Vintage Milk Glass Vase with Dried Flowers

Vintage Feature – The Beauty of Vintage Milk Glass

Milk Glass Vase Rental

I remember the first time I heard the term “milk glass.”  My dear sister-in-law, Cathy, was packing up her house to move to the Outer Banks.  She showed me a vase and explained it was hobnail milk glass.  I recall thinking “what a cool name” and I think I even had her spell it since I had never heard “hobnail”, but it wasn’t love at first sight for me.  Of course, I said something like, “hmmm, that’s interesting” but I didn’t quite understand why anyone would collect a knobby white vase.  Like many twists in life, I never imagined I’d be building a collection of milk glass today for my business, Southern Vintage Table!

Since then I’ve educated myself a bit on this classic vintage glassware. I’ve learned that milk glass has been around since the 1500s but the term “milk glass” wasn’t coined until the twentieth century.  Although “milk glass” was popularized by the white milk-like color, the word “milk” doesn’t necessarily mean white; it means the glass isn’t transparent, but translucent. Here’s a little bit of chemistry trivia – they use either tin oxide or bone ash (yep, ashes of real bones) to give the glass that milky white color!

“Opal glass.” as it was called, comes in white, brown and black as well as in hues of green, yellow, pink and blue. It was invented in Venice in the 16th century, spread to France and England and then to America.  First considered collectables by the wealthy, many American companies began making less expensive milk glassware for the masses.  One highly, collectable and popular variety is Jadeite, which has a beautiful light green color.  Our collection is only white but I’m always on the lookout for the other colors.

Probably all of us have seen the many styles of milk glass vases. I’ve collected small bud to large bouquet vases, with wonderful designs and textures. Here are some from our collection!

Milk Glass Vase Rental NC

Milk Glass Vase Rental

I love the vintage compotes and serving dishes in the milky white color.  Food just looks extra delicious against the pure white of the dish!

Milk Glass Compote

Vintage milk glass goblets and small compotes are also lovely and can be used as either vases, planters, or small serving dishes!Milk Glass Compotes Rental

The purity of white vintage milk glass is a classic choice for so many special gatherings such as weddings, receptions, showers, anniversaries, and dinner parties. Invite Southern Vintage Table to help you set the table with this charming vintage accessory! More of our collection can be seen on our Pinterest Board.

Milk Glass Vase Rental

For more about milk glass, check out these resources!
Milk Glass Kitchen
Wikipedia
About.com Antiques

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – Mixing and Matching with a New Set of Vintage China

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

I came across another beautiful set of china that fits perfectly with the vintage china collection at Southern Vintage Table.  This vintage set belonged to Grandmother Belle and, according to her daughter in law, was used on special occasions. I can imagine how delighted Belle must have been when she set her table for her guests with her fine china! This pattern is by Grace China and called Formal Garden. Discontinued in 1939, it was made in pre-war Japan which means it’s at least 75 years old!

This pattern is truly beautiful, but I think the sweet floral design stands out even more when mixed with other vintage patterns. Here’s a collection of place settings featuring the Formal Garden dinner plate with a medley of salad plates. Some patterns are contemporaries with Formal Garden and others were manufactured decades later. Such historical richness in a place setting!

Here are a few photos with the soup/salad bowl and the dessert plate.  Charming!

Another gorgeous vintage china pattern in our vintage china collection ready for you to share with your guests!  Contact Southern Vintage Table for more information about our event packages with our lovely, vintage wares. We look forward to hearing from you!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – New Additions to Southern Vintage Table

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

It’s time to catch up with some of our new additions to our inventory here at Southern Vintage Table!  We have found a little bit of everything and we know you’ll love them all!

We added three new teacups to our growing collection of lovely china.  This one is gorgeous, inside and out, with its purple flowers and gold trim. This vintage set is by Royal Sealy China of Japan.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

Here’s a version of the Blue Willow pattern that I had not seen before. This pair of teacups were made in Occupied Japan, making them a bit of a collector’s item, and this dates them between 1945-52. I didn’t notice that detail until I brought them home because I was taken by their beautiful cobalt blue color with gold trim. What a nice surprise!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

It was an amazing week as far as pink glassware!  I found three Jeannette Glass Cube footed tumblers from the early 1930s.  The pair of pink embossed goblets are a little less vintage.  The pattern, Arbor by Noritake, was discontinued in the late 1990s.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

