Okay...you know I love Shelley China, England and this is no exception. This cup and saucer is in the Low Oleander shape with embossed leaf pattern and has a pattern called Hedgerow. It fairly shouts SPRING!!! I love it. This pattern isn't often seen on this shape, so I think it's quite special. It came home with me from a recent buying trip because it grabbed me from across a room.....romantic indeed!!!!
Ever thought of a spring tea party for your friends? Get out your favorite flower patterned cups and saucers (they don't have to match, just be pretty) and make some spring flowers in a vase, tea sandwiches, shortbread with jam and spend a lovely afternoon in chat and admiration of the season. How often we need to socialize and relax and miss out because of our schedules???!!!
To see more Shelley China, this cup and saucer or more teacups and saucers, teapots of other English antiques and collectibles, visit Time Was Antiques.
This is so cool it's HOT...and hard not to get steamed up about it......Okay, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it!
Kitchenalia or kitchen collectibles are so much fun. This is an English tin pudding mold (or if a Brit, a mould) for steaming puddings (or if you're a Yank, desserts) that I LOVE to find in England when I'm there shopping for treasures. This one has a central spire or chimney which was used to convect the heat up through the middle to make sure the pudding is cooked all the way through.
You can even see years of discoloration on the outside caused by the boiling water in the kettle as the pudding steams. These work well for any kind of pudding...as an example the famous Christmas Plum pudding. These pudding tins were popular all through the victorian era to the second world war and some are still passed down in families to be used for special desert occasions.
To see more photos and info about the pudding mold use this clickable link to the listing at Time Was Antiques.
One of the great things about collecting kitchenalia or kitchen items is their relative affordability still. It's a great form of recycling and frankly, most of the older items are far better made and will last longer than their contemporary counterparts.
Here is a link to a great English Kitchenalia blog I found recently: kitchenalia
So the next time you are looking for a cooking ir kitchen item...thing of your local antique shop, flea market or swap meet. Old is new with an economic purpose again!
We have had the most beautiful week here...if you have been watching the Olympics in Vancouver which is northeast of us here at the top of Washington state's Olympic Peninsula you've seen what it's like here, but rain is coming in tomorrow. Sigh...back to normal. But hope it's spring where you are!
I absolutely love Shelley China. Shelley closed in 1966 and is the focus of collecting societies in the USA, England and Australia and I am a member of all of them. The designs of Shelley are popular for many reasons. But in my opinion, the landscape designs are the most under appreciated ares of Shelley collecting.
Shelley landscape designs include Glorious Devon, Woodland, Surrey Scenery, Bluebell Woods, England's Charm and many others. One of my favorite is the Woodland design cup and saucer that is pictured here. The design was manufactured in several shapes and sizes in it's long history until the pottery closed in 1966.
I love England and the scenery is one of the reasons I do. This could be taken from any number of places from around the English countryside. When we used go annually for a buying trip, we always spent 1 week out of the month in some part of the country we are re-visiting or have never been, and choose for scenery more than anything. Then, of course, it's check the local papers for church fetes, antique fairs and car boot sales!
Just looking at Shelley's landscape designs is a mini trip to England for me and always bring a smile to my face.
To see more of Shelley's landscape or scenic designs... or any other Shelley we might currently have... check this link to Time Was Antiques.
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone and may you share love with your best friend today!
I absolutely love chintz and just wanted to share this seldom seen Shelley chintz pattern. The chintz is called Rose Chintz and was made only between 1963 and 1966 when Shelley closed it's doors. This is a sweet meat or bon bon dish and I love the subtle colors and pattern s of the Rose Chintz.
To learn more about the dish and pattern, use this clickable link to the listing on Time Was Antiques.
Today is sunny with lovely floating clouds and I don't think we'll see rain.
Have a great day & keep looking for chintz!
I absolutely love this figural dolphin antique English ring holder. Ring holders have been in use since rings were around...800 years perhaps? And ring holders have ranged from the pure practical to an elegant statement of the prevailing tastes of the period. This great ring holder is fashioned after a renaissance or elizabethan dolphin...I've seen it's twin on an old map when the explorers expected to fall off the end of the flat world! The detail is really terrific and although made in England 1920-1930s, it remembers an earlier and more decorative period. Things were about to change even more with the advent of art deco and the modern taste when this poor dolphin design would definitely be OUT!
You can see more about the dolphin ring holder at Time Was Antiques.
We are still running our FRESH START free shipping on orders over $25.00 with the code listed on the website. We all need a little after-the-holidays boost, don't we?
Today is Epiphany or Twelfth Night, the night the e wisemen or magis reached the Christ child and is traditionally the end of the Christmas season. We have our outdoor Christmas lights on tonight for the last time...they're coming down tomorrow. Then everything will look bare and dull.
But then we get to look forward to Valentine's Day, presidential holidays and generally the hope of spring to come.
Have a great day tomorrow (while we are taking down the lights) and have a cuppa tea for me!
The Sunday before Christmas....time to wish everyone Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a wonderful holiday time. We are going to a local production of Scrooge this afternoon....the musical version of Dicken's A Christmas Carol. My favorite>>>We'll probably sing along with all the songs!
Merry Christmas from Time Was Antiques, Antiques At Time Was and Antiques And Teacups
If this isn't fun...I don't know what is! I picked this up in England on a recent buying trip because I couldn't resist it!
I LOVE Wallace & Gromit, and this is, of course, Shaun the sheep in his sweater ("We'll call him Shaun (shorn)") from the film A Close Shave. What better way can you think of to have your eggie and soldiers???
Anyway, just too fun. That reminds me, it's about time to dig out the films again...it's been a year or 2 since I've watched them. Amazing how many yanks have never seen them.
Shaun the sheep eggcup can be seen at Time Was Antiques for more photos and info.
For more about Wallace & Gromit, the link is for their official website. Too Cool!
Last weekend before Christmas. We figure Monday is the last day for Christmas delivery via Priority mail in the USA. It'll be a busy weekend. Have a bit more shopping to do myself! Have a great day!
