La Bella Vie: June 2011

Friday, June 24, 2011

Vintage Pink Coin Dot Lamps...

As my motto says in my intro; when in doubt, make a lamp out of it so we did! These are a pair of vintage 1940's lamps that I found at an estate sale several years ago for about $5.00 a piece. They were in desperate need of a good bath, re-wiring, and new shades so it was the perfect pink Saturday DIY project.
I'm told the pattern name of the lamp base is called "Cranberry Coin Dot" of which I don't know very much about, I'd love it if anyone has any information they can share about the lamps or the pattern.
I hope you enjoy the transformation of these whimsical little cuties as much as I do.
This project was what I had asked Mr. La Bella Vie for as a birthday present and we had so much fun doing this, I just had to share!

they were both pretty dirty and disgusting once we took them all apart!

but they had great potential...

great little details...

and lots of old patina...

but these little gals needed a good bubble bath...

new wiring...

and a new place to show off their pretty new pink outfits...new shoes, new dress and new hats to match...

and somewhere to show them off...

sitting atop my June mantle all decked out in their pretty pink spring finery...which is a light and whimsical departure from THIS look just a few months ago...

Hope you enjoyed this little pink project as much as I did!

Linking up with;

CSI Project

Head on over to take a look at her blog, its adorable!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Elegant Heisey Crystolite

For many years I've collected Heisey Crystolite depression glass because it was fairly inexpensive and an easy to find for a novice collector of Elegant glassware . It was manufactured in Ohio at the Heisey glass factory between the years of 1930-1957. I am fortunate enough to have about forty pieces of Crystolite and still seem to find pieces to add to my growing collection whenever I'm in an antique shop or an estate sale or online.

This particular glassware is called "Elegant Glassware" according to this book by Gene Florence.

Here are a couple vintage ads I purchased while antiquing one day. These 1940-1952 ads really seem to depict the innocence of the era which I love. I had already started collecting Crystolite when I came across these and now have them framed and sitting in with my collection.

{click pics to enlarge}

During WWII, the Heisey company shuttered their plant like so many others, during a period of materials scarcity. They came back online after the war, and as this 1952 ad suggests, continued to pursue and build upon their reputation for excellent quality. But, it was hard to compete with mass production, and the company closed down after Christmas 1957.

Below are just a few pieces I have in my collection

creamer, sugar and tray

oval mayonnaise and liner

scalloped Gardenia bowl and buffet liner

punch bowl and buffet or punch liner

punch bowl set and cups

deep oval floral bowl

The excerpt below from Gene Florence's book about this Swan Neck pitcher never fails to thrill me because this lovely swan just happens to live in my collection!

"I am most often asked about the swan handled pitcher in this pattern which is extremely rare. You will never mistake it should you get the opportunity to see one!" ~ Gene Florence

Torte tray and a fruit bowl

a cigarette box

and the Heisey Diamond logo

I hope you've enjoyed my sparkly little collection of Elegant glassware and

thank you Debra at "Common Ground" for so graciously hosting another

Vintage Inspired Friday, one of my favorite topics.

Just click on the VIF link in my side bar to get a glimpse of all the wonderful vintage inspired collections out there!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Art of Entertaining Outdoors

So here we are today for another "Blog Party" for this week

hosted by our ever popular Marty at "A Stroll Through Life" for her Table Top Tuesday linky party...you need to pop on over there, she is amazing!

Today its all about outdoor cooking and dining and DIY which I love, love, love to do. Oh and have I mentioned, (I can't bather on enough about this) I love, love, love, setting my table and dining outside when the weather permits here in the Pacific Northwest!

I also love the idea of setting a beautiful table and taking in the fresh air on warm summer days...and is it me or does the food just taste better when dining Al Fresco?

Now come sit for a while and enjoy, the Butler is waiting!

This little man is waiting to do his job:

serving tasty little things!

stemware at the ready for wine...

the rules of the table...

dining Al Fresco on the deck...

White Dahlias from my garden...

Hope you've enjoyed my little dinner party outside...on the menu

just click HERE for the recipes, you'll love em!

Thank you again Marty for hosting this party today!

Plates, cheese tray and Butler: Grasslands; "The Art of Entertaining"

Flatware; Pottery Barn

Stemware; Cost Plus World Market

Silver Chargers; Cost Plus World Market

Silver napkin rings; Cost Plus World Market

Black place mats; Kohls

Candles; Kohls

Dahlias; "Magic Moment" from my garden collection

Silver Center piece tray; Goodwill

Oh those glorious summer days...

OK so today we're partying with Kim over at Savvy Southern Style for her turn at "Blog Party" week. Her theme today "Summer Decks and Porches" one of my favorite topics!
Honestly I could have done a weeks worth of posts' just on that topic but this is all about having fun and not loosing your audience to boredom!

This is our wrap around porch that Mr.LBV built a couple years ago and its one of our favorite places to sit and have coffee in the morning or a glass of wine in the evening.

This is our wrap around porch that Mr.LBV built a couple years ago and its is one of my favorite places. You can see a sweet little black and white photo of it on my sidebar as it was being constructed...