The next three finds are now in our vintage decor collection.  One is a vintage jug that would be perfect for a spray of flowers and the another is a vintage flour sifter. They belonged to Belle and they are probably from the 1930s-40s. The vintage wooden box is from a thrift store nearby – I love the rough, darkened wood!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

Found this trio of charming dessert plates at a flea market.  I love the hand-painted dogwood, something I can’t walk away from since the dogwood is our state’s official flower!  The pattern is Dixie Dogwood by Joni and although they’re a bit crazed, I appreciate their beauty.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

We added to our milk glass collection with these three vases.  Their regal design is a new one for me!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

Perhaps my favorite find is this beautiful, hand crocheted lace overlay.  It’s incredible!  I found it at a local thrift store so I do not know anymore than what I can see – but that’s saying a lot!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China RentalThese and other unique vintage items are now available at Southern Vintage China.  Add a bit of beauty and history to your next happy occasion!

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – A Sentimental Look at American Life through “People” China Patterns

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
This elaborate china pattern features a very popular Godey print!

I love flowers on vintage china patterns – pinks, blues, yellows and greens in floral motifs are beautiful to behold as you sit down to your dinner meal. And, although flowers are lovely, I also appreciate non-floral china patterns decorated with images of roosters, funky shapes and people. As I looked through our inventory at Southern Vintage Table I realized that we had quite a few “people” patterns and decided it would be interesting and fun to see these all together!

Let’s start with the Godey print china patterns portraying Victorian life. I researched this Colonial couple a while back and discovered that this print actually came from a magazine called Godey’s Magazine and Lady’s Book.  According to Wikipedia, the magazine was printed from 1830-1898 and the editor during most of that era was Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

The magazine is best known for the hand-tinted fashion plate that appeared at the start of each issue, which provide a record of the progression of women’s dress. Publisher Louis Godey showed off that in 1859, it cost $105,200 to produce the Lady’s Book, with the coloring of the fashion-plates costing $8,000.[15] Almost every issue also included an illustration and pattern with measurements for a garment to be sewn at home. A sheet of music for piano provided the latest waltz, polka or galop.

Wow! Can you imagine how exciting it must have been to get this magazine every month with the hottest fashions, a dress pattern and the latest music hit? Well worth that $3 a year subscription price, right? Read more about the influence of this magazine on American culture – I learned that wearing white on your wedding day, putting up a Christmas tree and even the celebration of Thanksgiving became popular traditions because of this publication! Get more details in the Wikipedia article – it’s a fascinating read!

Apparently this print featured above was very popular when you consider how many different china companies used it as their center design. I looked on a popular china replacement website and found at least 37 different china patterns with this one print!  Companies like Limoges, Sebring Pottery, Homer Laughlin, Canonsburg, Harker, Cronin, Stetson, Sheffield, Royal, WS George, Salem and Crooksville all had this print on at least one pattern – in fact, several had it on multiple patterns. I wish I knew how all these china companies ended up with this one Godey print, so if anyone out there can enlighten me, please do!

We also have four china patterns with a similar look from that same time period – the first is a Godey print and the other two are very similar.

This look was popular through the mid century. I found a Salem China’s advertisement from 1945 featuring the Godey print pattern with this comment.

“Every meal becomes an “occasion” when your table is set with Salem’s Godey’s prints. Faithful color reproductions with all the charm of Godey’s Lady’s Book.”

Now let’s take a look at another view of American life in this series of “people” patterns that were popular mid-century through sometime in the 1980s. Farm and rural life are depicted in many china patterns; perhaps the most well known are the Currier & Ives patterns from Royal China and Scio. The landscape scenery is the main focus but there are folks in there, too! The blue pattern is made by Royal China, the green by Scio and the last one is by Metlox Poppytrail, All three china companies were once thriving industries in America – Royal China and Scio were located in Ohio and Metlox was in California.

What I love about these rural series is that each of the china pieces in a pattern have a different scene so the entire set works together to tell the story – a multi motif pattern. For instance, the blue Currier & Ives has an Old Grist Mill on the dinner plate, the salad plate has an image of Washington’s birthplace and the cereal bowl shows a schoolhouse covered in snow. How delightful! Here’s one resource that you might enjoy about Royal China and the Currier & Ives series. By the way, I learned from Wikipedia that Currier & Ives were not the artists of the prints; they owned the printmaking firm that produced the artwork.

The final “people” plates are two that portray early American History. The Liberty Blue series is also multi-motif with the dinner plate showcasing Independence Hall and the other is called Old Church Tower Jamestown Blue by Adams China. It features images from this settlement and portraits of John Smith and Princess Pocahontas!

As I researched and wrote this blog, I became more deeply enthralled with the work of the artisans of the china and dinnerware industry. Their artistry is encapsulated in a piece of china for generations to enjoy at the family dinner table. How cool is that?

We have these patterns and others in our inventory at Southern Vintage Table! Give us a call or send an email to find out how we can help make your next gathering special and memorable!

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage Linens

Vintage Feature – Vintage Table Linens are Delicate, Lovely and Often Very Personal

Southern Vintage Table Vintage Linens
This vintage tablecloth with its blue hand stitched embroidery says love!

I am so appreciative of the beauty and unique history of vintage linens. Unlike china and crystal, vintage linens are often personalized with the delicate touch of hand stitching or embroidery. A true vintage treasure is finding a tablecloth or set of napkins that is a one-of-a-kind with the beautiful handiwork of its previous owner.

Whether it’s fine linen or pure cotton, lacy or frayed, embroidered or edged with lace, crisp white or cream colored, vintage linens add a special touch to the dinner table. Here is a sampling of our treasured inventory of vintage napkins and tablecloths at Southern Vintage Table.

These embroidered napkins are sweet!

Vintage white napkins with white embroidery is clean, crisp and fresh.

Our inventory of vintage tablecloths includes different sizes and colors.  Below are two of our small embroidered cream-colored vintage tablecloths and three white vintage lace tablecloths.

Although white and cream are classic vintage colors, Southern Vintage Table has other colors and patterns in our linen collection.  Our Pinterest board featuring our vintage linens recently has been created and more pins will be forthcoming. Also, check out our vintage doilies board – we have lots in our inventory!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage LinensVintage tablecloths, napkins, placemats, runners, and doilies are in our linen closet at Southern Vintage Table.  We’d love to share our treasures with you!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage Linens• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – Small Vintage Goblets are Perfect for the Wedding Toast

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

We love vintage glassware!  The feel, the look and the history embodied in a tumbler or goblet speaks to us. So when a client asked if Southern Vintage Table had one hundred small clear vintage goblets for the toast at her wedding, we told her, “not yet, but we will!”  With this request from Rebekah an extra element of fun had been added to our vintage adventures.  Every thrift store and antique shop we have visited in the past month has been very focused as we search for the perfect collection of small vintage goblets.  Here are just a few we have found so far.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental
This vintage Jenkins pattern is pre 1920!

We are almost there, Rebekah, with your one hundred small clear vintage goblets and we must admit, we’lll probably still be looking way beyond that count.  We definitely will be ready come September!

If you have an upcoming wedding, please contact Southern Vintage Table.  We have an extensive inventory of vintage china, silverware, glassware and linens, and if we don’t have exactly what you want, we’ll do our best to find it!

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Event – Bass Family Thanksgiving Reunion

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

My first memory of our annual Thanksgiving family reunion is from the 1960s. The 9 of us, my mom and 8 children, piled into the car. With food dishes in our laps, we headed to Dunn to meet up with the rest of the Bass family. Grandma Susie and Grandpa Wiley lived in Dunn and we gathered at their church for our feast. As years passed, we have moved the location several times, from Durham to Efland to Chapel Hill and now Rolesville, but more than 40 years later, the gang continues this wonderful family tradition.

Since I started collecting plates for Southern Vintage Table, I envisioned using stoneware at a Southern family reunion. As my sisters and I planned this year’s gathering, I suggested we use this collection from the 60s, 70s and 80s to set our tables. With the array of vintage stoneware patterns in blues, golds, greens, browns and yellows, the table setting would also include vintage textured glasses, placemats and cloth napkins.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Rowena, Sandy and I arrived at the Masonic Lodge late Wednesday morning and many hours later, we transformed the rustic meeting room for our 70 Bass relatives and friends. With help from Sandy’s friend, Rose, we covered the tables with brown paper and used placemats to color block the stoneware patterns. Between the sets of 6 plates we designed a simple, natural tablescape with magnolia leaves, pine cones, sweetgum balls and moss. With the striking orange lilies from Fernrock Farm, a cluster of magnolia leaves, twigs and vintage Mason jars, our tables were ready.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Vintage stoneware dessert plates ready for pie, cake and other yummy goodies!

