As a newlywed 15 years ago, I discovered decorating books and magazines.  Well, I always knew they were out there, but now that I had my own home and was in search of my style, they applied to me and I became an addict.  I quickly gravitated to a more “country” style and homes that displayed a lot of antiques.  I noticed fans, scales and typewriters used as props in the homes that were featured and all three made it to my “list.”  The list of things I would hunt for as I was out shopping.  I bought my first antique fan, a black Emerson oscillating fan from eBay for $15.  It’s in the photo shoot below… A few years later, I found a rusty typewriter at an antique store for $5 and took it home.  The typewriter I have now is a portable Corona I found at an estate

There are some things that attract my attention at antique stores and it’s hard to explain why.  Some of those things are alarm clocks, pocket watches and opera glasses and binoculars.  Maybe it’s the fact that they are beautiful and utilitarian at the same time.  Sometimes those two qualities are viewed as opposites that can’t coexist happily.  If it’s beautiful, it can’t be functional.  If it’s functional, it must be ugly.  I love it when things prove that idea wrong.  With smart phones and jumbotrons, alarm clocks, pocket watches and opera glasses/binoculars have become almost obsolete, but I think they have an amazing decorative quality and often make it into vignettes in my home and photo shoots… I put together a collection of some of these beautiful, yet utilitarian pieces that caught my eye, including these lovelies… You can follow the full collection HERE and follow all of my eBay collections

When I first launched the Mustard Seed Pages, I joked that all ironstone listings need to go through me first.  I have restrained myself from snatching up every nice piece I saw at a good price, but I couldn’t resist this one.  Fluted compotes like these are listed for as high as $90-200 elsewhere online, so when I got this one for $34.16 including shipping, I knew it was a great price for a really nice piece. You know how I feel about ironstone.  This one got me a little fluttery as I unwrapped it.   Thanks so much, Christine, for selling it to me and packing it so carefully. I tucked it away in one of the corner cabinets in my dining room. When I shared yesterday’s post, someone on Facebook mentioned never seeing any toys in my photo shoots.  Well, I figure you ladies with kids have seen

A few years ago, I fell in love with antique european grain sacks.  I bought my first one at a flea market for $20, but I mostly made DIY versions out of drop cloths and paint.  Over the years I’ve splurged here and there on authentic antique European grain sacks, feeling like the durable hemp fabric with its nubby texture, stripes, monograms and beautiful patina of age were worth it.  It’s now become my favorite fabric for upholstery, pillow covers, sewing projects and to use as table runners or just folded on a shelf. Here are a few things I’ve used grain sacks for recently…   And I send my scraps to Ann and she makes me these… I don’t live in an area where European grain sacks are plentiful, so I buy most of them online.  I put together a collection on eBay of some that recently caught my