Summer's End

How are you?  Have you been enjoying your last several weeks of summer?  Before we know it, the signs of fall will be everywhere here.  Trees will dress in their splendor, the days and nights will be crisp and filled with sweaters and blankets, and frost will eventually slip in one morning to end our growing season for another year.  Oh I'm not quite ready yet.  Even though fall is one of my favorite seasons, and I celebrate my birthday and anniversary in the fall, I'm dragging my heels a bit.  I know it's coming, I can already smell it in the air and yesterday, a small gust of wind brought several tinged leaves showering down upon me from a nearby tree.  

I think the main reason for dreading the inevitable this year is I know what season is to follow after.  Although winter is a great time to catch up on all my indoor projects, it was terribly long for me last year and I am not ready to fight the cold and snow again.  I will miss skipping out the front screen door with nothing on my feet but a pair of flip-flops!

What about you?  Are you looking ahead to fall yet dreading saying good-bye to summer at the same time?  Are you clutching at it's last days with all your might, like I am?  I know when fall is finally here I will be grateful for everything it has to give, I just wish time would slow down a little.

On another note, I would love to show you a few photos that I caught of Merle and Kitty.  They are inseparable and get along so well!

  One more thing, a huge thank-you to everyone who came out to my Antique Barn Sale on Saturday.  It was a fun day and I had a blast!  Thanks so much again!

Maria ~Rusty Hinge

A Tin Pitcher for a Buck

Hello again!  How is your week going so far?  I hope all is well.  We just returned home from a very relaxing week spent up at Torch Lake, Michigan.  We had no agenda, no schedule, or Internet with spotty cell service.  But it was wonderful!  We sat around, walked the beach with our dog, Merle, sunbathed, swam a little and I read two novels.  It was the perfect get-away vacation, just what we needed.  Sometimes, I think those are the best kind!

  

Earlier this month, I found this simple tin pitcher at an estate sale for a dollar.  It is dented here and there, but I think it looks wonderful with a bouquet of flowers fresh picked from the garden.  

Zinnias and Sunflowers grown from seed add a splash of color to our living room!  I love bringing the garden indoors and having bouquets displayed throughout our home.  

I hope they add a little color to your day as well!

A special thank-you to Debra at Common Ground for featuring my Ironstone collection at Vintage Inspiration Friday.

I'll be back again in a couple days.  Have a wonderful week!

Maria ~Rusty Hinge

Who Doesn't Love Ironstone?

Ironstone is wonderful, isn't it?  I love the look of vintage, creamy stacked ironstone plates and bowls on my counter top and table.  When I see a vintage ironstone piece it is hard to pass it up, so my collection is slowly growing.  My favorite are the shabby, stained brown farmhouse platters.  Some being over a hundred years old, they tell such a story with all of their signs of use.  Imagine where a piece like that has been?  Who has lovingly used and cared for it so well?  

What about you?  Do you have a weakness for such pieces as well?  What are you drawn too?  

How do you feel about chips, hairlines, or fleabites?  Honestly at first, I was hesitant to purchase those vintage pieces that have been battered by life, but after I came across a platter with a chip that was so old it was stained brown and added it to my growing stack, I loved the texture it brought.  Now I appreciate the imperfections that come along with such vintage pieces.  In fact, I can't get enough of them now!

These vintage ironstone berry bowls, with their crazing and nicks, add farmhouse charm to my kitchen island!

A vintage French lemonade bottle stands guard near the berry bowls.  Maybe you have already noticed, but I have a thing for all kinds of vintage glass bottles as well.  I think a vintage glass jar or bottle looks great anywhere.  

I have one other lemonade bottle similar to this one, you can just see the top of it from the French wooden vegetable crate.

A fabulous lavender pillow from Dreamy Whites sits atop a stack of ironstone nearby.

I found this little stack of ironstone desert plates at a local garage sale!  I spotted them and hurried over to make them mine.  They are the perfect size to display on my island.

I don't always just display my English ironstone plates in stacks.  I also like to show them off in plate racks, such as this vintage wooden chicken feeder.  If you think this looks familiar, it's because it is!  Mary, from Urban Farmgirl gave very insightful and helpful information on ironstone in her contribution to the spring Homebound issue.  She also shared a gorgeous photograph of her ironstone plate collection lined up in a wooden chicken feeder very similar to this one.  I loved the photograph so much, I had to tell her how much it inspired me!  To read her article and view the photograph for yourself  *Click Here*

The fabulous part is that while Mary was out and about, she came across another for me.  And here it is!  Thanks so much, Mary!  I absolutely love, love it!

You might have noticed that Becky, from Buckets of Burlap, also takes advantage of a chicken feeder to corral her plates atop her vintage country hutch.  She doesn't stop there, she uses chicken feeders as rods to hang her window treatments as well.  You will find many other wonderful decorating ideas at Bucket of Burlap.  It is my 'go to' for a good ol' dose of country-farmhouse decorating!  Isn't finding all this inspiration from blogs grand?

I can't post about ironstone without showing you my vintage factory-shoe cart with more stacks of ironstone and vintage French transferware dishes.  

Like most collections, this full rack didn't happen overnight...a piece here, a piece there.  You know how it goes.  

Well, there you have it!  Ironstone galore!  Love it!  I really can't get enough.  There is always room for one more plate or dish!  Don't you agree?  Now that you have seen my collection, I would love to see yours.  Feel free to send me your links and photos!

 With summer winding down, I should have more time to post and stay connected with you all, so please hang in there and you will receive a better effort by me.  And some exciting news!  I have decided to have another antique barn sale here.  A date hasn't been selected yet,  but it will be happening soon so stay tuned here or my Facebook page for updates.  You can always email me for questions or directions as well.  I would love to have you stop by!


Thanks so much again, all of you!  You have truly been the best readers!




Maria ~Rusty Hinge




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