a few of my favorites.

Published on by Quandie

This year I decided to pare down my non-collection of vintage ornaments.  Or maybe I should say ‘refine’.  Yes, I like the sound of that better, I decided to refine my non-collection.

I pulled out all of my ornaments and went through them one by one.

I started with all of the solid colored balls.  I sorted them by color and I packaged all of them up to be sold at Reclaiming Beautiful.  Next I sorted through the rest of them and set aside any that I didn’t absolutely love, and those got sold as well.

Leaving me with just a few of my favorites (that is totally sarcastic, unless you consider about 150 or so ornaments to be ‘a few’, bwa, ha, ha).

One of the characteristics that pretty much guarantees a spot in my ‘favorites’ category is hand-painting of any kind.

I find the hand-painted ornaments just so darn charming even when it’s nothing more than a couple of swipes with a brush.

The ornaments also have to fit into my color scheme of pink, aqua, green or silver.

I don’t have a lot of green ornaments, and you’d think this would be a fairly common color, but for some reason it doesn’t seem to be.

But sometimes I deviate from my color palette if the ornament is pretty enough.  For example, just a handful of blue ornaments made the cut.

I also have a small contingent of gold ornaments.

I can’t really explain why these next two ornaments, with their oranges and yellows, made it through.  Except that I love those daisies, and the combination of orange, hot pink and red works for me too.  I think both of these have a 60’s vibe, don’t you?

This last ornament is one of my particular favorites with its hand-painted flowers.  I think they are supposed to be lily of the valley, or possibly white bleeding hearts.  What do you think?

If you are new to my blog and you haven’t already heard me say it, I find most of my vintage ornaments at garage sales and estate sales.  Oftentimes people are selling a bag full of ornaments and the vintage glass ornaments are mixed in with plastic, pipe cleaner, wood or other sorts of ornaments.

It’s less common to find ornaments as a set, or in their original box, but I do sometimes find boxes.

It’s even more rare to find boxes in really good condition like this one.

I almost never find a boxed set of ornaments intact like the one shown above.  I purchased all of those ornaments separately and then put them in a box that came with other mismatched ornaments.  Antique shops will almost always break up sets like these and sell them individually.  I think it’s easier to sell single ornaments for $3.95 each than it is to sell a box of a dozen for $48.

This year I put my silver tree full of vintage ornaments up in my Q Branch next to my giant English cupboard, just around the corner from my black and white decorations.

My pink painted gift boxes are perfect underneath it.

Speaking of which, don’t forget, tonight is the deadline for leaving a comment on my blogiversary post to be in the running to win the Seven Swans a Swimming box full of goodies.  If you haven’t left a comment yet, you still can up until midnight tonight (US Central time).

And gosh, I totally forgot to mention it in my original post, but Fusion also provided a jar of one of their new waxes to throw in with the giveaway.

This is their Rose Gold wax.  I haven’t tried this one yet, but I have tried the new Clear Wax and I loved it (I’ll be sharing more on that tomorrow).  If you win, I hope you’ll try out the Rose Gold wax and let us all know how you like it!

52 thoughts on “a few of my favorites.”

  1. Love seeing these! It’s like a trip down memory lane! Every morning that you post is like a little gift that I enjoy so much. Have a great day and thanks for spreading joy!

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  2. If I only have time to read one blog on a certain day, it is ALWAYS q is for quandie!!
    Thank you for ALL the wonderful ideas you share with us.
    Would LOVE to try the Fusion paint.
    Have a blessed Christmas!!
    Joy

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  3. Absolutely love your blog and look forward to seeing if there is anything to read from you each morning! It makes my day when there is. You have the most creative ideas and I love that you’re willing to share so much information on your painting experience! I rarely leave a comment, but like many others, I’m out here reading and enjoying your writing and photography. Happy blogiversary!

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    1. I am wondering if there is much difference between the vintage ornaments we find here in the states v. any that you have in the UK. Do you have a non-collection also?

