Treasure Box Wednesday: Crazy Hats, Cool Grapes and Crystal Settings

If you put the Mad Hatter in a room with Bob Mackie and Queen Victoria, that chapeau is possibly what you might get for your efforts. Insane, isn't it? That French lady bust will never forgive me for messing up her coiffure with such a feather-and-felt monstrosity, but it made such a humorous and lovely display.

It was found a few weeks ago at the Red, White and Blue at Bellevue (no, not the mental hospital-- different Bellevue) and it was also half-off. The lady at the register relayed this good news to me and then followed it up with, "So, what are you going to do with it?"

I mentioned displaying it, but I didn't think describing tormenting a very proper-looking art nouveau bust with it would really make my case for sanity.

Further in the thrifted world of vintage accessories, I'd found this deco-styled monogram handbag at the Salvation Army...


I will actually use this-- I don't care whether it's my initials or not. I think this will work well with a little black dress for an evening out. Now all I have to do is thrift the right guy, right?

Also in recent thrifting is this shell pink grape-patterned glass from the Indiana Glass Company. This was made around the 50s for Napco...


I liked the delicate pink shade of the glass. And in other grape-patterned glassware news, I found two parfait dishes for my friend's mother's milkglass gift basket. (Which is getting bigger by the week!)

According to the cashier at the Salvation Army Superstore, she remembers either peanut butter or jelly being a purchase with this giveaway item. Anyone else recall that as well, or is this urban thrift legend?


Lastly in the world of thrifty goodness is this thrifted still-life painting... I might just hang it in my office at work.


But wait-- don't go yet! Since I've been working on it, I thought you might also like to see my late-summer table setting...

The placemats are capice Shabby Chic mats I got a year or so ago. The plates are all my crystal Waffle/Waterford Anchor Hocking depression glass, and the candles and candlestick holders were all thrifted many moons ago from stores lost to time and memory...

I like the little fairy figures in particular because they have a bit of an art deco hood ornament thing going on in their styling...


And here you can see the mantle in the same room, with the marcasite-styled frames. They carry over the same feel as the crystal depression glass plates, I thought.

And there you can see my new-old yellow-green art deco clock discovered for $15 a week or so ago...

I thought that worked well with the yellow-green tablecloth and placemats!

Well, that's it for this Treasure Box. If you have a moment and want to check out Sunday's post on some antiquing spots to Pittsburgh's north, click here.

Can you all believe the Back To School season is right around the corner? I suspect for those of us without the wee ones, it would be wise to avoid all shopping malls unless absolutely necessary. It's looking a bit scary out there. Hope everyone is enjoying the last hurrahs of Summer!

Antiquing Adventures North of Pittsburgh

A little over a week ago, I received an email telling me about an antique mall just north of Pittsburgh, which I'd never heard of before-- the Wexford General Store Antique Center. With two floors and a number of dealers, it seemed a worthwhile little day trip. And honestly, given it's "Construction Season" here in Pittsburgh, there seemed very few places BUT north I would be able to reach without becoming ensnared in four-hour bumper-to-bumper backups. So a quick visit to RandMcNally and some driving directions from there to another antique mall I already knew of north of the city, and the adventure had begun.


It turns out, the Wexford General Store contains a rather delightful collection of dealers' wares. Strolling around the former general store's rooms ended up being a pleasant, relaxing visit. Many of the dealers had their items arranged with a real eye for presentation.

I became merrily waylayed in a series of rooms filled with new and antique books, for instance, entranced by art nouveau book covers and leather spines... Children's cheery picture books and thick historical tomes... I liked the little book-related vignettes, too, that had been crafted and displayed here and there. Like the Scrabble tiles below with their message about education...


There was a room entirely devoted to vintage clothing, and it felt like stepping straight into the past...


And there were antique and collectible items for essentially any interest, all showcased with the attention and care you don't always see in resale establishments.

I didn't buy much during my visit, only because there really isn't much I need these days. Just a Patricia Cornwell book analyzing the "Jack the Ripper" case (historically, that case and the mystery of the Richard III and the princes in the tower are the two that always seem to intrigue me). I also found some lovely early 1900s postcards of actresses I plan to research and share with you all at some future date...


Next on the agenda was a twenty minute drive to Wagon Wheel Antiques in Valencia, PA. A detour due to, yes, road construction, led me somewhat astray from my driving directions. But with a bit of reorientation and some luck, I managed to arrive at the Wagon Wheel without much added trouble.


The Wagon Wheel consists of a main house and number of outbuildings containing booths. The prices are good and the people who work there are quite nice.


I've gotten a few portrait plates here in the past, and my friend Josette had found a Staffordshire-like cat for her collection.

