Friends and birthdays just go together. My friends, Cis, Louise, Jami, Pat and Mary, love to get together for any reason and birthdays just make our gathering even more fun. Jami invited us over for a home cooked meal, including her speciality dessert, and I had the pleasure of setting our table with china from the casual collection of Southern Vintage Table. With dinner, key lime cheesecake and vintage hats, you’ve got a YaYa palooza!
Vintage hats in a vintage suitcase provide a hit of the frivolity coming up. The pink cards are our official YaYa names!
Our food was delicious – chicken enchiladas, avocado and tomato salad, quinoa and rice – all served in and on pink vintage china in the casual collection!
After dinner, we donned our hats, made our birthday wishes to Cis and Mary and had scrumptious key lime cheesecake and coffee. Pass the vintage china, please…
The two tiered centerpiece complimented our floral vintage tea cups and dishes!Dessert coffee in gorgeous vintage tea cups
Consider Southern Vintage Table for your next birthday or special evening with friends and family. Add the vintage hats and welcoming suitcase for more vintage flavor!
Last weekend I went thrift store shopping for Southern Vintage Table and came across two beautiful vintage doors. They were narrow and had three small windows in the upper half – just charming and I thought they would be perfect as a prop after painting and distressing. I was trying to decide if I should go with a light blue or an antique white when I thought – oh no, I wonder if they have lead paint on them. Suddenly, I was the one who was getting distressed because I knew they probably did.
I love these doors, but with the lead paint, I had to pass them on.
I stopped by the hardware store and picked up a lead paint test kit, hoping that it wouldn’t be. Got home, unloaded the doors, read the directions on the kit and tested them. Bam – the tester turned bright pink which meant they had lead paint. As I said, I was very distressed. After researching how to remove lead paint, I decided to call on an expert. Found out it would cost way more than I could afford for two prop doors. Oh, well…
I figured this was another valuable learning experience and posted them on Facebook. Within 30 minutes someone wanted them, even knowing they had lead paint. I was pleased because they needed to be saved and restored. Lesson learned – take a lead paint tester with me and check before I buy them!
Not all was lost on that shopping day. I did find two vintage china plates, a vintage berry bowl and a vintage table runner. Only one of each but that’s part of the fun of thrift store shopping!
Three thrift store finds – two vintage china plates, a vintage berry bowl and a vintage table runner!
These and other beautiful vintage china and accessories are available for rental at Southern Vintage Table!
Here is a screen shot of Southern Vintage Table’s Pinterest Boards
One of the key web tools for sharing inventory of my vintage china and accessories is Pinterest. I love this site! It’s easy to import, or pin photos, and organize them onto boards. Plus, the presentation is professional and, with great appreciation, free!
When I first started using Pinterest, I uploaded photos from my website, Southern Vintage Table, and from my computer. I wasn’t thinking of the order of my uploads because I thought I could later reorganize them on my board. As I added more photos and looked back at the board, I realized there were large clusters of the same type of photo and I wanted to mix them up a bit. When I looked up how to do this, I discovered you can’t rearrange pins within a board.
At the bottom of my board there were five layered vintage china settings in a row. I wanted to move two of them to break up this cluster.
But, I found a semi-solution that helped break up the clusters. I chose a pin within the clusters and reassigned it to another board. (Click on the pencil/edit icon in the upper right of the photo. Next to the board field, scroll to find a board to temporarily pin the image.) Then I opened the new board with the moved pin at the top and re-reassigned it, pushing the pin to the top of the original board. With repinning to another board and then re-repinning to the original board, the end result is a better mix of photos and an overall more attractive board.
Now there are 3 layered vintage plates together here and at the top of the board.
Using this technique, you change the order of an entire board. Just start a new empty board and repin your photos from the original board in the order you want them to appear for your viewers. Remember to think backwards with the pin you want to be seen first being the last one you move.
(FYI – Pinterest lets you easily change the order of boards. Just click on the board and drag it to the new position. Hopefully, they’ll make it just as easy to move pins!)
These three floral vintage china patterns are lovely!
