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4 Creative St. Patrick’s Day Holiday Decor Ideas With Vintage Flair

Nothing like another holiday, in order to give you an excuse for vintage holiday decorating.  What is the point of collecting vintage items if you can’t display them and use them for celebrations?  So, just wanted to acknowledge all the St. Patrick’s Day celebration that you see on the internet and other social media.  The other images I have included, provide ideas for displaying your vintage cutlery and tableware that is just lovely.

Here’s a round up of a few pins, I have collected on my “Holiday Decor” board on Pinterest that will spurcreative ideas  for Irish St. Patrick’s Day decor with a vintage feel and using some of the  free vintage postcards that are available on the Internet.

I think it’s the mercury glass and chandelier print on the mantel that I like so much. The sign has just the right touch of crafty diy feel mixed with a few formal decor items.

I really like the shabby chic(or distressed) decor in this next idea, and of course the vintage cutlery, green majolica and tablescape. The original pinner is a self-confessed plate addict.

This next pin includes the actual vintage postcards I found online to create my header image.  Here the pinner is using it to create a cute holiday home decor item.

This next idea, I really like and will probably use it with different holidays.  Just change the vintage cup color to your holiday color theme.

Hope you like these pins and they inspire you to get you celebrating holidays with all your vintage collectibles.

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Limoges Porcelain Boxes: 5 Tips to Consider Before You Purchase


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Brief History of Limoges Porcelain

When most people mention Limoges porcelain trinket boxes, they usually realize you are talking about high quality, upscale, and imported pricey porcelain that will be treasured for generations.  But in spite of its expense, this type of porcelain is worth its hefty price as it has retained its value since they began producing porcelain trinket boxes from this region in the 1700s.  The current trinket or pill boxes were thought to have originated from the snuff boxes of the aristocratic Frenchmen of the late 1700s.

It was the  discovery of Kaolin clay near Limoges France in the 1700’s that  created a new industry in France — hard paste porcelain. (Which up to that time was a highly secret manufacturing process and hard paste porcelain was only being manufactured in  China .)

Although they were popular in France, these collectible boxes were not popular in the United States because no means of exporting to the American market had been attempted.

At the time it took traveling to Europe to find and buy the pieces. In the 1960’s,  porcelain importer Charles Martine contributed to the awareness and popularity of the Limoges boxes we see now.

A collector should expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $500 per piece.  Since prices and reputable vendors vary, the following tips should help you in your hunt for these desirable collectibles.

Limoges Buying Tips to Keep in Mind

  1. When trying to set a value on a piece, looking at the quality of the hand painted decoration can be more important than valuing its age or when it was produced.  Keep in mind high quality hand painting adds more value than the work of an unskilled porcelain painter.
  2. Unlike other porcelain pieces, there are fewer reproductions of Limoges porcelain and therefore, a collector can shop with more confidence that the trinket box he or she is buying is likely to be authentic. It wouldn’t hurt however to invest in a few collector books to get as much information about the different styles and designs available during different time periods.  Armed with this information a collector or shopper is more likely to select what he or she wants, pay closer to its estimated value  and to be satisfied with this expensive purchase.
  3. Understand that Limoges does not come from a specific company or corporation by the name of Limoges, Inc.; but is a city and region in France.  Therefore, porcelain that comes from this region can be defined as Limoges porcelain according to French law.  As a result, this beautiful , delicate porcelain was produced by a number of factories in France from the late 1700s until around 1930 when ornate design styles changed to more basic and simple designs.
  4.  Keep an eye out for the words Peint Main or Décor Main which means the trinket box has been “painted by hand” and check and see if the artist painted his or her initials on the box.  Boxes that are marked Rehausse Main are a combination of a decal transfer and hand painted details.  A decal transfer is a specialized design decal that is applied on the porcelain and permanently bonds with the porcelain during the firing process.
  5. Although many companies over the years have manufactured Limoges boxes there are a few which actually own their own Limoges companies and are known as high quality importers and manufacturers. The company names that are associated with exclusive Limoges designs and high quality porcelain are Artoria Limoges, Chamart Exclusives Inc. and Chanille to name a few.

 

Image Credit

Photo courtesy of Antique Helper

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Cleaning Tips for Your Porcelain Figurines or Dinnerware

Vintage porcelain china and vintage porcelain figurines are beautiful and delicate decorative items and are a pleasure to own; but,  they do require delicate care and protection from harsh sunlight and the potential of being chipped, cracked or broken.  Here’s a few cleaning tips for your fine porcelain.

One of your first concerns after you acquire a few pieces of porcelain is where you are going to store all these pretty items.

Usually, you want to show off or display your porcelain figurines; however, you’ll need to find an area where little children (don’t you just love them) or pets can’t topple over your lovely collectibles and fine dinnerware.

Storing Your Porcelain

The best storage area for porcelain china or similar porcelain figurines is often referred to as a china cabinet.  This is usually a cabinet with interior shelves and glass panes so you can display your fine collectibles but protect them from household dust.

Some of these china cabinets are made with wooden details that provide small wood rails or guards that will prevent the slippage of the porcelain figurine or dinnerware.   In addition, you can also place thin non-slip pads under the item you are storing.

When it comes to  porcelain collectibles, you should make an effort to keep these figurines or china out of direct sunlight. The exposure to direct sunlight over an extended period of time can fade the coloring or design details of the figurine or dinner plates.

Cleaning Your Porcelain

As for a porcelain figurine, keep it dusted with a soft bristled (preferably natural hair) paintbrush which can remove the dust and grit from crevices in the figurine that you would not be able to reach with another tool.

Another good trick is to use a can of compressed air to blow away the dust and grit.  Hobby shops have triangular shaped q-tips that are also good for this use, they are also available on Ebay.  Try to avoid over handling the porcelain figurine so that you can reduce the risk of chipping or breaking it.

If the figurine has any spot or stain, make sure you use a soft cloth that has been submerged into a mild detergent and warm water, and dab at the stain or spot rather than using a scrubbing back and forth motion.

If you are trying to clean the stain within a teacup or saucer, I have heard that the product Efferdent (the product used to clean false teeth or dentures) will do a good job of lifting any stains within the teacup or saucer without any scrubbing action.

And it’s not surprising, since industrial porcelain is used by dentists to make false teeth.  Make sure you follow the package directions for the exact amounts you should use.

As mentioned earlier, it’s usually a good idea to keep your porcelain collectibles or china stored behind glass, this way you won’t have to dust them as often and handling them less will reduce the potential of chips or breakage on the actual figurine.

porcelain figurine, girl

Try to avoid submerging your porcelain figurine in water.  However, if you have a stain that can only be removed by placing the figurine in water, make sure that you don’t submerge it for more than a few seconds.

This works well for porcelain that has a high gloss finish, but you must be even more cautious with porcelain that has a matte finish such as bisque porcelain.  A common example of bisque porcelain figurines, are the Precious Moments figurines made by Enesco.

Of course if you are washing porcelain china, now that’s a different matter, you will have to submerge the china dinnerware in soapy water.  And hand washing is especially advisable if your porcelain china dinnerware has any delicate painted gold or silver details. In order to preserve the lovely finish, avoid harsh detergents and scratchy scrubbers for your porcelain china dishware.

Be sure that you place rubber mats in the sink or soft towels nearby to prevent any jolting movement or sudden drop of a teacup or plate and thus potential chips or knicks to your china.

Keeping these tips in mind, should give you years of enjoying fine porcelain china dinnerware or your beautiful and decorative porcelain figurines. These will be treasured porcelain items that you can pass down as a family heirloom to be loved and used by future generations.