Friday, October 30, 2009

Pink Saturday - Perfectly Pink

The following items are from my recent vintage finds... most are listed already on the website but some haven't made it yet.

They all have one thing in common: they share my favorite shade of pink. The cotton candy light pink, the perfect of all pinks in my pinky opinion, of course.

This dispenser is a great "go along" for the LuRay Pastels dinnerware I collect. Caught my eye, had to have it. If it doesn't sell, I get to keep it. See how this works out?

The pretty pale pink rose ....perfect!


This antique Jack Rose perfume set is amazing. The pink bath crystals are still a .... can you guess.... a PERFECT PINK!


A ruffled, foofy, girly girl doily. Trimmed in a pink, too! And I not only found one, but two! Double pink bonus.


(Thank you, these have SOLD)
Now I know these are not real... but they make me hungry just the same. I think pink icing is a perfect idea!

For more celebrations of the perfect pinks (whatever shade it may be) pop on over to Beverly's blog at How Sweet the Sound.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Latest Listings: French Books, Mother of Pearl Caligraphy Pen, Roses on Porcelain, Vintage Collar Pin, Christmas Hankies, Ephemera for Christmas

Here are just a few of my latest finds... I had a ball the other day pouring over things at an antique mall near our area.

See what I couldn't leave without:


Rhinestone horsehoe pin.... for a little vintage good luck!


French play book...


Pretty in pink ruffled doily...

(Thank you, this has SOLD)
Gorgeous Mother of Pearl writing pen from the late 1800's... with the red velvet case!

(Thank you, these have SOLD!)

I love the stripes in the Christmas postcard...


A little romance for your vanity...



Pinky dispenser for that retro vintage kitchen.... goes great with my LuRay dinnerware!

(Thank you, these have SOLD)
A little pair of shabby cupcake salt and pepper shakers. They look yummy to me!


French dictionary for when you just NEED TO KNOW...







(Thank you, this has SOLD)

Sassy collar pin....


(Thank you, this has SOLD)

Catherine Klein roses postcard...post marked 1908.


Little cute Christmas hanky...



Sweet small (child size?) cup and saucer set...

All in my just listed category on the website here.



Monday, October 26, 2009

Oh! Bella!

Sunday was a gorgeous day... perfect weather and the leaves on the trees were at their peak of color.

I took a few hours of "me" time and went antiquing for my shop.

There were quite a few little goodies I found but this one made me smile:


Is that what I think it says on there?

It is just the sweetest old mug and I thought it perfectly BELLA!


I wonder who made or painted it ...and who was Bella? What are the chances of me finding this one for my store...Bella Rosa Antiques. Wow! Neat.

It is also one of those....do I sell it ....do I keep it?


I'll be back after mulling that one over! There are more things to show you from my antiquing afternoon.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Pink Saturday - What the heck are these....

Last weekend I cleaned out my closet. It was time to change out my wardrobe from summer to winter.

I reached up to a shelf where I keep my handbags....and lo and behold...

I pulled down this container.... of PINK TENNIS BALLS! Whaaaaaaaaaaa!

How fun for me to discover I had purchased these a long time ago on a whim. . . and now can show them on Pink Saturday. What a giggle I had out of it!

So then it was only appropriate for me to buy these pink swoosh Nike sneakers the next day.

Really...I went with my Dear Hubby to look for new shoes and we were in the Nike store. He was wondering why I wasn't looking for pink sneakers. I told him they didn't have a pretty pink in the women's section.... just the girls. As I'm showing him this I realize maybe they come in my size! And you know what .... I discovered a girls youth Nike can be dropped a size and a half to the right fit!

And about a size and a half lower in price, too!

So, these came home with me.

Happy pinks today, my pinky friends.

Now go hop on over to Beverly's blog, for more fabulous pinks!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Behind The Scenes of an Antique Shop

The antique business may come across as so glitz and glam (ha!) with all of the hob nobbing we do with estate sale people and such...


The fancy furs we wear...





The bling of the vintage jewelry...



The elegant handbags ...

But here's a behind the scenes look at what I'm doing to get things ready for "photo shoots."



My latest vintage china mugs and cups are in the "soaking process" before washing. Just to get the top coat of dust or dirt from years of storage. Sometimes adhesive from a price tag is left behind. And it all takes time.



Linens are also time consuming. They need to be washed and then ironed.


And did I mention I do not like ironing?





