Ivy & Elephants Giveaway II

On our Ebony & Ivory post we hinted about giving away one of those gorgeous white porcelain pitchers, with the raised roses on them. Well here we go.

There are 6 ways to enter!

1) Leave us a comment describing what you would do with this porcelain pitcher if you were to win the giveaway. 

2) If you are a follower, get a friend (or two or three or more) to become a follower and leave us a comment indicating that your friend is now a follower. You must leave their name/blog so we can go by and show them some blog love. You can enter as many times as you have friends who are now new followers (i.e. you get 3 friends to follow, you get to enter 3 times).

3) Become a follower and leave us a comment indicating that you are a new follower.

4) Post our giveaway on your blog linking it back to us and leave us a comment indicating that you did.

5) Follow us on Twitter and leave us a comment indicating that you did.

6) "Like" us on Facebook and leave us a comment indicating that you did.

Remember to leave a separate comment for each cool task in order to increase your odds of winning.  We will be using a Random  Generator to choose the winner.  We will be announcing our winner on Sunday, September 4th. Grab our giveaway button, on the right side of this post, to share with friends. Good Luck and Thank you for a wonderful two months!

We are partying with the following fabulous folks this week:

Saturday Night Fun @ Sisters of the Wild West

DebbieDoo's Newbie Party @ DebbieDoo's

Amaze me Monday @ Dittle Dattle

Masterpiece Monday @ Boogie Board Cottage

Inspire me Monday @ Singing Three Little Birds

Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter

White Wednesday @ Faded Charm

Wow us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

House in the Roses @ The House in the Roses

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Enchanted with White Ironstone

In my earlier days as a mere newbie blog voyeur, I was visiting Cindy over at My Romantic Home and she was sharing her collection of ironstone on Faded Charms' White Wednesday blog party. So anywho, I was dumbstruck and in awe. At that moment I finally had a name to some of my great-grandmother's china. I just knew that they were white or cream in color and were a bit heavier than some of her other china. Now I had a name to what this type of pottery was called. Then to see how Cindy had it all displayed so fabulously in one place made me, of course, want more. So immediately I started to add on to my great-grandmother Helen's wonderful collection. Let's look at a few of the pieces I have collected and cherished.

During the early 19th century, a new type of stoneware was introduced in England by the Staffordshire potters. These folks were looking for a cheaper way to mass produce pottery that sort of looked like porcelain, but, well, wasn't. What they ended up with was a product that was a durable stoneware. 

Ironstone is also known as stoneware, graniteware, tea leaf and a host of other names. With its clay body, this type of china is generally opaque as opposed to translucent like porcelain. There are several fabulous manufacturers of ironstone such as Mason, Spode, Delph, and few others. My two favorites are Staffordshire (Liberty Blue Ironstone) and Red Cliff. When it comes to white ironstone my favorite is Red Cliff. This beautiful tureen, with embossed grapes is a Red Cliff piece. I really took a fancy to the raised grapes. 

 Look closely and you will see the embossed grapes. 

Red Cliff ironstone china dinnerware adds so much elegance to a table.

 I chose the salad plates with the embossed grapes for the dining room table. 

Speaking of grapes, I placed them inside a two-sided ironstone gravy boat on the dining room table. I get more use out of the piece as a place to hold healthy snacks than as an actual gravy boat. The only time actual gravy goes in this piece is at Thanksgiving time. As they say "A minute on the lips and life time on the hips." 

I had heard of the many adventures of people finding china, especially ironstone, at thrift stores. Much to my surprise, I walked into Goodwill one day and there she was...waiting for me to pick her up and take her home for $2.00. She doesn't have her lid but I use her two ways. Beautiful flowers look so pretty inside at the breakfast table. I don't use her as a coffee pot (since she doesn't have a lid). Instead I use her as a tall teapot. I put hot water inside and serve a mean cup of tea. 

I can't believe someone donated that ironstone coffee pot to the Goodwill. Behind the pot and the chinese tea cup is a rectangular ironstone tray that ways a ton. I love to serve appetizers on that tray.

White ironstone comes in a myriad of shades of creamy white and I love them all. The teacup-for-one is a creamier shade of white than the soup tureen on the right. The small tray holding the rainier cherries is a much whiter white. They look wonderful in front of the Italian clay pottery pieces.

Thank you for taking a sneak peak at a few of my favorite pieces of ironstone! Stick around and I may show you my Staffordshire Liberty Blue ironstone collection one day.

Come back next week for a super cool giveaway of one the porcelain pitchers with raised roses featured on our blog post Ebony and Ivory.  

This week we are partying with the following fabulous folks:

DebbieDoo's Newbie Party @ DebbieDoo's

It's Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri

Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle

Sunday Blog Love @ Cherished Treasures 

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage
Table Top Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Wow us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style

Time to Shine @ A Diamond in the Stuff

Inspired by you Wednesdays @ Eisy Morgan

Anything Goes @ Type A

White Wednesday @Faded Charm

Transformation Thursday@The Shabby Creek Cottage

Time Travel Thursday @ The Brambleberry Cottage

Pearls and Lace Thursday @ Faith, Grace, & Crafts

Open House Party @ On Sutton Place

Club G.W. @ Charm Bracelet Diva

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @ Primp

Tea Time Thursdays @ Kreative Korner

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Fridays Unfolded @ Stuff and Nonsense

Farmhouse Friday @ LaurieAnna's Vintage Home

Before Blogging Throwback Thursdays @ Sugar & Spice in the land of Balls & Sticks

Balancing Acts

 Welcome to this week’s post designed to help you bring some “balance” into your home. By using these little gems just like a plateau or stand you can add presence to any item. Let’s begin by adding a beautiful brass postal scale with graduated weights used to determine postage.

