Sexy glamour to bewitched Goth tassel jewelry is here to stay

Sexy glamour to bewitched Goth tassel jewelry is here to stay

Sexy glamour to wicked goth tassel jewelry is here to stay

Sexy glamour to wicked goth tassel jewelry is here to stay

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