It didn't look like much when I pulled up. (It never does, right?) Everything was on blankets, on the ground. A teenage girl and her young brother were running the sale, and as I walked up, I could see all the jewelry sitting on the blankets. Hard to tell exactly what was there, and it didn't look that exciting, but I stooped down and looked anyway.
There was an odd mix, and seriously, the person this jewelry belonged to was a butterfly fanatic!
There were what seemed like hundreds of butterfly pins and necklaces!
I did pick a few pieces, though, and loved what I bought. I really wasn't sure when I picked up this cream flower pin, though, of what it was. It was marked on the back Ming's Ivory.
At this point, I'm trying to play it cool, thinking, Do I have something of value here? So I nonchalantly ask the girl "Who's jewelry was this?" and she said that it had been her grandma's. I could tell alot of the pieces were old, so I was pretty sure this piece was worth something.
Isn't it beautiful? I looked up Ming's and it was a well know company that made one of a kind hand carved pieces out of Ivory, with stores all over the world. Of course, this was before the ban on Ivory, which was put into effect to protect the elephant population from becoming extinct. Below is a shot of the pin that I strung onto a cute silver necklace that I bought at the thrift store for $1.49! Cute look, Eh?
I also snagged this turquoise bead necklace and earring set at the same sale.
And this awesome green glass bead necklace...
And this shorter strand of black glass bead that are faceted....
And this gold butterfly pendant (I think). It has an odd back to it, with a loop on each side of the wings. It's tarnished somewhat, so I think it is Gold overlayed on a different metal perhaps.
I also bought two old butterfly prints, and a small enamel pin for my daughter for.... (Are you ready for the total?)..... Drum roll.........
$8.00! The Ivory pin itself would be worth about $100 by itself, and I know the butterfly pin is very old, so I think I did Great! I also wear the green and the black bead neacklaces on a regular basis, so what a value!
Then there was the antique auction my good friend Dani and I used to go to every Thursday night. I had a booth at an antique mall for a couple of years, and this was a great place to pick up stuff for my booth. There was this box of junk jewelry there, and we both bid a dollar to go up and look in the box, and buy what we wanted. We went up, and both started digging at the same time, and I sware, at the same time our hand both landed on the sweetest pin. ( the rest of the box was total junk, really).
I really wanted that pin, let me tell you. But it was one of those things, where you love your friend, so much more than you love that pin, so I let it go and offered it to her. Well, being the darling that she was, she let it go, too, and offered it to me. How dare she try and take all the glory of being the better friend??
I insisted she have that pin, so she went ahead and bought it for $1. (how dare she not INSIST that I take that pin, after all, she seriously was the kindest, most generous friend I have ever had, to this day!)
A few months later, maybe for my birthday, she delivered a little package to me, and in it were the cutest little potpourri packets, one with a little bird stitched on, and the other pinned with that little round jeweled pin. I laughed so hard, knowing her generous spirit had beat me, once again!
I think they are rhinestones, but ooh, maybe they are diamonds! I don't care, I just love to wear it on a necklace, or pinned to a sweater.
A few years back my Mother-in-law decided she "trusted" me enough to give me some of her Mom's jewelry. (Just kidding, Mom!)
I took photos of some of my favorite earring that I picked out. There were some really pretty brooches, and rhinestone jewelry, which I'll post pics of soon. She let me take whatever I wanted, which means she MUST love me. (Again, kidding, Mom.)
Love the four leaf clover ones!
A couple of different cameo earrings in there, one large and one small. I love the round gold circles, too. I wear alot of it on a daily basis, which I always get compliments on. You can't buy this stuff at Kohl's, people! The earring below belonged to my Great Aunt Hallie. When she died several years back, my mom got her jewelry box, and let me look through it. I'm ashamed to say, I just wasn't into vintage stuff back then, so I only picked two pair of earring from the box.
I love this pair of gold and rhinestone balls, kinda disco-ee.
My Aunt Hallie was so cool, and was the older sister of my grandma. She could play the piano like a crazy lady. I have fond memories of traveling to Arizona in the summer with my family, and gathering around the piano, singing with all my aunts and uncles and cousins. Showtunes, like Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Wizard of Oz, stuff like that. Her house was packed with old folk knick knack, and that was fascinating to an eight year old. I'd climb up on a chair, and touch all her figurines and STUFF! My mom would yell at me to be careful, and get down off that chair! but my Aunt would laugh and say it was fine. She'd even say, Do you want that, you can have it! and my Mom would say No! that's your Aunt Hallies!
She also had candy dishes everywhere in her cram packed house, and I'd gorge all day on spicy gum drops, and Kraft Milkmaid chews. Good times!
Add some glamour to your day with a fun vintage brooch or pair of earrings. If you haven't inherited any, pay a visit to your local antique mall, and find the perfect piece. I guarantee you will love it every time you wear it, for it is a special part of the past that no one else owns but you!
