Vintage Silver Plate for the Holidays (and some polishing tips)

Silver adds just the right amount of sparkle to your holiday entertaining.  The flatware pieces are always fun.  I like to mix and match patterns of forks and spoons, sugar shells, iced tea spoons, pickle/olive forks, individual butter knives and unique serving pieces.  They're conversation starters too.  I decided to include some pieces in our holiday sale at Buckeystown Design Co-Op.

A MIX OF VINTAGE FLATWARE AT OUR HOLIDAY SALE 

You can see that I mixed greenery and ornaments with the serving pieces.  Yes, that's a faux fur throw tablecloth.  I do love fur.  In the background is my vintage silver tree.  I'm considering using it this year at my home.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to break my "only a real tree" tradition.  We'll see.  It certainly will be easier.

VINTAGE SIVER PLATE AND ORNAMENTS

Check out the branches on my vintage tree.

THE WONDERFUL BRANCHES ON MY VINTAGE TREE

Back to topic.  Besides the flatware, I absolutely love vintage handled pedestal compotes.  I fill them with cookies or appetizers.  They are all different and add varying heights to your tablescape.

VINTAGE PEDESTAL COMPOTES

Champagne buckets can chill your wine or hold serving pieces.

CHAMPAGNE BUCKET WITH VINTAGE SERVING PIECES

Here's a better view of the large compote.  In the foreground is another handled basket.  It has "feet" instead of a pedestal.  In the center you can see a toast holder.  I tucked some ornaments inside, but in everyday life I use a toast holder for mail.

MORE SILVER PLATE

I also have a vintage martini shaker.

MARTINI SHAKER

And, just to push it over the top, I added some vintage jewelry to a small white tree.

VINTAGE SILVER JEWELRY ON A TREE 

I put some of my costume jewelry on another tree.

COSTUME JEWELRY ON A SILVER TREE

Setting your holiday table does involve some effort if your pieces have tarnished.  I have some good news and some bad news about polishing silver.  The bad news is that you have to polish the large serving pieces the old way with silver polish and a cloth.  The good news is I have a fast way to clean the flatware.  The recipe follows.  Make sure you also take a look at my comments about what I learned when I was cleaning the flatware.

What You Need

Materials: 
• Aluminum foil 
• Glass dish or aluminum baking dish
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• Rag for polishing
• Tongs to remove silverware from boiling water

Instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil. When combined with the other ingredients the water will activate the baking soda and start the process of transferring the tarnish to the foil.

2. Add the dry ingredients into the pan and slowly pour in the vinegar. You will cause a slight reaction, so pour carefully! It is possible to clean your silver without adding vinegar, but the vinegar will dramatically speed up the process.

3. Pour in the boiling water and then place the silver into your pan, making sure each piece is touching the foil. Try not to let any of the pieces overlap. This should only take about 30 seconds but if you have heavily tarnished pieces you may need to let them soak a few minutes longer.

4. Use tongs to remove the silverware and work off any remaining spots by buffing with a rag. Then, look deep into your shiny silver and admire the smartypants that brought it back to its original glory!

SOURCE:  apartmenttherapy

WHAT I LEARNED

1.  The one cup of liquid was enough to cover my knives but didn't completely cover my other non-flat pieces.  Maybe I should have used a smaller pan, but I had too much to clean.  I ended up tripling the recipe.

2.  When you add the vinegar, you create quite a bubbling science experiment.  Use a large container for the mixture and stir while you're adding the vinegar to keep it from bubbling over the edge.

3.  It worked quickly.  I rinsed off the pieces and was able to get them clean with a soft cloth.  There were only a few heavily-tarnished pieces that I had to spot clean with the silver polish.



Let me know if you tried it and liked it.

Still Shopping

Yes, there's even more.  And yes, there's another obsession I have that I haven't shared.
Hard to believe, huh.  I'm always on the hunt for vintage fabric.  Vintage English fabrics are my favorites..
I found this English fabric sample. It measures approximately 30.5"X 20.5".  It would make a pillow cover or could be used to cover a chair seat.

Here is the label:

This is the sample with its lovely fleur di lis and lion in a geometric black and cream pattern.

I've shared silver plate before.   I found this interesting silver plate container with an imprinted design and two handles.  It reminds me of an urn or a loving cup.

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 Silver plate utensils are fun to find and mix and match at a party.  This set of  monogrammed dessert/teaspoons fits perfectly in the container and would work for a brunch buffet.
The monogram is a scrolly letter H.  It's so odd how styles come and go.  A few years ago no one wanted anything monogrammed and now monograms are hot.  Who knew?

The other silver plate items I look for are napkin rings.  This is something else you can mix and match.  One of these has a floral pattern, the other must be a souvenir from Massachusetts.  I especially look for the ones with names or initials. Originally each family member had his or her own napkin ring to keep the cloth napkins separate.  Yes, cloth napkins were used more than once.  If you've ever laundered and ironed cloth napkins,
you'd understand why.

Sometimes for Easter we line the napkin rings on end and use them to support our colored eggs. (These are marble ones that I use each year.)

This is my third "shopping" post.  Check here and here for the previous ones.  Hope I gave you some ideas about what to look for when shopping vintage.  If you live in the DC area, you can purchase these items.  Sorry, for now local pick up only.
(prices below)


Prices:  English fabric sample $ 24 each (I have 5),  Silver plate container $20, Set of 11 monogrammed spoons $28, 
Silver plate napkin rings $10 each.
+tax