Seven smalls I saw at Sage

Posted: October 12, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Craft, Fun Finds, Sage Farm, Vintage pottery | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

Part of the fun of going to Sage Farm is seeing how the best dealers merchandise their stuff. I always try to look at that. It’s a free education if you pay attention!

But a few smalls always catch my eye, too. Here are six of them from last weekend’s Sage Farm show. IMG_7033 First, a McCoy iris vase displayed with other pottery. I don’t care that it’s McCoy, I just love the flutey shape, and the yellow. Because yellow is a happy color. (A vase identical to the green one behind the yellow McCoy is sitting on my mantel right now!)   IMG_7072An almost-rusty steel window screen displays vintage postcards. Wouldn’t this be great in your kitchen for recipes and notes? Too bad rust isn’t my thing. Now if I found a white enameled steel version . . .

See the other goodies I found!

Make way for noisy ducklings!

Posted: April 22, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Decor, Fun Finds, Holidays, Lurayville | Tags: , , , , , | 3 Comments

 

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The Easter chicks have landed!

The fireplace mantel in our family room is never bare. It’s long, it’s plain old white, it’s just begging to be dressed up with a collection of something.

For Easter season, some of my pottery bird planters (plus a stray bunny friend) have come to visit. They’re all in cheerful Lu-Ray colors.

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Boring white mantel! The starry quilt (made by my mom!) and the silvery-framed mirror are always there. Everything else changes with the season.

On one side, a big bluebird, a tiny chick, a green duckling, and that party-crashing rabbit.

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On the other side, more noisy ducklings and an exuberant yellow songbird!

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None of the critters are marked, except for the fat bluebird—he’s stamped “USA.”

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You can see traces of cold paint on the beak. I like them better without the paint, though.

Some of them might be McCoy, or Shawnee, or some other American pottery. I don’t really care. I collect them for their charming shapes, not for their brand names.

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More cold paint! The upside-down blue pot with butterflies is probably McCoy.

What I really love about this vintage pottery is their soft glazes. The way that the clay of the high-relief bits shows through the translucent glazes is so pretty.

Isn’t it funny that something so small can make me so happy?

 

Placesettings: our Easter table

Posted: April 21, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Holidays, Lurayville, Placesettings | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

Uh oh, looks like somebody already ate all the jelly beans that were piled high in this Fanny Farmer candy cup!

Easter Day was sunny and 50 degrees here. Crocuses, snowdrops, and a few early daffodils are blooming. The buds on the magnolia trees are just beginning to open. Lawns are starting to green up.

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We’re so hungry for the sight of more blooming things that this floral tablecloth was the perfect choice. It’s not old—the label on it says “Waterford”—but that oversized print (lilacs! lilies! peonies! er, daisies? and, uh, some other flowers I’m too lousy a gardener to recognize)  has a vintage vibe. There are napkins to match, too.

Yep, there’s more!