Sucker for a Pretty Bottle

I've been to a few flea markets lately and am looking forward to a big one at the end of next week.  I even changed a doctor's appointment so that I can go to it.  Can't wait!! 

Anyway, this pretty bottle was in a group of bottles for a great price.  I was intending to sell it, but after a good wash it really looked great.  Isn't the label gorgeous?  I'm truly a sucker for a beautiful label.  If the label is pretty on a jelly jar...(and if money isn't an issue) I'll buy it.  If little mints are in a beautiful package...I'll buy it.  The glass stopper is pretty too.  I'm thankful that so many gorgeous things have passed through my hands, most of which have been placed in my shop.  Many were very hard to let go of.  Should this bottle go in my shop?  Nope, this one ended up on my dresser and is mine! 

Vintage Jewelry Embellished Perfume Bottle Necklace

Well, I had had this perfume bottle on my craft table for quite awhile now.  It was completely intact except for the embellishment that was on the very front.  It dawned on me to PUT an embellishment on the front that would complement the bottle (plus some extra pearls and rhinestones).  After seeing my mother's Stampington magazine, I then decided to make it into a necklace. 

 

The bail and chain can be taken off without any problem if someone just wanted the pretty little bottle for their boudoir table.  I personally prefer it as just the bottle, but it's nice that this piece is versatile enough to be used as a necklace as well. 

Flea Market Finds

It is so great to have good weather to get out and about again.  What a long winter...and long spring.  The flea market started last weekend, but we couldn't go because the kids had their violin recital (actually, the weather wasn't the best either).  But, today was sunny and pleasant.  Here is a picture of some of the finds from today's flea market--some pretty jewelry, a vintage Christian Dior perfume bottle, a shimmery beaded purse, and some beautiful antique books. 

Now I need to get listing some of these things in my Etsy shop.  Have a great weekend.

Slowly Progressing

It's amazing how some things can slow down so much and other things speed up at the same time.  Sales at my shop, flea markets and sales, working on projects....these have slowed down considerably lately.  Homeschooling, sorting, time...these have definitely sped up.  We started school last week.  My husband has next week off (and a busy one it will be!), so I wanted to get a jump start on the kids, work so that we didn't get behind.  That takes up a good deal of time.  My sales have slowed down considerably lately, no doubt because of the time of year.  I had purchased things over the summer but had not gone through everything, so I am taking the time while the kids work on school to sort, organize, and rearrange.  I HAVE worked on a few things like this pretty bottle but not on many.

I've been to only a few sales lately and have tried to go to some flea markets only to find out that they didn't really exist or something else came up unexpectedly so that I was not able to go.  As fall approaches I know that sales and flea markets will be coming to a close pretty soon.  Not looking forward to that! 
I have also been working on a swap--it is for a prize ribbon.  I was to create a prize ribbon in colors to my swap partner's liking.  I finished it yesterday and will be mailing it off today.  Pictures will be in another post once my partner receives her ribbon. 

New Camera

Unfortunately...I think unfortunately...our old camera...well, got too old to use.  It started with pictures that looked like Venetian blinds had been pulled across them.  Then...occasionally the pictures would turn out totally white.  Then we started to get pictures that were totally black.  What took the cake was at our children's baptism...we only got one picture!  Thankfully there were, of course, others there, and my mother-in-law sent us pictures of what we missed.  I think our camera was just plain worn out.  I HAD taken thousands and thousands of pictures with it....and thankfully it didn't decide to do its funny tricks on a mountain in Montana or in the back of beyond somewhere on our vacation.  So, we researched and *ouch* bought a new one--a Kodak Easyshare.  I realllllly didn't like the idea of forking out money for a new one, but you have to do what you have to do, right?  No pictures, no listing things in my shop.  I'd take a picture of the camera, but that would be a little difficult.  Thankfully it was on clearance and thus $75 was raked off the price.  It IS better than our other camera, and I do believe it takes better pictures.  I'm still trying to figure out the editing tools which aren't as good as on the software of our previous camera.

Don't you think the pictures are pretty clear?  I took this picture of a newly finished perfume bottle for my shop yesterday and am pleased with the clarity and light (the camera adjusts its own light). 

Spring Giveaway Jubilee Giveaway

I'm connecting with Sarah at Hope in Every Season, for her Spring Giveaway Jubilee.  She and others are offering giveaways during the month of March.  How can I resist joining in on the fun?  I'm offering a vintage rose perfume label image ornament, a wee sparkly ice cream cone trinket box (the ice cream part lifts up off the cone!), and a sparkling vintage rhinestone "leaf" pin.  I'll choose a winner March 31.

