Mary, Jesus and John the Baptist

During this Holy season, it only seems appropriate to do an entry featuring a religious piece of vintage jewelry. I absolutely adore this locket / pendant. It is so beautiful and has such a beautiful theme. This petite circular pendant pictures Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist on the front in relief; meaning they are not flat. With metalwork this is sometimes called repousse - if this were in stone or shell it would be called a cameo. It is marked "RR Sterling"; unfortunately, this maker's mark has me stumped. I see a lot of religious jewelry pieces deaturing Jesus and Mary; but not so many with the addition of John. John the Baptist is referred to in one of the Gospels as Jesus' cousin. John preached faithfulness and honesty in one's duties, and the humble confession of one's sins. John baptized his listeners in the Jordan; this became such a large part of his ministry that he was given the surname "the Baptist." John even baptized Jesus. I suppose that's a little background on Baptism, though it wasn't meant to be! Hope you are having a wonderful and cheerful Christmas season! Incidentally, this piece will be on Ruby Lane shortly; condition is very good; expected patina (you can the difference in patina on the back where someone had a price sticker) and 1 tiny, tiny "ding" on the reverse.

Just For Fun....

The night was dark and stormy. Eve shivered as she crept out the cellar door. The temperature had plummented over the past few hours; in part due to a cold front coming in from the mid-west, and perhaps, due to the fear and adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her moment was upon her. How long, she wondered, had she planned for this moment? Dreamt of the result? Painstakingly rehearsed every move, every minute detail down to the precise hour of her venture? Weeks? Months? She shrugged. The time for planning was past. The time for action was now. No regrets...only opportunity. The door swung closed behind her with the barest of squeaks. Eve paused and took in the maelstrom of the storm and marveled at how adaptive nature could be. The mighty Southern Pine with its deep, penetrating roots meant to withstand the tests of time had been conditioned to hold its ground when faced with adversity - learned to bend instead of break. But, oh how the sky was angry this night. The fury of the wind whipped at the pines, sending needles flying to the ground and creating a slight howl thru the trees that matched Eve's mood perfectly. Turning her face up towards the sky, Eve felt the cleansing rush of raindrops course through her hair and down her face, watched the lightning illuminate the dark sky with new possibilities and felt the wind blowing her thoughts forward. She turned, her long dark coat trailing behind her, and took a step.

Little Treasures

The Holiday Season is upon us! With the rain, I have had to go to the malls to walk this week and the holiday decor is up...including fabulous Santa villages! Can't wait to take Cameron for his first Santa visit. I wonder if he will cry? After an entire weekend spent antiquing: Friday night auction until midnight, Flea Market started back Saturday morning and it was SMOKING HOT for treasures...I haven't bought that much stuff out there in a very long time, and then another auction Saturday night till midnight again! Needless to say, I will be spending most of this coming weekend pricing new items for the booth and then re-arranging and sprucing it up. I purchased over 1000 books last weekend...a couple go back to the 1700's!! - and several from the 1800's. Obviously, I will be adding a lot of books. ANYWAY, thought I would share a few photos of items I am currently working with; either for the booth or on Ruby Lane.

Enjoy and have a wonderful day!

Robert DeMario Demi-Parure

Finally decided to sell it out of my personal collection.

"Sibyl"

I liked this image because of the dog. :)

Roaring Tiger Pin by Erwin Pearl

Perfect for the Holidays! Desirable red with gold glitter

thermoset plastic bracelet. Yum!

White Gold, Amethyst and Diamonds. Don't you need

an elegant but flashy cocktail ring for parties?

Happy Halloween, Superman!

The Orcutt's - October 2009

This year, Halloween seemed to last for the entire month - which was fun! Cameron, Darby and I headed out one Saturday to the Vintage Village to visit our antique family: Tracy at the Little Shabby Shed, Suzie and Jenny at SuzAnna's Antiques, and Sam...with his fabulous pumpkin patch, mini haunted house, fall mums and gourds galore. We let Cameron choose his pumpkin - it was so cute - he chose a Cameron sized pumpkin!

Cameron with his small pumpkin.

Then, of course, he tried to eat a rock (!!!), so it was time to leave the ground and go experience Cameron's first haunted house!!!! OOOOoooooooo.....scary!

Darby and Cameron and a creepy ghoul!

Cameron was more intrigued than scared, which was good - we didn't want him to be afraid and we took some fun photos. Later that week Cameron went to another pumpkin patch; this time at the NC Farmer's Market to help his E-Paw pick out his pumpkin!

