Jeanne Selep's Selep Imaging Blog: meme: Vintage Inspiration

Showing posts with label meme: Vintage Inspiration. Show all posts

Friday, August 5, 2011

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Image 1: Metal Mirror with Cherubs

Today I wanted to share a fancy high relief metal mirror I bought at a recent estate sale.

Image 2: Cherub detail on mirror top

The mirror's solid metal frame has four cavorting cherubs playing among elaborate scrolls and small flowers, reminding me of some Valentine fantasy. The mirror glass is nicely beveled. I was drawn to the mirror because of it's fun vintage styling.

Image 3: Right corner cherub and scroll

I am saying this mirror has vintage styling, because I don't believe the mirror is very old at all. The frame and mirror has a very "fresh" feel to it.

Image 4: Edge Detail

The metal is shiny on the back, and has been blackened on the front, (possibly to mimic tarnish.) The metal has a pewter feel to it, but if the metal really was pewter I think the surface finishing on the front would have been more even. (I guess I think pewter would be fairly expensive). The mirror is 20.5 inches by 15.5 inches (52 cm x 40 cm) at the widest dimensions.

What clinches my "recent product" guess is the back - a mirror glued in fast with fat runs of white silicon glue, with the contemporary thick black cardboard "dual use" frame back glued on over the mirror. (You know the dual use frame thing - the frame can stand alone or be hung on the wall.) Sorry, I didn't think to take a picture of the back.

Either way, I liked this mirror, and the price was under $15 for a fun piece. It makes me smile. What would you consider the style of this piece - baroque? Victorian? Shaker?

Let me know your opinion or if you have seen a similiar mirror for sale somewhere.

Image 5: Mirror Scrolls on bottom edge

Other fun details - I bought this with no idea where to hang it, so I hung it in my master bedroom (for now.) There is a full length mirror within 3 feet of this mirror on another wall. This mirror really would look better if it wasn't hung on a white wall - the dark finish is kind of too dark and I kind of wish it were lighter. I hung the mirror about 2 inches too low, after struggling to center and hang it for about 1 hour. AND, as I just now searched the mirror for a label, I now have to re-glue the mirror in. ;)

Click on any image to see it larger

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Heart Quilt

Marbles

Batik Quilt

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I am linking to these parties:
Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 26 (Entry 60 of 80)

French Cupboard: French Inspiration (Entry 6 of 7)
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 19 (Entry 18 of 28)

French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 136 of 221)
* Common Ground: Vint Inspiration 46 (Entry 74 of 118)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 142 of 326)
White Iron: Treasure Chest Fri (Entry)music
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 65 (Entry 109 of 258)

Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday (Entry 176 of 437)
Picket Fence: Inspiration Fri 23 (Entry 139 of 227)
Find Fab: Frugalicious Friday (Entry 82 of 186)
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry 267 of 675)
Hodgepodge Friday (Entry 49 of 163)
Funky Junk: Sat Night Special 93 (Entry 42)

Be Diff: Show and Tell Sat (Entry 269)

Cherished Treasure: Sun Blog Love (Entry 15)

Under the Table: Sunday Showcase (Entry 8)

The Tablescaper: Seasonal Sunday (Entry 11)
I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop (Entry 242 of 341)

Library Adventure: Flea Market Finds (Entry 9)

Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 7 (Entry 21)
DIY: More the Merrier Mon 23 (Entry 201)
Roses: Show off your Cottage Mon (Entry 12)
Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 32 (Entry 2)
Dittle Dattle: Amaze Me Mon 36 (Entry 41)
BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday (Entry 110)
Making the World Cuter (Entry 115)

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues 74 (Entry 16)

Southern Hosp: Thrifty Treasures (Entry 74)

Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures (Entry 109)

* Stroll Life: Table Top Tues (Entry 40)
* House of Grace: Twice Owned Tues (Entry 21)
Sassy: Trash to Treasure Tues (Entry 16)
Diamond: Time to Shine 27 (Entry )

Anything Goes 29 (Entry 57)

Designer Garden: VIP Party (8-11 )

Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed (Entry 237)

No Minimalist Here: Open House (Entry 62)
Very Merry Vint: Share the Love Wed (Entry 4)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur (Entry 24)

Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 16) h
Bloggeritaville: Thrifty Thur 126 (Entry 37)
Shabby Chic: Transformation Thur (Entry 173)
Strut your Stuff (Entry 68)

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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Potion Bottles

Bitter bottles

The 'treasure' (or more accurately trinkets) I am sharing today are a collection of small bottles I have accumulated over the past several years at various rummage sales. I love the sparkle of colored glass, and I don't resist buying a pretty bottle when I run across one.

