Trolls Under the Bridge

13 collectible Russ troll dolls from the 1980s. 

When I was growing up, these troll dolls were everywhere.  And again, everything that goes around comes around and I see kids with troll dolls. In fairy tales, trolls were not especially nice creatures. Okay, in fact, they were fairy tale hoodlums.

In looking at these, I decided that I was not especially fond of these little creeps and am letting them go to a new forever home with someone who truly adores them. Interested?  They are for sale and I'll be happy to ship.  For me, they are trolls under the bridge.

The Holiday Countdown

It's official. The countdown to the holidays has started. Some of my favorite craft supply stores already have trees, ornaments and other decorations out. 

Look at these adorable vintage enamel canisters I picked up at an estate sale for a song.

As if those aren't adorable enough, these vintage Russian doll nesting Santas will bring holiday cheer.  I love decorating for the holidays.  

One of my favorite parts is hanging up my vintage ornaments.  My mom used to buy a new ornament each year--one for each of us kids--when we moved away from home, we all had enough to start our own tree.  Finding vintage holiday goodies is worth the wait for the perfect piece if you truly love the holidays.  Now is not too late to start...and not too soon either since the holidays are just around the corner.  

This is a Santa ornament my mom got for me
as a kid back in the late 1960s.

Miscellany

Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for what collectibles catch my eye. I love old fashioned jewelry boxes with the satin interiors. I adore slightly rusty old tins. Old pottery jugs are interesting when you consider who made them, how they were made or for what use they were made.

So long as your items interest you or bring you happiness to look at them, it doesn't matter what you choose to collect.

Go with a Theme

When I create a vintage vignette, I sometime will coordinate items with a similar feel to create a theme.  In this small collection I've used the lacquer cork crane and bonsai sculpture combined with the set of two small brass swans to give this combo an exotic yet serene feel.

Vignette sampler

I love to combine vintage items into attractive combinations.  It is the styling of a vignette that makes it interesting and memorable.

Here is a combination of goodies on top of a dresser...three ceramic pomanders, a variety of teacups with saucers, a porcelain letter opener,  and vases. Altogether it makes a collection with a variety of  remarkable finds.

A Tisket, a Tasket

Sometimes all a house needs to make it a home is a finishing touch.  A rustic apple basket can be just the look.  Placed on a shelf or next to a recliner, filled with flowers, pine cones or vintage linens or magazines, a basket says this is home.

With a rustic basket stains are part of the charm.

Make a Collection

My advice when seeking vintage yumminess is not to just seek items that are worth money but to select items you love.  Whether it is based on a specific color or a type of object, finding items that make your heart sing is really what collecting should be about.  Make a collection that is fun to search for and joy when viewing it.

A collection centered around two red objects.  The silver and brass
tones harmonize this collection.

Classic Attache Case

My father had a leather, accordion briefcase just like this. His was a bit more beat up from years of use. I think he stopped using it around the mid 80s when my mom got him a modern briefcase. For my money, I still love this one.  It makes me think of Indiana Jones for one thing...and that can't be all bad.  It's also astoundingly roomy. And did I mention well made?  This is quality and in amazing condition for it's age.

Vintsge leather accordion briefcase

Have a Formal Meal

One of my favorite experiences growing up was the formal mealtimes we shared for birthdays, holidays and general special occasions.  The good china, silver, and linens went on display as a general rule of celebrations.  We ate plenty of good food cooked with live by my mom and spent hours at the dining room table telling stories and enjoying laughter together.

A good set of China is the signal for me that good times are ahead.  I'm now of the opinion that we should find more reasons to bring out the good China and savor every meal as if it was a party.

Mikasa Remembrance Fine China

Vintage angel

My mom made this sweet burlap angel Christmas ornament for me in the mid 60s.  I've kept it 50 years. It now has a place of honor in my home. Each time I see it I am reminded of my mom.  And that's the perfect reason to keep it close.

Popular in Gold

The 1950s through 1980s saw a huge trend in decorating with gold colored accents. One type of accent that I saw a lot of was Syroco molded plastic decorations--candle sconces, wall hangings in the shape of keys and trees, wall planters...

These lightweight, durable items can still be found. Some people are up cycling them by spray painting them.  That's better than having them land in a trash heap.  For myself I cannot bring myself to spray paint them. Once done it cannot be undone and a mid-century treasure is lost forever.

Give It a Man's Touch

A vintage photo lens in the original box, a brass maple leaf coin tray, an antique leather baby shoe, a pack of vintage playing cards in a "book" binding, and a brass golf desk pen all together make a masculine vintage vignette suitable for any bachelor pad or for any man cave.  It all comes together when you find just the right items to place together.  

Vignettes with a masculine feel

Romantic Notions

I am a girly girl.  I love lotions and potions, lipstick and perfume.  I think the idea of a vanity filled with vintage perfume bottles and a vanity mirror tray is very romantic  The interesting shapes of the miniature perfume bottles make me think about movies with Audrey or Katherine Hepburn, full body swim suits and swim caps, powder puffs and rhinestone brooches.  *sigh*  Sheer Bliss.

A collection of vintage perfume bottles on a vintage vanity mirror tray.

