Mother-of-Pearl

I was captivated by Victoria magazine's January/February 2011 section entitled "Treasure from the Sea." All of the mother-of-pearl in the article (it's on the cover as well) was just gorgeous. I have always liked the warm iridescence of mother-of-pearl, and I like it's "oldness". By oldness I mean that mother-of-pearl has been a beautiful embellishment or material that has been used for centuries. There isn't a shell button that I can't resist. My mother had a mother-of-pearl inlaid compact mirror that I remember admiring as a child. What a pleasing article it was to read!

Well, fresh on the heals of reading that article, I put together this perfume bottle with a little mother-of-pearl bird on it. The sweet bird was a recent antique store find that I immediately liked and knew I could use somewhere. It has an aurora borealis eye that goes perfectly with the pinks of the apple blossom vintage jewelry piece that I used to embellish this pink stopper-topped bottle. Enjoy!

Victoria Magazine's Wrapped in Whimsy

In their November/December 2009 issue, Victoria magazine (above picture from there) has a wonderful article entitled "Wrapped in Whimsy" about a store owned by Nicholas Kniel that specializes in ribbons, buttons, and embellishments galore. It's a wonderful article--just beautiful! I checked out his on-line shop, Nicholas Kniel Fine Ribbons and Embellishment, wherein a person may see, I presume, most if not all of what he has to offer. I'd love to actually go to the shop someday--which is unfortunately in Georgia and far from here. There is nothing like feeling the ribbons and seeing the true colors of things in real life. I especially liked the little blue bird embellishments as seen in the article pictures. If you love ribbons and pretty accents, this article is a must-read and the shop a must-visit.

Crowns, the book by Pamela Claussen

Due to the amazing generosity of someone dear and kind, Pamela Claussen's breathtaking book, Crowns, arrived in the mail this past week. I had really, really wanted the book actually--had pointed it out to my husband even...then someone (not my husband) sent it to me. I'm so thankful...tickled pink...jumping for joy...very grateful. Talk about inspirational! If you need inspiration on embellishing, this book will fill that need...and then some. You know I love embellishment of all kinds and have the philosophy of "If three beads can be placed in a particular spot...why not put seven?" Sometimes, however, I find it hard to find the line between embellishment and over-embellishment, between looking classy and being tacky. I don't ever want my things to look tacky. Pamela amazingly goes right up to that line yet never, ever crosses it. Her work is truly beautiful. If I were royalty in anyway--which I'm not other than being a child of God, the King of Kings--and needed a crown or piece of sparkle made...I'd hire Pamela for sure. Check out the book sometime. It's on Pam's lovely website, Glam by Pam. Thank you again, dear friend, for the book. I will enjoy and treasure it for years to come.

Victoria Magazine's Crown Jewels Article

You know, love sparkles--and plenty of them--and greatly admire the tasteful application of them. Now if we throw something vintage among sparkles, well...I'm smitten. So, when I opened the latest issue (unfortunately 'tis the last issue of my subscription) of Victoria magazine (the September/October issue) I confess to having a "gasp" moment! There was a feature entitled "Crown Jewels", and it showed the creations of Pam Claussen. Talk about eye candy! I kept telling myself that I'd sit down when the house was quiet and savor reading the feature, but, alas, I couldn't wait and have poured over the feature several times already! Pam takes vintage sparkles and beads and remnants of silk, brocade, and lace and creates incredible one-of-a-kind crowns, hats, bridal accessories and other lovelies. I received so much inspiration from the beautiful pictures and even visited Pam's gorgeous website>>>glambypam.net. Also, the Victoria magazine website has other pictures of her home. I'd recommend getting the magazine, visiting Victoria's website, and definitely visiting Pam's site. You won't be disappointed. I wasn't.

Victoria Magazine's Blue and White Issue

I was looking forward to Victoria magazine's "Blue and White" issue, not necessarily because I have a great love of blue and white but because it really can be stunning and I know Victoria always does a great job with it. They displayed beautiful pictures of teacups (lovely) and other things in gorgeous shades of the two colors. The shades they chose this year are a creamy white and a light blue--almost a periwinkle. Lovely! I've decided in honor of that article to give you a few pictures of MY blue and whites for the month. I have already given pictures last year of my blue and white bathroom (blue and cream actually). The toile you see here is an up-close picture of my shower curtain. I just had to have a toile shower curtain and found this one on eBay. I'm so pleased with it.
I also changed the pictures in my bathroom to the chair pictures you see here. They fit into the old gold, blue, and creamy white theme in my bathroom, and since there were found at a yard sale, the price was right. I know they are more appropriate in a dining room, but I thought they were a nice, albeit tongue-in-cheek, addition to the wall above the toilet.
And lastly, in honor of the periwinkle color of the items in Victoria magazine, I've included a picture of the Forget-Me-Not's blooming in my garden right now. I just love Forget-Me-Nots. They remind me of my grandmother and the garden she had when she lived in her house. She always had these flowers scattered about. I think they are sweet, lovely flowers in every way.

