Treats From The Past…

Don’t these old fashioned Oatmeal Cookies look yummy? I had fun baking these cookies this afternoon using a recipe from one of my vintage cookbooks.

I’ve collected vintage cookbooks for years and really enjoy reading them and I also use them for display in my kitchen. These charming books always take me right back to my granny’s kitchen.

These are two of my favorites. I adore the one titled “Just for Two – Economical and Dainty Cooking for Small Families”. I just loved that term…Dainty Cooking!!! When these books were printed, circa 1906, cooking was hard work. Women were still building fires inside their stoves with wood to cook their meals. I can hardly wait for the beep on my microwave and I can’t even imagine having to wait around for a fire to catch. I’d probably be really skinny if I lived back then because I’m sure I would avoid cooking at all costs.

Another fun thing about collecting old recipe books, I often find little snippets of papers, receipts and other what-not’s tucked between the pages. This photo shows all the goodies I discovered in this one book alone…a couple of old handwritten recipes, recipes clipped from the newspaper, a photo negative of 4 farm girls, an old postcard and an old receipt dated 1932 for egg deliveries.

Vintage cookbooks are still pretty easy to find. I find them at flea markets as well as in antique stores. eBay is good source for them too. If you have not taken time to flip through an old recipe book, I encourage you to do so next time you come across one of these little treasures!

Simple Craft Project! Jeweled Candles!!!

I did a quick craft project today that I thought I would share with anyone who has odd plates or saucers around the house and you’re not sure what to do with them. I am very fortunate to have wonderful friends and shop owners in the antique business who have my back, so to speak, when in comes to finding pretty vintage dishes for me to use in making my jewelry. At times, my studio is bulging at the seams with all this china! Mr. Cupid teases me that the “Great Wall of China” is NOT located on the other side of the world, but is in fact, located in my studio.

I came up with an idea today on what I could do with those odd pieces that won’t work for my broken china jewelry pieces. I selected a few pretty, shabby looking saucers….

I then grabbed my trusty hot glue gun and gave each saucer a pretty pearl rim using those pearl strand garlands that you use on your Christmas tree. They are great for craft projects! I then used my scalloped edged scissors to cut wide strips of vintage sheet music, which I put around the candle. I then wrapped pretty lace seam binding over the paper and then attached a piece of vintage jewelry for a little extra sparkle.

See how pretty the pearls are around the edge of the plates!

And Viola! Vintage Jeweled Candles ready for anyplace that needs a little touch of shabby chic glamour. I hope you’ll try this simple and fun project. I think they would make cute gifts too!

New Jewels In The Shop!

Wheeeew…. I’ve been really busy with custom orders this past week and I also started creating my new line of “Queen Jewelry”. Before I sit down to finally rest my hands for the weekend, I wanted to share my new jewels with you!

I’ve had the thoughts of this line of jewelry dancing around in my head for months now, so I finally just sat myself down and made it happen. My poor soldering irons…I’ve got two on their last legs and I am sure they will be replaced soon. I loved doing the historical research on this jewelry line to add tidbits of information about the portraits. I am all but ready to pack my bags and move to France! All the pendants are embellished with Swarovski Pearls and Crystals and Sterling beads and come with a chain so you can wear them right away. After all, you have a Queendom to rule over!

Marie Antoinette's Royal Portrait, circa 1775

Marie Antoinette Fashion Plate Necklace

Such a sweet childhood portrait, this is Marie Antoinette at the tender age of 12!

Romantic portraits of French Empress Josephine, Grand Duchess Bonaparte & Marie Antoinette.

Another romantic portrait of Marie Antoinette with her beloved pink roses and the regal portrait of Empress Josephine.

I love this portrait of Marie Antoinette. It's her official betrothal portrait that she sat for on the eve of her wedding. I also love the colors of the pretty Grand Duchess Bonaparte portrait.

