Luscious Luminaries of Victoriana purchased from Salvation Army for $59 for 2 of these, appraised for $800 brass hand held candle holder, handle behind reflector close up of lamp below 7.99 Goodwill women made these crystal beaded covers to hide the plain bulbs of early fixtures holder not old but found great use for my depression Ruby glass goblets actually… Read more →
history
A Stroll Through Boston
Ames Hotel another Boston Adventure ,Nov 2011 Ames Hotel, Boston,Mass We decided to take advantage of a relatively pleasant afternoon and visit the Ames Hotel. It was built for offices of the famed Ames Tool company ,who made their initial fortune by coming up with a top notch shovel,just at the beginning of industialization and the expansion west of the… Read more →
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“My” Trip to Bountiful
In April 2013 I finally made a successful trip to” The Eames Rock” as the local Framingham, Mass. news refers to it.”Traffic is backed up all the way to Eames Rock.” The Eames family except for Thomas and 4 children lost their lives here during the historical King Phillip”s War. My maiden name was Ames and DNA reveals a… Read more →
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Mantel Mania
Victorian furniture left us with the unique and lovely heritage of the ornate mantel. They were usually mirrored and ensconced within a lovely carved frame with various sizes of shelves positioned in strategic positions on the lovely old wood. The mirrors were beveled which offers a clue if the mirror on a mantel has been replaced. Nevertheless replaced… Read more →
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Tea for Me
Oh my! How in the World Can I Serve Tea?and How to remove water marks from old furniture!
Isn’t this every lady’s dilemma? Well, it probably was for many Victorian Ladies….so you just know it was a great dilemma for me, I serve tea so often, in my Victorian fantasies at least.
Little did I know that the answer was waiting for me just inside the Salvation Army Boutique. Now you know when boutique is added on to the store logo that there resides within it’s confines articles that are deemed to elicit a little higher price point than the rock bottom prices found in the main store.
Well there she stood,a rather forlorn soul with no rubber tires on her wheels a few chips in her veneer and worst of all,under her removable glass tray total white out. Evidently moisture had collected under the glass and caused the shellac finish to turn white. This is a fairly common dilemma especially for older shellac finish furniture.In fear and trepidation I gingerly picked up the price tag which revealed to me it’s “boutique “price,$125.00 and no senior discount in the “boutique”.My fears were not unfounded.
As I debated the purchase the deciding factor was that in all my searches I had never seen one before. Those I had seen were newer vintage and bore prices up to hundreds of dollars.
The decision was made , I purchased the tea cart and happily brought it home. The water marks covered easily under the tray with a piece of lace and vintage greeting cards. The wheels’ rubber tires were replaced with a black electrical cord glued on with liquid nails and the few veneer chips were camouflaged with a furniture scratch repair pen.It looked great. You may question the look of electric cords to replace it’s old hard rubber tires but I just saw one in OLD TOWN ORANGE for hundreds of dollars and I honestly could not tell the difference.
Little did I know that the answer was waiting for me just inside the Salvation Army Boutique. Now you know when boutique is added on to the store logo that there resides within it’s confines articles that are deemed to elicit a little higher price point than the rock bottom prices found in the main store.
Well there she stood,a rather forlorn soul with no rubber tires on her wheels a few chips in her veneer and worst of all,under her removable glass tray total white out. Evidently moisture had collected under the glass and caused the shellac finish to turn white. This is a fairly common dilemma especially for older shellac finish furniture.In fear and trepidation I gingerly picked up the price tag which revealed to me it’s “boutique “price,$125.00 and no senior discount in the “boutique”.My fears were not unfounded.
As I debated the purchase the deciding factor was that in all my searches I had never seen one before. Those I had seen were newer vintage and bore prices up to hundreds of dollars.
The decision was made , I purchased the tea cart and happily brought it home. The water marks covered easily under the tray with a piece of lace and vintage greeting cards. The wheels’ rubber tires were replaced with a black electrical cord glued on with liquid nails and the few veneer chips were camouflaged with a furniture scratch repair pen.It looked great. You may question the look of electric cords to replace it’s old hard rubber tires but I just saw one in OLD TOWN ORANGE for hundreds of dollars and I honestly could not tell the difference.
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| Hebrews 13:2 be not forgetful to entertain strangers: |
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| glass tray is removable for convenience in serving |
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| really can’t tell the difference from the electric cord tires to the real ones! |
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| My tea cart has drop leaves to increase the serving surface,note the vintage cards that I left under the tray, a great way to display them and no water marks! |
Alas the water marks were still present. I had tried many remedies to no avail. All that was left was refinishing and this I didn’t care to do. Then one day a friend gave me a gift of Howard Orange Oil furniture polish. In my attempt to give my tea table a good cleaning,I noticed that the water marks were disappearing! What a great discovery! Now I can remove the lace cover up and my tea cart is pristine..at least in my eyes…And best of all I can serve tea with great pride(in my fantasies , at least!)
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Surviving Global Warming ?!! Victorian Style!
Summer Breadspreads Victorians as well as their predecessors suffered greatly from the heat. Just think, no air condition or even electric fans…so they were very inventive in minimizing the effect’s of the summer heat. The houses became very hot during the day so often you would see trees planted around them not only for the aesthetics of it but also to create… Read more →
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Of Quilts and Quilters
. Proverbs 31:13 She seeketh wool ,and flax,and worketh willingly with her hands.31;18b,19 Her candle goeth not out by night.She layeth her hand to thespindle and her hands hold the distaff. Cathedral window,very difficult, made by my mom Quilts or coverlets have been the end product of women’s endeavors to properly decorate the family beds for centuries. Most in the very early… Read more →