White O'Morn Cottage

This Weeks Finds

  This week I found some lovely items - some to sell and some for the cottage.

This is a lovely Gerold Porzellen wall plaque, German made, showing a famous painting that I just can't remember the name of.  Help me out here!

 

Next is a beautiful original painting of a robin by Irish artist Maura Kehoe. Isn't it doty??? Christmas is coming fast! 

Next I found a great gingham Ikea double duvet cover in 100% cotton. I will be using this to make curtains for under the Belfast sink and instead of cupboard doors in the cottage kitchen. I have blue gingham curtains there already but they get dirty and it will be nice to have a red set to change the look of the kitchen. I will need to make window curtains too but I think I will have enough fabric. I'll be showing them in place when they are done. Don't ya just love gingham? Photo also shows my basket of fabric pieces I use for crafting. 

"Such Pretty Old Things" is the name of my website and so I ordered these nifty little labels to sew on to the items I make for it. Here it is shown on a handmade silk lingerie pouch. I love making these as they are so easy to do (I love sewing straight lines)

 

Oh and I nearly forgot...I found tiny little frames and put some shamrock from the cottage garden into them and labeled the back as "From White O'Morn Cottage garden, Leitrim, Ireland"

 

Repurposed antique tablecloth & Beautiful Bride

  I recently came across a turn of the century damask tablecloth. It was gorgeous but alas it had several areas of damage and rust marks sooooo....it got repurposed as: Four damask guest towels, three vintage tea towels, one cushion cover, one needle case, two lingerie pouches and some very posh dusters!

 

 

 

 

 

Maureen O'Hara / Mary Kate Dannagher's Wedding Photograph.

Angie, my sister, visited Cong in county Mayo where "The Quiet Man" Film was made in 1952. She brought me back a truly beautiful photo of Maureen O'Hara in her Mary Kate wedding dress.  I think you'll agree that she makes one of the most beautiful brides ever!  

 

Also pictured here are two pairs of exquisite handmade lace gloves that Angie found for me for the new website www.suchprettyoldthings.com

Thanks Angie! .....Actually Angie is the best "pickers" one could have as she has an instinct for sourcing the fabulous and beautiful items you love. She is always on alert for special pretty old things!

 

 

Remember These? What's your era?

The Fifties - The Sixties - The Seventies...I lived through them all. I just listed these gorgeous vintage dresses on my vintage website : Silver Screen Vintage  www.vintageretrolingerie.com

I was born in the fifties and I always remember seeing my glamourous aunt wearing dresses like this one. Fit and flare style fitted at bust, nipped in at waist and full puffy skirts

 

Then came the 60's and I was just becoming aware of fashions but was too young to wear them. Bright colours and bold patterns. Sixties shift dress in heavy brocade fabric

 

Then came the 70's and the maxi dress. I was just right for these ones and wish I had kept my old dresses...(they would not fit now but I could have sold them!) Seventies maxi slit to thigh and in Crimpelene fabric or as it says on the label " Crimped Polyester"

 

...and what about the eighties I hear you ask! Well, I got married and had children in the 80's and that somehow put an end to my being a fashion icon...I don't know why.......

What's My Name?..... A Giveaway...and a before and after

Please get your thinking hats on. Because, - lucky me...my sister, Teeda, of BeaDiva Handmade Jewellery (see sidebar) is designing a website for me to sell vintage items for the home. We can't decide on a suitable name, so, this is were you come in. We do have a few possible contenders but maybe one of you will come up with a cracker. The website will sell vintage linens, craft items, china, crockery, figurines etc mostly sourced in Ireland and much of it Irish made.

Everyone who suggests a name will go into a draw for ...for...for...I don't know yet! But I will something really nice for you! UPDATE: It will have a small surprise and also there will be the centre copy of The Star Weekly that is featured in the post below. That's the one with the little boy falling off his seat. These date from 1951 and are a fabulous "snapshot" of the culture and values of the times. Fascinating, no matter what your interests are..Here are some more advertisements from it...

...Er...now I don't know about North America or Australia but on this side of the pond this is a really rude gesture! Shame on you Alan Ladd!

 

 

 

Stationery Cabinet Makeover

While I'm here I want to show you my latest project. It is a very small cabinet with mesh on the door. I was told it was an egg safe...

However, I thought my eggs were quite safe in the fridge and what I needed was a pretty little cabinet to stash my finest stationery...soooo. I just cleaned it, lined it with scrapbooking paper with handwriting on (for stationery - you see) added a bit of gingham trim and I am still looking for suitable knobs for the little drawers.

Look Kimme...can you see your handmade cards on display? I just love this. Yes, Teeda, (I'm typing this sheepishly) ...I know I should be selling it on the new website but it's hard to part with pretties...I NEED them.

 

Chalkboard Makeover

Hi all. Here is my latest project...I have been very creative lately as I am not in work. it started life as a crumbling very old picture frame. I "rescued" it from a derelict house I was nosing around. "Fingers Flynn" was on the job!

I painted it, put some hardboard inside and painted that with blackboard paint. Next I used a front page from some antique sheet music to add an interesting touch at the top, trimmed that with some vintage wallpaper border.

 Then I just added a piece of chalk on a string...and wrote a cheeky message for my husband.

Result...hubby not happy - dog very happy!

I am going away for a couple of weeks but hope to have access to a computer during it to put a few posts on here.

Vintage Irish Table Linen Gifts

 

 

There is nothing I love more than old Irish table linens. So when I got a call from my friend Cecil saying he had a bag of table linens that had belonged to his mother I knew I was in for a treat. This is only part of what was in it. (Cecil is the man who made me the lovely wooden items in an earlier post.) 

A Battenburg tray cloth

Hand crocheted doilies and tatted tray cloths

close up of same delicate beauties

This beauty has tiny shamrocks on. I'll be outlining them in emerald green for someone I know.

 

Adorable homemade baby pillowcase with skipping teddies embroidery. In pink and blue (must have been done before baby  was born!)                                                                         

A set of hand appliqued napkins with the tinyiest hand stitches I have ever seen. I have used macro setting as it was so neat I thought it was machined but...no...all hand done

  

And some hand painted traycloths. Most unusual.                     

       

...And this one is my favourite...  brand new French made waffle design vintage guest towel and the lilac/mauve colour is perfiect for the bathroom!                                                            

 Thank you Cecil. I love them and will put them to good use in  White O'Morn and share some with Angie in the Old Schoolhouse. Angie and I are the only people I know who actually use tray cloths...and it looks like I have hit the motherlode of tray cloths!