These romantic Queen portrait necklaces are really beautiful in person. Just the right size and they are double-sided too! So it’s like getting 2 necklaces for the price of one. On all the Marie Antoinette necklaces, you'll fine her pretty Coat of Arms on the flip side. Her crest includes the royal crown, roses and Fleur de Lis. On the back of the Empress Josephine and Grand Duchess Bonaparte, you'll find romantic vintage French love poem paper snippets which have been hand printed with the classic Fleur de Lis. So for those of you who like to celebrate your romantic, inner-Queen, I hope you'll enjoy seeing my newest creations!

A Queens Ransom….

I’ve been busy working on my new line of Queen Inspired jewelry this week and I love researching about the subjects I am working on. Whether it’s about the history of a china pattern or jewelry styles, it’s part of the fun of creation for me. In researching the glamorous Queen Marie Antoinette, look what I discovered…..

Sillage de la Reine… (the wake of the Queen). This is a luxurious fragrance by French perfume maker Francis Kurkdjian who recreated Marie Antoinette’s signature fragrance. Kurkdjian based his work on this book….

This book explores the handwritten notes from the queen’s Versailles perfumer and with this information, Kurkdjian was able to recreate her beloved scent. It is described as being entirely natural and contains rose, iris, cut jasmine, tuberose and orange blossom. There are also woody undertones of cedar, sandalwood, musk and grey amber. All my personal favorite scents. I can only imagine how beautiful this must smell. Mostly floral but a little hint of oriental to keep it from being too sweet.

I have a passion for French perfume with my favorites being from Chanel and Guerlain. My day does not start until I add a touch of fragrance to my wrists. I’d almost trade my Queendom for a bottle of Sillage de la Reine and you’ll need a Queens Ransom to purchase it too. This rare and limited fragrance costs $900 for a 24ml bottle. But if you’d like to trade-up to the prestige edition, which is decanted into a Baccarat Crystal bottle and limited to only 10 bottles worldwide, you’ll need just over…hold on to your tiaras…. $11,000!!! Aaaaah, if I spent that much on a bottle of perfume, I am sure my fate would end as Marie’s… Mr. Cupid would surely have my HEAD!

Before and After Projects….

I had a busy weekend catching up on all my crafting projects that I’ve had sitting around for the last month. Last month I posted this picture of a Victorian Mantel clock that I found at an antique shop. The insides had been removed and a mirror was put in place of the clock face.

Here is what I did with it. It’s now a jewelry box!

Aren’t the white roses at the top beautiful? I ordered these from Cindy at Angel Heart Designs. She makes these pretty ceramic roses by hand and I thought they would be beautiful with this project. I LOVE THEM! And around the mirror I’ve attached vintage rhinestone jewelry pieces taken from old necklaces and earrings.

The back of the clock case opens and since the insides had been removed, I am now able to hang jewelry inside the back! There is also storage in the drawer in the front of the clock.

I also finished a few more Vintage Jewelry picture frames. I used metal frames I already had around the house and painted each one a shabby white to start and then highlighted areas on the frame with antique gold paint. I used a mixture of vintage rhinestone necklaces, brooches, earrings and bracelets to create these sparkling frames.


I just love the photo in this frame. It's a picture of my Mother-In-Law when she was a little girl. She is soooo precious. I can really see my sweet Mr. Cupid in her when I look at her photos.



This is another darling photo of my Mother-In-Law taken with one of her sisters and brother. She is the cutie on the right hand side. I just love how her sister is looking up to her!

These are fun and easy projects that I hope you will give a try!!

Romantic Decorating with Sea Shells

I finally found time to do something with the beautiful collection of shells I came home with from our recent beach get-away. I added this pretty vintage bowl of shells in my bathroom. I am lucky enough that Mr. Cupid has his own bathroom and I have my own too, so I can decorate my bathroom as girly as I want! But I wanted to jazz up the plain bowl of shells so I mixed in strands of pearls, vintage rhinestone pins and vintage beaded earrings. For extra sparkle I sprinkled in opalescent mica flakes. I really like how this turned out!

I had enough shells left for one more accent piece, so I moved into the living room. I added a simple mix of shells and scented candles on one of my favorite silver platters and placed this on the coffee table. We enjoy watching TV with the lights dimmed and I think the flickering candlelight against the shells and silver will add a pretty twinkle!

Decorating with shells is very popular right now and I'd love to hear how you use shells to decorate your own home and garden. Post your ideas here to share with us!!!

By First Blog Contest Win!

I wanted to share these goodies I won from a give-away contest by Janet of Get Gifted. I was so tickled to receive her email letting me know I was her winner because I am usually not lucky that way. Look at all these fun trinkets I received…a folder filled with vintage sheet music, Paris ephemera postcards, an old key, stickers, buttons, metal rose embellishment and an old spoon too!

Thank you so much Janet! The wheels are already turning in my head on the creations I will make with these great items. And for those of you who have not yet visited Janet’s new blog, please go pay her a visit…and tell her Joy sent you!! :)

Gentle Inspiration

As I made coffee this morning, outside my kitchen window I noticed a butterfly, perfectly still, on my bleeding heart vines. That unexpected image brought a pure moment of happiness and gratitude for a beautiful new morning. I tip-toed out with my camera and was delighted to see the butterfly still enjoying her resting place on the blossoms. She moved ever so slightly, almost as if posing for the camera. So here is a little inspiration to share with you today. May you find beauty and joy in unexpected moments as you go about your day.

"Happiness is like a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you" ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

A Few More Pretties….

I finished a few more vintage broken china bracelets for my website this weekend. I just love working with these old pieces. Especially when I create something from a forlorn piece found at the bottom of a pile in an antique store or flea market. Most bear the scars, dents & chips from living a long life and have been cast aside as not wanted or useful anymore. To transform these neglected treasures into sparkling jewelry just simply makes me HAPPY.

English Rose Chintz – This is the sweetest bracelet with the prettiest little roses in all shades of pink with a touch of soft yellow. This came from a small tea plate and I had just enough china left to make a matching necklace, which I am including FREE to whoever gives this beauty a new home.

Midnight Garden Chintz – Black chintz is a pretty rare find and this lovely bracelet came from a tea plate too. Such pretty colors! And like the English Rose Chintz bracelet, I had just enough china to make a matching necklace, which I am including FREE to whomever gives this pretty jewel a home.

Shabby Rose Garden - This pretty design is one of my favorites! Each charm is from a different china pattern but they all have roses as the feature pattern. I just love the girly pink sparkling crystals and genuine Mother of Pearl heart beads on this design.

And remember sweet blog friends, my new website celebration discount is still in effect until the end of June. So anything your little heart desires is 15% off when you enter “Charming” in the voucher discount box on checkout. Just remember to click the “recalculate” button after entering the code to see your discount. ~ xoxo ~ Joy

BARK-alicious Treats!

Our sweet pup, Barkley is getting the red carpet treatment this weekend! Barkley’s was featured in our local newspaper in a “Party Animal” pictorial. They used THIS PICTURE.

To celebrate, I made him his favorite doggie treats and thought I would share this recipe. I started making these treats for him after the dog food scare last year. These are easy to make, totally natural and you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now.

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
2/3 Cups Yellow Cornmeal
2 Tablespoons Corn Oil
½ Cup Chicken Broth
2 Eggs, Mixed With ¼ Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

Combine all the above ingredients and let sit for 15 minutes.

Roll out to ¼” thickness and cut with your choice of cookie cutters (I like to use a dog bone or heart shaped cookie cutter). Take another egg from the fridge, whisk and brush the beaten egg over the treats to give them a shiny gloss.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until golden.

So yummy they'll make your best friends tail wag!

I also got creative with a couple of pet collars this week. One for Barkley and one for my sister’s new cat, Eden. These started as plain nylon pet collars and I simply super-glued down vintage style Swarovski crystal beads that I found at Michaels.

Look how dressed up they are now! I’ve seen these in pet stores and they are usually very expensive. These glammed up pet collars only cost a few dollars each to make! I hope you’ll try these fun and easy projects for your favorite fur friend too. ~ xoxo ~ Joy

Making Sweet Memories

My darling Mr. Cupid surprised me with a vacation get-a-way as part of my birthday celebration (it was one of those big milestone birthdays) and we were finally able to go this past week. We headed up to the panhandle of Florida, which is about a 6-hour drive from our home. We stayed in a romantic bed & breakfast, the Coombs House Inn, in Apalachicola (pop. 2,500) and also visited the resort town of Seaside and spent time on St. Georges Island. We had such a lovely, restful trip and I thought I’d share the trip with you. No need to pack a bag – just sit back and enjoy…

The Coombs House Inn is circa 1905 and beautifully restored.

Our room! Now here is where Karma pops in for a visit...notice the picture above the bed? Below is a closeup....3 Cupids with bow and arrows in flight!!! My jaw dropped when I walked in the room. Can you imagine a more perfect picture over the heads of Mr. & Mrs. Cupids Charm? I better buy a lotto ticket this weekend! Now I am on the search for the name and artist of this picture. I NEED this print...can anybody help me out? Does anyone know who did this artwork?




Our bathroom also had a soothing 2 person jacuzzi tub. So relaxing after a day of sight seeing, shopping and eating WAY TOO MUCH!




Breakfast was WONDERFUL! A full sideboard of fruits, home made breads, yogurts, coffee, tea, juice and a hot plated breakfast was served each day too. YUM!

A sweet porch right outside our room. A lovely place for cocktails before heading out for dinner. Now let's head out to the beach. Beautiful aqua water and white sugar sand beaches...aaahhhh.

Now we will hop over to Seaside. This resort community is full of beautiful beachside cottages in the most amazing colors. It was hard to choose a favorite....

The photo below shows a sign outside one of the Seaside cottages. In Seaside, everyone has to have a white picket fence around their property. Everyone also has a sign near their entry gate with the name of their cottage. Some folks really got creative with the names of their homes. This sign was my favorite.....

And the picture below shows the house that "Julie got her way with"....I don't know Julie, but all I can say is...You GO Girl!!!!


The pink Victorian house below was really lovely. Notice the name on the gate for their home... "Villa Whimsy"

Now let's head in town for some shopping. We were totally charmed by this original, old-fashioned ice cream soda shop. Everything is just as it was.

We also ate at a few unique restaurants. This one is famous for their oysters that they catch in the bay right behind the restaurant.

The picture below shows our table...right at the end of the dock. This restaurant does not purchase seafood from suppliers. They have their own boats, that catch their own seafood and comes 30 feet down the dock to the chef and then right to your table. The only way to eat it any fresher would be to eat it right on the boat!

Now, back to shopping...loved this cute "upside down lampshade" chandelier! I also loved the original turn-of-the-century brick walls and old painted tin ceilings.

Now I am about to share a big secret with you. I am a HUGE Sock Monkey lover. I have a small collection of these guys and these two totally charmed me! Monkey's on Vacation! How cute are these two in their colorful felt bathing suits?

Well vacation is over and I am back in the studio. I am full of ideas for new creations that I can't wait to share with you. Thank you for coming on my little vacation with me! ~ xoxo ~ Joy

We Have A Winner!!!

Cupid used the magical random number generator thing-a-ma-jig to select the winner of the Victorian Necklace and Earring Set. Congratulations to Jenni B! I hope this Goddess brings you much love and happiness. And a big THANK YOU to all who entered. I truly appreciated your kind comments and feedback on my new website design. I wish I could send each and every one of you a necklace set too, but please bookmark my site because I plan to have MORE giveaways in the near future as I develop and launch new product designs. Thank you again dear ones and CONGRATULATIONS once more to Jenni B!!! xoxo ~ Joy