Here are my rules....

1.  Open to all--even internationally.
2.  One entry...leave a comment below.
3.  One entry....follow me on Facebook...leave comment below telling me you are.
4.  One entry....follow me on Twitter...leave comment below telling me you are.
5.  One entry...blog about my giveaway....leave comment below telling me you did.

Easy peasy.  Just make sure I can get a hold of you via email if you are the winner.  Please go to Sarah's blog to check out the other giveaways and enter them as well.  The more the merrier!

By Special Request

You go through life and meet people who you wish you really had never met.  Then you meet people who, when you look back, you are just so glad that you got to know them.   One such person was a delightful lady who purchased a perfume bottle from me last spring.  She was so kind.  Then she wrote back saying that she had some of her mother's jewelry that she would never wear...and could I put some of the pieces on perfume bottles for her and some of her relatives?  I admit to being nervous breaking apart these precious memories of her mother, but then again, she and I were working together trying to repurpose these pieces into a new way for her and her family members to remember her mother.  Much time (and prayer!) went into these bottles.  I included this lady in every decision with plenty of pictures and emails back and forth.  The bottles were finished and last week arrived at their destination.  I shall miss our emailing back and forth but am truly glad for the chance I had to get to know her.  Such fun it all was!  It is a great honor to help carry on these precious memories in the lives of this lady and her family.  I don't know if you will ever read this, but thank you so much, Mary.  You are a kind and generous person, and I'm sure your family members will appreciate your creativity and thoughtfulness.  I'm so glad to have gotten to know you. 

New Perfume Bottle

I love green and pink together.  When I found this bottle, I knew it had to be embellished with some special pieces of jewelry to enhance both the jewelry and the bottle.  This was fun to create.  I listed it this morning in my Etsy shop.  Hope you like it!

New Vintage Jewelry Embellished Perfume Bottles

I've added a few new embellished perfume bottles to my shop.  These two came out well, and I really do like them.  One has a black on gray cameo complete with a very old glass beaded spray at the top.

The other has two guilloche pink rose pieces with plenty of rhinestones.  I love guilloche rose jewelry as well as pink and green together, so this one is one of my favorites. They may be found in my Etsy shop at http://www.glassbeadtreasures.etsy.com/

New Bottles Listed

It has been a busy week for us, but in between things I was able to finish and list a few new bottles. This green one was sort of an experiment. It is not a perfume bottle but rather just a craft bottle turned into a decorative boudoir-type bottle. The green is pretty, and green is a difficult color to get as a perfume bottle. The pretty guilloche plate looks perfect on it, and the porcelain roses and little bird with a nest full of faux pearls made for a pretty, spring-like piece. This "blushing rose" bottle has a sweet, ever-so-light pink rose flanked by two white flowers. I think it looks soft and pretty. This tea roses one is one someone asked me to do. She saw the one I had done with similar pieces on Flickr and asked if I could do one for her. Thankfully (and rarely) I did have some pieces left to embellish this.

More Vintage Jewelry Embellished Perfume Bottles

I've been having great fun lately embellishing perfume bottles. With my stores of broken and orphaned jewelry strewn all over the counter (I am SO thankful for my very understanding and sweet husband), I have been planning and putting together several bottles lately. Believe it or not, it actually takes me quite awhile to plan what goes on which bottle. The jewelry has to fit the personality of the bottle and its curvature. Then--the hard part sometimes--I need to find several pieces of jewelry that may have come from different places to work in harmony with each other. Here are some of the results.

I think purple is a beautiful color--elegant and rich--and this bottle I thought offered plenty of royal sparkle.

I really like the crown one, since I DO love crowns. When I bought this broken crown at an estate sale, I knew immediately that it belonged on a perfume bottle. It was hard to choose what should go with the crown...I mean, how can a person top a crown? With jewels, of course!

The seashore one was interesting. It started with a broken brooch that was gold "coral" with a rhinestone ball in it. I just carried on the theme with other bits (was very excited to find the "pearl" and coral colored starfish jewelry at an estate sale) for a seaside intrigue.

This one reminds me of Italy...must be the cameo. I tried to keep this one simple and elegant with rich browns and golds and subtle sparkle.

I found three other perfume bottles at the flea market last Saturday and thankfully got them for a song. Two are Italian glass and are gorgeous by themselves. I will be working on them over the next few weeks as well as finish up another bottle today.

