Victorian Oval Brooch: Possibly Blue John

Cathy bought this brooch at an antique mall. The tag said "Victorian Agate Brooch", but we're not so sure about that. We think it may be Blue John rather than Agate. It's 2½ inches in length, and appears to be gold-plated white metal.

Seagull Pewter Glass Vase: Roses

This Seagull Pewter glass vase is dated 1997 and stands 8½ inches tall. Cathy found it at a yard sale for something like five dollars.

Yves de Sistelle "Doriane" Eau de Parfum

Cathy scored this discontinued perfume at a consignment store. Twelve dollars seemed more than fair.

Vintage "Greta" Leather Clutch Evening Handbag

Cathy picked up this vintage leather clutch evening handbag at an estate sale for a dollar. Dating and identifying it has been a challenge. As near as she can tell this is a 1940's or 1950's "Greta" purse, made in either Italy or Belgium.

Northern Exposure Pewter Ornament: Pair of Chickadees

Cathy bought this pewter ornament by artist Norman Fortin at a charity shop for not much money. It features a pair of what appear to be Chickadees (small North-American birds) in a Spruce tree.

Angie Strauss Melamine Trays: "Romantic Memories"

Cathy bought a pair of these large melamine trays (12 by 9½ inches) at a charity shop for $4. The image is "Romantic Memories", by Canadian impressionist artist Angie Strauss,.

Jim Harkness Wood Carving: Blue Jay

Cathy bought this hand-crafted Blue Jay at a yard sale for $8. The artist is Jim Harkness, who works in Stayner Ontario. Many of his works are available at the Butter Gallery in Collingwood Ontario and he's a long-time participant in the Creemore Festival of the Arts. The Blue Jay is signed and dated 1988.

Chris Rantala Painted Stone: "Quiet Moment"

Cathy rescued this painted rock from a garage sale, for basically no money. It's signed and dated 2007. The image is a lovely rural scene with a horse and foal. The artist is Chris Rantala, who these days seems to be a pretty big deal in the Thunder Bay area of Ontario (Canada).

Personalized Bone China Thimble: "Cathy"

On a trip to Great Britain, Cathy bought this thimble with her name on it, as you do. Although it came from an antiques shop, it's probably more "vintage", perhaps 1980's. The lettering and the band at the bottom are gold.

Seagull Pewter Cheese Knife

Cathy bought this large (nearly 10 inches long) cheese knife in the Peony pattern directly from Seagull Pewter. Unlike most of what they produce, it's not marked, so if you have a knife that looks just like this one, it's probably from Seagull.

Harry Potter Decorative Mug

Cathy bought this Harry Potter mug at a yard sale.

David Bernett relief-carved marble sculpture: "Just Pals"

Cathy bought this green relief-carved marble sculpture, titled "Just Pals", for $1 at a yard sale. The artist David Bernett is renowned for this type of sculpture featuring Inuit and wildlife subjects. It measures 7 by 7 inches (about 78x78mm) and it's about 11/16" (18mm) thick.

Vintage Glass Swizzle Sticks in Antique Pressed-Glass Celery Vase

Cathy bought most of these vintage glass swizzle sticks (cocktail stirrers) as one item at a yard sale. The collection cost $5, including the beer tankard they came in. Since then she's added a few more and moved them to a vase. They look a lot like a floral bouquet, although since this is a celery vase, it was not made to hold flowers.

She found the vintage (we think 1960s-1980s) pressed-glass celery vase for $1 at a charity shop.

"Cathy" Comic Bookmark: "Chocolate is my life"

Cathy has always been a fan of the "Cathy" comic strip (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy) for two reasons:

1. It's "Cathy with a C", just like her, and
2. Like most women, she finds that the comic strip speaks to her.

She bought this bookmark at a charity sale for a dime, complete with its original wool tassel.

Mats Jonasson Crystal Sculpture: Hummingbird

Cathy got this lovely Mats Jonasson crystal sculpture of a hummingbird for her wedding anniversary.

These crystal sculptures are fun to photograph. You can play around with lighting angles and colors to get completely different effects.

Painted Stone: Carnation

Cathy bought this painted stone at a yard sale.It's a folk-art image of a carnation. With the border and surface texture they've made it look a lot like tooled leather.

It's always nice to have a signature on the back, even if the artist is unknown. It's pretty tough to read in this case, except for the date (1981).

Vintage Peak Frean's Tin Featuring Blue Tits

Cathy bought this vintage Peak, Frean & Co. Ltd. cookie tin from somebody clearing out an estate. It measures 11 inches in diameter and just over 2 inches high, and it's in extremely good condition for its age, It features a pair of Blue Tits (a common bird in Britain) on what looks like about 5-7 different types of plants: Holly, Ivy, Rose hips, Ferns and a few others.

Basket of Dried Flowers Encased in Acrylic

This acrylic-encased basket of flowers was an interesting find at an antiques mall. It seems to be quite rare. We could not find another on the Internet, although a lot of Dasiyglas paperweights are thematically similar.

A basket of dried flowers has been encased in a cylinder of acrylic, which you might know as Perspex, Lucite or Plexiglas, depending on where you live. The base is black and the rest is clear. There is no signature and no other marks apart from the ones that come with age and wear.

It's a lot bigger than a typical paperweight, measuring 110mm  (4-1/8") high and 125mm (4-7/8") in diameter. It weighs 1522g, which is about 3 pounds, six ounces. We think it was probably made in the 1960's or 1970's, but that's really just a guess.