But when you find little sweeties like these vintage Christmas hankies... you can't help but take good care of them. There may be items that need repair... vintage toys sometimes get a trip to the "hospital" before making it to our antique booth.


Most of the time vintage items we buy are best kept in their current agey look... the old genuine patina on something shouldn't be removed in many cases... as in furniture or vintage papers.... and old skeleton keys.

(These have SOLD)


It is really up to the dealer how to present the antiques for sale.



Part of the fun for me is setting up scenes for picture taking before items are loaded onto the Bella Rosa website. It is really not a whole lot different than what I used to do as a TV producer. This time however it is still pictures I am working with, not video.



And glamorous or not, it's what goes on, "behind the scenes."





Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Jillian Goes to a Country Auction

Today we had gorgeous weather .... great day to head to a country auction nearby.







Looking for "new" goodies to add to my shop.



When I walked in the tables were filled and all set to go.






I did spot a few items I wouldn't mind bringing home...




This pretty roses urn...






Oui Oui! I wouldn't mind having this French perfume bottle...






Amazing looking Staffordshire (style?) dogs..




A beautiful beaded collar...



But then I ran into Mr. Stinky here. What. Is. This. I had to laugh. He was making quite a specatcle each time a potential bidder would walk in and check out the prospects. Just wondering if stuffed skunks have become the new collectible!




I actually never stayed long enough to find out how much he went for.






The auction was starting much later than anticpated and I didn't have a whole lot of time as I had a babysitter to watch Dear Bebe. With what time I had left I scoured table after table and brought home a few goodies.



I'll be sharing them on here after I take photos of them tomorrow.



An interesting and fun day ... there's a saying I think for this:




Country auctions are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get!



Saturday, October 17, 2009

A Little Bit Old, A Little Bit New ~ Latest Finds: Glitter Houses, Fur Wraps, Crystal Chokers, Vintage Ornaments, Paperie


I am excited about my new listings this week... some of my favorite categories of antiques. Jewelry, Christmas, and Fashion! This three strand pink crystal necklace is still available...I really can't believe it hasn't sold yet. I'm starting to think it is going to be worn this holiday season by me if no one snags it. (And yes, that is a Victoria's Secret mannequin in case you are wondering. That's a story for another post...how I obtained four of them!)

I found another Alice in Wonderland book ...

this one also has the illustrations by John Tenniel.





A bejeweled lipstick holder. Ahhhhh! I love these.

Totally girly.




(Thank you, this has SOLD)

There's going to be some happy ladies out there! I found more glitter houses! I'll be sending out an email to let you know when they're listed. If you would like to join my email list... Click here.



I have two of the blues...

(Thank you, this has SOLD)

This one is a cutie!



Keys, keys and more keys!







I've seen several of the websites selling old bottles with these type of keys and vintage labels. I'd love to have the time to make these items to sell... but with a one year old...I'm just going to have to be the crafty supplier, not the crafter.




(Thank you, these have SOLD)

I was running low on my vintage greeting card inventory so I made sure to buy more! This is just the baby cards selectioin... they were too cute not to show!





This is a neat fur wrap. The buttons on it are very cool. Big black round buttons with an art deco shape on them. Not sure what kind of fur this is...but it is super silky. I'm also listing a longer wrap...you can see a smidgen of it in the next photo.





Here is the little bit old...little bit new. This green crystal choker necklace is amazing! Beautiful color and perfect length... I took a new photo of it to show it off a little better. It has already been listed in the jewelry category. I'm just giving it a new look here. It is an old vintage piece.


I think it would be lovely for the holidays ... ooooh that green! Perfect!





Isn't this sweet? A small vintage print in a glass frame. Hanger on the back.





A little culture for you... poetry by Robert Browning. Old old book! I enjoy setting up books in my living room in little piles or vignettes with other things like... spectacles!

Pretty vintage glass Christmas ornaments...


Pretty "what not" dish with roses and green border. Great for that pair of earrings you just took off. I use them in my bathroom for laying out my compacts. I'll have to do a post sometime showing my vintage dishes as makeup containers.


And this white cardigan has never been worn...the tag is still attached,

dangling on the inside.



(Thank you, this has SOLD)



I switched out the crystal necklace and replaced it with this vintage sweater clip. The clip has also already been listed on the website... just thought it needed a better photo.

Still charming!



And for the whimsical side of me... an etched martini glass (I only have one like it) with a glass ornament in a pink swirl. It looked delicious to me so it was my humorous self that decided to sell it with the glass!