Vintage jewelry antique show lots of fabulous vintage costume jewelry !

Vintage jewelry antique show lots of fabulous vintage costume jewelry !

Antique show New Oxford Pa antique show where the action was today

Antique show New Oxford Pa antique show where the action was today

The Tradition of Collecting Easter Items

I was very lucky to have been born to a woman who loved holidays to the max. My Mother was a farm wife. Work on a farm in those days was manual labor, a hard but rewarding life.

Every holiday was looked forward to as a big event. She was, a kid at heart, which is a trait of hers that I have thankfully inherited.

We lived in the mountains, below a church. Going to church every Sunday was a very short walk , so, one did not miss church.

But to be honest, my fondest memory of Easter is the way my Mother prepared for it. Yes, we had the huge meal...but, the tradition started with saving the egg shells. Instead of breaking the eggs we had for breakfast every morning, we would make a hole on one end, empty out the contents, then save the egg's shell...laying it on a rack in the summer kitchen to dry out. The week before Easter we would find a nice branch from a tree outside. Put it in a bucket of dirt ( we did not call it soil, we called it plain and simple, dirt ), bring it into the house. Dye the egg shells, string them, and hang them on the egg tree ( the branch found outside ). My Mother also made home made chocolate covered candy eggs. Big ones , trimmed in yummy colorful icing trim that were shaped like spring flowers...each had our name on them...in icing. This would be placed in a huge Easter basket ( the same basket for each of us, used every year )...the Easter basket also had a few penny toys from the 5 & 10. So, naturally, when I grew up, collecting vintage Easter was a must. I have shown a few Easter items from my collection for you to enjoy. Rather you celebrate Easter or not, the items are sure to bring a smile to your face. The images of vintage Easter are truly happy images. After all, Easter heralds Spring...when the flowers come back to life in full bloom and the gray trees with no leaves create the miracle of leaves vivid with color once again. To those of you who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter to you from me...to those of you that celebrate something else at this time of year, my greetings of Happy Spring to you too. The world is huge, we are small, let's all share this planet with the hope it will always renew every year with the lush vivid colors of Spring and the promise that miracles do happen.

Collecting Patriotic Colors for Your Home

I have always enjoyed looking at our American flag. My childhood home is above Fort Ritchie , which was once a camp for our servicemen. My husband is a retired Air Force Recruiter. Naturally, anything patriotic attracts us like a magnet. So, if you enjoy Patriotic items , but really do not know what to do with them, here are some suggestions. I have an old home with a foyer. The foyer is filled with items of Hagerstown ( where we live ), with Patriotic items mixed in. I installed a shelf above the archway to the next room. I placed an American flag on the shelf draping it over 2 old bicycle flag holders to create a swag. I added antique tins, a flag book, and I framed a sign using a piece of a flag for the back round. ( special mention, one should not cut a good flag ). If you live in home that has a stairway at the entrance, lucky you. Place patriotic theme prints along the wall going up the steps. The dowels to the banister is perfect to drape a flag, or to suspend interesting red white and blue items. I have an old showcase filled with old soldiers and other patriotic things. You do not need a show case to create the same affect. Instead of that set of china in your dining cabinet, fill that cabinet with the good ole red white and blue, put your dinnerware in the bottom closed door of the cabinet instead. Color welcomes the visitor, patriotic colors creates a tug at the heart..a proud tug. Put a blue and white gingham table cloth on your dining room table , a basket of flowers in the center and there you have it...a Patriotic collection to enjoy, and add color to your home at the same time. Remember, recycling is actually buying vintage and incorporating it into your home's decor. Buying collectibles is not just for the collector anymore, it is to enjoy using in your home. From me to you, let's wave that good ole Red White & Blue

