Second Chance Tuesday - Vintage Autograph Books

Welcome to Second Chance Tuesday! Today I'm showing one of my favorite vintage things to find: an old autograph book.

The old hand writing and vintage sentiments are so much fun to read. I just found this book from 1940 and alas, it has sold already before I could write my post about it...but luckily I took pictures of what I considered the best sayings.



It says:
May 15, 1940
Dear Shirley,

May your life be as bright
As the electric lights
And your friends as true
As the red, white, and blue.
Your friend,
Doris

I love it!

If you'd like to join today's SCT linky party .... see the Mr. Linky below:

Hull - The Heavenly Pottery for Pink Saturday

I'm joining up with Pink Saturday ... one of the most popular linky parties in blogland. If you love pink as much as we do... check out the rest of the group at How Sweet the Sound.

This is a piece of Hull Pottery, often referred to as the "Heavenly Pottery." Most of the pottery have these beautifully blended colors which is easy to see why it has this nickname. It was made in Crooksville Ohio by a man who started the business in 1905. After surviving owner changes, a flood and a fire, the company could not survive overseas competition and had to close in 1986. Sad isn't it? This pottery always catches my eye with its beautiful pastels. This piece is for sale in my shop, here at Bella Rosa Antiques.

Also available and just listed this week are these sweet lace trimmed hankies made in Belgium.

Powerful pinks pop off these postcards. Neat alliteration, huh? Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers works much better! Moving on...

This dresser set is soooo sweet. I love how the two pin dishes stack right on top of each other and then fit right inside the larger box for storage. Such a great gift idea or maybe for yourself if you want to treat yourself for Valentine's Day!

Enjoy your weekend...we may go sledding tomorrow. Lots more snow arrived in our neck of the woods. More is on the way next week I heard!

Luckily there is plenty of pink to keep me thinking of spring! Enjoy!

Valentine Party - Vintage & Handmade at the French Cupboard

Today I'm linking up with a Valentine Party over with the French Cupboard.

We are sharing vintage and/or handmade pieces. I think I may have a little of both?

This vintage card (which incidentally just sold this morning) is very old but has me wondering if it was made instead of mass produced.




Pretty maiden in her scarlet pink cloak...


The paper and then the printing inside makes me think it was printed on a printer for the home. But I'm just guessing. Either way it is a neat reminder of a friendships and love!

Spring is Around the Corner: Rose Curtain Panels, Victorian Die Cuts, PARIS Opera Glasses, More Paris Postcards

I've just listed a bunch of fun arrivals to Bella Rosa Antiques. It is like Springtime in Paris over here!

If you like French themes, you'll love this week's selection:

More real Paris postcards, turn of the century. LOVE these.

Paris Fleamarket World Design coffee table book. Lots of inspiration here.

Vintage Mother of pearl opera glasses, marked Paris!

Loved this! Check out the gal in her swimming outifit on the front. A Coney Island souvenir views postcard set. I've never been there but this vintage memorabilia makes me want to head there now. I'll bet it has changed a lot since then!

I get a big kick out of reading the sweet sentiments hand written by classmates back in the day. This one is from 1940 and chock full of fun and creative sayings. I'll be doing a separate post about this later.

More vintage valentines!

Six panels of cafe or cottage style curtains in a rose barkcloth style. GREAT for making whatever you'd like out of them, or keep them as curtains!

An oldie but goodie in great condition!

Two great titles: Little Women and Heidi... perfect for a girls room. Inside the front cover

it is revealed: TO JANICE LEE from Daddy , Christmas 1945. So sweet!

Die cuts for your craft projects or for decorating.

There are many more items including jewelry, rose postcards, tatting and lace, HULL pottery, and more.

To see the rest, click here.

Second Chance Tuesday # 17 ~ Ephemera: What Is It?

Welcome to Second Chance Tuesday! This is my 17th week hosting this linky party...if you'd like to join in...look for the Mr. Linky at the end of the post. Just mention my blog, add the SCT logo, and link back. Voila! You have a blog post for today.

As for my choice today, I'm running a post from 2008, right before my official "GRAND OPENING" of Bella Rosa Antiques. It will be three years this May 1st. Time has flown!

Anyway, here are some interesting tidbits about paper collectibles:

Ephemera ~ What is it? Vintage Postcards, Letters, Calling Cards...

Everyday we probably use all kinds of paper items that get tossed in the trash. Some people save these printed pieces for either sentimental reasons, or for financial records, or for family history.

How many of you save the greeting cards sent by family and friends? And if you save them, for what purpose? I save Christmas cards for several years and then after awhile, make them into cute and fun gift tags to use on next year's packages. But, this would mean the cards were no longer in their original condition.