Here’s a collage of photos of the Bass family and friends before, during and after our Thanksgiving meal. After the meal and with everyone’s help, we quickly got the tables cleared, the dishes washed and packed, the floors swept and the furniture moved back into position. Thank you, Russ and Cait, for sharing your photos!

Since our first Thanksgiving reunion, several dear members of our family have left us and each time we get together, we honor them – Susie and Wiley, Jack and Neva, Toot and Maeline, Chester and Lois, Bill, Gerrie and Mike. To the folks visiting other relatives and to the ones who got snowed in, we missed you and hope to see you next year.

Once again, the Bass Family came together on Thanksgiving. We hugged, we feasted and we parted, feeling content and connected. ‘Till next year, Bass Family and Friends!

Planning a family reunion or a rustic wedding?  Consider using our stoneware collection at Southern Vintage Table!

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Tips – You Can Restore the Shine to your Silver-plated Treasures

Got another cleaning tip for you this week!  If you have a silver-plated dish, platter or goblet that has lost its sheen, I have a product you may want to try.

This is the before shot of a silver-plated goblet I picked up at a local thrift store. I thought it could be cleaned with silver cleaner but, unfortunately, the silver-plate had simply worn off – this was as good as it was going to get. The red you see in the photo is the base metal.

The silver plate was worn off of this goblet.

I found a product that will return the silver sheen – it’s called Alexander Hamilton House Silver Secret.

Months ago I found this product online and haven’t been able find anything else about it except what’s on their website. I decided to give it a try on some silver plated cutlery that had some of the silver worn off.  Well, my expectations were a bit unrealistic because, as it clearly states on the website, it is not a filler.  Although the silver adhered to the cutlery, the surface was not smooth. For this project, however, it looked like the silver-plate had just worn off so the results were much better.

With gloves on, I am re-plating the goblets with a cloth that was dipped into the plater. Since the liquid has silver in it, you’ll want to wear gloves and protect the surface you are working on. I used parchment paper on the counter.

Vintage Silver-Plated Goblets
Here are three shiny goblets ready to be used as vases!

Consider trying Alexander Hamilton House Silver Secret if you have silver-plated items that need a bit spiffing up. From my experience, it works much better when there are no surface pits or scratches. Please note that I am not endorsing this product for any gain – I just happened to use it and thought others might want to know about it as well. If you have any experience with this product, please share in the comment section!

Vintage Silver-Plated Goblets

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – Wheat Patterns are Perfect for the Thanksgiving Table

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Wheat is a classic vintage design. As I shared in a previous post, wheat is the symbol for prosperity, love, home and hearth, harvest, spring, birth and hope, making it the perfect pattern for America’s favorite family holiday, Thanksgiving. As a special request from Jami, here is a Thanksgiving tablescape featuring vintage wheat patterns, amber glassware. linens and silverware from Southern Vintage Table!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NCPinecones with tags and twine become place names for guests and leaves collected from the woods are nature doilies on the vintage lace tablecloth. (The tags are a free download from the website, Love vs Design.)  I also tied the corners of the rectangle lace table cloth with twine – saw this trick at the state fair table setting competition!lindatag

candlestick

Tied corners of the tablecloth with twine!
Tied corners of the tablecloth with twine!

The centerpiece is a tower made from an antique sieve with a wooden distressed cake plate turned upside down. The final piece is an antique spool once used in clothing factories with an arrangement of dried flowers in the center hole.  A burlap ribbon (see directions at the end of the post for how to cut a straight line in burlap).  Pine cones, leaves and nuts complete the natural centerpiece arrangement.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table
Many of these dried flowers came from Fernrock Farm!  The fresh flowers were beautiful but I also love the dried arrangement.

For practically all my life Thanksgiving has been spent with my extended family on my mother’s side.  We all bring our favorite dishes and sit down to a great Southern meal – turkey, ham, dressing with gravy, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, collards, chicken & dumplings, potato salad, field peas – and amazing desserts such as carrot cake, chocolate pie, pecan pie and chocolate eclair cake. After our feast, the older folks linger at the tables and catch up on family news and the younger crew heads outside for the classic Turkey football matchup.  I’m now part of that older crowd but I do remember some great football games when I was younger!

