Some Awesome Finds!

It is nearing the end of the week and before I forget, let me share with you a few of the totally rockin’ awesomeness that I came upon last weekend.  Am I pleased?  Welllll, can I have an AMEN!?

Some of my two favorite finds is this antique French Demijohn bottle and basket, but pardon the dirt for now till I wipe it off for its photo op.

Next to the the basket is a wonderful primitive twine holder.  I am not sure if I will keep this or not, but I do like it. My motto is this:  if I buy something and decide to keep it, I have to trade it out for something I already have.  This little method helps to keep clutter down, but I also have to make money to pay those bills that come in each month.  And am I feeling the sting of our health benefits going up again this year.  They are more than our mortgage payment!  Geesh!

Ok…back to fun stuff.

The Demijohn (the green bottle) is a hand blown bottle that is protected beautifully in the wicker basket.  The details of the basket are gorgeous!

 

The old railroad shipping tag is still intact on the handle.

The bottle is protected with a wicker collar (that slips over the neck) that has lamb’s wool stitched around the edge.  I have never seen one like this before.  After doing some research on the bottle, I believe that it dates from 1833 t0 1870.  It is definitely European, given the details in the bottle.  For more on Demijohns, you can read about them HERE.

The Demijohn has beautiful bubbles in the glass, which is indicative in the fact that it was hand blown.  The emerald green color of the glass is just beautiful.  The bottle would be lovely displayed on its own, HOWEVER, I would be afraid it would get broken in my house with all of the ball tossing that goes on with the dogs.

I love the study handle!  Quite thick and sturdy to carry a bottle filled with wine from the vineyard!  What vineyard you ask?  You know, the one in France!  :)

This handsome piece will be going into the store, but I am still wondering if I should keep the twine.  I set it a few places to see if it will work in the laundry room.

Below, I leaned it on the edge of the shelf…

….and then tried it out on top of the wire corner shelf.  Hmmm…I kind of like it on the long wood shelf better.  What do you think?

Besides, I like my vintage roller skate (from my friend Kathy) with the old trophy and six-inch rulers sitting on top of it.

Decisions, decisions! 

Looks like another lovely day here, so I better boot-scoot along and get my tax papers in order.  My neck has a kink in it from having my head down all day yesterday working on the books.  If only I had a book-keeper!

Till next time, best wishes to y’all!  Hope you have blessings in your day! 

And prayers for those who are having difficult times in your life.  God knows our hearts, our needs, and His plan is His plan.  Just take each day as it comes and understand that there is nothing we can do to change the course that has been set in stone for us.  Make the most of life as it comes and love the ones you’re with. 

Mornin’ Sunshine

  

Hello Sunshine!  What a BEAUTIFUL day here in California.  A few clouds hover in the sky here and there – with a SLIGHT chance for rain today, but that is ok.  It is gorgeousness outside.

Beds are made, coffee is on and magazines are waiting to be read.  I get inspired to go out and junk after reading these Flea Market mags!  And I need to go junkin’ today so I can fill the spaces in the three stores.

Yup, you read that right.

Three.

One.

Two.

Three.

Call me crazy.  I just need to have “The Moves Like Jagger” to get my swag going.  HA!  I sell small things, so there is much scouting that needs to be done.

Don my gear….off I go!  Just pop in my Maroon Five and head to my shopping destination.  Hope it is a good picking day!

 

Hope you have a beautiful and inspiring weekend!

Till next time…..

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

I am working on my blog roll for my sidebar.  As accidents do happen, I hit the REMOVE key instead of the SAVE.  Pays to wear my glasses!  So for those of you, Miss Sue. H., who like to blog hop from my blog roll, I am slowly but surely working on it.

Till next time,

Let’s Talk About….

you and me, baby!  Well, it IS the eve to the most romantic day of the year after all!  But before I get into all of that, there has been a bit of commotion going on at SCD’s.  Some talk about spending a lot of time with Mr. Janome.  I don’t know what that is all about, but the lady of the house has been yanking out all of her vintage sheets to make lavender filled heart sachets.  Yes, they make for quite a place to relax on, and the lavender is making me a bit sleepy, too.

I have to admit, the vintage sheet fabrics do have the sweetest floral prints on them.  They are super soft to touch, too.  They’ve been soaked in Oxy Clean to remove the yellowing, washed and rinsed with Downey fabric softener.  Ok, now don’t be telling any of the other gnomes that I am in touch with my softer side….I would not hear the end of it.  Before I take a little snooze-ola, here are the hearts that have been laying around the house lately.

All stacked up….makes me think of the story, “The Princess and The Pea.”

Shades of pinks and blues….

…and hints of orange and yellow…all on a crisp white background.  Summertime fresh!

Little vintage buttons and a piece of trim tied in a bow finish the hearts off.  I hear they were fun to make, too.  Just give them a little squeeze and oooo la, la….the lavender smells so good!

 

Well, I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and all of the clan here at Sweet Cottage Dreams send their love and best wishes!

And that includes me, too.  Guess the lazy fella didn’t know that I was within ear shot.  What are the other gnomes going to think about all the fuss over those hearts?  Guess I will show him a little love today and keep it to myself.  But man, my belly hurts from laughing so hard!

Till next time…..

