Thursday, January 28, 2010

B is for Bird!

B is for Bird!

(A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!)

To learn more about Alphabe-Thursday click HERE!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Song I Love!


With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I've decided to share some of my vintage cards today. While this card is not exactly a Valentine, it definitely speaks to us of love. The little girl pictured on the card is an animal lover...and I love that!

Today, I am participating in RUBY TUESDAY hosted by
WORK OF THE POET.
Click HERE to see more participants and their beautiful shades of red!

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To enter my OWOH Magic Carpet
GIVEAWAY click
HERE!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Valentine Bluebirds of Happiness!

In looking through some of my collectibles, I rediscovered this beautiful Valentine in my vintage greeting card collection and thought it brought forward a sweet and perfect message of love and friendship for my dear blogging friends. Bluebirds for happiness! So I'm sharing this today and wishing you all a beautiful Sunday and a week filled with happiness, peace, and goodness! Enjoy!

Tomorrow begins the 2010 One World One Heart global event. This is a wonderful event in which anyone with a blog may participate by having a giveaway and/or by simply visiting others who are having giveaways. The main purpose of this event is to get to know other bloggers by visiting their blogs, and in so doing fostering a feeling of friendship around the world. I will be hosting a OWOH giveaway starting tomorrow so be sure to stop back to visit and enter! It's going to be a lot of fun!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Paper Roses for Pink Saturday!

Four days before Thanksgiving and one day before my November birthday, Jim and I decided to take a ride to one of our favorite thrift stores! The sun was out, the breeze was mild, and the treasures were calling!

Spotting a very pretty stack of rose-covered vintage dishes across the room, I hurried on over to get a better look. They certainly were pretty—beautiful really! I turned a small dessert plate over to find any marking it might have but there was nothing written on the bottom of the plate. And there was no price marked on the dishes...a sure sign they would be more expensive than I'd want to pay for unmarked dishes. Still, they were VERY pretty. I walked away to think about it and to find someone to ask about the price.

The clerk, without looking at me, hurried over to the stack of dishes and with her sticker "gun" started shooting every piece on the shelf. I was afraid to look. However...the price was (gulp, it couldn't possibly be true) marked at only $29.95! I almost tripped over myself getting back over to the dishes to tell the clerk that indeed I wanted them. (Badly!) What an amazing bargain for such lovely pieces! Who cared if they didn't have any markings. Did it really matter? No, absolutely not!

So, it wasn't until the following day when I began to unpack the dishes from their newspaper wrappings that I turned over the first piece, a vegetable bowl, and discovered the words Blue Ridge! Of course, they were Blue Ridge! I'd been looking at Blue Ridge odds and ends for years in antique malls and thinking it would be such a privilege to own a few pieces. But a whole set! For $29.95! This was unbelievable! What a gift! My heart was absolutely dancing!In 1916 the owners of the Ohio, Clinchfield and North Carolina Railroads, wanting to expand their rail shipping business, started The Clinchfield Pottery in the small town of Erwin, Tennessee where the railroad stopped and which was centrally located close to raw materials and people to work as employees. The name Blue Ridge came about around 1932-33 because Erwin is located in the Blue Ridge mountains. When Clinchfield Pottery incorporated, the name was changed to Southern Potteries, Inc.

All pottery pieces were hand-painted in an assembly line with the more seasoned painters painting the major designs while less experienced painters dotted the blossoms and colored the leaves and stems. All in all, there were over 5,000 different hand-painted Blue Ridge patterns. I was fortunate to find a website for identifying patterns and discovered that the name of my dish set is Paper Roses! (How romantic!)
By 1946, Blue Ridge pottery was so popular that the company had showrooms across the U.S. During World War II the pottery was in its height of popularity, but by 1957 the boom had ended with the entry of plastic dinnerware. It took a few decades for the Blue Ridge pottery pieces to become as collectible as they are today but there are still some beautiful pieces available in antique malls!

And, once in a blue moon, someone might—just might—find a whole unused set in a thrift store! You just never know!


Go to PINK SATURDAY for more Pink treasures!!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Love's Message and Cherry Winks Cookie Recipe!

Today I'm sharing another Valentine from my vintage greeting card collection and also a favorite old Valentine Cookie Recipe called "Cherry Winks" from a 1960's Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book! I just love these old recipes!

Don't these cookies sound delicious and remind you of days gone by? Maybe they'll even bring back a memory or two for you! Happy remembering! Have a beautiful day, everyone!
And...for more FREE 50'S FAMILY RECIPES, check out my