A Sign From The Past

I really like these old signs from the 1970's.
I have a couple of others that I have shown in past posts.
I found this one at a thrift store a couple of weeks ago:

Though the original label is not present on the back, I know that it was made by George Nathan, and it dates to 1973.
"Love Is The Tie That Blinds".
Any time I stumble across one of these, I will not leave it behind!

What's Penny Wearing? #141 Summery Dresses To "Keep Her Cool"

Penny is actually pretty cool already, but today she has some great dresses to help her stay that way in this summer heat.
We'll start with this flirty one in a floral rayon print:

 Short and sweet with mother-of-pearl buttons down the front...

 And ties in the back:

 Next, another bright, flower-strewn fabric:

 This one in a comfortable combination of cotton and spandex:

The third one is rayon again, long and cool in a blue and green animal print:

All three are perfect for a summer day or evening.

And all three were thrift store finds.
Thanks for showing them off today, Penny!

More Crewel: A Few Recent Finds

Just wanted to share my latest crewelwork finds with you today.
This first set of three vintage framed pictures were found at one of my favorite thrift stores:

I went into the shop on half-price day, and one of the owners said to me,
"Oh, Heidi - we just put something out yesterday that made us think of you."
And then she pointed out this set.
 Now, I ask you: how nice is that ?
They knew I might like them, based on the kinds of things I buy, and they were definitely right!
And they were half price!
I know they are from 1974, because they are signed and dated on the back:

More recently, I found this cute pair:

This is absolutely the prettiest vintage burlap bag of this type that I have ever seen - this one was an estate sale find:

 And I found a pretty floral pillow, too:

All colorful, all fueling the fire for my love of vintage crewelwork embroidery!

The Ultimate Root Beer Float

My stepson was telling me about the best root beer he had found at the supermarket one day.
 He couldn't recall the name of it at the time.
But the next time he came by, he brought me a bottle to try.
It was Henry Weinhard's Root Beer )"Gourmet Soda, Draught Style Head").
 I remember Henry Weinhard's advertisements from way back, on TV and in print, I suppose?
1970's, maybe?
 Anyhow, I definitely recognized the name.

He had also told me that this root beer made the best floats you could ever hope to have.
You don't have to tell me twice!
I wanted to try it.

He's right; it was FANTASTIC.
 Creamy, rich, delicious, refreshing.

I used Dreyer's (Edy's) Slow Churned Vanilla Bean ice cream, and I must say that seemed to be the perfect choice.

As it happened, I had just found these two great vintage soda glasses with stands the day before at a thrift store.

Perfect for a nice root beer float, or any type of ice cream soda you might choose to have.
In fact, I might try some other kind and share it with you, too.
But that Ultimate Root Beer Float will be hard to beat!

The Latest Of The "Frame-Ups"

I'm back today with a few more of my latest framing projects.
I love this first one:

Eve in the Garden Of Eden; this is a color copy of an illustration from an issue of the National Food Magazine from around 1911.

I found a small yellow frame that worked perfectly for that one!
In the next photo, below, you see an old cottage print that was in a kind-of-funky frame at a thrift store.
The hanger on the back was oddly glued on with some weird glob of stuff and I just plain didn't like the looks of it.
So I put it into a different frame (sorry about the glare!).....

And, when I took it out of the funky frame, I found part of an old 1931 movie poster or lobby card (photo below) had been used as a backing. "Rebound", starring Ina Claire - who I am not at all familiar with - and costarring Myrna Loy, who I certainly AM familiar with!
"How much should a wife put up with - from her husband?"
(Gee, I wonder what that was all about ?)
There was writing on the back that says "Madeline Christmas 1933" which I believe must have been when it was first inserted into it's original frame (NOT the one I found it in - that was newer).

Even though it's incomplete, I think it's pretty cool.
I LOVE it when I find "extras" like that! (More about that at the end of my post).
I also really love how these next two turned out!
I waited a long time to find a matching pair of frames that would work for these two beauties:

From an old Blue Chip Stamp Catalog, these carousel horses were on the front and back covers:

So colorful and unusual!

Last of all, a tale of another find:
 I got a very nice vintage frame at the ReStore for one dollar - it was  an unusual size that I needed, and that proves difficult to find.
 Framed inside was an old print of a photo of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt - which I definitely did not discard, by the way - but I was planning to remove it, nonetheless.
So, when I took it apart to remove everything inside in order to use the frame for something else, look what I found inside  - behind FDR:

 An adorable vintage print (in excellent condition) of a baby in a highchair, spilled milk - and a cat who isn't the least bit concerned about the situation.
Too cute!

