Valentines – Vintage Bu-Te Antiques | Vintage

Collections – My Vintage Chocolate Box Collection

Leave a Comment / Collections, Uncategorized, Valentines / Sandra

It’s no lie that I have a sweet tooth and a huge love for all things vintage. Old candy boxes bring these two worlds together. I remember my best friend growing up Sandy C, her mom decorated the basement playroom with a few heart-shaped chocolate boxes she got for Valentine’s Day. They were hung up and used as wall art and I remember how much I loved that she did that. She elevated that box to more than just a vehicle to deliver candy. She turned them into wall art and I thought they were absolutely worthy. Truth is I often find that the packaging is more magical than the item inside.

Ornately decorated heart-shaped boxes are my favorite, but I also collect tins and beautiful cardboard boxes. Candy and chocolate were initially sold by weight and were often just wrapped in simple paper. At some point in the early 1900s, packaging became more important. It started as a way to protect the candy but it was also a way to advertise the candy company.

These are a few pieces from my small collection. My favorites are the heart-shaped chocolate boxes of the ’70s and ’80s. But a simple and beautiful box like the Thurston & Johnson is just as beautiful to me. I don’t keep them out all year as my neighbor did. I use these boxes yearly for my small Valentine’s Day vignette.

Candy boxes are one of the things that are always in the back of my mind when I’m out-picking. It’s not a popular collectible and it’s also a very fragile collectible so it’s taken me 15 years to amass this small collection I have. It’s taken me this long because I prefer to find these out in the wild, and by wild, I mean estate sales, yard sales, and flea markets. I know I can buy them on eBay (for a lot of money), but the search is a huge part of collecting.
I know that it’s what is on the inside that is most important but not in this case.

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Valentines Day Floral Arrangement with vintage silver trophies

Leave a Comment / Antiques, Centerpieces, Floral Design, Flowers, Valentines / Sandra

Having worked as a florist for over 10 years, I can honestly say that red roses are my least favorite flower. Talk about predictable. There are just too many beautiful flowers in this world, why say I love you with red roses? Why not give a jewel-tone arrangement of orchids and lilacs or a pastel arrangement of tulips and peonies?

I created two valentine arrangements for myself, and both are supermarket flowers, but more importantly, not a red rose in sight.

Romantic Pinks and Purples

On a recent trip to WholeFoods, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw these fantastic carnations. They had a bad wrap for a long time. They were considered cheap and common. But boy, have carnations come a long way. This carnation was a hybrid creation, two-tone fuchsia pink and dusty mauve. It is just so beautiful, and one of the best things about carnations is that they last a long time. Between the color and longevity, this was a no-brainer.

This grocery store flower combination was a bunch of carnations, some beautiful purple hydrangea, and a silver lambs ear. A simple and easy combination.

I also picked up some pink heart meringues. Why? Not sure, but I felt like they would bring another texture and fun element to the arrangement. And it’s a fun way to celebrate love in a non-plastic, eco-friendly way. I am not perfect, but I try my best to celebrate without plastic.

I love how the cool tones all worked together.

Hot Citrus Hues

This second arrangement comes from the flower selection at Trader Joe’s. They really do have a fantastic flower selection, with excellent prices. There is no reason not to go home with some beautiful blooms for your home.

Again I went with a silver-plated trophy vase, but this one is special. This trophy vase has a cage flower frog top. It’s comes with its own mechanics for your floral creations! I went a vibrant selection of roses.

I used gorgeous purple garden roses and peach and hot pink spray roses, all from my favorite TJ’s. I bought these 3 days before Valentine’s Day, and I was so impressed with the quality of the flowers. Unfortunately, I underestimated the size of the vase. SOME MECHANICS WERE SHOWING when I was done because I needed more roses to fill this container, but I covered whatever mechanics showed with moss. And at the last minute, I added a little red velvet box pleated ribbon and let it trail off the edge. I loved how it came out.

So here are a couple of ideas for Valentine’s Day flowers. I hope you enjoyed and more importantly, I hope you are inspired to celebrate love with a different palette. Happy Valentine’s Day, no red roses here.

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