Fresh Picks: Get Creative For Mom

You know “it’s the thought that counts,” but what if you’re out of ideas for expressing your love and appreciation to Mom this year? Think vintage for a truly one-of-a-kind gift. These fab finds will do the job: the first three are artisan-crafted gifts with vintage components. The next three are for creating your own unique presentation…give Mom a bouquet divided among vintage vases, bestow her favorite tea coupled with a vintage teapot, or bake her a sweet banana nut bread presented in a vintage loaf pan. Now you’ve got something special!

by ReBopShop

A Mother's Heart lesliejanson $20.00	Earlene Collection Necklace MyValentineJew... $55.00	Pair of Natural Industrial R... weareMFEO $139.00
Cottage Ware Teapot and Milk... Tibbycats $20.50	Fire King Loaf Pan, Candleli... threepondsvint... $10.00	Moving Sale Milk Glass Vase ... DirtyMartini $11.20

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

Living A Vintage Life: Vintage Valentine's Clipart

Life is the flower for which love is the honey.

  ~Victor Hugo 
We *vintageophiles are often creative people, looking for ways to incorporate our passion into our everyday lives whether it be a snuggly vintage afghan, funky 1970s blouse or in the gifts we offer to the ones we love. Valentine's Day is no exception as we seek vintage heart jewelry, trinkets and timeless sentiments on aged greeting cards. Even if we were willing to part with our long searched for greetings, we would probably be hard-pressed to acquire enough to give to all the loved ones on our list. Fortunately there is another way to send vintage sentiments: we can create our own Valentine's cards using vintage graphics.

There are many sources of free vintage Valentine's graphics on the internet, you just have to make sure you are truly accessing free clipart. To make that task a little easier, I've swam through some websites for you and came up with a few links.
The Graphics Fairy has a wonderful selection of vintage images and craft ideas. 
Hub Pages has dreamy graphics too!
Vintage Holiday Crafts has gorgeous images for Valentine's and other holidays.
The Stock Solution has free graphics as well as images for sale.
Want to fore go the fuss of printing, pasting and glitter? Fun and free vintage style e-cards can be found at Hipster Cards.

From my vintage heart to yours - Happy Valentines Day!

*vintageophile - a person whose every waking moment is consumed with the thought, pursuit and possession of vintage goods!

Vintage Gift Guide: Make Her Swoon

by ReBopShop

Heirloom quality antique jewelry from the Etsy Vintage Team. Warning...have her open this gift near the fainting couch!

Rhinestone Wedding Holiday R... OhFaro $125.00	Ali Baba Necklace -Antique C... ForeverInStyle $385.00	Vintage French Victorian Gol... socaljewelbox $62.00
Red BakeLite Green Vintage B... BakeliteBakery $54.00	Vintage 1930s Green Enameled... unionmadebride $68.00	Vintage Mexican Sterling Sil... marybethhale $140.00
Floral Charm Bracelet Loaded... MellowMermaidJ... $55.00	DeLizza & Elster Juliana Cam... GeneralWhimsy2 $75.00	Eisenberg Ice Topaz and Red ... cherrylippedro... $110.00
Vintage Whiting & Davis Vict... CranberryManor $50.00	Gorgeous Vintage Emerald & D... Nachokitty $345.00	Vintage 1950s Holly Wreath P... alexsandras $55.00
Vintage Silver Brooch green ... popgoesmyvinta... $75.00	Vintage Chandelier Rhineston... PersonalPursui... $55.00	Vintage 1950s Enameled Metal... darlingblu $75.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Set Your Shop Above The Rest

As the Holiday buying season approaches, we need to be sure we're doing all we can to reassure our potential customers. Today we're inundated with stories of fraud, poor packaging that led to broken items, sellers that refuse to offer refunds for wrong items, and more. We can combat this and set our stores apart with a few basic words & practices. Some sellers hide behind their descriptions, leaving out information so the item will sell faster. You are building long term customer relationships-treat your clients as you wish to be treated. 

Vintage Ceramic Rooster offered by VintageInBloom

First of all, congrats! Being a member of the Etsy Vintage Team is a great seal of approval to have. The high standards set by this team mean that buyers can relax, knowing that they're dealing with a reputable seller. 

Antique Treenware Kitchen Set offered by birdie1

But it's going to take more than just a badge to get an insecure buyer to click the Add to Cart button. The first impression of your shop is vital, just as it is with people. Is it well laid out? Are colors & textures balanced-not too much of one color on a side, silver items spread evenly throughout the page, clothing balanced out with jewelry? If you're unsure, try this: back away from your computer screen a little ways and squint your eyes. You'll quickly assess what needs to go where.

Vintage Tole Metal Tray offered by tparty

Are your descriptions thorough? Be sure you're eliminating all guesswork for the potential buyer. Provide what the item is made of, what its measurements are and all elements of condition. Avoid the dreaded: "in good condition for its age"-it's far too subjective. Be specific: There is a 1/4 inch long crack along the side, the binding is tight & the pages all present, the leather is supple, there is consistent crazing, etc. 

Silver Kangaroo Ring offered by evalena

Are you providing extra information that other sellers neglect to provide? One such example is black light testing. It brings out the hidden flaws and repairs your naked eye may have missed, thus providing another level of security for your customer. Do you mention if the item smells fresh and is free from smoke? I consider this a vital piece of information when I'm buying, since I'm seriously allergic to tobacco smoke. 

