Upcycle vs. What The Hell Is That

So in the vintage jewelry sellers community it is not uncommon to take pieces of vintage jewelry and upcycle them into a new unique pretty piece of art. Then, there are those people. The ones who take things, mash them together and try to pass them off as vintage. For example:

                                    

I have never seen a pair of vintage earrings signed MONET TROLLS. They must be rare and worth A TON! Granted, I did buy those earrings. They were so gawd awful wrong on so many levels I just had to have them!!! I still wonder what possessed this person to put trolls on a pair of earrings and actually think they could pass them off as authentic. I guess the first clue is she spelled miniature wrong. The scary part is I wasn't the only bidder! I will display these as a reminder of who the competition is. I am not intimidated.

Now there are those artisans who take vintage pieces and turn them into beautiful works of art. Meet Maria and Lisa from Salvati Designs. They turn vintage jewelry into amazing home decor. I'm kind of partial to the N. Now this is how you upcycle people!

The pieces they create are just gorgeous. You can go get your own at their eBay Store.

So what have we learned? Friends don't let friends make scary upcycled troll earrings and sell them on eBay.

Cheers!

Save A Life.....Buy Vintage

Don't get up at 3am to get trampled by soccer moms or beat up by some old lady with a really big handbag. Come on over and get amazing gifts you can't buy at Walmart. Absolutely beautiful vintage jewelry, housewares and collectibles. They come with a pain free guarantee. I promise.

Hey! That's Awesome!

Angiezilla's Boutique

The Artisanal

Trust me, your body will thank you.

Cheers!

So, What Exactly Do You 'Tumble'

Social media isn't my forte. First, I'm not very social. I'm going to be that old lady who hits people and things with her handbag. I'm the one who forgets my own family's birthdays. I literally will have people come up to me and say 'Hey Niki! How ya been?' We will have a 10 minute conversation and as they walk away my husband will say 'who was that?' My answer 'I don't know.' So yeah, not so social nowadays. Now I have branched out to another social media site to connect with people. I am now on Tumblr. Ok, great, I get to connect! The one thing that bothers me, and it must be my inner Grammar Nazi, BUT WHY DOES IT NOT HAVE AN 'E'?? Anyway, check it out. Apparently all the cool kids are doing it. Like Boy George, and you can't get cooler than that.

Cheers!

Ohhhh, Shiny!

Man. I bet you thought I dropped off the face of the earth right? If the earth had a face though I bet it would look like Jack Black, then everybody would want off. 

I have been obsessed lately with shiny objects. You know, those little things that make you 'oohhhh' and 'ahhhhhh'. Especially the ones from our glamorous past. That's when women really cared about their appearance. Every outfit had to be accessorized perfectly. Even for a trip to the grocery store. There was no Sponge Bob pajama pants and flip flops at Walmart. (of course there was no Walmart either, but you catch my drift) No woman would be caught dead outside the home in her pajamas! Gasp! What a scandal! 
Let's pay tribute to the shiny things from the past that made women women and men notice!

Crown Trifari
Since the 1920s, Trifari has been one of the most respected and admired producers of costume jewelry in the United States. Founded in the 1910s by Gustavo Trifari, the Italian-immigrant son of a Napoli goldsmith, the company has designed jewelry that’s been worn by countless high-profile clients, from Mamie Eisenhower to Madonna.

Crown Trifari Starburst Twin Clasp Choker

Monet

Founded by brothers Michael and Joseph Chernow in 1927 in New York. Monet is known for it's high fashion costume jewelry and has had many famous designer contribute to their line.

Monet Gold Tone Quill Feather Pin

Coro 

The Coro company was the largest manufacturer of costume jewelry. Founded by Emanuel Cohn and Gerard Rosenberg in 1901, the company produced a broad range of designs. They were known for their well designed, vibrant pieces.

Coro Aurora Borealis Ice Blue Flower Brooch

Go check check out these amazing Etsy shops, AngiezillasBoutique, TheArtisanal, and of course HeyThatsAwesome to find some beautiful shiny of your own!

Cheers!

Niki

Commissioner Gordon! It's the Batphone!

Ok, can we just talk about Gotham for a minute? Actually, all these new DC shows that are coming out? Oh my god, they are AWESOME! Gotham has me on the edge of my seat and The Flash, I can't even go into how awesome that is! I'm behind on Arrow so that has to wait. Too bad, I love me some John Barrowman! So fun facts: Barry Allen's dad on The Flash is the actor who actually played The Flash in the old series. The actor who plays Alfred on Gotham is none other than Sean Pertwee. His father is John Pertwee who played the third Doctor in Doctor Who (which is the best show ever made!) Sean Pertwee also portrayed Gareth Lestrade on Elementary. Which is not to be confused with the much superior, British program Sherlock. Oh Benedict Cumberbatch, what I wouldn't do to you! I digress.  John Barrowman played Captain Jack Harkness (Face Of Boe) on Doctor Who as well as on the the spin off Torchwood (which is an anagram for Doctor Who. Mind blown right?) And finally, pointed out by the hubby, doesn't the kid who plays Bruce Wayne have a striking resemblance to Christian Bale? Coincidence perchance? So back to Gotham! Cobblepot is portrayed so well in this series (kinda kicks Danny DeVito's ass. Just saying) Creepy, desperate and brutal. I love it so. It turned on a light bulb. I had this super cute Swarovski crystal necklace and the pendant is shaped like a little umbrella.

                       

OOOoohh......

I finally decided to list it. So all of you Cobblepot fans, this is a classy way to geek out without letting that flag wave to high! Which mine is apparently at full mast right now! 

So when it comes down to it, who's holding the umbrella?  

Cheers!

Wait...What? It's Not Christmas yet!!

You know what bothers me most of all about retail stores? They have no concept of time. Bathing suits in winter? Coats in the spring? Next they will be selling Christmas decorations in May. Well I'm close. It's not even Halloween yet and all of the fall items are clearanced out and they are moving in the Christmas stuff already. I'm surprised I'm not hearing Jingle Bells when I'm walking through the stores. Well lucky for you I just happen to have some pretty amazing autumn items you might just want to snatch up!

                       

Everyone needs an awesome platter for their turkey!

                       

And what is dinner without dessert?

                        

You need to drink right?

                       

And of course you don't want to be rude and have food on your face....

Now I'm going to let you in a little secret. 

THIS IS THE BEST TURKEY YOU WILL EVER MAKE!

Seriously, try this recipe. My turkey every year is so juicy I am cleaning it up off the floor after I carve it. That's why you need the tree and well platter. It keeps all those juices in place!

Make you holiday beautiful with these amazing vintage housewares. 

You will thank me later!

Cheers!

And Cue The Slow Clap.....

I have been revisiting my youth and gorging out on 80's movies. Were we really that ridiculous? It really cracks me up seeing the fashion of the 80's. What were we thinking? The latest gem I just finished was Can't Buy Me Love. A classic Patrick Dempsy pre-McDreamy. I do wish I could travel back sometimes. Where's the Doc (either one if you are a sci-fi geek) when you need him. So my time machine is a thrift shop. So on my journey through time via The Thrifty Time Machine I have found some amazing artifacts. Now if I can find some Guess jeans, Keds and those glasses that really weren't glasses but more of a Geordi Laforge look. I honestly think I wore this to a high school dance.

You can buy it here if you are feeling nostalgic

And it wouldn't be right if you didn't accessorize 

And you have to stay warm!

Honestly I'm surprised we didn't all go blind. By color or science!

*slow clap