Pretty Pumpkins

Remember these? I made them last year for a give away. I also sold quite a few on my web site and gave some away as gifts to my customers when they bought something from me. They were so much fun to create.


So, I decided to do a few for eBay this year. I've done these a little different as they are not the stuffed kind, but a more solid one that will hold its shape year after year. I've made several of these over the years that I still use in my Fall decorating as they are so different and unusual.



Placed with other fall items, these add a little romance to an otherwise quite dark season.

I know there are those of you that love the oranges, rusts, yellows and browns of this coming season, but I much prefer the burgandy, ivory, dusty rose and sage greens. Colors with just a hint of blue in them seem a little more soothing to me than all the colors with yellows in them this time of year.

How about you? Are you a cool color person or a hot color one? Along about February or March I'm ready for the warmer colors, though. I just love a pale yellow in the spring!!

Those Were the Good Old Days....

While at an antique show a few weeks ago, I ran across a wonderful booth that had a lot of wedding items in it. I was drawn by a beautiful satin dress in champagne with rosepointe lace. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that it had rust spots all over it and the lace almost fell apart when I touched it. It could not have been cleaned as it would have disintegrated.

The vendor assured me that all of the items in that box went with the dress. There was a lovely cloche and veil, tiny shoes, an engraved announcement, what was left of the brides bouquet and a newspaper with the write-up of the wedding that took place with the bride wearing this very dress.

I was commenting to the vendor about how sad I felt that the family of this lovely bride did not want to keep and cherish these items. She said she bought it from the bride's grandchildren and had asked them time and again if they did not want to hold onto that memory of their grandmother. They told her that they had no room to store "old junk". Sad to say, this the fate of a good many of the antiques I run across. They are discards from family members that do not know how cherish their ancestor's memories.



Most of you won't have any memory of when this newspaper was on the stands. You won't remember when you could buy a pair of shoes for $1.99, or when a really nice dress was $7.99; When a kitchen sink came with it's own metal cabinet or when every woman wore a hat.


There are a lot of things you probably won't remember from 1952. Harry Truman was President and "Ike" was thinking about running for President on the Republican ticket (if he were nominated).

I can remember a few of these things as I was in grade school at that time. Without dating myself, I do remember when Eisenhower came to our town, on a train, to campaign for his Presidency and I remember reading Mary Worth in the comics section of the paper. You could go to the movies for a quarter and popcorn or a candy bar cost a nickel.

I'd love to hear if some of you also remember these wonderful times.


I've briefly skimmed over this newspaper and have had a good chuckle at the prices mostly.

You can buy these memories and this newspaper in my listings on eBay. Just search "Vintage Newspaper".

Shameless.....

Yup, that's me and I'm going to shamelessly plug some of my friends' selling sites. Hang on because you will be blown away.

My dear friend, Vickie, has just started her own website. Vickie loves Victorian things about as much as I do and her home is a wonderful showcase of her splendid good taste.

I know she shops with a keen eye toward offering the most unique items for her customers. Check out Visuals by Vickie for some wonderful treasures for the Victorian lover as well as some great gifts at reasonable prices and great shipping rates.

I love shopping here! She's a sweet Southern lady, too. Here's a sampling....












Another of my favorites is Glory's House. If you're into BLING like I am, this is the place for you! I have to almost wear a bib when I go to this site as the appilques are soooooo georgous, I'm drooling the the entire time I'm on there. Get ready for lots of oooooos and aaaaaahhhs.

This is one of my favorite sites from which to purchase. Anita is such a lovely lady and her offerings are very unusual; not like the run-of-the-mill embellishments you find everywhere else. Glory's House has had a successful store on eBay for a number of years, but I like Antia's web site more.

For those of you that have purchased from Aunt May's Cottage, you know I only use the best and highest quality embellishments on the market. Glory's House has those!! Here are the favorites of my latest purchase from Anita. OOooooo, AAAhhhhh!!


My sweet PRH sister, Katie, has just started a selling blog. She does some of the most beautiful ribbonwork and ribbon embroidery you have ever seen! Items with that talent are offered on her selling site, but what I'm most excited about right now are her new TEA ROSES. Lest you think these are just for show, you need to visit her site, A Petal Apart, to see their real purpose.


When you visit these magnificent sites, please go to the comments section and leave a comment about how you liked the site and tell them Bertie sent you.

Better yet, reach into that Pay Pal account and buy something for yourself or that someone special on your Christmas list. It's not too early, you know.

First Friday Sales

My dear friend, Rhea, is hosting a First Friday Sales event. Here's how it works....those of us that are interested in participating in this event will post some fabulous items for sale and at very reasonable prices, I might add.

These items may be listed on their web site, their blog or a selling blog. If you are interested in being a part of this exciting event, please go see Miss Rhea for details and to be added to the list of wonderful vendors.

Now, those of you that want to shop (who doesn't??)....Just come to any site with the logo above or start at Miss Rhea's blog and you will find a list of all of the participants in this fun shopping experience. It promises to be easy on your wallet and you'll find some great treasures. It's never too early to shop for Christmas, you know.

On my Web Store, you will find the First Friday items in a catagory of its own. I will also be adding a new sale catagory with items all UNDER $5.00!!

A couple of my First Friday items are....

Click Here for this sweet frame.

Click Here for this cute little Friendship pillow!!

See you on Friday!!