Showing posts with label collections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label collections. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

For The Love of Ballerina Dishes

Several years ago, when shipping on ebay was very cheap...I started to discover some dishes from the 50's that i just absolutely loved.......  Ballerina  by Universal potteries.....  I am always looking for made in USA dishes....made in England comes in a close second...okay, France too.....




It was easy going for a while because it seemed as if no one else was interested in these dishes....so I casually began to collect them when the price was right.....



Then someone named Ballerina Lady started to outbid me on every auction......these lime green bowls were a hot ticket item for a while..   so I lost interest because she was determined to outbid me every time......but I had built up quite an extensive set of these wonderful dishes....this table is set with the many shades of green but there are several other Ballerina colors that could be used...maroon, grey,yellow,turquoise,black, cream, and burnt orange




I found this perfect tablecloth while searching my thrift store last month and then I knew I could set a nice Ballerina table...the colors are a great match..I love the colors of the 50's..they usually go together if you stay in the same family..like green or grey or burgundy......


these napkins are true vintage...they are my favorite ones and have seen many, many years of use...they came from my Aunt Abby and I got them around 1976 or so... wish I had more...



I included this grey bowl because there is a story behind it.....this bowl belonged to my Mama..she always used it when she made egg and olive salad ......and it is the very first piece of Ballerina pottery I owned even though I didn't realize that's what it was......


These square and scalloped salad plates are my favorite pieces of the whole set...



One more little story...I bought a huge collection of all green pieces from a man in Tennessee...even a butter dish...and it was so cheap.......so boy was I excited, UNTIL...the box arrived...you know that dreaded sound when a box of dishes comes to your door and it is rattling when you pick it up...not good.....not good at all....when I opened the box it was full of broken Ballerina.pottery..hundreds of pieces....I was able to glean a few unbroken pieces but I learned my lesson about asking about shipping and buying huge quantities of dishes from one seller...but mostly I was sad that all of those pieces of Ballerina pottery were gone forever...


Here is just a small sampling of my collection...hot weather, summer and green Ballerina dishes just go together for me.....add a bowl of tomatoes and what could be prettier than that??

If you are not familiar with these dishes, i hope I have whetted your appetite..next time you are out at estate sales keep your eyes open..there are many patterned Ballerina dishes too...the combinations are countless and beautiful..

I hope you have enjoyed this short look at some remarkable dishes from the 50's...I am doing my part to help them survive another 50 years...

Thank you for stopping by today..

I hope you come again soon..

Mona


I am joining


come on over and look around..

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Vintage tables

I love it when several of my different collections overlap.  Recently, I realized that I have been reaching for these Turquoise Fiesta plates just about every time we grill out and eat on the deck.....and a different tablecloth each time.  I have so many of these fun tablecloths from the 50's era..and a lot of them have red and aqua in them.  these plates just seem to say 'USE ME' this time of year.  I hope you enjoy these fun tables..we surely do and the flowers from my gardens seem to make the table complete..

The first one was a little dressier for grilling steaks..





Here is the next one I used for a hot dog cookout...










I love the colors of this era...they are so happy and cheerful...and there are so many different things you can do with these plates and tablecloths. I hope you enjoyed this little bit of happiness color combination..and the combining of different collections...look around your house and see what you have that can be used together and take risks..be different in your combinations...make your tables reflect your very own personality....

thank you for reading my blog today..hope you come back soon...

sharing this week here

Revisiting some old friends and some beautiful flowers

 Hey y'all It's been so long..  But I guess you already know that.  LOL I miss blogging and want to get back in the discipline of wr...