Vintage Photo Greeting Cards

I have some fun greeting cards I wanna share with you.

I have had them for ages, but they have been buried in my virtual store and hard to find. So today is the day to highlight them.

I am drawn very strongly to vintage photos, well actually to any photos. But vintage photos really transport you to another time and place much like a good book does. I love all the details. Obviously the dress is usually quite different as well as the decor or the cars etc. But there is often something else different about old photos; there is a simplicity of life that comes through. Life wasn't so chock full of "things" or "gadgets". It was a time more about people, family, hard work, etc. Some how that comes through in vintage photos.

Well, anyhow, I digress a bit. Let me share with you the two greeting cards I have made out of some of my favorite old photos.

Cowgirl Chic by bronc22000
Design unique custom greeting cards at zazzle.com.

This cowgirl card reads "Do these shoes make my calves look big?" The inside is blank.

Gossip Circle by bronc22000
Browse more Coffe Cards

On the inside, this gossip card reads "What's the gossip at your end of the block?"

If you like either of these cards, you can click on them and be taken to Zazzle where you can order as many as you  like.

I have a stockpile of other old photos that are just waiting for their time to be made into greeting cards, so check back again!

Simple Beauty

As I prepare for a day of painting and photo shoots of recently acquired merchandise, I take the dog out to do his "business". While out walking and waiting for  him to do his "business" I take a minute to literally smell the Roses. 

These climbing Roses were acquired via Freecycle about 3 years ago and transplanted in this perfect sunny spot. They sure have been happy here and the let me know it every year in the late spring. Thank you Roses. 

While the dog is still finding the perfect place to do his "business", I decide to walk the property and see what other lovely plants are letting me know that they are happy. I find that many are happy this sunny day. My blackberries are happy as well and will be providing a bounty of gifts in several weeks. You see, wherever there is a flower a berry will "magically" appear. And they are delish! Maybe we will make some homemade vanilla ice cream to go with them!

Around the other side of the property, I could barely get through the gate as the Willow was literally greeting me with "open arms" her branches were reaching everywhere. Luckily she is forgiving and bent to let me through, though she did pat my shoulders in affection.

Finally I found some Vinca and some Lavender spending their day together in perfect harmony. 

I think i love this Lavender picture more than any!

 

Enjoy your day where ever you are and remember, "Stop and Smell the Roses" literally or figuratively. 

This post is being shared on Jennifer Rizzo's blog linky party.Go there to see some more wonderful gardens, you will really enjoy it!

Mid Week Treasures

I know that many antiques/style blogs have some sort of a weekly posting of recent finds. They are usually on Fridays and are titled "Fridays Finds" or something like that.

My reality, however,  is that I am a mom who drives carpool both ways on Fridays. Fridays are not good shopping days for me since it usually takes me a day or two to clear it out of the back of the car. So I am gonna post my finds as I find them.

Today is an absolutely glorious day in the far western Chicago suburbs. Great day for all thew windows down, the sunroof open and tunes blastin'! Its gotta be about 75 degrees, no humidity and very few clouds. Just perfect! So today was a shopping day for me.

I am so excited about my finds today....so many possibilities. They don't necessarily work together as a unit, but they will work in other vignettes I have planned for the 3 French Hens Market next month.

I love this white metal table. I wonder the history? I imagine it as something with a medical background, but not for sure. 

The wooden wash table is something I have been coveting for years in various antiques stores. We shall see if I ever do sell it or if it will continue to dwell with me.

The tall glass cloche type jar with glass lid is really piquing my creativity, perhaps too much as I cannot decide exactly what to do with it! Yikes. 

Finally the book is just darling. It is a 1911 book entitled "Daudet's Tartarin de Tarascon". I bought this book for my mom's Guest House near Round Top in Texas. (Click here if you would like to see the guest house called Petite Maison) The house has a French theme. I told her she needs some antique French books in the house for the guests to peruse. As its not easy to find French books in America, imagine my excitement. I shall mail it to her today!

I am sharing this "Mid Week Treasures" post with the linky party at A Ruffled Nest - check out her site, it is A-MAZING! 

Na-Da Farm Barn Sale

OH MY GOODNESS, WHAT A LOVELY WEEKEND!

This last weekend we did the Na-Da Farm Barn Sale in Esmond, IL.

Na-Da was our first show of this kind. We have done Antiques Fairs and had antiques booths in shops, but nothing like this gorgeously styled event. It was a joy and a pleasure to be part of the whole thing. Then top it all off with amazing weather! WOW! 

Anne Marie & Jason Klaske and their family hosted the event and could not have been more welcoming and gracious. It was our first time meeting, yet they treated us like family and did all they could to make sure we were comfortable (was a hot weekend).

Since this was our first time at this event, I was busy "working" and didnt really take time to get good photos of all the delightful and inspiring booths! But I know others got great photos and you can see some on their blogs. 

Na-Da Farm Life 

Jennifer Rizzo

(A special thanks to Jennifer Rizzo for her tips and suggestions to make the sale in our section a success as well as make us feel utterly welcome!)

I am sure there will be others posting pics as well, so you can google Na-Da Farm and surely find more. It truly was a feast for the eyes!

The last 30 minutes of the sale I took a seat on a couch in the barn and just relaxed for a moment. I sat with my arm along the top edge of the couch and just relaxed. Here is the view I enjoyed. This was the entrance to the barn.

Well I enjoyed it so much that before I knew it my arm actually fell asleep. I must have been sitting there 15 minutes or more marveling at the simple beauty of this scene. This photo has now become one of my all time favorites. I will look at it any time I am feeling any sort of stress; it calms me instantly.

The Na-Da Farm Barn Sale was such an amazing experience for us all around that we hope to be back again for the Fall event, hopefully we will see you there in the Fall. In the meantime, please be sure to find us next at 3 French Hens Market in Morris, IL on June 9th from 8:00 - 2:00.

Antiques Fair at The Arboretum of South Barrington.

Gettin' ready and gettin' excited!

First show of the season-Antiques Fair at The Arboretum of South Barrington.

 

Here is a sneak peak of some of the treasures we will be bringing - obviously we need to display it all, but right now we are getting organized. We don't have any of our upcycled jewelry (Laughing Frog Studio) in here yet but it will be at the show; we are still processing the inventory.

There's still time for you to plan to come out and see us.....get a sitter for the kids, pack a lunch and crank the tunes and head on out to South Barrington for a fun day of shopping!

What to do with an Old Chair

What to do with an old chair? I found this chair at the Goodwilll for $5. It sat in my basement for 2-3 years. Finally, I decided enough is enough.


We are getting ready to participate in several antiques/craft fairs in the coming months. Unfortunately, due to my body falling apart (hip dysplasia and arthritis) I cannot sit in regular lawn chairs. So I decided to dress this one up for the show.

I bought a bunch of fabric for another project and used pieces for this project. All told, I probably used 2-3 yards. At $4 a yard, this project was CHEAP!!


Since I am not fully skilled at this type of work, I finished the project but had two bald spots - spots that were not covered in my new fabric. I couldn't figure out how to fix it.........until.......

I had been making fabric rosettes to sell at the sales! After a few were made, that is when I had the "AHA!" moment. I immediately ran to my work room and held the rosettes up and sure enough they covered the spot and looked damn cute!!

I started to stitched them on with a regular needle....didn't work. Then I recalled seeing large curved needles in one of my vintage needle packs. I grabbed one of those and the they got the job done licketly split. Turns out the big curved needle is an upholstery needle. Let me tell you, it works GREAT!

As we make more fun treasures for the show, I will try to post them here for you to view. Be sure to stop by and see us:

April 29, 2012, The Arboretum of South Barrington Antiques Fair, South Barrington

May 18 & 19, 2012, Na da Farm Barn Sale, Esmond, IL

June 9, 2012, 3 French Hens Market, Morris, IL

I am sharing this post with the linky party today on Jennifer Rizzo's blog. Check out the posts, they are sure to inspire!!

Announcing.......Laughing Frog Studio

Fineline Antiques is extremely proud to announce a new shop on etsy, "the world's handmade marketplace". We are adding Laughing Frog Studio to our family of online stores. Laughing Frog Studio will join the ranks of Swoonantiques and Lucys Closet Vintage on etsy along with our flagship shop Fineline Antiques.

Laughing Frog Studio is a unique venture into upcycling. What is upcycling you ask?Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials, useless products or castaway items into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. Basically it means taking some trash and turning it into a treasure.

At Laughing Frog Studio we are currently exploring primarily vintage silverplate silverware. We are making many unique things from jewelry to housewares. See below for some examples.

Stop by our new shop and check out all of the beautiful and unique finds. Additionally, like us on Facebook (fineline antiques) and receive 10% off your next item purchase!

Earrings




















Necklaces



















Money Clips & Keychains


























Cheese Markers




















Laughing Frog Studio Bio
WHAT IS LAUGHING FROG STUDIO?
Laughing Frog Studio makes "lemonade out of lemons" or "trash into treasure.” Everything is upcycled from vintage items. The primary medium is silverplate silverware, but at times they work with stainless steel, costume jewelry, bottle caps, beads, buttons, etc. The goal is to make something wonderful out of a castaway item!

WHO IS LAUGHING FROG?
Laughing Frog Studio (LFS) is a husband and wife team that gives vintage items a new life. LFS started as an idea to make some extra cash to subsidize their daughter’s ice hockey dreams. But it turned out to be a wonderful vehicle for Matt to pursue his artistic dreams while still holding down a day job and for Jen to satisfy the “Fred Sanford” (Sanford & Son,1970s) in her heart.

By day, Matt manages computer programmers and extremely large databases. But the core of his being is in creating, be it food, art or programs. He earned his B.S.S. at Cornell College in Computer Science, Economics and Art. Over the years he has dabbled in pen and pencil sketches, stylized doodles, oil pastels, and sculptural art. It isn’t uncommon for Matt to pick up a piece of “found” paper or wire and create something out of it. He once surprised Jen by giving her a dozen flowers – all handmade out of candy and gum wrappers, napkins, and wires & beads.

Jen stays at home with their two kids and wears many hats: chauffeur, tutor, cook, nurse, cleaning lady, secretary, etc. Her passion has always been antiques and she has a difficult time throwing things out; to her everything has value. She earned a B.A. in Psychology at Cornell College (yes, that’s where they met!) and a B.S. in Marketing & Communications at Bradley University. For the past ten years, she has run an online antiques business called FineLine Antiques. In keeping with the “Fred Sanford” in her heart, she has trouble passing by good curbside “trash.” As a child she was often scolded when emptying the trash as she would take out all the “good stuff” and re-use it.

WHY THE NAME LAUGHING FROG?
Well.... “Laughter” is THE best medicine right? Jen loves to laugh and all her life has been known for her distinct giggle. “Frog” is personally symbolic for Matt and represents whimsy and connections with deceased loved ones. Combined, the words represent both of parts of the team. Plus, it sounds cool!