Another Embellished Perfume Bottle

This one took awhile to put together, but I'm pleased with the end result. I had this little Coro brooch featuring a lady--I think she looks very elegant and French--that I couldn't sell because part of it was damaged. I don't really like to sell a signed piece unless it is all there. Anyway, it fit perfectly on this little crystal perfume bottle and made a nice focal point for it. The top part is a very elegant rhinestone earring that had fallen apart. I then glued on a "pearl" bead that coordinates with the "pearls" that are staggered with rhinestones surrounding the lady. I listed it in my Etsy store this morning. Hope you like it!

Vintage Jewelry on Perfume Bottles--Repurposed and Glitzy

Remember the estate sale I blogged about a few weeks past with the box of rhinestones and broken vintage jewelry bits that I bought? I'll show you the picture again to remind you.
I have been busy since--and making a huge mess in the process--organizing that box. Pieces of jewelry and rhinestones have literally covered one whole counter top in our kitchen while I've been working on it in my spare time. (Thank you, Honey, for being so patient!) I've been sorting rhinestones, seeing what vintage pieces may be salvaged, organizing orphan earrings, and seeing what needs some repair and/or reworking to use in something pretty. Many rhinestones and faux pearls were gone in many pieces to begin with or were removed by the previous owner of this box. Well, I'm actually making progress. I had purchased a little blue perfume bottle at a thrift store for my grandmother (had previously posted about that too), and decided to make my first try at decorating something with that. Here is the result...
I was pleased and so was Gram. The vintage bits really perked up the bottle and made it prettier. I had purchased some quality little crystal perfume bottles a while back, and thought last week that they would be great things to put some broken jewelry pieces on--and the bottle at the very top and the one below are the result. I like perfume bottles anyway, as you know, so these were perfect for this project. Without a question these are one of a kind items!
The rhinestones may not all match, there may be a chip or scratch on a piece...but I think that adds to the charm of these repurposed vintage jewelry bits. These glitzy little pieces of jewelry certainly shouldn't be thrown out just because they are showing signs of their age!
I'll be adding the crystal perfume bottles to my Lollishops/Etsy shops soon, and I'm working on a few more. This has been such fun, and I've enjoyed this greatly

Perfume Bottles and Romantic Homes Magazine

I always get way too far ahead of myself when it comes to reading my magazine subscriptions. I just got "Tea Time" in the mail...their January/February issue where they are talking about Valentines Day already...but I can't help it! All of this beautiful, fabulous information with pictures is sitting there waiting for me, and I can't resist peeking...then reading...from cover to cover!
Well, the January 2010 issue of "Romantic Homes" arrived, and I've already read through the whole thing. I couldn't help it. There is a must-see article about the home of one of the Layla-Grace co-founders, Wendy Estes, (the ornate white-with-pink-kissed-roses dresser is WAY, WAY beyond gorgeous), and there was a little article about perfume bottles. How can one resist an article about perfume bottles?
First, in the picture above, is the decorative glass "tray" that I have on my dresser. I don't use the things on it. It is basically just for decoration. I like the labels and the shapes and think it is romantic in every way.
The pink one with the heart-shaped topper I've had since high school and really like the color of the bottle AND the heart, of course.
The green one with the crown topper I bought in New Zealand at an antique store. It is a bath salt bottle actually with some of the salts still in it. I thought the crown was gorgeous and unique.
This is the perfume I use. My husband loved the scent...on another girlfriend, if you can believe that! LOL! But, no hard feelings at all, and I've worn it for over 20 years. He usually gets it for me for our anniversary when I'm out. I take great care not to waste it, and a bottle lasts and lasts and smells wonderful...oh, and makes me think of Paris!
These are little miniature bottles that I have sitting on this chintz plate on my dresser. You know...I can't resist anything in miniature, so a few miniature perfume bottles are a must. The Poeme bottle was given to me, and I like it for it's shape. The Paris miniature bottle, I've had for years and years. It was a "diamond" edition freebie with a Paris perfume purchase well over 10 years ago. My kids think it's a real diamond--wish it were!
Finally, this trio is an inexpensive set, but they look expensive, I think. The colors go perfectly with our bathroom colors. I love the crystal stoppers, and they sparkle and shine (when they aren't dusty!) and look beautiful when the sun is shining in our bathroom window. They just seem to glow.
I really do like and enjoy perfume bottles. I love their shapes, sizes, and labels. I don't have many perfume bottles, and those that I DO have aren't expensive ones. But, who needs to spend all outdoors to enjoy something pretty? Bottles and labels in many shapes and forms (like my glittery, shabby rose perfume label ornament--for year-round enjoyment) can truly add pretty spots of color and glamor to a home.