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      1. I think vintage ones are harder to find here now. I have a few and I’ll send a picture of them next week when I bring them out of their boxes. But what I do have are some lovely vintage reproductions and I’ll send you a picture to compare. And yes I do have a non collection and this year I really really need to sort through it 😱😱😱

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  5. Your non collection of ornaments is amazing. I have a few from my mom and grandmother and a few I’ve purchased over the years. I love all of them, but like you, I am going to pare down the solid color ones and sell some of them at my booth. I have also purchased some newer reproduction glass ornaments just because they have great color and decoration. I am just so awestruck that you have already decorated when you have also gone on a trip, work full time and paint so many things. Beautiful photos, Linda.

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    1. I’ve cloned myself, that’s how I get it all done! No, actually the real secret was a 4 day weekend from the day job over Thanksgiving. Also, I haven’t actually painted a ‘real’ piece of furniture since before my trip. I just didn’t share them here on the blog until after. I’m starting to suffer from serious withdrawal, but I’ve been too busy to paint furniture. I hope I can find time to paint a piece or two before the end of the year!

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  10. Vintage ornaments are my favorite too and you have a beautiful collection. I love the variety of colors and shapes. BTW…do you thing the green were not as popular because they may not show up on a green tree as well….just a thought. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. These are beautiful. I love vintage ornaments as well. I’ve been scouring thrift stores like crazy these days to add to my non-collection as well as looking for other vintage Christmas decor. I haven’t been successful in the Christmas department but I did score two gorgeous pieces of ironstone. Win.

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    1. I have not had much luck finding the ornaments in thrift stores, but then I’m not a dedicated thrifter. I think you have be a master thrifter (like my friend Meggan) and know which days the thrift stores put out their new stuff, and show up immediately when the Christmas stuff comes out in order to find things like these vintage ornaments. I also think that many of the thrift store workers nab these goodies before they even hit the shelves. But finding two pieces of ironstone was definitely a win!

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    1. I was wondering if you’d notice the stockings Joni! I love them, and they look awesome on my English cupboard. I just hope Santa fills them up for me this year 😉

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  13. Your posts have been such a joy! Have you ever considered publishing the entirety of them in a book and perhaps naming it “Q Tips” by Q is for Quandie? You’re such a talented creater of all things, and a very entertaining writer. I know the book would sell in a flash! (and then you could retire from your day job and do what you love . . . “create full-time” !!!!). Merry Christmas!

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    1. Actually, I have thought about that. Well, the book writing part, but not that fab catchy title. I suspect that book writing is not quite as lucrative as we’d like to think it is though. Plus, it seems that most publishers want new content, not a re-hash of stuff that has already been published on my blog. Sounds like a lot of work, coming up with all new stuff, enough to fill a book … I’d have to quit blogging to have time for it. And you really don’t want that, now do you?

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  14. Looking at your beautiful vintage ornaments is like taking a trip back to my younger days. Thanks for sharing these with us. Your tree is gorgeous!

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  15. Pretty,pretty,pretty love them all. And those stockings too – hanging on that AMAZING English cupboard!!! Add my name to the list of those who truly look forward to your post such a lovely gift. Thanks so much.

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    1. I am absolutely loving that cupboard! It holds so much stuff, and I can just close the doors on all of it and instantly the room looks neat and tidy no matter what kind of hot mess is hiding behind those doors.

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  16. Oh my! I just this morning bid on some old ornaments at a local auction house on line for two separate lots! One lot had 60 in it and the other lot had 33 in it. The 60 lot box went for $170.00 dollars. I stopped at $165.00. It was hard to look at the pictures to tell if they were reproductions! I noticed several had a star shaped wire hanger on the top instead of the typical round wire hanger attached to the top. I wanted so badly to ask you before I bid on them if you had seen any like that. I tried to research it and found nothing. They were mostly on ornaments that were like bunches of grapes, a penquin, a peach etc. There were a few that looked like shiny brights, but these were mainly object type ornaments like fruit, snowmen etc., Maybe considered older than shiny brights. The top wire piece looked too new on some. I did win the bid for the 33 ornaments for $70.00, Some were hand blown, one had a clip on it, but there were also some fruits. They just looked older, and none of them had the star shaped wire on the top. The bigger lot had a lot of variety, but half of them had the star shaped wire on the top, so that scared me off some. Please tell me what you think! I almost sent you a link to get you opinion last night! I hated to take too big of a chance with the larger lot. Many of the top wires connected looked too shiney and new! Many had a gold wire hanger on the top that was very shiny!
    I hope I did the right thing! Lol
    Blessings

