Curating a Crystal Mineral Collection

Crystals and Minerals have been coveted since ancient times. These mysterious, eons old beauties connect us with nature and center us in a world of sensory overload. Truly, they are nature's most beautiful medium and savvy decorators use them to enhance the decor of homes around the world. They work with every decor style, mid-century, bohemian, traditional, French,or Italian.
Some women covet jewels but I prefer them in their natural state and I have collected a number of quartz crystal specimens, a few of which you can see below...

These gold leafed amethysts mounted on clear acrylic bases are very versatile...

This enormous quartz point and a set of 4 quartz point candle holders add ambiance as they catch the morning light...

A perfectly placed specimen enhances artwork..and can make a conversation starting centerpiece.

When I first began collecting, pieces were only available at fleamarkets and mineral shows. Both are still great sources. Now however you can find them on Chairish,at Horchow and numerous other online sites dedicated to decor. I have a few mounted on museum stands, like sculpture but in general I prefer a more casual approach, resting on books or other unexpected locations.

No matter which type of mineral you gravitate to, you cannot deny that Nature is the world's best designer!

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Antique Wardian Cases

When I moved into my present city apartment, a mere 680 square feet, Things had to serve a purpose. No longer could this antique wardian case hold trinkets for display, it had to be functional. So I gave up a rather large chunk of my micro kitchen to grow fresh herbs. I figure it is a fair trade off. I have a full spectrum vita light shining on the plants and they seem to do quite well in there. I adore wardian cases, terrariums and the like. They were a fixture in the Palace of Versailles like the one above, and later the Victorians made great use of them when it was discovered that they could successfully transport rare species of plants home from around the globe. I thought I would share some pinned photos of various styles.. Imitation cases are usually zinc and plexiglass ,like this one I spotted at a local market. You can tell the age of a real one by the thickness and color of the glass.The glass will most often be 1/4 inch to a 1/2 inch. They are always quite

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Imagine you are dining outside at Blake Shelton's house this Thanksgiving and deep frying some big turkeys. A crawfish dressing would probably be on the menu. Deep fried turkeys and outdoor dining on Thanksgiving day is very popular in the South. And while people don't wild catch crawfish like they did a century ago, crawfish are always popular on the menu. Here I have paired it with bacon, corn, mirepoix,and jalapenos to give you a dressing with real local flavor. Here is what you need: 5 cups crumbled cornbread 1 1/2 lbs boiled crawfish tails ( frozen is fine) 10 ounces bacon, cooked and coarsely crumbled 12 ounces yellow corn 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion 1/1/2 cups chopped celery 1/1/2 cups green red and orange bell pepper 1 jalapeno ( optional) 2 eggs beaten 2 cups chicken stock salt, thyme, and sage to taste. Fry your bacon until it is ready to crumble, remove from pan and set aside. Saute the mirepoix, (onions ,peppers and celery) corn and jalap

How to Restore Old Brass Without Losing Patina

Brass is really trendy right now. Much of the home decor brass commercially available is cheaply made and will not retain it's beauty long. But brass made in the first quarter of the 20th century and earlier, develops an exquisite patina. Assuming of course that it has had reasonable care throughout it's long life. Sometimes, a good piece of brass will have just a tiny bit of verdigris, that is the crusty blue green stuff caused by oxidation and tells you corrosion is setting in. I see this a lot on furniture with brass mounts, lamps, chandeliers and light fixtures. Most brass tutorials give directions only on bringing brass back to it's super bright finish. Many antique dealers restore brass to it's bright finish, removing the patina and then apply a commercial solution to darken it again. I can always spot those. They never look quite right. There are some pieces that devalue when you remove the patina. Natural patina enhances the beauty of a piece, like this cl

Oh La LaY'all......French Style and Southern Charm

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