Spring is in the air!  It is a time for great expectations, and my recent antique buying trip to Europe provided lots of excitement!  Just getting back this week, I couldn’t wait to continue decorating for Easter.  (The buying trip will provide inspiration for many blogs and photos to follow.)  John, Rebecca, Jessica and Stephanie will be working diligently to process the photos from the trip, and we’ll upload them to our website as fast as we can.  It will be a thrill for me to share with you all the incredible finds and antique discoveries from the trip in the very near future.

On my trip the signs of nature’s rebirth were everywhere with a rainbow of vibrant spring blossoms to inspire me wherever I turned ~ bursting with colors of yellow, pink and creamy white.

This quaint country village unfolded before us, made exquisite by the bursting yellows of forsythia in full bloom. It’s always exciting to see the emergence of Springtime!

Before I left the United States we had already started decorating the store for Spring and Easter. The idea was born for this month’s giveaway, inspired by the nuances of Spring both inside and outside our showrooms.  The following photo is of antique bonbonnes filled with flowering branches.

Antique bonbonnes are hand-blown glass vessels that are particularly versatile culinary antiques and can be used for wonderful decorative accents.  Originally, they were used primarily to store wine.  They were the “magnums” of their day, each one unique due to the methods by which it was made.  They come in a rich emerald green color shading all the way to clear.  Occasionally we find an amber example.  They would usually be packaged with wicker and even metal baskets and straw to protect the glass, so that many could be piled in the back of a horse-drawn wagon and transported from village to village.  Vintners would use them to keep larger quantities of vintages that were especially pleasing to serve friends, guests and relatives.  Taverns and Inns would use them to serve their customers.

Bonbonnes, like the ones pictured above, make great decorative centerpieces in a multitude of creative ways to enhance the table, buffet, mantel, or on top of the armoire.

For a chance to win your very own antique bonbon, just follow the instructions in the widget below.  Don’t forget to do the daily option to increase your chances!

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