1970s Maxi Dress offered by JojosRetroandVintage

Being willing to offer fast exact shipping is good idea for last minute shoppers. Providing tracking numbers and insurance is another way to give reassurance to a wary buyer. As I've mentioned before, it's always better to provide a variety of shipping rates so your buyer feels confident. 

Antique Lusterware Open Salts offered by vintageatchirp

Layaway is a popular option now; just 2 or 3 payments can make a world of difference. I've had 3 sales for over $400 lately done this way and they've all paid on time. If you do offer it, advertise it. 

Modernist Sterling Brooch Offered by darlingblu

In these uncertain times this extra level of service reassures the buyer and shows them you're sensitive to their needs. Since most of our shops are going to do the bulk of their business during the holidays, now is the time to be sure we're providing a top level of customer service. 

Foodie Friday -- W is for WINE

Thought I would share some "factoids" about WINE.

** Wine is #1 among the world's fruit crops, in number of acres planted.

** 30 million gallons of wine were lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

** It takes 4-5 years to harvest a commercial crop from newly replanted grape vines.

** 10,000 of wine grapes exist worldwide.

** A bottle of opened wine stored in the refrigerator lasts 10X longer than it would if stored at room temp.

** CA, NY and FL are the top three U.S. states in terms of wine consumption.

** Red wine accounts for 55% of restaurant wine sales.

** There are approximately 20 billion bottles of wine produced worldwide each year.

** In Ancient Egypt, commoners drank beer and elite drank wine.

** You can find the word vineyard(s) more than 100 times in the King James Bible.

*******

Vintage glasses look lovely on your table, and I am certain wine (or any beverage) tastes better when served in vintage style. Here are 2 lovely selections available from etsyvintageteam members:

Lastly, a FAB vintage WINE RACK to house those precious bottles:

Postcards from France X: Christmas Decoration with Chandelier Crystals

I had full intentions to snap some photos of beautiful Christmas decoration in the ancient city of Aix en Provence, a few minutes' drive from where I live. Just for you, faithful Etsy Vintage blog readers.

But it's so dang cold! I'm a cold weather wimp. So what I did was go to my village presse (place where you buy newspapers and magazines) and searched through all the chic-y chic décor magazines in search of some great French vintage Christmas decoration ideas.

More discolosure: I'm also a magazine scrooge (a heat seeking magazine scrooge). So that I forked over a very chic euro price for the greater good of this blog, is tribute to the blog in itself. (I'm not kidding about the magazine scrooge thing, either. I think my entire annual magazine budget went towards buying Maison Brocante Novembre/Décembre.)

And this image is the whole reason I let the moths out of the magazine section of my billfold:


I thought this was a fine Christmas idea for us vintage junkies. It's a chandelier crystal with - tout simplement - an image cut out in the exact dimensions of the shape of the crystal. Then, and this is where the magazine caption is lacking in details, glued to the back.

But how, I don't know. If you have an idea of how to glue the image where the glue is invisible, please leave your technique in the comments!

Back to the concept: this would make fantastic ornaments with b & w photos of children, you as a child, fond moments caught on film. And of course, touching gifts.

This was also a nifty idea: a chandeleir crystal garland. Made with a simple wire and some patience.

Now that my head is full of Christmas crystals, I'm imagining a Christmas tree top ornament made of four crystals in the form of a cross!

Does this inspire any decoration ideas in you?

For Holiday Parties, Go Vintage

It's that time of year--festive holiday parties, where everyone dresses to the nines, sips martinis, and flirts with someone they shouldn't. (OK, that's not my life, but someone lives that way, right?) This year, do it in style with vintage clothing and accessories. Here are just a few sample outfits; for more options, follow these links for vintage hats, dresses, shoes, and purses.

Happy Holidays!

1950's Black Velvet... GeneralWhimsy2 $15.00	1980s black felt wool h... dustyrosevinta... $44.00	Vintage 1950s White Pet... cemetarian $10.00
1980s Red Ruched Sarong... Erstwhilestyle $62.00	Limited Editions by Ell... Jonquil $250.00	vintage 80s tiered LACE... ikonic $32.00
Vintage Platform Heels ... Nachokitty $75.00	Vintage Black Leather S... dahlilafound $32.00	Vintage White Size 8 M ... vintagegoodnes... $21.95
Vintage 1950s KELLY HAN... TimeAndAgainFa... $39.00	Vintage 1950s ART DECO... BetaAccessorie... $26.00	vintage clutch - philip... moxiethrift $25.00

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Vintage for the Bargain Hunter

Faux leopard coat, on sale from Haute Country Vintage

It's that time of year, when people begin to line up outside of department stores and outlet malls, looking for bargains. Sounds like fun, eh? No?

If you'd prefer to do your bargain shopping in your jammies, sipping on a hot cup of coffee, you've come to the right place. The Etsy Vintage Team sellers are having sales galore; follow this link to see what's in store. But better get started now--some of these sales will only run through the next few days. (The link will remain good, however, to pick up future sales as the holiday season cranks up.)

Fostoria coin bowl on sale from Jens Closet

Recycled necklace on sale from Behr Essentials