Image 2: Yellow Bitter bottles

I decided to make this post in honor of the last Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2) which was released this month. These little bottles would make great 'potion' containers.

Image 3: Purple bitter bottle bottles

A purple bottle with a bird claw grabbing it - a Harry Potter potion seems to be the appropriate contents.

Image 4: Blue bottles for ink and bitters

The real purpose of many of these bottles were bitters, (whatever they are), or in the case of the squarish blue bottle above, ink. (For Harry Potter, magic ink.) The bottle to the left of the ink has a horseshoe shape surrounding a horse head. A lucky potion, perhaps? Or will it make you as fast as a horse?

Image 5: Green bitter bottles

Many of these bottles were reproduced, and probably most of the bottles I own are reproductions. I really haven't been inspired to research bitter bottles much. Sometimes you just want to enjoy an item without knowing all about it. I enjoy finding bottles here and there and adding them to my window sill collection.

Image 6: Jenny Lind and Cape May red bitter bottles

The bitter bottles in particular have fun and different designs - faces of people and presidents, horses and grapes and fish appear pressed into the bottles designs. Maybe the red Jenny Lind potion makes you sing well, and the lighthouse potion makes you see well at night.

Image 7: Tree of Life Bitter Bottle

The little green bottle above has "The Tree of Life" on it, and is probably one of my favorite bottles. It is 3.25 inches tall (about 8.3cm). A long life potion, I'm guessing.

Image 8: Orange chicken candy dish

I don't own any orange bottles, so when I saw this little chicken container in intense orange shades, I bought it to make a better rainbow of glass. Perhaps herbology herbs stored in this container made the chickens lay golden eggs.

Image 9: Half of my window sill collection

I didn't take any photos to show the scale of the bottles, but all of these bottles are under 4 inches (10 cm) tall. Most of the bottles are 3 inches tall.

Image 10: The other half of my collection

Image 11: I love the different shades of glass

I am still looking for a pink bottle. I know pink bitter bottles exist, (on Ebay), but I prefer the rummage sale prices.

Some comments have been left asking me how I clean these small bottles. I soak them (w/ detergent) and rinse them, sometimes for days. Sometimes I use vinegar, and/or salt. A bottle brush can be used on some bottles. A baby store sometimes has baby bottle brushes, and there is a tiny brush for cleaning the rubber baby bottle nipples. (Ouch, I hate to say it here, but there is a baby nipple brush. That sounds bad.), Pipe cleaners might also work. You can also take a strip of cloth, or paper towel, push one end into the bottle, and twist more of the strip into the bottle. (Does that make sense to anyone besides me?) Eventually you have a wad of material pushing on the inside of the bottle with each twist. Be careful to untwist the material to remove it. Ending up with a wad of paper towel in a bottle is a pain, then you need tweezers to extract the paper towel... Cloth is easier in some ways, because it won't tear. However, if the bottle is acid etched (after a time, you will begin to know what that is), and or scratched, the above won't help as much.

OMG, it is so funny that I am writing in a post how to clean anything. Cleaning is really not a favorite task... But the results are worth it.

Click on the images to see them enlarged.

I blog for fun and my blog is ad free. Comments encourage me, and I sometimes need encouragement. Please leave a comment if you have time! Anonymous comment are welcome, even months/years later!!

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If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

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I am linking to these parties:
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 54 (Entry 20 of 51).
Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 8 of 29).
Bloggeritaville: Thrifty Thur 123, (Entry 20 of 83).
Shabby Chic: Transformation Thur, (Entry 130 of 358.)
Strut your Stuff (Entry 164 of 536.)
Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 24 (Entry 2 of 74.)
French Inspiration (Entry 5 of 12).
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 17 (Entry 3 of 38).
French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 1 of 216).
* Common Ground: Vint Inspiration 47 (Entry 5 of 126.)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 104 of 308.)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 63 (Entry 160 of 254.)
Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday (Entry 106 of 437.)
Picket Fence: Inspiration Fri 24 (Entry 38 of 214.)
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry 449 of 738.)
Addicted to Decorating 15 (Entry 43 of 64.)

Funky Junk: Sat Night Special 91 (Entry 62 of 183.)

Be Diff: Show and Tell Sat (Entry 18 of 304.)
Pink Postcard: Transform and Treasure (Entry 44 of 47.)

Cherished Treasure: Sun Blog Love (Entry 15 of 47.)

Under the Table: Sunday Showcase (Entry 53 of 376.)

The Tablescaper: Seasonal Sunday 59 (Entry 3 of 40.)
I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop (Entry 55 of 439.)

Library Adventure: Flea Market Finds (Entry 2 of 71.)

Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 9 (Entry 13 of 31.)
Roses: Show off your Cottage Mon (2 d)
Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 30 (Entry 16 of 103.)
Dittle Dattle: Amaze Me Mon 34 (Entry 14 of 273.)
Running with Glitter Mon 19 (Entry 5 of 189.)
BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday (Entry 56 of 254.)
Making the World Cuter (Entry 173 of 312.)

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues (Entry 38 of 197.)

Southern Hosp: Thrifty Treasures (Entry 61 of 77.)
* Stroll Life: Table Top Tues (Entry 31 of 93.)
* House of Grace: Twice Owned Tues (Entry 7 of 85.)
Saasy Sites: Trash to Treasure Tues (Entry 39 of 59.)
Diamond: Time to Shine Tues 28 (Entry 53 of 82.)
Family: Once Upon a Weekend 2 (Entry 26 of 29.)
Lines: Cure for Common Mon 1 (Entry 29 of 50.)
Type A: Anything Goes 27 (Entry 44 of 102.)
Ginger: Wow Me Wednesday 9 (Entry 249 of 252.)
Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed (Entry 79 of 247.)
Trendy Tree: Creative Share Wed (Entry 6 of 178.)
Beach Cottage: Good Life Wed (Entry 39 of 143.)
Very Merry Vint: Share the Love Wed (Entry 6 of 39.)

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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Vintage Floral Bling

Image 1: Trifari Pin in Spring colors

I haven't shared any bling and jewels on my blog recently. If you are familiar with my blog, you probably know I collect china. I have collected china for a couple of years, but I have collected costume jewelry for a couple of decades, long before I collected china. So today I thought I would share a trio of colorful pins (brooches) I own.

Image 2: Trifari Pin in Summer colors

These three pins are the same pin design, executed in different metal finishes and 'colorways' of rhinestones. (Colorways are arrangements of colors.) Each pin is over 3 inches (8 cm) long end to end.

Image 3: Trifari Pin in Fall colors

I especially like the three colorways of this pattern that I own. I look at them and see a spring, summer and fall execution of this design.

I have occasionally bid on a "winter" version of this design - an all white rhinestone colorway, but I haven't managed to win the bid on Ebay; and truthfully, I have been avoiding Ebay, because it is too easy to spend too much money there, and too fast. I spend less at rummage sales, and there are no shipping fees. Trifari booches, at one pin for $10-$30 (or more), are not nearly as affordable as china plates for $1-$5 each. Hence my newer hobby is collecting china. :)

Image 4: These pins are large! Showing the scale

These booches were manufactured by the Trifari jewelry company, probably in the 1950's. When I first was collecting costume jewelry I probably wouldn't have selected these pins, because they are so bright and flashy that they in no way pretend to be "real". Now, though, I love them for the totally intense sparkle they give off.

I always find myself wishing the pictures could show you what I see when I look at them. I work to get the colors right, but somehow the real pieces of jewelry are much more stunning then the pictures show. Each pin is very dimensional - the two flowers are mounted over the foliage. Maybe I will take some more photos to document them, but for now I think I will just send off this post.

Click on any image to see it larger - the details sparkle!

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