RC's Treasure Hunts & More: The Well Kept Secret of Old Time Antique Dealers

RC's Treasure Hunts & More: The Well Kept Secret of Old Time Antique Dealers

The Well Kept Secret of Old Time Antique Dealers

Years ago there was an antique dealer that lived in the little town of Funkstown, not far from where I live today. He was considered eccentric , because his little shop was filled with what looked like trash. There was a narrow path to get to the door , and once inside you maneuvered through a maze of piles of stuff to get to the counter. To the locals who were not in the antique business, he was eccentric. To antique dealers around here in that era, he was the one you went to for reference and to talk shop. Although I remember the outside of the shop, I was one of those who just looked at the place as a junk dealer's shop. Many years later when he passed on to the sky above, I realized he was a genius. He was even invited a few times to D.C. to lecture about antiques. By this time I was still green as far as knowledge of the antique business. I attended his estate auction because I heard there was antique paper being offered. And there was...not just paper, but the entire old building was lined with stacks of old catalogues and magazines. Not the kind the general public received. Instead, the kind the retail store would receive, wholesale catalogs. Everyone that was in the business was at that auction. The prices went sky high, it was amazing. I was able to buy a few of those catalogs and still have them today. This is the kind of item where condition does not have merit...at least in those days, because this type item was very important if you were going to be a success in the antique business. Wholesale catalogs that went to the retailers were the " Bible " for the old timers antique business. For instance, A lady comes into your shop looking to add pieces to her silverware...what is the pattern ? Look it up in your catalog....So many times through the years someone will ask me ( and other dealers in this business ), how do you know so much about this stuff ? This would be before the Internet...and , unlike today where all things are revealed, the answer was just a shrug with a smile or wink. And , those reference books that are written these days, chances are they used the old catalogs and magazines for most of the research...that is why old catalogs are being reprinted today. So, through the years I have sold some of my wonderful catalogs, but my favorites are still here in secret niches of the house to enjoy when all alone. Better than reading a book . Shown are a few of my favorite catalogs to give you an idea of what a store truly was like in those days. As the years go by, I will be listing my treasures on Ruby Lane, so, you might want to keep an eye on my shop there. Treasures can be had today..not reprints, but the true actual items of yesterday's world. They say one cannot go back into time, but, to this I say, you can hold the past in your hands, and cherish it

The Obsession of the Toy Collector

They say that a person collects toys  they remember from their childhood.
I can truly understand that statement, however, I believe some people , like me , collect toys that speak to them.
Now, I do not mean pull the string and the toy speaks. No, instead, once in a while you will happen upon a collector who says they only buy the toys that speak to them. You hear this statement sometimes at doll shows.
I can remember the first antique doll I held. My husband ( before we married ) had a doll sitting on top of a cabinet in his apartment. When he told me she was 100 years old, I was shocked. This was in the days before I became an antique dealer / collector and had a different career.
Needless to say, that doll became an obsession with me. I went to the library and read all I could about dolls like her ( this was long before the invention of the Internet ) . And, I can truthfully say, she was the beginning of my treasure hunts.
I was simply amazed that toys like that still existed. I had to know the why, how, and what , about dolls, teddy bears and toys.
 After we married, I become a dealer and collector of many things .
Honestly, one has to be married to either an antique dealer or collector to understand how a house becomes...well, shall we say, a fun place to live.
When one walks into most homes, you see the usual living room couch , TV, perhaps a fireplace etc. Not so with this house.
Cabinets are filled with Teddy Bears and little toys and games. As soon as you enter our home dolls and teddy bears welcome you as the rest of the porcelain and other things I have collected truly do take second place. After all , how can one notice anything else when a Teddy Bear is looking up at you...especially if Teddy has his own doll ! Oh my, that is fun. There's no order in the cabinets...it's as though the toys decide for themselves where they want to be. And a toy is not displayed alone , oh no , never...dolls need things like miniature books and hand fans and mesh purses. Toy Kitty Cats need hiding places to peek out from. And the big cabinets need tiny cabinets to hold tiny things.
Eventually, the toys and dolls in this house will have to be sold. Many have found new homes through the years which is not easy to do. There was a time when everything I selected for this house, was selected in mind as a presentation for our eventual downsizing estate auction ...but, through the years after attending many wonderful estate auctions and having a few wonderful estate auctioneers as friends, I have decided instead, to sell our items one by one through my shop on Ruby Lane.
Although the auctioneers I know are the best around , I will sell our things myself because each item I or we have found through the years has truly become a part of us.
When I walk into a room , sit down and look around, I can't help but smile. Although our house is rather full , it is a kaleidoscope of colors that somehow blend together .
When one is bitten by the urge to collect , it is a joyous memorable trip. Collecting something is a wonderful pass time that can bring not only a smile to your face, but also a good investment.
Some collectors of today's world feel that an item has to be mint in box...that is something that really got out of hand in the 1970's when collecting became so popular. If a box has wonderful graphics and was a box that normally would have been thrown away, yes, that's a valuble box. But , the idea of buying a modern collectible to never hold it, to never remove from the box, is a very sad thing. To me, the box becomes the prison of the toy.
 But, to each his own. For this blog I included a few extra photos of our treasures as they are displayed here in our home. I think when you view the photos, you will have to smile...and that is why collecting this type thing is an obssession..it makes me smile

