Milk Glass Christmas Decorations

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I love Christmas, but I love simple, too!

If you’ve read any of my past posts regarding Christmas, you know that I love to keep it simple. There’s so much pulling us in different directions at Christmas that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The last place I want chaos is my home.

You should also know that I love vintage milk glass! White, to me, is the most serene and peaceful color. Simple, classic, and easy – this makes milk glass the perfect canvas for Christmas decorations. So, today I have a round-up of Christmas decor using white milk glass!

Just a few ideas to get your creativity flowing:

From Jennifer Rizzo (love her!! click for link.)

//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.jsFrom Tara Anderson Flickr

From Your Home Based Mom

From Shabby Sweet Cottage

From Home Joy Blog

From The Goodwill Gal

From an Etsy listing (no longer available at time of post)

From ideasforho.me (no longer an active website)

I hope you have found this post inspiring! Merry fa la la to you!

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Belle & Beau on the Dixie Highway 90 Mile Yardsale

Nothing says “family time” like packing up the kids and dog and heading out to spend the entire day yard sale hopping. Oh, who am I kidding? I forced them to go, all of them. But since I put in almost 5 hours sitting at the ball field for soccer tryouts this week, I figured they could spend 5 hours in the car while I worked had fun searching for inventory.

Diesel’s first time coming “picking” with us, and he did great!

My friend, Kimberly, told me about the Dixie Highway 90 Mile Yard Sale a while ago. But unfortunately for me, it always conflicted with other plans. I was on the fence about going right up until the time we pulled out of the driveway. It’s a really long drive for us to get there, and there is never a guarantee you’ll find anything good. In fact, I was worried we were going to drive all of that way and get rained out.

First things, first. In my world of yard sales, people set up at 8:00 and “early birds” show up at 7:45. With traffic, we ended up not getting to Adairsville (one of the cities on the 90 mile stretch) until 10:30, and people were just then starting to set up. Not sure what that was all about, but I’m glad we got a late start. I would’ve been all huh? and wuh? and “this is a bust.”

Our 9 year old played “photographer” today. And I love seeing the day through her eyes! Here are a few of her pictures. At the bottom you can see a picture of some of the things I ended up buying.

Sweet iron bed. The guy insisted it was a “twin” but I knew better. Smaller than a twin! He wanted $75

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Loved this.

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Some very cool bottles here. We must be on the right track!

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We ended up buying all of the insulators here.

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 Here is a small portion of what we ended up getting:

Insulators, camera and case, skates, dolls, milk glass tea sets – one for iced tea and one for hot tea. etc, etc

Best deal of the day: the insulators
Favorite find of the day (that I’m keeping!): jadeite sugar bowl with holly leaves on it. Everything else is for sale.
Should’ve skipped on: antique scale (not pictured)

We had fun and will definitely do it again!


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Before & After: Painted Wood Hutch

I’m so thankful for Spring. It really makes a big difference in my motivation. When it starts to really get cold again this fall, I’m going to give myself permission to forget about painting furniture until spring comes again. No expectations for myself to work in the cold, blah weather means no guilt for not accomplishing anything.

I’ve had this hutch in my garage. (We keep our cars in the driveway and our furniture in the garage. Don’t y’all?) I hadn’t planned on what I was going to do with it, but I got a burst of energy and motivation this week to just get it done.

Seriously. Ugly, right?

//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.jsI think what I disliked about this the most is that there was no visual interest in the wood. I’m not against wood furniture, but this one was just like a big blog of orange-y stained wood. And the doors. Tragic. This isn’t a giant piece. I’ve been lifting and lugging it around all by my petite flower of a self. (I really hope you read that with sarcasm.) But it is a piece of furniture that will be extremely useful to someone. Not me, though. No room in the inn.

Much better. Much, much better.

//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.jsNow there is some visual interest. I left the surfaces unpainted that would get the most use. You can see a similarly dramatic difference in a before and after picture of me in makeup. #redhead

//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.jsI’ve put some of my jadeite and jars on it so you can visualize what it would look like in use.

Hope you love it!
XOXO,
Abby

Abby2 Comments

Entertaining with Milk Glass

Fact: My favorite color is white. Don’t get all technical on me and say that white isn’t actually a color. If you go into your local paint store and ask for white paint, you’ll get it. Why do I like white? It’s clean. It’s not complicated. After a full day of reviewing paint chips and fabric patterns, white is a peaceful spot for my eyes to rest.

Fact: There are no walls in my house that are truly white. I like to accessorize with white. White pillows, white throws, white candles. It works, no matter what your paint color is.

Fact: I also love white milk glass. (We’ve covered that, haven’t we?) If you aren’t familiar with milk glass, it was very popular in the mid 1900s. Dozen of manufacturers created products such as dishes, vases, figurines, lamps, and so on. Some of the more successful companies to create milk glass included: Hazel Atlas, Federal, Indiana Glass, Fire King, Anchor Hocking, and Pyrex.

Recently milk glass has gained popularity in entertaining decor. The simple, white, and often delicate appeal of milk glass provides a restful background for flowers and foods. Milk glass provides a non-competitive background on tablescapes, allowing the food and flowers to be the real starts of the show.

A bridal luncheon uses milk glass to create a bridge between vintage and modern touches.

 Using milk glass creates a unique look.

A lovely milk glass cake stand, a milk glass pitcher, and milk glass vases unify this tablescape.

Sometimes simple is better.

Milk glass can be found in many places. Antique stores, Etsy, your mom’s or grandma’s kitchen. If you need a large number of milk glass pieces for your special affair, here’s a tip: Don’t worry about finding identical pieces. As long as they are all the same color, once you add your flowers or food, it will all become a “set.”

For more ideas on milk glass, please visit the websites listed at the bottom in the photo credits. If you are local and are looking for milk glass, stop on by my booth at Countryside Antiques in Braselton.

I’d love to hear your milk glass stories!
XOXO,
Abby

Photo credits:

http://blog.hwtm.com/2011/07/stunning-vintage-modern-bridal-shower-pt-1/
http://nuumummy.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/my-vintage-tea-party-baby-shower/
http://www.stylemepretty.com/gallery/picture/464669
http://www.weddingchicks.com/2012/07/30/will-you-be-my-bridesmaid-ideas/
http://blog.amyatlas.com/2012/03/pink-gold-guest-dessert-feature-2/
http://media-cache-ec7.pinterest.com/originals/f4/3a/53/f43a530a20243253a84223ff5e620481.jpg
http://madisonhousedesigns.com/archives/631

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Abby2 Comments

Right Place, Right Time

I had every intention of working out today. I really did. But this whole “running a business” thing keeps interrupting my play time. It is really more than a Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 thing. It’s actually a lifestyle, a mindset. It doesn’t really “turn off” on Friday at 5 p.m. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE IT!!!! I’m just trying hard here to rationalize why I didn’t exercise today.

So today I had to drive across town to pick up something for a custom order that I am working on. I decided at the last minute to stop by a certain place to look for “treasures.” On one hand, this place has never produced anything good for me before. On the other hand, YOU JUST NEVER KNOW.

I didn’t bother to get a shopping cart on my way in. After all, I didn’t expect anything good. I looked around without really looking. And then, it hit me.

Let’s pause there for a moment, shall we? If you’ve ever “treasure hunted,” as I like to call it, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. You look. And you look. And then the next day, you look some more. And then some time in the distant future something good appears before you. It feels like it literally hits you in the face, screaming, “Hey! You! Over here!”

Back to the story: So I’m looking, but not really looking. Just going through the motions so that I can get on with my errand. When what to my wondering eyes should appear?

Three Pyrex Cinderella bowls. My pulse quickens. In “the wild” (not at an antique store, Etsy, or EBay), it’s not common to come across one, let alone three. My eyes are wild; I can feel it. I’m looking around at all the unsuspecting customers, laughing maniacally in my head. “Haha, haha! You have no clue!”, I’m thinking. I grab them and move on.

Next aisle. Disbelief. There before me are THREE more vintage pyrex casserole bowls WITH lids. They look unused. My face is burning hot now. It’s red. Is this happening?!

But now a little bit of panic is setting in. Remember, I didn’t bother to get a shopping cart. I look around. Has anyone noticed me? Was the maniacal laughing actually with my out loud voice? I decide that I just can’t chance it. I have to make a break for the front of the store to retrieve a cart. Pyrex is heavy. It lasts for decades for a reason. Pyrex is bulky. I balance. I use every bit of strength I can, and I’m on the move. But first…a Fire King milk glass divided dish.

I don’t know how I did it. I don’t know if the adrenaline gave me an extra arm. But, somehow I managed to walk to the front of the store without dropping or breaking a piece. And now, for your viewing pleasure:

And THAT is why I love what I do!
XOXO,
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EVERYTHING is for sale. Except for that guy. Maybe.

We go to all kinds of places trying to find vintage and antique treasures. It’s fun. I am so happy to have a job that I truly love with a business partner that I love. Last week we went to two different estate sales. Estate sales are different from garage sales. An estate sale is when everything in the house, inside and out, is for sale. Usually, but not always, an estate sale is held after someone passes away.

There are different kinds of estate sales. The first is the company run estate sale. The family leaves the house and the company comes in and prices everything. They put up nicely printed, professional signs. They stay and handle the sale of everything in the house.

The other kind is the family run estate sale. The family prices everything thing in the house, and they stay at the house during the sale and do the actual selling.

We like both kinds. But we *love* a family run estate sale. The stuff is priced to sell. The family wants it gone so that they can move on. With both kinds of estate sales, the earlier you can get there, the better! If you see something that you want to buy, even if it’s nailed down, ask about it. Also remember to negotiate the price. And don’t be afraid to dig!

At the first sale (the company run sale) we picked up some awesome glassware, a Coca~Cola crate, suitcases, linens, an old stool, and a china cabinet. The china cabinet went straight into the “furniture hospital” for treatment.

Glassware hens, milk glass vase, linen table cloth, suitcase, cigar box, books

Pyrex, Jadeite, Thermos water jug

 At the second sale (the family run sale) we got there on day 2, late in the day. The lady told us that we had missed a lot of great antiques. (Don’t tell us that!!) But we still managed to fill up the bed of the truck with some treasures that we liked.

3 old chairs, an old stool, some window frames, and a license plate (not old)

Glassware by E.O. Brody Co. and a little jar. These were found in the back of a shed that had been added onto about 3 or 4 times. They were just laying in the dirt, waiting to be found!

A chifferobe, that also went into the furniture hospital.

Estate sale stories are a lot like fishing stories. There’s always a big one that got away!

XOXO,
Abby


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So Bright, You’ve Got to Wear Shades!

Milk glass is one of my favorites. It is easy to find; however, there are some very unique pieces that can be hard to come by. I’ll post more some other time with cool facts about milk glass, but today is our daughter, Samantha’s birthday, we have piano lessons, and soccer practices. So you “get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit” with my post! 🙂

We found this little lamp a couple of months ago. I almost didn’t see it. Sometimes I get super focused on looking for things on my “list” (things I regularly hunt for), that I don’t see treasures right in front of me. This was almost this case with this lamp.

Vintage Milk Glass Lamp

This lamp most likely originally came with a tall glass shade. And I think shortly before I found it, that it still had it’s shade. The price tag said “lamp with shade.” However, the shade was gone, so I was able to get 1/3 of the price knocked off.

So now, what to do about a shade? I wanted something that complimented the brown and orange flowers, so I thought that a burlap shade would be perfect! I found this burlap lamp shade from Cost Plus World Market.

Burlap Lamp Shade
Shade, meet lamp. Lamp, meet shade.
 And there you have it! Another completely simple way to re-purpose something vintage.
Happy Tuesday!
XOXO,
Abby

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