Give Luggage a New Life

Although I might have a hard time doing this to a vintage suitcase, I DO love the upcycled decoration on this 1950s era Samsonite suitcase.  I suppose if the exterior had too many scratches or damage it would be a lot easier to commit to doing this to luggage.  How adorable would this look as vintage decor in a home or studio?

Upcycled vintage suitcase will liven up any decor.

Judge an Event by its Signage

I went to the Fancy Flea Market in Plant City a couple of months back.  At the entry to the fair, this was the signage and decor that greeted visitors.

For me, it was a sure sign, (sorry, pun intended) that the market was going to be full of charming delights and home wares that would cause me to Squeeee in glee as I flitted from booth to booth.  And I was completely right.  I'm looking forward to attending their next market November 6th and 7th.

Happy Trails

I soooo love this adorable vintage upcycled RV that now serves as a flea market shop.  I love the pink flamingos and the sweet floral curtains.  It would be amazing to find a retro RV that I could renovate and take to our local flea market every week.  Hmmmm, keeping my ears and eyes open for the deal of a lifetime so I can take Collector's Emporium on the road.

Vintage camper turned vintage store.

Adorable Rustic Planters

Are you getting ready to get rid of a mattress soon or happen to see one at the curb on trash pick-up day? If so, cut open the mattress and pull out the spings.  Let them sit out in the rain for a few rainstorms, secure them to a wooden board, place your favorite flowering plants in pots and Wah-lah, instant rustic garden planters.

Rustic garden planters.

For All Your Little Vintage Treasures

I love to make and wear jewelry. I also love to collect rhinestone brooches.  We all have our little vintage treasures.  It feels great to find a well-kept vintage treasure box, also called a jewelry box, in which to store those vintage rhinestone beauties.  

Here is a charming little Farrington original jewelry box with red velvet and satin lining on the inside and tiny red roses all over the outside.  Alas, I do not have the key to lock and unlock this sweet thing, but that certainly does not detract from all her charms.  It will travel with me when we take out the RV--after all, a girl's gotta have a place to keep her shiny stuff even when she's camping.

It is in incredible condition!  And the best part?  I paid $2 for it at a garage sale.  SCORE!

Farrington original Mid-Century jewelry box.

Love the tiny red roses all over this Farrington jewelry box.

There is Always Time for a Tea Party

Recently I decided to have a tea party for my friends.  We used china cups and teapots.  We had tiny little cucumber finger sandwiches, cream cheese finger sandwiches, home-made scones, a little crudite platter, cookies and cake.  Oh, did I mention real cream?  Have you ever had home-made scones with cream? All I can say is YUM.

The best part (after the yummy goodies) was getting to use fine bone china tea cups and vintage linens! We live in fast times full of technology and speed of light activities.  I recommend taking some time to brew a fresh cup of tea.  And use the good china.

Sutherland Fine Bone China Mid Century tea cup and saucer with gold rim and roses. 

They Just Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To...

At the risk of sounding like my father, "They just don't make 'em like they used to."  He was a man who had the same wrist watch for his entire adult life--although he had to get a new band about every 10 years, the watch itself was the only one he owned. 

This well-made quality, I believe that this is one reason why vintage and antique items are so popular. There is a whole political discussion behind the "whys" of our not having quality anymore, from which I will refrain from delving into.  Vintage items have survived the test of time. And it seems like items we have now are made not to last but to be replaced.  I mean, how many $1 spatulas do we really need on this planet?  

I still have and use the cooking utensils that my mom and dad got when they first set up housekeeping.  I also have their full set of copper-bottom Revere ware pots and pans.  These fabulous kitchen wares are 56 years old and work wonderfully still!

I just adored these red handled utensils I saw in New Smyrna Beach the other day, especially the ice cream scoop, which I'm thinking I will scoop up to put in our vintage RV.   I also love the other scoop which makes me think of the scoops that used to be in the barrel of candy at the Hickory Farms store that was in the mall when I was a kid.  Happy memories and now my mouth is watering for horehound. 

Bake lite handled ice cream scoop, and other vintage kitchen
utensils at the Coronado Antique Mall in New Smyrna Beach, Vendor #11.

Feeling Good About Nostalgia

I admit that I can be sentimental. And the older I get, the more I find that I miss "the good old days." It's not that I don't appreciate all the technological advances of our modern society because I do and I use many every single day. It's just that I miss simple times. 

There is something about vintage items, especially if they are from my own childhood/young adulthood that brings me a bittersweet joy from the nostalgia.  Take these souvenir cups I saw at the  Antiques Mall the other day...though I did not collect these as a child, I saw them many times as our family trekked across the country on our educational vacations (nope, Disneyland was not included in our vacation list, but I have seen just about every single Native American historical site, every graveyard of significance in the USA and every botanical garden in several countries). 

Back to these souvenir cups...just seeing them brought a flood of memories back to me of various vacations; a trip to the Grand Canyon, a very spiritually moving experience at Canyon de Chelly, memories of my mom as she enjoyed the blooms at The International Peace Garden.  I believe that it is the nostalgia and the enjoyment of easier times that now draws me to try to fill my home, office and RV with vintage goodies.  

The long and short of it is that vintage goods just make me feel good and, though this sounds sappy and a bit odd, they make me happy--even the stuff I wouldn't own in a million years.  

Souvenir china miniatures