The Obsession of the Toy Collector

They say that one collects toys that they remember from their childhood. I can truly understand that statement, however, I believe one collects toys that speak to them. Now, I do not mean pull the string and it speaks. No, instead, once in a while you will happen upon a collector who says they only buy the toys that speak to them. You hear this statement sometimes at doll shows. I can remember the first antique doll I held. My husband ( before we married ) had a doll sitting on top of a cabinet in his apartment. When he told me she was 100 years old, I was shocked. This was in the days before I became an antique dealer / collector and had a different career. Needless to day, that doll became an obsession with me. I went to the library and read all I could about dolls like her ( this was long before the invention of the Internet ) . And, I can truthfully say, she was the beginning of my treasure hunts. I was simply amazed that toys like that still existed. I had to know the why, how, and what , about dolls, teddy bears and toys. After we married, I become a dealer and collector of many things . Honestly, one has to be married to either an antique dealer or collector to understand how a house becomes...well, shall we say, a fun place to live. When one walks into most homes, you see the usual living room couch, TV, perhaps a fireplace etc. No so with this house. Cabinets are filled with Teddy Bears and little toys and games. Look to the left, and dolls and teddy bears welcome you as the rest of the porcelain and other things I have collected truly do take second place. After all, how can one notice anything else when a Teddy Bear is looking up at you...especially if Teddy has his own doll ! Oh my, that is fun. There's no order in the cabinets...it's as though the toys decide for themselves where they want to be. And a toy is not displayed alone, oh no, never...dolls need things like miniature books and hand fans and mesh purses. Toy Kitty Cats need hiding places to peek out from. And the big cabinets need tiny cabinets to hold tiny things. Eventually, the toys and dolls in this house will have to be sold. Many have found new homes through the years which is not easy to do. There was a time when everything I selected for this house, was selected in mind as a presentation for our eventual downsizing estate auction ...but, through the years after attending many wonderful estate auctions and having a few wonderful estate auctioneers as friends, I have decided instead, to sell our items one by one through my shop on Ruby Lane. Although the auctioneers I know are the best around , I will sell our things myself because each item I or we have found through the years has truly become a part of us. When I walk into a room , sit down and look around, I can't help but smile. Although our house is rather full, it is a kaleidoscope of colors that somehow blend together . When one is bitten by the urge to collect , it is a joyous memorable trip. Collecting something is a wonderful pass time that can bring not only a smile to your face, but also a good investment. Some collectors of today's world feel that an item has to be mint in box...that is something that really got out of hand in the 1970's when collecting became so popular. If a box has wonderful graphics and was a box that normally would have been thrown away, yes, that's a valuble box. Box, the idea of buying a modern collectible to never hold it, to never remove from the box, is a very sad thing. To me, the box becomes the prison of the toy. But, to each his own. For this blog I included a few extra photos of our treasures as they are displayed here in our home. I think when you view the photos, you will have to smile...and that is why collecting this type thing is an obssession..it makes me smile