Sweet Hearts

 

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I decided to dig into my stash o’ cotton Spreckels Sugar sacks that my sweet friend, Julia Terpstra, gave to me last November.  She found them at an estate sale and the woman’s mother used to work at the sugar plant in Manteca, California.  So I think that the hearts can be called “sweet hearts” after all.

The fabric on the old sacks are worn, wrinkled and super soft. Most of the graphics are missing, but the fabric is awesome!  Nothing like an aged patina on fabric. 

So here is my stack…well, part of it at least.  As you can ascertain, I have a lot of fabric to use.  For now, I made up three hearts and put them into Magpie.  They sold right away, so I suppose my sewing machine will remain on the kitchen table.  (I really need my own sewing room!)  All of my burlap pillows are gone as well so this week will be spent sewing and getting my paperwork ready for the “tax man.”

Yummy stash awaits me for more projects!

 

For the hearts, I used scrabble tiles, old keys, bits from a cloth measuring tape, some crochet trim and scraps of fabric.  A twine loop allows for the heart to be displayed from a hook.  These are stuffed with poly-fill, however some fresh dried lavender would be nice, too.

I added some vintage keys that I bought from my friend, Bette, who sells next to me at Magpie. 

Meet “Yale” (he’s bashful)….

 

….“Art”…

…and Sargent. 

Till next time, love and kiss those you love!

Welcome To Magpie Antiques and All Things Inspiring

   Before I begin to tell you about a WONDERFUL new antique store that just opened its doors on February 3rd, let me begin this post by thanking everyone who has been checking up on me to see if I was ok.  Guess since I haven’t posted since December 9th, it may have appeared that something was amiss.  Yea, some recent events in our life have been difficult for our family, but God hears our prayers and provides – and my hubby got a new job!

Behind the scenes here at SCD’s has been a bit of flurry the past few months with this-that-and-the-other going on, and being my own boss has its rewards, but one of my least favorite things is to have to ask for help to do the heavy parts of the business.  I’ve been in transition from one store to another and my days have been filled with all of the nuances of maintaining spaces at the shops and then setting up at a totally new space to sell my vintage findings and handmade items. 

But enough of all that, let me share with you about Magpie Antiques!  And yes, I have a space there!  (Hence no Becky on the bloggy!)  I feel so blessed to have been invited and am loving the whole experience as well. (Thank you, Janet!!)

My friend and fellow antique dealer, Janet Dyk, has been dreaming of opening her own antique store for quite some time.  Janet is quite involved in many things in her community and has been an antique collector for 8 years and has been selling antiques at Antique Avenue in Manteca, California for 3 years.  You can read more about Janet by clicking HERE.  (And yes, that is my mug in the picture.)

Janet has been hard at work for over six months in search for the perfect spot to open her store.  Once she found the place to call Magpie home, she then invited 13 of us to be a part of the Magpie family.  Each of us have our own style for our individual corners in the store, however our wares melds together beautifully with a wonderful mix of vintage jewelry, up cycled furniture and lighting fixtures, linens, kitchenalia, old books, burlap pillows and pennants, antique furniture, handmade repurposed jewelry, seasonal scarves, cottage style furniture, primitives, antique toys and holiday collectibles, farmhouse style pieces, galvanized pieces, metal baskets, wood crates, old laces, buttons, trims, and garden adornments (just to name a few!)   Janet’s daughter-in-law, Megan Dyk, is the owner of Farmington Flowers and will provide fresh flowers for purchase in the store every day.  Valentine bouquets are available for purchase right now.  Megan also does vintage weddings as well.  For more information on Megan, you can go to her Facebook page HERE.

So come along for a little virtual tour of

Magpie Antiques and All Things Inspiring. 

If you would like to experience the store in person, here is the information:

Magpie Antiques and All Things Inspiring

140 S. Walnut

Suite D

Ripon, California

(209) 599-4545

shop hours:

Monday – Saturday 10 AM – 5:30 PM

If you are coming from Highway 99 (north or south), you can take the Ripon “MAIN Street” exit and go west towards town.  Magpie is located on the corner of First and Walnut.  If you stop by, let us know if you read about us on my blog. 

                  
       

If you are making a day of antiquing, there are several other antique stores within close proximity to Magpie. 

They are:

The Antique Warehouse (five minutes away – go south on Hwy 99 from Ripon)

5351 Pirrone Road (take the Hammett Road Exit off HWY 99)

Salida, California

(209) 545-9460

hours:  Monday-Sunday 11 AM – 6 PM

****

Antique Avenue

Manteca, California

(209) 239-7879

They have recently moved, so be sure to call for their new address and store hours.

*****

To whet your appetite, Main Street Ripon, which is just around the corner from Magpie, has a nice variety of restaurants within walking distance – from Pizza, BBQ, Mexican food and a few coffee houses.  For the very best chocolate croissants, visit Burgess Bakery!  They are the best I have ever had!!  There are also some other wonderful places to shop along Main Street as well.  How about just making a day of shopping and eating?  Sounds good to me and hope to see you at Magpie sometime!  (I still have my space at The Antique Warehouse, so between the two stores, our paths may cross at some point).

Thanks again to all of you who have sent me wellness check emails!  I love you all and do miss my blogging friends.  When things settle down and I stop whirling around like the Tasmanian Devil or a Dervish, then I can get back on the blogging track.  Till then….hugs, love and best wishes from me to you!