European Decor at Mettlesome Means

 

Brass Gosling Duck at Mettlesome Means 

I was inspired to do a European and Cottage podcast after checking out shop Mettlesome Means on Etsy. This shop specializes in garden ware, pottery, home decor and European collectibles.  The shop is run by Abbey Lucas out of Akron, Ohio. 

Mettlesome Means found this great 2 pc Chokin set, see it in their Etsy shop.

The flow of this shop is clean, sleek, and chic. Selections of neutral tones mixed with natural elements such as flowers on pottery, such as these beautiful neutral colors by Chokin featureing a hummingbird and flowers.  This would go with any style country or cottage decor, and has a bit of Euro flair.  Much of this shop has clean sleek lines such as the solid white Pfalzgraff pieces or glass flower flogs which can be implemented in any type of home. 

Cute and charming, wood slice art at Mettlesome Means

When I think of European collectibles, I usually thing of old, wood, carved, and pictorial. Many Euro collectibles whether it be a jewelry box, an old raised relief urn, or a book tell tales of things past.  Primarily a simplistic time centuries ago can be implemented into the modern cottage or the mansion, with a bit of ease.  You can find out more about Mettlesome Means and what items are my favorites and what's hot in European collectibles and antiques, here in this podcast: 

Birch Bark Baskets Angelique Merasty Bitings

 For years the birch tree has been used for it's "folk remedies" but also it's crafting properties . From canoes to paper for crafts it has a wide range of uses among artists. I've seen it used for  crafting journals, tiny miniatures such as "a roof" on a handmade birdhouse, sometimes implemented in small log cabins in  train gardens to decorations for the home. There's not a bad use for this tree's bark in the crafter's eyes.  One of the more collectible uses are the birch bitings and birch baskets. 

This implements a birch bark biting into a collectible brooch from Etsy shop /ChieftainDesigns

The art of birch bark biting dates back for years with the indigenous people.  Basically this is where an impression by the mouth by biting into the birch bark thus fashioning into interesting designs, then using that bark for arts such as jewelry, wall decor, and the like is quite impressive.  

Nor to mention, besides just downright interesting and highly collectible.  A framed biting for the wall coming from a true indigenous crafter may run you upwards of $60 dollars wherein this brooch retails for $25.  The podcast below attributes one of the more famous crafters who was Cree, and they are talking about  Angelique Merasty whose work is quite famous and now sells at auctions for lots of money.  Originally sources write when she first sold her work as a young girl, she was fetching 15 to 20 cents a biting,now her work is coveted by collectors of this art and expect that it will go for much at auction.

Birch bark basket, from Esy shop /PowwowKids

Baskets made of birch bark can come in many forms, and implement the bark of the tree into the basket making it a craft medium.  These baskets may be accentuated by handmade art, such as the one above or simply entwined with other parts of the tree (as the one below.)  Bitch bark baskets, authentically handmade by artists can run between $25-$75, however the one below is only $9 range because it implements only a small amount of birch in with actual wicker.  Expect to pay less for something that's not purely all birch.   

 

Birch bark basket on etsy has wicker too shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PerfectlyPairedHome

You can listen to the podcast here:

Top Five Vintage Christmas Collectibles

Collecting Vintage Christmas, These Noma Lights at Vintage Val's Shop on Etsy

Collecting vintage Christmas is a joyful hobby that can happen any time of the year, not just for the winter months. Collectors enjoy everything from ugly Christmas sweaters to bottle brush trees.  Ornaments are ways popular and so are tree decorations.  Sometimes, during summer months, at flea markets or rummage sales you will find these sellers will have unmasked their holiday collectibles for sale. 

Vintage Pixie Elf quite collectible, this one for sale at Etsy shop Sweet Pickins STL

You can always ask, "Have any vintage Christmas items" and they may drag them out for you, especially when moving or at estate sales.   In this podcast, we will discuss our top five Christmas collectible items. 

Find out our top five items here: 

PaperFloDesign Keeping the 70's Alive One SVG File at a Time

PaperFloDesign on Etsy offers printaable downloadable SVG files which empower you to make the best gifts for your loved ones!

I am so excited that I recently had the chance to interview Naa Ardua on my Living a Vintage Life Podcast, her story in her PaperFloDesign Etsy shop is so quintessential Etsy 101 - how you start, maybe fizzle a little, hit some hurdles, then POOF, find the turning point.  Now, fast forward to 10K sales plus later, so, I hope you'll tune in below.  

This silhouette SVG available at PaperFloDesign on Etsy the possibilities are endless

Naa Ardua creates vintage style SVG files representational of the 70's era in which I grew up. these designs are cute, whimsical and come in downloaded SVG format which is compatible with a lot of print machines such as the Cricut. If you need a great gift idea for someone, you can quickly buy a downloadable design and apply to a tshirt, sweatshirt, cup or bag!  

What's even better than that, Naa Ardua teaches others how to get started in the world of SVG files, and has an online course at PaperFloDesigns.com

Check out her wonderful story here: