Vintage Trophy Collection ~

I fell in love with Vintage Trophy cups about 2 years ago. Something about the tarnished silver, trophy's shape and old inscriptions just speak to me. I often wonder what the trophies would say if they could talk...the past stories that were attached to winning each cup... 

Who were these winners and did they cherish their lovely silver prizes?

I learned pretty quickly that these beauties don't come with a cheap price tag and are hard to find.  I have never seen one at a Thrift store or garage sale, and believe me I look! I only have one cup that was truly a bargain...

All my other cups, I'm disappointed to say, 

came with a high price tag. 

Mr. AntiqueChase, if you are reading... 

turn away from the computer!

I decided that I would have to be very choosy in my collecting... My Trophies would need to be very well priced or have old inscriptions that I could relate to in my current life... 

I'm pretty sure that this trophy was the start to my collection...

purchased from Ebay...

My children have some Honors classes 

so I loved that it was given to an Honor Student!!

It's a bit crooked...

a little beat up...

just like my kids after finals week...

poor things!

Wouldn't be it great 

if they still gave these 

beautiful Trophies out??!!

 Somehow the bumper sticker

 "My kid is an Honor Student" 

doesn't have quite the same appeal!

Don't you agree?

The trophy above was also purchased on Ebay.

It's the largest trophy in my collection...

I also chose this Trophy because of it's inscription...

My son plays High School football

so it's fun to have a vintage football trophy 

in my collection...

The trophy is 14 inches tall...

my son wears a size 14 cleats...

are you hearing the Twilight Zone music?

Ya, me neither... 

You can see that the silver is tarnished and pitted

and that's perfectly okay...

In fact, I prefer these imperfections!

I don't remember where I picked this trophy up... (which is a bit unusual for me).  The inscription doesn't have any extended meaning to me. I have never been to Cape Cod, I don't live on the East Coast... Maybe I was hoping to inspire Mr. AntiqueChase to take me there?

It is a nice size,

a little narrower than most

with great patina...

A keeper!

This Trophy is MY FAVORITE 

for a few reasons...

First, Mr. AntiqueChase was at the flea market with me when we found it...

I don't often drag him antiquing

but we had such a fun day walking around the Rose Bowl!

If you knew Mr. AntiqueChase, 

then you would know that he doesn't like to shop....

So, 

I am reminded of the little things 

he does to make me happy 

and his patience 

even when I drag him antiquing.

It was Valentine's Day and I asked him to buy it for me....

 I convinced him that the enamel Red Cross 

would always remind me 

that he gave me this gift on February 14th...

(I'm clever... don'tcha think?)

LOL

This was the little post card 

that the Rose Bowl handed out with Admission...

I kept it as a little reminder...

Here you can see if stuffed in the cup!

I did an entire post on this Red Cross Trophy 

you can read about it here

This trophy is rather plain

since it has no inscription...

I added a couple of old rulers for a bit more interest....

It has interesting handles

which give some character...

It's has a bit more shine that my other trophies...

The antique store where I purchased it 

had recently shined it.

I'm letting it dull....

This trophy is truly gorgeous in person...

I had such a hard time photographing these pieces 

and this one gave me the most glare!

I love the patina and the inscription is a wonderful bold font...

It was given for 

BEST COLLECTION PEONIES

and won by E.W. Darling!

I don't know Mrs. Darling

but how lovely she must have been!

I don't grow Peonies, 

only roses....

However, my mother is a Master Gardener...

so, I decided I must have this trophy! 

(who shops like this??)

Okay, moving on...

My last trophy is my newest trophy

So tiny 

it's only about 5 inches tall....

I purchased it at the Grand Opening of my friend Kymberly's new antique store

A Beautiful Mess

in Agoura Hills, California.

I thought it was so charming 

and it will always remind me 

of that exciting Grand Opening night!

Recently, I was out Thrifting and found this silver platter...

It was a very generous size 

with a beautiful decorative scroll around the edges...

I have plenty of round and oval trays...

I love that this one is SQUARE!

Nice engraving...

Why oh why do people give this stuff away??

I love the small feet on this platter which raise it up...

I brought it home not knowing what I would do with it...

Who can pass up a $7 silver platter?

I thought it would be nice to corral my Trophy collection...

So, can you guess which Trophy was my bargain??

Hope you enjoyed a peek at my collection....

I would love to hear about yours!

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Urns, Succulents & Vintage Garden Pedestals

It warmed up in Southern California.... 

All of a sudden, we went from rain and flooding to a warm and blustery 78 degrees.  It figures that as soon as I buy a cute pair of rain boots, the sun decides to come out! 

I ventured out into the garden 

to tidy up 

(survey the garden neglect) 

and rake some leaves.  

I noticed that my urns looked oh so empty and lonely...

I have a pair of these urns. They have the most wonderful black patina to them! My very kind neighbor was moving and gave them to me... over a year ago... They're just plastic but look really, really good...just like old concrete urns.

They were planted last year with flowers that required water

every

single

day.

I didn't keep up with the watering and as you can see those flowers are no longer with us. This year, I would like to avoid plants which require everyday watering.  I just don't want to be a slave to my potted plants any longer... Please tell me you can relate!

I was in Home Depot's garden department and came across the perfect solution...

Potted Succulents...

as in the drought related 

Cactus family!

 A nice mixture of colors and textures too...

Not a bad price for such a lovely full plant.

I'll take two...

I rounded up some extra potting soil and planted them in my urns....

Easy Peasy....

I have a couple of vintage garden pedestals in my yard. 

One was given to me by my friend Jennifer 

and the other was a garage sale purchase for $20. 

I have always loved them... 

but sadly never found a use for them. 

They are a concrete plaster material.. 

Rather decayed... 

and crumbly...

Chippy & Shabby...

PERFECT PATINA...

Not an exact match...

One is round 

and the other is square...

But complimentary since the height is exactly the same on both pieces...

I placed my newly planted urns on the pedestals

for some added height and interest...

Hopefully, these succulents with last 

through the heat of summer 

and give me months of greenery 

{without all the fuss of everyday watering!}

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Restoration Inspiration ~ Vintage Photos

I love when I receive a Restoration Hardware Catalog in the mail! When the newest issue arrived,  I set it aside. I didn't even open the cover or peek inside.. Instead, I waited till evening when I would have some uninterrupted time.. I grabbed a cup of tea and sat down next to the roaring fire.  Ahhh....

While I was flipping thru the catalog (drooling)... 

I happened upon Page 59...

Go get your catalog!!

 I'll wait...

Just kidding, 

here's page 59...

Look at this amazing wall of photos...

Vintage Team Sports photos!! 

What a statement!

Just gorgeous....

and I'm totally drooling!!

Until... 

I see the prices...

Ummmm hello???

Are you kidding me? 

Did everything seem to get more expensive at that store?

Hey, Restoration Hardware...

 did you miss the Recession Memo??

At $195 per photo.... 

not happening at my house!

Is it weird to buy photos of people you don't know? I'm not sure about this... I'm not opposed to it but I have to wonder if it would bug me to have these unknown faces on my wall... (will you let me know your thoughts on this?)

Just then, I remembered something!! Years and years ago, I was admiring a handful of sports photos in my Grandmother's home. My Grandfather played soccer and basketball when he was a young man.  

I had borrowed the originals and scanned them onto our computer. We didn't have a fancy scanner, just a HP (All in One) printer... I searched my iPhoto Library on my Mac and found them! 

Now we're talking!! I know these people... 

well, at least I know one of them.  

Photos of MY GRANDFATHER!!! 

I was trying to decide how I wanted to display these...

Big? Small? 

Black and White 

or Sepia?

Black frames??

 I could go to an Art Supply Store, like Michaels, and use a 40% coupon for a couple of black frames!

I love the look of the antique photos in the Restoration catalog

 but black frames seemed a bit too heavy for my interior. 

What to do.....

Then I thought, how about some vintage chippy frames?

 How about shopping in my own garage?? 

Let's go look.....

Lots of frames here waiting for a project (or garage sale)... 

I decided I needed to make something work...

How could I go buy a couple of frames when I had this stash??

Here's what I selected from my garage...

I know what your thinking.....

UGLY!

Yes, they are ugly!! 

In fact, they are so ugly that nobody bought them at my last TWO garage sales!!

So why did I choose to use these frames? 

You're dying to know, right???

The paint on the frames is actually a great color for my home... so they had that going for them. 

Each picture also had a mat that had plenty of patina and foxing...

I liked that they were vintage...

  showed wear and tear and were chippy... 

they were a matching pair...

and

 I already owned them = FREE !!

I measured the inside the mat to determine the size of the enlargement I would need.

Perfect for a 11 x 14 inch enlargement... another PLUS!

I uploaded my photos to Costco Photo Center.

 I choose the "lustre" finish which has less shine...

An hour later, I ran into Costco to pick up my photos....

Three 11 x 14" enlargements cost me less than $9.00 !!

Unfortunately, I also ending up buying $200 in groceries...

I hate that!

Time to get to work!

I gathered my supplies...

I pulled together a needle nose pliers, ruler, hammer and acid free tape.

Remove the dust jacket on the frame to expose the nails....

Take your needle nose pliers and carefully remove the nails...

Save the nails to reuse....

Save your art work for another project or gift it to a friend...

Remove mat...

Clean your glass!

Position your photo under the mat and center...

Add acid free tape to secure...

Place nails back into the original holes and tap gently with a hammer to secure...

Here is the first one I finished....

Here's a closeup of my favorite details from both photos...

August 1931...

Labeled "Football"... 

but now known as Soccer!

Above, you can see that the original photo was torn. I did not try to "correct" this feature...

The following year, they were Runners Up...

I collect old trophies, so I appreciate seeing one pictured here.. 

How I wish I owned the actual trophy my  Grandfather won!!

Here are my two finished pictures!

Did you notice my antique trophies in the hutch??

The color of these frames blends in so nicely with my current decor...

The pictures on the wall have frames in the same tones....

Not sure yet which wall they will grace....

But I know I will treasure them 

FOREVER!!!

Time spent on this project = 2 hours

Total cost of materials = $9.00

Having photos of your own Grandfather = PRICELESS!!!

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Thanks for all your emails!!

Come back soon... 

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