress, as they may be added to at any time.

It is a social networking website (what isn't these days?), so not long after you post items, you receive notices about others who like what you posted and/or who have re-pinned an item to their boards, as well as gaining new followers. However, they frown upon blatant self-promotion. I noticed that several shopowners have dedicated one board among their many to their shop.


Both Etsy and ArtFire have recognized the power of Pinterest and have placed "Pinit" buttons on their pages, so that the proprietor's items may be pinned on someone's board.

Some have said that it becomes addictive and I can understand now what they mean. I now leave it to you to explore this entertaining site.