Cameron and E-Paw conferring on a pumpkin.

Then we all went and had a seafood lunch. Thanks E-Paw!
The week of Halloween, the Library where we go for story time had special Halloween story times that you had to register for, so we chose to go Thursday evening so Darby could participate. Darby's mother was in town and got to attend as well! Cameron was Superman this year, and he looked precious.

Cameron flies into the library!

His costume was actually a pajama set, except the blue pants were too long so we substituted red shorts. Cameron had a blast meeting the other kids that night, doing some trick-or-treating and meeting the Chick-Fil-A cow!

Cameron meets the Chick-Fil-A Cow! At least I think its the Chick-Fil-A cow....

He was so excited the entire evening, and -OH- by the way - he is walking! (he began walking right in the middle of his first Birthday party - 9/26/09).

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's....Cameron walking!

The next day, Friday, one of his buddies turned 1 so we went to celebrate with Collin...and the kids got to wear their costumes! Another Superman evening! Cameron had a blast and discovered a toy wheelbarrow. (hopefully, his interest in yard work will stick around so he can help us out...haha).

Cameron discovers Yard Work...HOORAY!

FINALLY, it was Oct. 31. All Hallow's Eve. We went to E-Paw's to trick-or-treat and take pictures with cousin Reese - cute ladybug!

Cameron and E-Paw

Reese, E-Paw and Cameron

Then, Mommy and Daddy had to scurry home to finalize preparations for their small get-together with friends! What a fun evening! Our friends Mary, Martin, Alan and Hope came over in costume: Mary as the Spiderwife, Martin as the carrot-top clown face hero shirt person, Alan as Spiderman and Hope as the Ace Reporter. I attempted to dress as Dorothy this year because my hair is SO long - thought I could mimic her hairdo and Kearney could be my Toto.

Kearney and Laura imitate Dorothy and Toto.

Not so much on the "look like Dorothy attempt" but I had fun trying. Darby was a devil and Cameron was...drumroll...Superman! Of course! I made a dirt cake and was so proud of it!

Worms, anyone?

Cameron entertained everyone by dancing to disco music, which got us all up dancing,

Ace Reporter, Spiderwife, Carrot-top Clown Face and Spiderman....can you guess which disco song was playing?

and finally little Cams had had enough and it was bedtime. We played a game called "Encore"; it is a singing game and had a great time. This crowd knows how to laugh! I think we have all decided to team up and go caroling in a few weeks. But not dressed up!

The Orcutt's - October 2009

Victorian Lingerie Pins.....Hide Those Straps, Girl!

Pair of enamelled lingerie pins; C-Clasp.

The Victorian Era, named after Queen Victoria, produced a bounty of jewelry - in part due to Queen Victoria's love of jewelry. During this time, ladies had many, many different articles of clothing to put on in order to assemble their outfit for the day. One of these many items was lingerie...and with it came the ever present problem of how to hide those darn lingerie straps and keep them from falling out? In that sense, times haven't changed much. There are scads of infomercials advertising the latest in gadgets guaranteed (or your money back!) to keep that bra HIDDEN. The main difference is the reason why.

10K Gold and White Enamel; safety clasp.

Victorian women were very proper, and to reveal ones underclothing would likely cause a scandal...at the very least the other ladies at your afteroon tea might swoon. These days, we hide our bras and pin them together in the middle of our back so that they don't ruin the effect of our halter top sundresses.

Mother of Pearl; C-Clasp.

Admittedly, bra straps falling out IS embarrasing, but I daresay the sight of one wouldn't cause a scandal. "Oh ye gads! A BRA STRAP! EEEEEEEKKK!"(there are many cases in which I think a more scandalous event occurs when ladies need to put one ON!) ANYWAY....these diminuitive pins were introduced as a pretty and feminine way to hold your "lingerie straps" in place. What a wonderful idea! They were made in numerous ways; some in 10 or 14K gold, some gold filled, or enamelled, and some with creamy iridescent mother of pearl.

Pair of 14K Gold Pins; Safety Clasp

To be certain, a proper Victorian lady would want something "jewel-like" securing her underthings.

Unmarked; likely gold-filled; C-Clasp.

I myself have used a paper clip, a safety pin (large ones work well to pull the straps in between your shoulder blades), as well as teeny safety pins discreetly pinned from the inside out. Certainly these dainty Victorian pins are more attractive than a paper clip! Incidentally, all of the picured lingerie pins are for sale in our Ruby Lane shop.