Bon Poisson d'Avril!

This morning I read about how the French celebrate April Fool's day here ~ I have always wondered about the meaning of these funny postcards with fish ~ I just figured some artist liked fish and had a sense of humor. It is nice to know that there are still some clever people out there who like fish ~ visit here and see for yourself! Happy April Fool's Day!

{images from here}

Finds from the show

{great graphics on these lotto cards}

This weekend the weather cooperated and I was able to get some photos taken of my finds from last week's antique show. As you can see I didn't get quantity, but was pleased with what I did come home with! I also have the added bonus of not being broke ~ hurray!

The cards above are some very old flash cards ~ the dealer selling them had gotten them from a retired schoolteacher. I thought the silhouette images were so interesting ~ I've never seen flash cards like these before.

Also found a beautiful piece of antique lace ~ I love all the little details in the pattern. The button card below also beckoned ~ mostly because of the handmade graphic across the top ~ the buttons aren't much to write home about.

{antique cuffs ~ hoping to use these in some sort of art project}

I also picked up a little recipe booklet for Jell-o from 1931 ~ the graphics on the cover and throughout are just beautiful ~ it is sad that this sort of illustration and attention to detail seems to have gone by the wayside. Not sure about some of the food combinations such as Jellied Cooked Lettuce, Orange Moss, Chicken Mousse, or the Ham & Celery Loaf (shown below), but the illustrations make all of them look appetizing. According to the copy inside, Jello-O dishes have "looks" - gay, sparkling, quivery, luscious looking, they lend appetite appeal to a meal! Some day we plan to have a pot luck jello mold party ~ I guess this little cookbook will come in handy for that!

{front and back cover of book ~ love the design!}

{mmm, mm, ham & celery loaf}

{lovely two color illustration ~ this style used throughout the booklet}

{Peach Delight ~ this one does look tasty!}

Object Ephemera

Lately I have been spending much of my free time trying to clean and organize my house and my stuff ~ it has been slow going ~ the dining room table is still not fit for dining! Of course, I am my own worst enemy as I always manage to squeeze in another antique show or flea market between cleaning/organizing binges.

Maybe that is why the grouping of metallic objects above is so satisfying to me ~ everything is all lined up and in its place, the colors are a lovely subtle mix of metallic neutrals, and it is a collection of objects I love. I think I will keep this idea in mind as I am cleaning and organizing ~ if I could get my house looking like this, it would be a good thing!

{Love the intricate pattern on the ladies pocket watch!}

Another thing I really like about the items shown is that they are rather simple and imperfect ~ the roller skate pincushion has a broken wheel, the buttons are rusty and the watch is broken ~ even so, to me they are lovely treasures. This reminded me of a quote I read recently:

Perfection does not exist. To understand this is the triumph of human intelligence;
to expect to possess it is the most dangerous kind of madness.
• Alfred de Musset •

Embrace the imperfect!

Brown Paper Packages

Here's another item I bought the weekend of the antique show ~ vintage craft envelopes! I got these in an antique shop in Greenwood, Missouri ~ a tiny town with several shops ~ I always stop on the way home from Antiques on the Common. I love the graphics on the box and the great size (4.5" x 6.5") and color of the envelopes. My brother is shaking his head again!

Happy Easter!

Hoping you are all having a wonderful Easter day! Here is a postcard and two advertising cards I picked up in the last month or two to celebrate the holiday. That's a cricket on that chick, not a cockroach, right?!

Luck of the Irish

A Happy St. Pat's to all ~ sending good luck for the year via this wonderful collection of 4 leaf clovers gathered over a period of 10 years or so! This scrapbook of 1355 four leaf clovers was amassed and artfully arranged by Alda Carlson starting in 1910. It was sold on ebay for $532.52 ~ just the sort of thing I'd be interested in ~ but in this case would need a pot of gold to afford it!

Spotted this several months ago over at anonymous works ~ a great blog to explore! Have a safe & fun St. Patrick's Day!

Hive of Activity!

Although I have taken a vacation away from my day job, I am working furiously to get ready for the two holiday shows that are coming up soon! My home has become quite the hive of activity ~ minus the multitudes of worker bees and the organization of a real beehive. I am utilizing every available surface in every room of my house ~ kind of scary! I wish I could say I looked as stylish while working as the bee lady below, but I have opted for comfort, so it is pjs round the clock!

{click on images for sources}

Below are the two holiday shows I am participating in this year ~ click on the image to read more about the vendors and for more information. If you are in the area, stop by and say hi ~ I'll be the one with the dark circles under her eyes!

{Saturday, November 28th}

{Friday & Saturday, December 4th & 5th}

Tokyo Milk packaging

While perusing the bath section of goods at Anthropologie, I spotted these beautifully packaged bubble baths and soaps from Tokyo Milk. What a lovely and sophisticated use of ephemera ~ I think that the images on the bubble bath are actually printed on the back side of the bottle so that they are slightly tinted by the color of the bubble bath. Just looking at these makes me feel relaxed and less stressed!

{bottles of bubble bath}{paper wrapped soaps}

Walnut 2009 ~ The Spoils ~ Part 2!

{beautiful title page}

I know I mentioned in my last post that the McCracken files were my favorite find from Walnut this year, but on second thought, I should have said ONE of my favorite finds. I hate to admit it, but I have shopped so many shows, seen so many things and bought quite a bit, that I had forgotten much of what I acquired ~ until I started rediscovering things as I was cleaning off my dining room table. The dining room table is where I put things until I am ready to photograph them ~ sometimes I get quite a pile ~ obviously I don't use my dining room table for dining!

So, here is a lovely little autograph book with a theme of sealife from around 1881. There are few entries and those that there are are very faint ~ there is one though that gives some interesting information. The book was a gift from Ella Crawford, aged 6 years to her Aunt Minnie ~ she wishes her a long happy life. The entry is dated Sept. 21, 1881 in Crawfordsville, Iowa. Makes me wonder whether Ella's family had something to do with the start of the town she lived in. Quite a beautiful book ~ the cover is decadent and the inside illustrations in color lithography ~ I especially like the "Album" title page.

{embossed, foiled cover}

{one of several vignettes}

It's that time again!

{image from here}

This is the weekend for the biannual Sparks/White Cloud Flea Market! Actually, it started on Thursday, but as we are soooo busy at work I had to delay my trip until Saturday ~ I usually go on Friday ~ I hope there are still some fabulous finds left! So, up at the crack of dawn so we can make sure to get through the whole show ~ and back in time for our neighbor's annual Kentucky Derby Party. Seems like this weekend will be packed with fun things to do ~ hope yours is too! Happy Weekend!

{image from here}

Antique Sheet Music

A few months ago I bought a bound book of antique sheet music from Beth ~ the book and papers are not in good shape so I plan to take it apart and use it in some collage pieces. I have bought several other pieces at various flea markets and even on ebay, so I now have a small collection ~ I love the graphics and the beautiful pictorials! I happened upon this site while doing some research - it is chock full of a huge library of sheet music from 1850-1920. Below are some of my favorites:

All images from the Duke University Libraries Digital Collections.
Almost midnight ~ time for some shuteye!