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    1. Well, let me start first by saying I’m not an expert collector by any means. The only quality that I require in an ornament is that I like the way it looks. I don’t care about ‘antique value’ or ‘age’ per se. Although that being said, I think my eye is just naturally drawn to ornaments that look genuinely old. If you look back at my photos with this post, all of the ornaments pictured have dull, darkened, old looking metal caps (not shiny and new looking as you mentioned). However, the caps are removable/replaceable so sometimes the cap that is on an ornament may not be the one it was born with so it might not necessarily be a true indicator of age. As for the star shaped caps, although I don’t have any definitive info, I strongly suspect those are reproduction ornaments. All of that being said, I say buy what appeals to you! If you think they are pretty, who cares whether or not they are ‘collectible’? Also, the price you paid is a decent price, just a little over $2 each. So I’d say you did the right thing Shelly! Let me know how they look on your tree!

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      1. Hi Linda,
        Thank you for responding. I am glad I did not get the bigger lot. Some of them did not really appeal to me, and I think a lot of them are new. As you say as well, if they appeal to me, that should be my determining factor. Even the larger lot being sold for $2.80 each was still a pretty good deal! I think I hated to drop that much money on ornaments for myself when I need to buy for othets! Lol! I admit I am hung up on vintage rather than new. I always think of resale value with collectables. I got that from my Husband!
        Thanks again!
        Shelly

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      2. Yep, that larger lot was still a decent deal (unless like you said, more than half of them were reproductions). I think it’s more fun sometimes to build a collection more gradually rather than in one big swoop of 70 ornaments anyway, right? Half the fun is the hunt!

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      3. Hi Linda,
        I picked up the ornaments i won at our local on line auction! I carefully drove them home. This year I have put up a four foot tree in our bedroom; on a table in front of the window. I put all 33 ornaments on it. While admiring it, I decided I needed to move the placement of some of the ornaments. (Have you guessed where I am going with this?)
        The only ornaments on the tree are the 33 I had just brought home. My favorite ornament was a moon shaped one with a face on it. Well, it fell off the tree and boom, broken!!!! 😢 Of all that could have broken, it was the one! I did manage to save most of the face! I am keeping it! Lol My husband bets I break all of them by Christmas! 😬
        Blessings

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      4. LOL, oh Shelly! I know just how you feel. Did you read my post back in 2015 about breaking one of my fav ornaments while using it in some furniture photos? It was the coolest ornament with the moon and some planets and stars, and in my favorite aqua color. I’ve been looking for another one to replace it ever since, but haven’t found one. However, just the other day I saw an ad on Craigslist for a local occasional sale and one of the photos had that ornament! I was so excited, right up until I looked at the dates for the sale, the previous weekend. Sigh. One of these days I’ll find another! But in the meantime, I’ll tell you that no matter how careful I am, I always manage to break at least one or two every year. Which is precisely why we always have to be on the hunt for more, right 😉

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  20. You have a wonderful eye for lovely vintage things, and a knack for displaying and refurbishing them. I’ve enjoyed your blog for quite some time. Best wishes to you.

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  23. Hi aqua die,

    I know this is an old post but it got me thinking. Your pictures are always so beautiful and you seem to have a great eye for depth of field. Is there a specific setting you use on your camera to get most of the items in focus? I keep struggling with this and I know it is impacting my pictures. Any tips?

    I also want you to know that your blog is one of my favorites. You always come up with great ideas and you are short and to the point. Keep up the good work!!!

    I know you are extremely busy so no rush on a response.

    Thanks again, Jennefer Elie

    Sent from my iPad

    >

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    1. I’m cracking up that your spellchecker (I’m assuming) changed quandie to ‘aqua die’. Poor spellchecker, it just didn’t know what to do with quandie! OK, first of all, thank you very much for the compliments! As for the focusing thing, depending on your camera there might be an easy solution for you. I use two different cameras, a Canon Rebel and an Olympus OM-D E-M10. Both of these cameras allow me to choose a specific focal point. It’s a little more difficult to do with the Rebel, but super easy with the Olympus. The Olympus has touch screen focusing, which allows you to choose exactly the spot on your photo that you want to be in focus. You can read all about that in this blog post. Let me know if you still have questions after reading that post. Good luck Jennefer!

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