Blue and White Charm Inspired by...

...Victoria magazine's beautiful Blue and White issue! I just uploated it to my Etsy shop and wanted to share it all with you too.

A Note and Brooch to Phyllis Hoffman...

...and a lovely thank-you note in return! I was just thrilled to recieve her thank-you note on Saturday. Since Victoria magazine and Tea Time magazine are two of my very favorites, I decided to send Phyllis Hoffman a "thank-you for the wonderful magazines that I enjoy and am inspired by" note along with a brooch. No, I don't expect to sell any of my jewelry or be recognized in any way. Not at all! But rather I thought creating a unique brooch just for her was a nice, all-my-own way to express heartfelt thanks in my continuing quest to try to be a thankful person. These magazines really do give me hours of enjoyment and inspiration...why not send a thank-you? Anyway, for some reason I didn't take a picture of the brooch (not smart). It was all in blues and whites (some of her favorite colors--mmmmm, must be why there is that "blue and white" issue of Victoria every year)--very similar to the Wintertime Brooch listed in my Lollishop shop. Being the proper Southern lady that she is, I'm not surprised that she wrote a thank-you to my thank-you and am honored and feel blessed that she accepted it.

Victoria Magazine--January/February 2009 Issue

You know, I really think Victoria magazine is getting better and better. Even their advertisements are pretty (just LOVE looking at the georgeous gems in the Van Atkins Jewelers ads every issue!). The Valentine cookies on page 25 are beautiful. It would take me a lot of work to make a cookie that even looks close to that beautiful. The swan bed left me, well, speechless to say the least. My brother has been a philatelic for years and years (referring to the postal history article). He recently acquired an envelope with an old stamp on it, and the address on it to was to the Minnesota Territory which both he and I found very interesting. The article on D. Blumchen & Co. was beautifully inspiring, and I can't wait to try my hand at the petit fours recipie (minus the Grand Mariner--I don't do alcoholic beverages even for cooking). I have included pictures of an ironstone teapot, a Pankhurst "stone china" one, that my grandmother gave me and my ink wells (articles are written about both types of items in this issue). The ink wells are broken at the top because these of old had to be broken in order to get the ink out. I bought one of them in New Zealand at an antique store. It was a most enjoyable read all the way through. Good job, Victoria!

Victoria Magazine and My Pomander Project

I remember many times while visiting my grandmother she would be "working on" an orange--sticking holes in it with a large, thick needle then inserting whole cloves. I always thought it was rather a curious thing, but, you know, I don't ever remember asking her much about it for some reason. I just remembered how great the oranges would smell. Mmmmmm! Fast forward decades to a few years ago when for some reason I did my own orange. I can't remember the inspiration behind it unfortunately. I thought I'd just stick my cloves in without the needle preparing the way. I dare say, my fingers were terribly sore by the end of the project! Then I read about and saw the lovely picture in the November/December 2008 issue of Victoria Magazine of a pomander made with an apple instead of an orange. Never heard of using an apple! Well, I had an apple that was shriveling and bought some cheap cloves (aren't as perfect as the ones in the picture--but mine were affordable!) and set to work yesterday at the pleasant task of making my apple pomander. The apple was much easier to poke the cloves in than an orange, and it smells fabulous. It is now drying, and I must say I'm glad I did it. It's such a pleasant project to tackle over a cup of tea...I recommend it to everyone!

Victoria Magazine--September/October 2008 Issue

I have had fun lately browsing the latest round of magazines I thoroughly enjoy--like Tea Time Magazine and Victoria Magazine. Victoria has an article on a shop called Tail of the Yak which is a shop full of eclectic curiosities and oddities. I wish I could visit it, but California is unfortunately a little out of our budget at this time. Two pictures, well...actually three, captured my eye. One was of waxed paper teacups and saucers (page 59). These are a must-see! Talk about a paper cup gone to a higher level (perhaps two higher levels). These would be fun for a whimsical outdoor, patio-tiles-under-foot tea. They look lovely and there would be no need to fret about your lovely teacups shattering on the floor. The other picture is on page 61. IF you can get past the LOVELY diamond and gemstone rings in the antique jewelry boxes (that's the third picture!), there is a picture on the top left of the page that has what looks like miniature paintings in tiny gold frames. If only I could get a closer look! You know how I love and enjoy tiny things (one of the reasons I like those small, glass flower beads), and these looked intriguing to say the least. Get yourself a copy of Victoria and check these things out for yourself. Just this article, not to mention the rest of the magazine, is worth it.