Pickin' Some Pewter

It’s funny how collections tend to evolve over time.
When I first started collecting crusty old European treasures, I can say that pewter pieces were not on my to-find list.
But…you never know what little trinket will turn your head.

I remember well a particular day trip that we took into France, several years ago. Angela and I had just recently met and she invited me on a girls-only (kid-free) day trip into France.
I was elated as,
1) I desperately needed girly~adult time and,
2) shopping in France? Oh yeah.

So on this little trek, I had hopes of finding sweet delicate little shabby treats, and instead I started a lifelong relationship with...pewter!?

Pewter? Seriously?

When I previously thought of pewter, this is what came to mind:


Um, nice (I guess….) but just not my cup of tea.

But these little French pewter measuring steins were the head-turners that immediately changed the way that I look at pewter.


This set is not near as old as those that many collectors would kill for, but I love the kitschy souvenir aspect of them.

While you can supposedly eat and drink out of pewter, the stamp on these basically translates into, "if you eat or drink out of this, you'll be sorry". So we'll just use these for decor!


After finding this little French-y set, every time I venture into Germany or France, I keep an eye out for more pewter measuring steins.

I found this set while roaming around Germany. These are my favorite, as I love the chunky~curvy design of them.


The little angel stamp (it's actually Michael - the angel) is the give-away that they are German.

German pewter casters have used this stamp basically forever, which actually makes it more difficult to date an item. That's okay with me.
I just think they're cute.

This set is Italian, and I just love all the little pieces - a set of 7 in all.

They’re stamped Peltrato and the 95% indicates that they are food safe. Anything below 90% is not safe for eating. (you learn something new everyday).


My kids are not supposed to play with my collections, but do you see this little brown mark on one of the steins? That's not rust.


I'm pretty sure it's chocolate. Someone is busted.

In case you’re wondering, no way are these babies for sale, but I can assure you that Pewter measuring steins are always on my buying trip list.
I just might be bringing some back in March!

Of course if I find too many sets, I may be forced to keep another set for myself (I really hope my husband isn’t reading this…).

That's all for now. I have to get back to flight-searching (oh, joy). I'm not real sure why winter flights to Europe are running high right now, but I'm at the point where I'm considering calling Lufthansa and begging them to lower their flight prices.
Please? (bitte?)

Hope you're off to a fabulous week!


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BLOGGERS' BODEGA via Vintage Vixens

Vintage Inspiration Fridays @ Common Ground

Shabby Decor, A la Nada!

This is the year of me giving my house some sweet vintage love.

I’m always quoting to myself that old saying about ‘the cobbler’s kids are the last to have shoes’.
That’s been the unfortunate story of my house.

But hey, I’m not all to blame – moving 3 times in 3 years may have something to do with it. (thanks Uncle Sam…)

Last week I posted a little blog about some Frenchy-fied mirrors that I finally painted for our bedroom. I was also pretty proud of the fact that that little décor only cost me @ $54 (compared to the $450 that Anthropologie wanted).

This week I moved down to the living room and the best part of this reveal is that the total re-do tally is $0 !!! Zip. Nada. No dollars. Woohoo!

Here’s how it goes…

I found this set of plates for free.




Yep, free.

It’s a good thing that my friend Britney wasn’t with me, or there just may have been a cat fight over these. No, not really. Brit and I are both southern sweeties.

Fighting = gross.

I’ve tried like crazy to look up some info on these. They are English and the maker’s mark is very clear, but I can’t find much of anything on them – even on English sites. Hmmmm….



All I know is they were FREE and they are adorable = score.

Part II…

I have a monster collection of old frames, all waiting to be loved again. My husband is developing a twitch every time I come home with a new one, so I’m really trying to find homes for each of them lately.

I pulled this one out of the pile…



A hammer and a few nails later, and I have some sweet shabby living room décor…


LOVE it!

Now I’m onto the bazillion things I have to conquer this week…mailing orders, booking flights for EUROPE (extreme excitement), prepping items for auction, updating the website, and let’s not forget that I’m a MOM and WIFE. Oh my.

No wonder I don’t get to blogging as often as I would like…

Check out the new shop & have a blessed week!
As always, thanks for tuning in!

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BLOGGERS' BODEGA via Vintage Vixens

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Vintage Inspiration Fridays @ Common Ground

Kitschy Stitches is Here!

I’m super excited to announce that we are opening up a second shop...



Kitschy Stitches is all about supplying vintage-loving, retro mama, upcycle divas with some very fun crafty supplies.

We adore vintage fabrics, patterns and notions, and we are thrilled that we can now share them with You!

Most of our fun vintage notions are found via local estate sales and a few we’ve brought back from Europe.

Here’s a little sneak peek…








European Trims...


and Sew much more!

Sweet European Dreams is open for business, but you'll notice that our stock is shockingly low. But, that's okay, because we’re headed back to Europe here in a few short weeks to restock! (aka retail therapy overload...)

We can’t wait to show you the goodies that we’ll find!

Thanks so much to so many of you who frequent our shop and we're hoping that you'll become a regular over at Kitschy Stitches as well!

We're adding kitschy pieces to the shop like crazy, so keep checking back - we have a long way to go before we're finished listing items!

Have a fabulous weekend!

New Year, New View

Most of my craft time is split between doing silly projects with my monkeys or crafting for Sweet European Dreams. So anytime that I actually complete a home project, it’s a miracle - thus post-worthy!

In my work space I have these two mirrors waiting to be painted and hung in the master bedroom.


I love (seriously love) these mirrors. These were purchased on a Paris trip in…drumroll…February 2009. (I know that Angela is laughing while reading this…she was with me on that trip!).


So the beloved mirrors camped out in Angela’s awesome basement in Germany for six months (rent free) and then traveled back to the States where they have been sitting for another 15 months. (I’ve been busy…really busy!!!).

These were purchased at a BHV store (little sister to Galleries Lafayette) along rue de Rivoli (metro: Hôtel de ville). The second floor of this particular BHV has a phenomenal crafts department. I was so overwhelmed!

These mirrors are made of a hard pressed wood and they had a slew of items made like this from small frames to 5 foot tall palm trees. Paint them and you have an instant masterpiece! I wish we would have thought to take pictures of the amazing things they had. Next trip!

What was sweet about this deal was that I had seen an Anthropologie display that had his and hers mirrors placed above a bed as a mock headboard. I really really wanted them, but they were really really expensive.

I purchased these little guys for 18 euros each, so add the paint that I purchased and my mirror makeover is a mere $54. That beats the pants off of the $450 that Anthropologie was asking for the pair.

Okay, so here’s the reveal…




Ok, so everything in my bedroom looks lopsided here, but I promise it's all very proportionate! I couldn't take a photo straight-on, because of the glare from the mirrors...

My bedding is an Anthropologie find from a few years back. A new duvet is on my crafty list for this year. (I’ll probably be posting that completed project in early 2013…)

I had to take a pic of my favorite lamps.


Army Wife Tip #73: I bought these while my husband was deployed. The best time to redecorate the house is when the guys are deployed. They are so happy to return home that they could care less if you have pink tulle draped from the ceiling! (Sneaky, sneaky…)

So that’s my quickie re-do that took me almost 2 years to complete!

I’m off to play on your blog spots, then it’s work time for me (the kids are in bed)!

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