As a part of a long-time running joke with my friend Scoobie, I felt compelled to take a picture of the giant Blueboy statue in one of the outbuildings...

I think I might threaten to make a Christmas gift of it to her, to go along with the needlepoint Blueboy, porcelain Blueboy plaque, art deco Blueboy, and other Blueboy items that have already been forced on her for the collection she never really planned to have. (Insert maniacal laughter here... ) (Hey, if you can't give your friends a hard time, who can you torment?)

But I found a few non-Blueboy goodies at the Wagon Wheel, actually-- some early 1900s lusterware kitchen canisters very similar to a few I picked up a few years ago. I understand from the dealer that these canisters were a part of a much larger set that got badly damaged when some of the store's guests mistreated it and scarpered. He just came to find a number of the pieces destroyed.


At least now the remaining canisters have gone to a good home!

In another building, I found a World War II souvenir pillow cover for $3. This one is for the Navy and reads:

Remember Me
It is sweet to be remembered
When you're feeling sad and blue
It sets the pulse a throbbing
And it cheers the heart up, too
It makes the world worth living
To be remembered just by you.

The vendor I bought this from was asking what I planned to do with it, and I'd explained how these resided in my Shabby Chic/Cottagey guest room.

I think I perplexed her a bit when I relayed how entertained I always was by the strange combination of delicate pink roses and heavy weaponry on them.

With a full turn around the Wagon Wheel, it was time to get in the car and head another ten miles or so further north to Butler. There are a number of antique shops on and just off Main Street in Butler, so it seemed worthwhile to play them a visit.

I stopped at a St. Vincent dePaul along the way, and would have bought a piece of milkglass, but the cashier was nowhere to be found, so I ended up just putting it back and going...


And then it was on to downtown Butler. Folks considering doing this run, will want to keep in mind that many of the Butler shops close early on Saturdays-- usually around 3pm. So by the time I got there, two shops had already closed.

I did get an excellent old Spry cookbook for $1 which I think you'll get a kick out of in future posts. Aunt Jenny of Spry has lots of old timey wisdom -- in cartoon form, no less-- to share with us.


Well, that about wraps up our trip for today. For those interested, the addresses of the Wexford General Store and the Wagon Wheel in Valencia can be found here:

Wexford General Store Antique Center
150 Church Road
Wexford, Pennyslvania 15090
(724) 935-9959
wexfordgeneralstore.com

Wagon Wheel Antiques
1399 Pittsburgh Rd (Route 8)
Valencia, PA
(724) 898-9974

• For folks who missed Wednesday post where a meme asked "What's on YOUR walls?", click here to see.

Hope to see you for Treasure Box Wednesday of this week! Have a good one.

Treasure Box Wednesday: What's On Your Walls?

Sujatha from Fluff-n-Stuff tasked me to participate in a meme where we're to describe what's on the walls of the room we're currently in. Since this is a decorating blog, and heck, it was also a bit of a slow thrifting week, I figured you all might not mind if we played along today.

Here's what I see when I'm sitting at my computer...


The "Rose Dreams" print is actually sheet music from the early 1900s which I'd framed. It's hanging on the inside of the closet door by my computer desk. Below it is my handy-dandy memo board where I keep blogging graphics specs I need to remember (and never do), and some pretty cards I just enjoy seeing...


Next on the wall is the first two of three George Hacker art deco prints from around the 1930s. I bought them all separately over a period of a few years at various flea markets...


Here, by the guest bed, we have a mirror I bought for about $3 and painted up to look aged. I like the way the patina turned out. It looks a bit like an interesting relic now. When I got it, it was a poorly-stained brown shade...



Over the guest bed, is the third George Hacker print, and two vintage oval prints I bought from the Goodwill a few years ago. I think they were about $1 a piece...


Here in the far corner is yet another old mirror. I got this one at "Junk for Joy" in Jeanette for $5. Like its cousin mirror, I just had to use a bit of elbow grease to get it clean. Up in the far corner is a porcelain floral plaque from the 1950s...


And last? We have these two prints which I bought separately but seem like they're two angles of the very same scene...


Interestingly, one is signed "Falkenberg" and the other signed "Eckenberg" in precisely the same handwriting, and the style of art, and the rather European look to the scenes are identical. As these were both done around the 1930s, when calendar art companies were looking to make it seem like they had more artists than they really had, I suspect these were both done by the same artist.

Now what his or her name was, however, I absolutely don't know. I've never had any luck finding out information on either Eckenberg or Falkenberg.

So that pretty much wraps it up for this Treasure Box Wednesday.

• If you missed Sunday's post of Treasures from Throwaways: The Doable Ideas Marge Missed, you can click here for that.

And, hey, if you'd like to talk about a favorite item on YOUR walls right now, well, I'm all ears for that, too.

Have a great rest of your week!