 Just look at Miss. Lillie’s post card from 1909. Why not let it hold your mail too?

 A lovely vintage memory of a bygone age. How romantic!

 I’ve displayed this portable hanging scale in an old vintage frame.

 I wonder what they measured? Gold dust perhaps? It makes for some fabulous wall art.

 This little scale, though just decorative, is performing an important function. It holds my bling!

 Hmm… diamonds or pearls? A weighty decision.

 To continue to maintain balance in the home, why not incorporate balances, as in vintage iron scales.

 One sure fire way of sparking harmony is a good cup of tea. I love blends of whole leaf teas after a hard day’s work.

 How many of you use scales in your kitchen décor? To hold a basket of eggs perhaps,

 or fruit?

 This tiny one holds a little Limoges egg carton, now how sweet is that?

 How about a little balance in the guest bath. No really, that is a little (as in small) balance on the back of the commode.

 Just add some wonderful guest soaps, special bath oil, and fresh cut roses and your guests will not only feel welcomed but pampered as well.

 Finally, balance in the boudoir. Display your makeup, jewelry, scented candles, books, or even your glasses!

 So how about bringing a little balance into your home décor too? The possibilities are endless!

 

Patti & Paula

We're linking to the following fabulous parties:

Today's Thrifty Treasures @ Southern Hospitality

DebbieDoo's Newbie Party @ DebbieDoo's

It's Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri

Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle

Motivate me Monday @ Keeping it Simple

Sunday Blog Love @ Cherished Treasures 

Table Top Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage

Time to Shine @ A Diamond in the Stuff

Whatever Wednesday @ Momma Hen

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

White Wednesday @Faded Charm

Transformation Thursday @The Shabby Creek Cottage 

Thrifty Thursday @Tales from Bloggeritaville 

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground

Fridays Unfolded @ Stuff and Nonsense Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home Inspiration Friday @ At the Picket Fence Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

Farm House Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home

Tea Time Thursdays @ Kreative Korner

Time Travel Thursday @ The Brambleberry Cottage
Saturday Showoff @ The Rosegarden in Malevik

Fruits of Our Labor

This week I’d like to share another of my obsessions collections, stone fruit.  It is actually made of marble, then hand painted in Italy.  A few years ago I was reading a magazine article about a woman who collected it. It was gorgeous! She had a huge wire garden planter filled with it on her dining room table. My heart skipped a beat and I was in love!

 These were my first two pieces found on a trip to South Carolina. My other pieces were acquired on eBay.

 

I’ve made many mistakes over the years, (it’s sometimes hard to tell the old from the new) but I think I’ve managed to put together a pretty good collection.

 

I mainly display mine in the kitchen, but lately I’ve noticed them in vignettes in bookcases and on coffee tables. If you are interested you can learn more here. Some people collect only one specific fruit or like me, they want them all.  I’m missing some of the rarer pieces so … the hunt continues!

But my true love is this fabulous Czechoslovakian fruit basket lamp. This unusual lamp design was created in Czech glass houses between 1918-1938.

 

A metal frame holds strings of clear glass beads to form a basket.

 The top was wired with individual glass fruits or flowers.

 A light bulb was positioned at the base of the basket causing the fruit to glow when lit. They are usually displayed in the living room or bedroom. These were rediscovered in the 1990’s by collectors and are highly sought after. 

Here are some other “fruity” finds like this Currier and Ives print entitled “Fruits of the Season”.

I display it up high on the kitchen cabinets with more stone fruit. 

 Also up high is this oil painting on canvas of fruit.

(I just love paintings in the kitchen.)

This molded glass lamp shade is also a fun way to “shed some light” on any situation (or dark corner!) 

This little plaque is also a favorite. It is a reverse painting of fruit on glass.

I hope you’ve enjoyed “the fruits of my labor” and might decide to start a fruit collection of your own. Check out Marcy over at AntiqueChase, she’s a fruitie, too!

Love,

Patti

We're linking to the following parties:

Seasonal Sunday @	The Tablescaper
Sunday Blog Love @	Cherished Treasures
Masterpiece Monday @	Boogie Board Cottage
Making the World Cuter Monday @	Making the World Cuter
Today’s Thrifty Treasures@	Southern Hospitality
It’s Party Time @	It’s So Very Cheri
Show Off Your Cottage Monday @	The House in the Roses
Mosaic Monday @	Little Red House
Metamorphosis Monday @	Between Naps on the Porch
Blue Monday @	Smiling Sally
Amaze Me Monday @	Dittle Dattle
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @	Coastal Charm
Tuesday’s Treasures @	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sizzle Into Summer Party @	DIY by Design
Twice Owned Tuesday	Creating a House of Grace
Table Top Tuesday @	A Stroll Thru Life
Club G.W. @	Charm Bracelet Diva
Wow Us Wednesday @	Savvy Southern Style
Share the Love Wednesday @	Very Merry Vintage Style
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @	{Primp}
Authentic Style @	WhisperWood Cottage
Transformation Thursday @	The Shabby Chic Cottage
Thrifty Thursday@	Tales From Bloggeritaville
Vintage Thingie Thursday @	The Coloradolady
Time Travel Thursday @	The Brambleberry Cottage
Treasure Hunt Thursday @	From My Front Porch to Yours
Vintage Inspiration Friday @	Common Ground
Fridays Unfolded @	Stuff and Nonsense
Home Sweet Home @	The Charm of Home
Show and Tell Friday @	My Romantic Home
Inspiration Friday @	At the Picket Fence
Feathered Nest Friday @	French Country Cottage
Thrifty Things Friday @	The Thrifty Groove
Sat Nite Special @	Funky Junk Interiors
Saturday Spotlight @	SAS Interiors