I can't get enough of: Vintage Cocktail Rings

Lately on my weekend treasure hunts I have been completely drawn to vintage cocktail rings. Rhinestone cluster rings are my favorite. The Sarah Coventry Aurora Borealis ring on the right is such a treasure. They are so sparkly and make me want to go on the town Madmen style.

Here are a couple more. Anything big, sparkely and/or colorful and I have to bring it home.


Also, I love this necklace. Enamel, forest lichen and white? Ag! It's so beautiful! Check out my other vintage accessories. More are listed at the beginning of each week.

Estate Sale Treasures - Part Five

Well, this isn't an estate sale find this time, we actually found this on our local craig's list. I was perusing the antiques section and as soon as I laid eyes on this vintage filing cabinet I knew we had to make it ours. It was a little on the pricier side for our purchases, but it's a huge piece (over 6' tall!) and is in really lovely condition.

Some of the drawers need to be forced open and I still need to clean it all out. I put new cardstock in the labels though I think we might tea stain the paper or somehow make it a little softer and then once it finds a permanent home and use I will use my typewriter to label the drawers.

Also, note the lamp on top. That was also an estate sale find I'm still debating on what to do with. I wish it were white (anyone know how to paint glazed ceramic?) and I need to find a nice shade for it.

Estate Sale Treasures - Part Four

Forgot one last thing I picked up last weekend at the estate sale. I had my first successful try at haggling and landed this pair of brass deer for under $10. They are pretty big, about 11 inches to their ears. The doe is a little wonky since one leg is a little shorter than the rest, but a little ball of epoxy under one foot should fix that. I haven't found a good spot for them yet. I wish I had a fireplace. The would be lovely on the hearth.

Finally got the pictures up in my studio.

Took an hour or so getting the pictures up on the wall above my desk. Got the two paintings and baroque mirror at estate sales. Also snagged that vintage photo at a thrift store and put up a photo from our wedding reception my brother in law took during the beach bonfire (my dress smells a little smokey to this day). Also put up my linen calender after I threw a hem around the edges. Didn't take a lot of time but it really goes a long way in making the room feel more like a room.

Currently I'm working on a pillow sham for our sofa made of felt and one of my granny's vintage doilies. It's nice to take a day getting all the projects done I have been meaning to do for ages. More progress photos tomorrow.

DIY - Vintage Plate Wall Clock

I finally got around to finishing some projects up today that I've been wanting to do for awhile. A couple years ago I got this vintage plate at a thrift store for 30 cents. I loved the folk inspired farm scene and lovely yellow color. I used it to hold keys in my dorm and decided I wanted to find a more useful purpose for it.

I got out my handy Dremmel and bought a ceramic and glass drill bit for it at Lowes for a couple dollars. Picked up a clock motion at Walmart for $6 and once I found the center of the plate it just took a few minutes of drilling and screwing the motion into place and voila! I have a wall clock! Here are a couple more photos:


If you have any questions regarding this project, feel free to post them and I would be happy to update with the answers.

Estate Sale Treasures - Part Three

This next treasure I almost missed! It was in the garage and had a pile of tins stacked on top of it. The stencil on the inside is dated 1943 and it's a military (most likely Ammo) trunk. There are a couple partitions on the inside and at only $7 it's been added to our vintage trunk collection. I don't know where we are going to put it yet, but for now it's in the dining room corner.


One more set this afternoon! I told you we found a lot of stuff.

Estate Sale Treasures - Part Two

The next piece we found was Jared's discovery. Within the year he will hopefully be working from home and we're slowly buying pieces to build him an amazing home office. We found this fire-proof vintage filing cabinet for $35 and though it took a couple minutes to figure out how to open in (I wish I could show you the mechanics of how the drawers work) it's a pretty amazing piece. Plus, you can't get a new filing cabinet for under $50 these days and this one is built to last. I love the Telefacts emblem on the front as well.

We also got that drawer organizer on the coffee table in the foreground at the sale this weekend for a $1! It holds our remote control, coasters (from Peppersprouts) and library books and DVD's.


PS: Remember the lamps I got at an estate sale last fall? One is on top of the filing cabinet in the first photo. For now it just has a linen drum shade from walmart on it and it looks infinitely better.

Estate Sale Treasures - Part One

This weekend Jared and I hit up another estate sale on Saturday and got some fantastic deals. I figured I would share them today in a series of posts.

The first one is this amazing office chair. I am currently using a $12 Ikea desk chair that I got in college and is just about on it's last leg. We found Jared's amazing mid-century chrome and orange velor desk chair at an estate sale and have been on the hunt for one for me. We found this one this weekend for (wait for it....) $2! I love the chunky solid wood base and giant screw. It needs to be reupholstered and new padding (which I plan on doing myself) but it's in great condition otherwise. It looks to have been owned by someone named Alice at some point. I think I'll leave the label right where it is.


More estate sale finds coming throughout the day! We really made out well this weekend.

Treasury Feature - Fit for a Princess

I am fortunate enough to be included in this gorgeous treasury this week. I love these icy shades of princess pink. If you have a second head over to the treasury and leave some love for the artists and wonderful curator TheVintagePatisserie who also has a beautiful shop.

Featured:

• Madeleine Earrings by Lost & Fawned ON SALE
• Your Ghost by Elle Moss
• Bubblegum Pink Recycled Glass Necklace by Glitz Glitter
• The Rose Collection by Tied Up Memories
• Vintage Bottle of Pink Farley's Sugar by Sugar & Meringue
• Crown & Cloud Necklace by Green HEATH Treasures
• Oh Deer Shabby Chic Necklace by Wickedly Good
• Crafter Embroidery Art by I'm From the Woods
• Vintage Pink Melmac Coffee Cups by Skinny & Bernie
• Pink Daisy Pyrex Casserole by Betty's Kitchen
• Splendid South Carolina Necklace by Wooden Nickels
• Vintage Pink Romper by Hinterland Vintage

I'm going to try and feature more beautiful treasuries from now on. I've fallen in love with the whole idea and process and I think there are so many gorgeous and inspiring collections.

New Lamps & a New Apartment

Just wanted to share a recent estate sale find that is one of my new favorites. We found these lamp bases at an estate sale for $4.50 a piece! I love the buttery yellow (they will go with my new felt pillow!) and the shape. I'm trying to decide if I want to put a crisp white shade on them or something with a bold contemporary pattern. I think they will probably go in my office or maybe in our bedroom. We'll see.

Also, Jared and I got approved to move into a new apartment! We went looking this weekend and found a little place that takes dogs and is in our price range so for the time being we will be there until I find a job. We are pretty excited. We'll be moving in the first weekend in December and will be driving to ikea to furnish a couple rooms the weekend after. I am so antsy and would move in tomorrow if we could! I'll be sure to post photos when we're all settled in.

Things I'm Loving - Vintage Brass Cuffs

I'm recently fallen in love with vintage brass cuffs and have started stocking them in Lost & Fawned to share the love. I've never really been able to wear cuffs since I have petite wrists and most in stores are too big for me. But I am finding that the vintage cuffs come in slightly smaller sizes so I can wear them without worrying that the overwhelm my hand.

I currently have two styles in stock, the Ines and Aimee. I'm on the hunt for more but I just wanted to share these beauties with all of you. My new favorite accessory for this autumn and winter for sure. Happy shopping everyone!

Holiday Decor: An Open Book

Looking for recession friendly holiday decor this year? One of my favorite cheap and easy ways to decorate for halloween, thanksgiving, christmas or the seasons is with vintage books. Open or closed vintage books are inexpensive and a subtle way to show some holiday spirit. For halloween I love this copy of Eight Treasured Stories opened to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This book also does double duty for Christmas too since it also has gorgeous illustrations for A Christmas Carol in it. For halloween you can also try and over sized anatomy book opened to diagrams of skulls on your coffee table. When the holidays are over, tuck it onto a shelf until next year and it still looks chic.

Find your own in thrift stores or garage sales OR skip the digging and head on over to the vintage book section of etsy.

Color Inspiration: Vintage Blue & Pink

Since autumn arrived this week, I have been obsessed with all things fall. I love the idea of this scheme for fall. I found this tablecloth and I love the combination of the faded vintage blue with the soft pinks and yellows. At the same sale I found these notebooks from a dental student in 1949 and 1950 and love how he used blue and pink ink to highlight his notes. The pages are so beautiful for pretty envelope liners or ephemera projects.

The colors are kind of a fun play on a faded primary scheme. I think it would be a fun unconventional scheme for a thanksgiving get together or early fall picnic. With the warm browns, reds and oranges of changing leaves as the backdrop these colors would really pop.

Find these and more in my new Lost & Fawned HOME shop. More coming soon.

Annoucement: Lost & Fawned HOME

New and exciting things happening in the Lost & Fawned universe! This weekend we opened out new branch, Lost & Fawned HOME. Sprouted from our love of all things vintage and hunting for vintage treasures, we wanted to share some of our treasures with the rest of the world! Please head on over for a visit and send some love my way! I'll be listing some vintage linens, books and kitchenware later today, so stay tuned! You never know what's going to end up in there, so keep an eye out. You might find something perfect for you or a loved one (Christmas is coming up soon!).

Here are a few of the treasures you can currently find in our little slice of vintage heaven. More coming later today and of course coming next week!

Chalk Board Menu

Hi all! Now reporting from Portland, Oregon! Thanks for all the well wishes on my trip. Yesterday was the longest day ever (due partially to the time change of course).

Just wanted to share the BEAUTIFUL chalk board my mom scored off craig's list for our menu at the reception. I love the animal illustrations. It couldn't be more perfect. I'll be testing some different chalks on it this week to find one that works well on the old surface.

Vintage Cake Toppers

(Photo from Stacey Hess's photostream.)

I have always loved the idea of using an old family cake topper. They have such a nostalgic quality and they can be a great way to incorporate some family history into your reception. If you don't have a beautiful old heirloom topper in your family, there are plenty on etsy.com that are beautiful and well priced.

This one is from My Fred & Ginger on etsy. I love this one. If anyone out there is having a red and gold wedding I thin you've found your topper.

I think this quirky little piece from Babette Bistro is so fun. It's from the 1920's and I'm sure there is a great history in it. I love the little groom with his glasses.


I think these from Ktrever are so darling. They are ceramic and the little blue touches are so beautiful.