Another pleasant surprise, discovered within an old frame, and left there by someone else many years ago - just for me to find.

A Lucky Find

I found this huge and wonderful tome at an estate sale on the last day when everything was half price:

The Original Water-Color Paintings by John James Audubon
For The Birds Of America.
And, all I can say is WOW!
 It's HUGE.

I've admired these big, beautiful books for many years.
It includes 431 of the original watercolor paintings.

I was delighted to bring it home after paying a very reasonable price.
Let's suffice it to say that this book is not something you find every day at the thrift stores!

 I'm actually surprised that someone else had not already grabbed it when it was full price.
Oh, it has my Cedar Waxwings inside!

 The Red-Winged Blackbird:

 I used to see those when I was out delivering mail on the rural routes.
Every single time I spot one, it brings a smile to my face.
There's just something about the flash of red, you know?
This is such a nice book to have in our collection.
A lucky find, indeed.

What's Penny Wearing? # 140 A Lovely Vintage Print

Today Penny is wearing something in a truly pretty vintage print.
Wearing "something", you say?
Isn't it a dress?

Well, yes - and no.

Huh?

When is a dress not really a dress?

When it's an unfinished dress.

Better yet - a VINTAGE, unfinished dress.

See the basting stitches on the pocket detail in the picture above?

And Penny has a secret - it's actually pinned onto her.
Nothing is finished.
 Neckline, hem, pockets, armholes; it also needs a zipper along one side.
But isn't it pretty, though?
I thought it was a fabric remnant when I first spotted it, because it was a wrinkled mess and thrown on a shelf with other folded fabrics.
But no, it's a vintage unfinished dress, and I mean 1940's or 1950's.
I even found another garment with the original old pattern envelope where the pattern pieces had been pinned to the fabric and cut out - it was an oldie, too.
Too bad it's not finished, and it's too bad it's too small for me - because I REALLY like the fabric!

Found: Gorgeous Vintage Glass

I've gotten lucky in the last month or so, and I have found some lovely vintage glassware while out shopping.
We'll start with this big, gorgeous vintage glass canister (probably Takahashi) - here is the first photo I took:

Well, that won't do!
You need to see it in all it's glory - with the sun shining on it:

It's a beauty, let me tell you!
Next, I found one of my favorite green depression glass jars (or shakers). It's the one on the right, below.
It does not have a shaker top (no holes):

I showed you the "Flour" one after I found it two years ago (in this post) - two years almost to the day!
 I don't have any of those reproduction labels left, but that's okay.
 I was very happy to find it at a reasonable price!
I also found another big canister - the green beauty, below - this one was at the flea market:

And last of all, I found the vintage amber glass bottle here:

It would originally have come with an all-glass stopper, but I happened to have the one you see here already at home, and it works just fine for me!

The above photo is a shot of some of my other amber glassware in a window sill.
 The short amber glass canister, third item from the left in the picture, was also a recent addition.
Beautiful vintage glassware is another weakness of mine, I must admit!

It's "Time" For Vintage Clocks Again

I've written before about these cool vintage alarm clocks.
This is mine that I have had for more than 45 years.

And a few years ago, I purchased this one with it's original box on eBay:

It's in great condition, and even has the instructions:

Look what I found! This coupon was in an old issue of Life Magazine that I got at an estate sale:

As you can see, it's kind of a cross between the two I have!
It has the alarm bells on the top, but the larger numbers:

I know that I had my clock prior to 1971, but maybe only a year or two, and apparently there were many different models made.
I felt like checking some of them out, so I found some images of others to share with you.

Here's one like mine!
(Wonder if it works? Mine doesn't.)

Most of them that I've ever seen were made by "Linden Black Forest" in West Germany.
A cute black and white "number" with dice:

Pink and blue - love it:

And yellow and blue - love it more!

Red, white and blue - how fabulous is THIS one??

And I discovered something I did NOT know - that another company made them, too - "Sheffield".
Yes, the orange and yellow one below may be my favorite of the photos I found:

Yes, but don't forget: it all began with this little cutie that used to wake me up in the morning, all those years ago:

And I'll hold onto it always.
(One of these days I will get around to putting together images of them I've found in room settings in my vintage Seventeen magazines and others. Not anytime soon....)