Estate Jewelry - Antique Wedding Rings

So, a major reason for the radio silence around the shop (besides all the traveling that has been happening lately) is the fact that I am engaged and getting married in under three months! So, rather than just ignore the internet like I have been doing, maybe I will blog about some of the wedding details that I am working on. We are incorporating a lot of vintage touches into the wedding, so there should be plenty to talk about!

I knew I wanted a vintage ring, and would have loved to have used some of my own family jewelry, though the rings my grandmother left us are a little more ostentatious than I wanted for my every day ring. My fiance ended up finding this little gem at a rummage sale benefit for a local museum - we got a really great deal on it since we didn't buy it from a store that had already marked it up past its appraised value, and I love the art deco feel to it and how low it sits to my finger. (it is actually a platinum ring from the 40s)




One of my favorite vintage/antique engagement rings is owned by my friend Emily, and was purchased at Lang Antiques here in San Francisco.

It is an estate ring, probably Edwardian, with a 2.5 carat rose cut diamond. Rose cut diamonds stopped being produced around 1900, but the cut gives it a low profile from the side and makes that 2.5 carat look huge.

Obviously I really like the round rings - if you want to emulate the look without spending too much, fake it here with a CV vintage style ring for a mere $38.



I looked around quite a bit online for good estate jewelry, but found that it didn't compare to checking the rings out in person. Do you guys have any good estate jewelry sources?

Vacation Inspiration - Peru!

We took a vacation from this blog a little longer than planned! The volcano did indeed ruin our trip to Paris, but I just unpacked all my cute day dresses and oxford shoes and packed my hiking boots and dirty jeans for Peru instead. It was a wonderful trip (maybe even better than Paris) and one of the things that I noticed was the wonderful bright colors that the Peruvian women were sporting. Some of the sweaters that they had were straight neon pink or blue or yellow - so bright! And they got away with matching all sorts of patterns and colors for a really colorful effect.


I think I've been channelling a little of that brightness is my own closet, since it seems like my new favorite color is the BRIGHT orange of the 60s/70s. These are a few of my own eye-popping vintage pieces:

Vacation - Paris!

I was supposed to be off to Paris and Rome for two weeks, but was bested by the volcano. We are still off to adventure, so things will be a little quiet around here. I'll be back in May with pics to share!



(image via Ruffled)

DIY: paper award ribbon

MLE has a pretty great collection of vintage horse ribbons - you know the kind - colorful, with a big rosette medallion in the middle. We always talk about how she was way ahead of the game on prize ribbons, since now I see them as decor, brooches, en masse in the Camper Store window display in London, etc.


(images via Jessica Grindstaff and Mark Lund)

I still always vote vintage, but I stumbled on a tutorial the other day with instructions on how to make your own ribbon out of paper, and it was too cute to pass up.

How to make make a mini medallion:


1. Cut a 3/4" strip off a piece of 6" origami paper and accordian fold it to create tiny pleats.

2. Join the ends together with a bit of glue or double-stick tape.



3. Cut a couple sizes of cardstock circles to layer for the center.

4. Press the pleated circle flat and glue your center circles onto it. It will want to pop back up, so set a quarter or something lightweight on top until it dries. Or hold it down with one hand while you surf the internet with the other, my chosen method.

5. Cut more paper into ribbon tails and glue them to the back.



To make larger medallions, cut wider paper strips and splice several accordian-folded pieces together.

(via How About Orange)

Vintage Inspired: Oh My Cavalier Brooches

Love these vintage inspired brooches from Oh My Cavalier. One of these would dress up any blazer.

DIY: Lace Fingernails

Spied this tutorial for lace fingernails over on Behind the Seams the other day, and immediately wanted to start shopping for 80s prom dresses to rock these lace fingernails with.


DIY your own rockin' fingers!

Supplies you will need:

* clear top coat (top coat is designed to dry hard and protect your nails from scratches and chips, so don't just use any ol' clear polish)
* scissors
* toothpick
* black LACE
* a little patience

Step 1: Measure and trim the lace to fit each finger nail.



Step 2: Polish a single layer of top coat.



Step 3: Apply the trimmed lace on top of the wet polish.


Step 4: Firmly press the outer corners of the lace with a toothpick.

Step 5: Let the polish and lace dry for a few minutes

Step 6: Finish with two more applications of top coat.

Low Fi Ad Cuteness

Loving what the winners of Amazon's Kindle commercial did!