So this is what leads me to today's post. Ephemera. That is what this paper stuff is called and the much older pieces are highly collectible today. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the term ephemera means "the printed matter of passing interest." Or dictionary.com puts it like this: "items designed to be useful or important for only a short time, esp. pamphlets, notices, tickets, etc."

Luckily some people decided to save some of their paper items. Really collectible items are things like a Civil War document, a letter signed by a famous person, or a deed to a famous piece of real estate.

My favorites are vintage postcards, letters, old photos, wedding invitations, marriage certificates, calling cards, etc. Some of the beautiful images are still vibrant and stunning to this day.

Winter Blue Plate Special

While it may be Blue Monday somewhere in blogland... I'm not sure if I should link up. You see, I'm the one who is turning color.

I've got the winter blues really bad! Here's the "Blue Plate Special Weather Forecast"...They're serving up a heaping portion of frigid temps with a side dish of more snow.

Ugh.

I'm going to survive the week by using my crock pot as much as possible. Delicious smells wafting through my house will perk me up!

Looking forward to seeing pink roses for Valentine's Day...

Photo by Jillian during "pre-mommy" days

And maybe a yard sale or two in less than sixty days? Come on SPRING!

Life hasn't been all blue... I worked my booth this weekend and found some great vintage goodies that I'll be taking pictures of and listing later this week.

Be back soon...

A Day for Pink, Just Around the Corner...

VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

It's just around the corner... a day where we can decorate with pink, wear pink, give gifts in pink and celebrate in pink!

For Pink Saturday I am taking a quick look at some of my recent romantic finds:

Sweet sentiments from the turn of the century...about a hundred years old.

Say what you want but romance hasn't changed too much!
Maybe now we text or tweet these things. LOL!

Sooooo cute. I love these real photo cards.



Beautiful rose fabric. This is ready to be sewn into a pillow.
Maybe I should just do it myself and then put it back for sale in the shop?

Do I dare get crafty on y'all?

Better to be romantic when smelling good! This pretty

bottle is great for a sweet vignette.

When held over a window this light catcher is even dreamier!

I love the idea of using these old vintage mugs for your romantic office space.
Hold pens, scissors, other crafty tools!

Stop on over to the rest of the bloggers who love pink as much as I do:

Pink Saturday, here.

Look What I Found! Paris Postcards, Vintage Wedding Goodies, Antique Perfume, French Style Fan

Last weekend I went hunting, looking very closely into the booths of local antique dealers... hoping to spot the right item for my shop.

I had such a great time! Here's just a snippet of what I found and what I listed last night:

Vintage tin with sweet colors and graphics and a pretty sachet bottle.

I found these scatter pins in a friend's thrift shop (where she works) and had to have them! Cute!

With the industrial look being hot right now these number cards from an old vintage game were a must have too.

When I saw this feathered sweetie I did a double take. It reminds me of the pink ruffled fan I sold not too long ago...and fell in love with! I imagine it in the hands of Marie Antoinette? So frou frou and fluffy.

Some of the Paris postcards I mentioned in one of my earlier blog posts... the sepia toned cards sold right away but these are still available.

Ah yes... these are ultra cool! I just MIGHT have another set similar to these. Will be listing them next week.....stay tuned!

Ballerina print. Must be the little dancer in me ... just love ballet prints.

I love the idea of vintage weddings so I make sure to keep evening bags and other wedding accessories stocked in my shop for those who have similar ideas.

I thought this was a rare find... an antique stereoview card of a newly wedded couple. Romantic as the card depicts them "alone at last!"

Check out my other finds on Bella Rosa Antiques!

Discovering Antiques: Vintage Art Deco NORWICH University Makeup Compact

The fun part about buying and selling antiques is learning about the items I find. Several months ago I purchased this old compact on a hunch. I wasn't wearing my glasses so I couldn't see the crest or logo on the front cover. All I loved about it was its art deco style and green irridescent sheen.

Turns out it is from Norwich University.

Not only is it cool on the outside, it has three compartments for make up inside! Rouge (still intact) , pressed powder, and a neat lipstick holder. So of course my mind starts imagining the former owner using this little cutie at a Saturday football game or maybe at the student lounge. I have such an imagination!

Norwich Univ is a military school. It was probably a gift for a young man's mother?

Either way, it is fun to learn more about it.

It is also available right now on ebay... not in my Bella Rosa shop. I'm not abandoning ship, I just decided to see if I can find the right collector for it. Of course, anyone is free to bid on it... here.

I'm off to work on my other finds ... soon to be listed with more history behind each piece!