Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Charms and Earbobs (More Flea Market Finds)

Good morning!

Thanks for all your kind comments on my china cabinet! I am still livin' for and lovin' it, but it was great to hear feedback from you guys. I'm working my way backwards in terms of what I got at the flea market this weekend--these finds were actually from Friday. I almost never go to the flea market on its first day, but I happened to have the afternoon off and was curious to see what kinds of things are there when everybody else is at work. Turns out, about half the vendors, and a lot of curious people who also don't have work on Friday. About half as many stalls were set up as they would be on Saturday, but I think that was more owing to the crazy unpredictable weather this spring has sprung on us than any particular trend in flea market set ups.

Anyway! Look what I got:


This charm bracelet was in the Antiques Alley building in a booth that always has the most amazing, ENORMOUS vintage costume brooches and necklaces, and is ALWAYS running a 50%-60% off sale. Which means that the prices are already marked as about twice what they should be, but hey, I like even the illusion of a bargain. And with the prices half off, how was I going to ignore it! Plus, the guy running it was super nice. This bracelet was marker $40, so ended up being $16 (not bad, not bad!). I passed on another bracelet with buckle-sized scenes of Paris on it (too corroded, and it was $10 more), but that old "TREAT. YO. SELF." weekend voice whispered in my ear and I bought it. Look at all the crazy little charms, too! I have five or six charm bracelets, but never one where the charms are so densely packed they jingle loudly as you type or adjust your glasses. I love that sound!!

Closeups of some of the charms:


There are thirteen in all (lucky me), and include in this photo a sterling collie dog, a globe-like bauble, a shriner's fez, a round pendant marked "I Love You", this weird Santa medallion, and a lady Mason's Eastern Star charm dated "11-16-76" on the back (I guess her initiation date ? Or when she married a Mason? Who can say?). The shriner hat and the dog were the main reasons I was sold on the bracelet, besides its bargain basement price. I couldn't find anything with a similar number of charms and of this quality for under $35, so maybe the booth guy's original price wasn't far off the mark! Because I can't add, I was in the throes of misery for a good twenty minutes after buying this as I thought the price on it was $35 and that I had overpaid by two bucks...later in the car, trying on my trinket, I saw the $40 price tag and went "OH, duh, that price was correct." Why do I always think people are out to gyp me? The high anxiety of second hand buying sometimes wreaks a little havoc on my delicate psyche. Being a pennypincher, I am ALWAYS on the lookout for how I could miscalculate and not have the bought the right thing for the right price! C'est la guerre, I guess!

Round two:


The charm with the monogram almost looks like a little "L" and a big "H", doesn't it? Which would be my initials now that I'm married! Upon further inspection, though, it looks like it might be a "LFC" instead (Bob Barker sad trombone music). There's the outline of possible a school house? Two, count 'em TWO horse charms, a round charm marked "Popp's Ferry School 1966-1969", a Beta Sigma Phi key charm, and a graduate's cap. Popp's Ferry is an elementary school in Biloxi, MS, which makes me wonder if it was once a high school, or if the person who had this charm bracelet taught there rather than attended that school from 1966-1969 (that would make the school house make sense, too!). I'm trying to decide if I want to detach some of these charms and add some of my own, or just keep the crazy kit and caboodle as it is. For now, I am so enjoying rattling around the library with these tinny little clankers on my wrist!

Earring wise, I bought these four pair for $2 apiece, and aren't I pleased with myself:


SO! MIDECENTURY! I dug through a tray in one of the sheds for a good ten minutes comparing ones I liked and picking through ones I didn't, but all of them were great, really. The ones in the bottom right hand corner are my favorite because I think the black and the little atomic-ish rhinestones will go well with practically anything, but I've only worn the gold and the pearl-and-rhinestone ones so far (the latter I have on at work today, along with the charm bracelet...blinging it OUT). The best though, is that the earrings in the upper left hand corner are part of a set with a necklace, which put me out a whopping six additional dollars...so for eight bucks, I got a bonafide set of aurora borealis costume jewelery! Take a look at this bizarre Instagram selfie I took after the flea, doesn't it look like something arty from an old Life magazine circa 1968? All I need is a black light poster behind me and the words "THINK" or some such in bold print at the bottom:


I have been looking for a set like this for awhile now-- I have a pair of heavy clip-on earrings that are a cluster of these kind of rainbow-stones, but it wasn't until I spent some time window shopping on ebay that I learned there's a term for this kind of rhinestone, which is "aurora borealis" (after the northern lights). Also, I learned that I was not going to be able to buy these online-- any time a seller knows the name of something they're selling (ie "Paul McCobb designed design" or "Vintage Schiaparelli MARKED earrings"), you know that drives the price up by about TWICE. And if you can't search by what it's actually called, it's like finding a needle in a haystack to grab something you want for a price you can afford! You can read more about the history of the jewelry treatment process (which involved Christian Dior going to Swarovski crystals to create something, well, "new" to go with his New Look designs in the early 1950's) here and here-- I was fascinated by the back story on how these gorgeous things came into being! And now I can wear them with a little bit more knowledge in my head about them, which you know just feeds my nerdy little heart. :)

Bonus: photo of my shadow and my dad's shadow across this old Pepsi-promotional restaurant sign... I would like a fifty cent "milk shak", but no slaw, thank you. I liked the letters (and the missing ones, too!) as much as the sign itself:



Ok, ok, enough about me-- how about you? Do you collect costume jewelry of a particular kind, or are you like me where anything goes as far as whatever your magpie eye spies goes into the collection? What's the best "score" you've made recently? Are you more into bracelets, necklaces, or earrings? I feel like earrings and bracelets are far easier to wear for me than necklaces, but it changes, and Lord knows I will not pass up a good bargain on a good piece no matter what my inclinations.

Gotta get back to work, but have a great Tuesday, and we'll talk tomorrow! Take care of yourselves, and I'll see you then!

10 comments:

  1. Someday you should come through Kansas, and I'll show you my 1930's dish cabinet filled to its brim with a lifetime collection of costume jewelry. I have 1920's dress clips, Bakelite bracelets..every era is represented up to the Atomic Age ("How I learned to love the Bomb") PILES of this stuff. If and when my estate sale occurs, look under the bed for a special box of stuff just for YOU, Lisa!

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    1. I hope I make it out to your neck of the woods some day, I can't even imagine what treasures that china cabinet holds (and your wonderful stories behind how they got there!). Ali Baba Leapheart's Cave of Wonders! :)

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  2. Love that photo of you! I really like the charm bracelet, it has such a nice mix of charms, it feels like a well rounded life story, but I especially like the earned ones like the lady Mason & the Beta Sigma Phi key charm. I need to see those "aurora borealis" clip-ons in person! I have a few pair of clip-ons (my ears aren't pierced) but the pads are usually warn away so they hurt too much to wear for more than a few hours. ...plus I think my earlobes look weird, and earrings just draw unnecessary attention to them, lol. I have a few types of necklaces that hang well on me, but bracelets and a cocktail ring are always my go-to jewerly if I want to "bling-out." Nice updates to your bling collection! :)

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    1. Thanks about the photo, isn't it strange?! I like all the weird angles of my head. I am thinking about taking some of my "louder" clip ons (these, in black and gold and rhinestones, are the kinds I wear a lot, whereas I also have like a blue million flowers and figural ones I don't ever wear) and turning them into a bracelet, check out the ones this woman makes on etsy , they are KILLING ME. I'm like you, except I think the rounder an earring is the more it makes my head look wide, so I avoid ones that are bigger than, say, a button but smaller than a half dollar because they just don't work! #earringproblems If it works, you should use yours for that, too! Braceletification.

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  3. very pretty!
    love charm bracelets too - but because most of them are made with some nickel can´t wear them - sadly. have to wait until i hit the jackpot and buy me a real gold one - haha.

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    1. Haha, that WOULD be nice. I just love how it clanks and jangles while I type!

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  4. That charm bracelet is crazy! I'm from Ocean Springs, MS. Biloxi's neighbor! According to my Googling, Popps Ferry was only an elementary school. The construction began in 1960, finished in 1961. My guess is that the bracelet belonged to a teacher. The city is still pretty much set up the same with several smaller elementary schools, middle schools, and junior highs and the huge Biloxi High. Now I'm homesick.

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    1. Oh, neat! Thanks for telling me about the school, it's good to have the inside scoop from a native! :D Doesn't it make you wonder though, with how personal a charm bracelet is, why people ever get rid of them?

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  5. i love that charm bracelet! i've got to get one for myself! i'm glad you got some great stuff at the flea!

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    1. Thanks, lady! I was knockin' it out of the park this weekend! Watch me not find anything for like the rest of the year though, now, haha.

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