This year, with the help of my sisters, I am setting the table with plates from the vintage stoneware collection from Southern Vintage Table for our annual Bass/Heath/Roberson family reunion. I’ll be sharing photos in an upcoming blog!

May your Thanksgiving be filled with love and joy with family and friends!

Southern Vintage Table

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—— How to Cut a Straight Line in Burlap ——

1.  Pull a string from the loosely woven fabric.

pulling2

2.  Cut along the line!

cuttingline

cut

cut end

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Tips – Out, Dang Spot, On My Vintage China!

My focus this week at Southern Vintage Table has been to clean and organize – linens, silverware and china.  As I shared in last week’s blog, I was given a set of vintage china – a beautiful cream-colored pattern with red and blue flowers around the rim. Most of the pieces were in impeccable condition but some of the plates were discolored. I was determined to find a way to get Lillian’s china cleaned. Well, keep reading ’cause I have some good news – it can be done!

Image
Here’s the before – washing in hot, soapy water didn’t touch these stains!
Here's after soaking on 8% hydrogen peroxide overnight and then being in a warm oven for one hour.
Here’s after soaking in 8% hydrogen peroxide overnight and then baking in a warm oven for one hour.
All clean!  Amazing transformation!
Amazing transformation!

Here’s how it was done. I first researched how to get discolored vintage china cleaned and below are three articles I found.  Be sure to read all three because they each convey slightly different information but most importantly, there are safety precautions you’ll need to follow if you decide to use hydrogen peroxide. Of course, there are many more articles about cleaning china so you may want to do your own search for ideas, but this is certainly a good start.

Safely Removing Crazing Stains from Porcelain/Pottery

Removing Stubborn Stains from Antique Limoges Porcelain

Miss Mustard Seed – How to Clean Ironstone and Houzz

I first tried OxiClean soaks by filling the sink with very warm water and adding a full scoop of the detergent. I soaked the dishes overnight, checked them in the morning, removed the cleaned items and refilled the sink.  oxyclean

I did this all week and many items came completely clean.  I could tell some stains were fading but they were still visible so I went to the next level – 8% hydrogen peroxide, which I ordered online. The article mentions to be very careful with hydrogen peroxide and I will agree – it will hurt if you touch it with your bare hands!  Be sure to wear protective gloves.

peroxideOne of the articles mentions to fill a container and soak the entire dish.  I didn’t have enough to soak all of them so I poured the solution on the plates and the bowls and let them soak overnight.

In this case, you can see the hydrogen peroxide seeping into the crazed cracks where the discoloration is lodged.
In this case, you can see the hydrogen peroxide seeping into the crazed cracks where the discoloration is lodged.

The next morning I poured off the solution into a container so I could reuse it, put the plates and bowls on the cold racks and then set the oven to 200 degrees. Per the directions, I baked them for 1 hour.  When I removed the pieces, I put them in hot soapy water.  As the article warns, do not put them in cool water straight out of the oven or they may break.

Do not preheat the oven !
Do not preheat the oven!

The first time I removed the dishes I was so impressed with the technique!  All of the dishes were definitely cleaner and most were completely unstained. Some needed a second go-around. Only a few still had some discoloration but it was hardly noticeable, especially when you saw the before and after.

After cleaning Lillian’s dishes, I tried the technique with two other sets of dishes that had similar stains. These two didn’t need baking because the hydrogen peroxide bleached them overnight.

before bowl
Before soaking in 8% hydrogen peroxide
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Amazing transformation after an overnight soak!
Before...
Before soaking in 8% hydrogen peroxide
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
After and beautiful!

Right now, I have one final sink of dishes soaking in two scoops of Oxi Clean.  I also added a stash of vintage napkins and I already see that the stains are disappearing!  It’s been a long process and I am still at it, but what terrific results!  If you have dingy or discolored china, read through the above articles and decide what technique you should use.  It’s definitely worth the effort!  One final note, if you have crazing, this will not fix the cracks but it will help remove the stains between which making them much less noticeable.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NCPS – As far as my long ago goals, I’m finished with the silver and still working on napkins but should have them finished this week!  I’m crossing my fingers on that one…

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC