Christmas Collectibles

It's no secret to those who know me, know that I LOVE Christmas! The music, decorations, cookie baking, the hustle and bustle, sharing fun with family and friends as well as beloved traditions.

Each special decor item holds a special memory. Perhaps a souvenir of a trip, a vintage ornament from my childhood, a precious gift from a loved one.

The creche pictured was a wonderful find during one of my antiquing road trips. It is whimsical and charming, made in Germany. The carved wood manger scene, trees are the perfect backdrop for the Holy Family, Christ Child and beautiful angels. I fell in love with in. It holds a special place in my Christmas display. After all, the birth of our Savior is the true joy of the Christmas season.

May your holiday season be filled with love and memories.... xo

Please visit my Etsy shop to find Christmas treasures for your home:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiladyLinden?section_id=17162595&ref=shopsection_leftnav_9

Tree Day... We LOVE Our Family Traditions!

My family embraces our traditions, especially during the holiday season. Our most favorite, however, is TREE Day which is always the day following Thanksgiving!

Since my daughter, Natalie, was a baby, our family has made the trek south to the town of Holland's tree farm. Complete with picnic lunch: thermos of hot cocoa, homemade cookies and overstuffed turkey sandwiches... yummy and listening to our favorite Christmas music!

Living in Western New York, you never know what the weather will be ... it has run the gamut from a 60 degree day and no snow (like this year) to below zero with four feet of snow! Each year is an adventure!

My daughter always loved getting a small tree for her room and when she moved to her own place continued this tradition. Tree day has held so much meaning to her, so much so, that two years ago her husband proposed on tree day whilst her overjoyed mother could not contain her excitement!!

As you can see that year was very snowy! We were all surprised by the engagement and it made for a special tree day we will never forget!

Over the years there have been many stories: once we locked the keys in the car, the time we assisted another couple who lost their tree on the highway and the year I wanted a "Charlie Brown" tree that I had seen in a magazine with few branches and wide open spaces (I have a thing about wanting spaces to hang my ornaments), they indulged me but never let me forget it!

When we find the "perfect" tree we take family pictures, hold hands and sing our own rendition of "O Christmas Tree"... corny... oh yes! This year Natalie decided we should all wear flannel shirts for our photo op and since the weather was mild, the shirts looked cozy!

Making memories, sharing love and celebrating the most beautiful season! We love tree day! xo

Charming and Sweet Colorful Silk Velvet Pumpkins... with a Milady Linden Spin!

The first time I spotted a little velvet pumpkin cutie was at a Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio. I loved it, but since my budget was already blown on other vintage treasures, I passed it by.

Since that time, my fall decor does include one or two of the original and lovely hot skwash pumpkins. However, his year I decided to put my on twist on silk velvet pumpkins and ordered me up some fabulously rich autumn colored fat quarter fabric on Etsy.

The pumpkins are easy to make .... cut a circle of fabric, sew a running stitch with embroidery floss, which I found was thicker and less likely to break. Then stuff with rice!

I added whimsical shaped sticks to mine instead of pumpkin stems.

Since I am a collector of vintage gems, laces and the like, my pumpkins were embellished with vintage and a few feathers here and there!  I am in love with these!

Above a purple eggplant color with vintage lace and millinery leaf,  rich burgundy color with filigree finding and gold color with vintage leaf

Since these are so easy peasy, one, two, threesy to make, I see a lot of different varieties available on Etsy. It was a fun fall project and every nook and cranny of my home is filled with delightful punkins!

Happy Autumn!  xo

The Beauty of Autumn

This has been such a gorgeous autumn, the weather has been incredible ... I just love it!

 The flowers in my garden are still blooming and today their beauty beckoned for a bouquet to brighten my table.  A vintage silver coffee pot was the perfect vessel to hold the colorful collection of red begonia, purple coleus, red dahlia, gray dusty miller, green eucalyptus, pink hydrangea, purple Russian sage, and orange zinnia. 

Don't you adore my cheery bouquet? I sure do!

xo

Help Me! I'm Stuck!!

As my passion for discovering vintage miniature perfume bottles increases and my collection grows, invariably I will find the perfect French glass perfume bottle; only to find the beautiful crystal stopper is stuck! Has that ever happened to you?

Not to fret! I have found a solution that works to get those stubborn stoppers unstuck!

It is simple, effective and safe.

Simply go to your medicine cabinet or your local pharmacy for a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Fill a tiny glass jar or even a shot glass with a small amount of rubbing alcohol and place the stuck bottle upside down into the jar. Of course if it is a larger bottle you would adjust the size of your jar!

If the perfume bottle has it's original label you must be so careful not to submerge the label. The trick is to get the neck with stopper portion only into the alcohol ... please note in my photo. If the bottle has no label like mine, it is clear sailing!

Now be very, very patient... this may take several days to a week or more! But it works, it really does! I remove the bottle daily, dry it and carefully twist the stopper with a clean thin towel. Even the most obstinate stoppers eventually give up!

Here is the caveat: some of the alcohol may leach into the bottle so if you wish to salvage the perfume, this method may not be your solution. You may prefer just to dab alcohol around the stopper to see if that will help it budge.  

Good luck with your precious bottles!  I hope you have enjoyed my little perfume bottle first aid tip!

Happy Collecting! xo

To see my collection of miniature perfumes for sale on ETSY please click the link:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiladyLinden/search?search_query=glass+perfume&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

What Smells so Pretty Around Here?

Amongst the variety of things I adore and have collected are vintage perfume bottles and of late, my interest has been rekindled! The story goes like this, girl walks into an antique store, she spots a collection of vintage Parisian perfume bottles and the girl falls in love! Those miniature French perfume bottles sure tickled my fancy!

At a recent estate sale, I discovered the lady of the house also had a penchant for miniature perfume bottles and it was quite enjoyable purchasing some of her lovely collection. Displayed on a Victorian tray aren't they enchanting?

This whimsical little Limoges porcelain basket with three gem mini bottles was a gift from my sister-in-law. She always finds the best presents!

Vintage Irice perfume bottles in porcelain or with jeweled tops!  So beautiful!

Pretty pink DeVilbis atomizer!

A whimsical little bakelite perfume pot with hand painted forget me nots!

Hope you have enjoyed my collection! xo

To see a selection of vintage perfume bottles for sale please visit my ETSY shop:https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiladyLinden/search?search_query=vintage+perfume&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

Driving Miz Daisy Vintage Market

Nothing like a morning at a vintage market! And flea marketing Southern California style!

A wedding brought me to the San Diego area and I decided to extend the trip into a vacation! It was a great idea~ especially when I found the Driving Miz Daisy Vintage Market! Woo hoo! I did not know what to expect but perusing the first row, I knew I was in vintage heaven!

My beau is always driving me around on treasure hunts and he calls it Driving Ms. Karen, so the name of this vintage market was particularly apropos and amusing.

The market was larger than anticipated and after a while, sadly, I had to hurry my behind because said beau was getting impatient! But I managed to load up with enough vintage treasures to satisfy my vintage soul!

It turns out I found an old Larkin Company vintage powder box which was super cool because the Larkin Company is literally in my backyard. The vendor did not appreciate that I was from Buffalo! lol That's ok by me!

I discovered an amazing locket, some cufflinks, religious medals, beautiful vintage lace and this gorgeous Art Nouveau buckle which I repurposed into this lovely necklace.

And there was the bunch of circa 1940's charms including this fabulous Walter Lampl sterling church charm with Stanhope lens Lord's Prayer! Great find!

You can find these and other vintage treasures in my Etsy shop!  Please stop by for a visit real soon!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiladyLinden

PS... Another highlight of the market was the amazing and delicious handcrafted burger I had for lunch at the CUT food truck. It had bacon relish..... mmm. I want another, too bad I live 3000 miles away.

xo