Okay, I’m revealing my age a bit, something that doesn’t bother me at all, but this 60s jingle has stuck with me for over 50 years! I was really into Barbie when I was young and I loved to change her outfits. “Mix and match, it’s fun to do, what Barbie wears is up to you…” spoke to me as a young girl of the 1960s.
Well, this jingle now goes perfectly with the table philosophy of Southern Vintage Table – love to mix and match patterns in every color, in any pattern from every decade. It’s like bringing together generations of families who sat at their dinner table throughout the century. Mix and match is still fun to do!
The vintage glass bowl gives you a peek of the rose in the china pattern underneath!Three charming vintage patterns look sweet!
All great change in America begins at the dinner table. – Ronald Reagan (www.brainyquote.com)
The perfect setting for great conversation with this beautiful blue vintage china patterns!
Southern Vintage Table is ready to help you plan for your upcoming events this fall. Have a wedding, anniversary, birthday party, baby shower or a dinner party coming up? Let us help you set the table and get the conversation started!
Check out our inventory of vintage china and accessories on Pinterest!
Molly from Moishi Moishi told me that her grandmother Myrna would say, “The higher the hat, the closer to heaven.” Well, I’ve got some heavenly thrift store cleaning tips for you!
When I first started my vintage china collection for Southern Vintage Table, I labored over removing the stickers, tape and permanent marker prices. I would peel, scape and soak every dish to get that mark off! Now, I use three products that make cleaning thrift store vintage china a breeze!
1. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. This product is fantastic – it will quickly remove the permanent ink some thrift stores use for pricing and easily takes care of sticker glue and tape residue. It also does a terrific job of cleaning the bottoms of plates and other china so that when you are finished, the plate looks almost brand new! Do be gentle with some china patterns, especially if they have gold layering. I also use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for other cleaning tasks. Today I cleaned the outside of two vintage suitcases and removed most of the scuff marks. They both look amazing all cleaned up and are now ready for my next event!
2. Eucalyptus Oil. This stuff will also remove sticky stuff on dishes. Sometimes the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser won’t get the mark off so I’ll dab some eucalyptus oil on a paper towel and wipe it off. It also smells nice and clean.
3. Very fIne sand paper. Some of the older china that’s crazed or china that’s unglazed on the bottom will soak in the permanent ink pricing. Using a very fine sand paper and lightly sanding can sometimes do the trick. Be gentle. I have also sanded down chips or sharp places on glass dishes and some china so that the imperfection is almost imperceivable.
These beautiful plates are clean and ready for your next event!
Hope these tips work for you. If you have any other hints or advice for cleaning thrift store finds, please share!
I found this in the box lot of dishes I got for $5.00. This certainly made up for the chair I didn’t mean to buy!
The seemingly small place was packed – with stuff, people and lots of chairs. I signed in and then made my way up to the front to take a look at the box lots. The items I came for were listed to go first so I wanted to make sure I was ready. I sat down, listened and absorbed all the sounds and sights of the auction house. A gentleman sat next to me in a chair that was marked with his name – definitely someone who knew what he was doing – and I would be quickly thankful he did.
My hats came up. I raised my card with the number 268 but the auctioneer didn’t see me at first. Some of the folks at the front got worried for me so they let him know I was there. The rest was a bit of a blur, but I did end up winning the bid. I wish I had a picture of my face when he said, “Sold to 268”. I bet it was hilarious! My friend then advised me to let them take the stuff to the side room so I could pick it up when I was ready to leave. Good advice.
My husband remarked that this orange beauty was a bit over styled. Well, not if you want to be noticed!Classic red and black with a little veil
He then showed me on the ticket where you could keep track of the items you won. He said it helped him keep from overspending his budget. Yep – more good advice. My hands were shaking as I wrote down my first auction win.
I was a quick learner and started bidding on the other items I had seen in the box lots. The pace is fast and you’ve got to have quick reactions. I was so quick that I ended up with something I didn’t mean to win – don’t know how that happened – but I was thankful it was only $7.50. I also learned that you don’t go back in the room to pick up your stuff but you have to wait outside the door – that lesson came a bit harshly but the lady brought my stuff to me with a somewhat apologetic face.
