Josie - Just think! You have thanked maybe two score members who have welcomed you on this thread.......................so if you discount the "hit and runners", you only have about four-thousand "Welcome Thank Yous" to go............ Just jesting Josie.............Just jesting................
My Mom turned me into a thrift store estate sale junkie! My family is from Kentucky and we've always had antiques, but the treasure hunting is so much fun and affordable! Nothing makes me happier than finding a crystal knife rest for a $1.95! It's my therapy
I am in Brisbane Australia.. originally uk. Loved going to old flea markets and buying knick knacks. Last year I started looking in op shops.... got obsessed with buying cheap old furniture and painting it . Turned out crap to that died a quick death . Now I just buy little things I like .
Josie - are you saying that PAINTED FURNITURE is "dying" where you are? That would be a huge relief to lots of us here in the US! (I am SO sick of "shabby chic" painted, distressed old wood! Give me the "real deal" any day! Lfiduk, do you USE those crystal knife rests??? I have LOTS of them, but I haven't used them in ages! Sadly (for me, at least) entertaining simply isn't what it used to be... Crystal, silver, fine china... Sigh. I MISS using it all, I really do.
I'm a new member too, still trying to figure out how to post my queries, but apparently I now have the ability to respond on people's posts. Little steps I guess. Jo Jo, that is beauty work, my dear departed Papa spent his last decades finding broken furniture and fixing-up/repairing/refinishing, he loved it and continued until he became too sick, he was 87 when he died last year, sorely missed. He was always giving me tools over the years, mostly to try and sell or find a good home for, he was a very cool and wonderful person who also loved the old and unique, I think I am of the same cloth I digress, that is a nice cabinet JJ! Kudos! CC
I have! It was so much fun! I used my Homer Laughlin china plates that I got at an estate sale which is a very simple ivory with a wide dark gray band and used silver and crystal accents, i.e., the knife rests and other accent serving pieces. It was a casual Florida Christmas Eve dinner with friends (shorts, t-shirts and flip flops) but the dining table was elegant with prime rib. There were many questions about the knife rests and the guests were delighted in the new knowledge they gained. When one guest attempted a toast after one too many, another guest interrupted and proclaimed "I rest my knife" and all erupted in laughter! The toaster still doesn't understand to this day what transpired... It's one of those "had to be there " moments.
This year I'm going to add in the Heisey serve ware. I'm 53 and people don't entertain like my parents did anymore so it's fun to pull it out and use it! Even if everything else is casual, it makes people and the gathering feel special. And they actually love it!