In addition to the hats, I also got a box lot of miscellaneous china and glassware – well worth my $5 bid, a chair – which I didn’t mean to win, and a $5 wrought iron aquarium stand that I’m going to turn into something cool.
I decided to leave before the big ticket items came up. Baby steps, I thought. It was my first auction, and undoubtedly, won’t be my last. As I was leaving with my arms full of hat boxes, another gentleman said to me, “I could see you were having a good time in there!” He must have seen my face…
These plates are incredibly beautiful and the teacups are nice, too!
These hats, plates, bowls and cups are available for your next tea party or family dinner at Southern Vintage Table!
My collection of green thumbnail tumblers begins with this one but I have several of the clear goblet pattern. It once came filled with Big Top peanut butter! We later found the cool tree bark pitcher at the local Goodwill.
It was our annual beach trip to Louise’s condo and all the yayas (Jami, Louise, Mary, Pat and me) were coming except for Cis, who was caring for her mother. (Cis, we missed you!) This tradition is something we all look forward to each summer – hanging out with each other, cooking a seafood feast, talking school talk, watching a movie and sometimes even going on the beach. For this trip, Jami and I added another diversion – thrift store hopping – although a few of the stores were anything but thrift, but they did have some beautiful vintage things that inspired us.
Our first stop was incredible – it was like a huge, dusty museum of vintageness. Most things didn’t have a price and were covered by a thick coat of dust and grime. The aisles were tight, the shelves were high and the piles were deep. In other words, perfect – well, almost. The dust did get a bit obnoxious.
We were there for nearly 3 hours – looking mostly for china but marveling at all the cool stuff there, too. Jami was on the hunt for the perfect tureen for her succulent garden. We took our finds up to the front counter and quickly a pile was started. In our collection were plates, teacups, glasses, a hat and a tureen without a lid. (Oops – that’s what happens when your hands are full and you have to move 10 things before you can get to what you wanted to see. They weren’t going to make us pay for the lid but Jami got the bottom for $2 which was the best deal we got!)
In the end, I got a few things, including some pink rimmed luncheon plates and two glasses.
Vintage Fruit Luncheon Plates
So, I started two collections (green thumbnail tumbler which goes perfectly with the amber ones I already had and the square luncheon plates) and added to my Big Top Peanut Butter goblet collection. A fruitful adventure, indeed!
August, 2013 New Vintage Decor Board added on Pinterest
Vintage purse and teapot pair up beautifully!
We have just added a new board to Pinterest featuring Vintage Decor items to enhance your vintage gathering. From vintage purses to a distressed hat rack to a vintage radio, we have lovely items that will get the conversation started!
June, 2013 – Southern Vintage Table is now on Facebook and Pinterest!
We now have a presence on Facebook and Pinterest! Visit us there for more information and photos. Comments and “Likes” will be greatly appreciated!
I love to go to the thrift stores. It’s a modern day treasure hunt – you never know what might be there. Routinely I look for wares for my business, Southern Vintage Table, and I have gotten pretty savvy over time as to what’s vintage and what’s not.
Well, one day I saw a collection of pretty dishes. The gold details were prefect and the flowers looked hand painted, but to me, the pattern just didn’t have that “vintage” look. I must have studied them for some time, trying to figure out what to do. My collection was growing and I wanted to be smart with each and every investment. In the end, something told me to pick up a few pieces, just in case, because they won’t be there tomorrow if I changed my mind.
I chose a set of 4 plates, cups, saucers as well as the creamer and sugar dish. When I got home and unpacked them, I looked them up on the internet. Of course, you know the end of the story – they became my oldest pattern in my collection, discontinued circa 1918, according to a major tableware replacements company.
After doing a bit more research, the pattern, Azalea by Noritake, was also a give-away by the Larken Company for buying and selling their products. I also see some conflicting information about the pattern being produced through the 1930s. But, no matter, it’s vintage and beautiful!
Azalea was one of the most popular midcentury china patterns.
I went back to the thrift store the next day to pick up the remaining pieces, but all were gone. Needless to say, that’s the tricky part of thrift store buying that many of us know and love.
Lesson learned that day for me – I’ve got alot more to learn!
