Vintage Camera Collection

Along the same lines as our last post, here is a glimpse at a few of the cameras in our collection.
The Valiant "620". This cute-as-a-button seafoam green box camera takes 620 film (obvi) and is really clean and seems to be in perfect working order. I will be testing it in the next week or so. I love this little camera so much.. the color, the shape, the entire sweet little thing!

 

Next is the Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1 ... omg. I almost fell down when I found it at a flea market. I tried not to panic and giggle as I was shoving my wad of cash into the sellers hand before she changed her mind. This beauty is clad in leather, and folds into a flat little rectangle. Sadly, my intitial inspection before purchase was not good enough, and this camera is in need of some refurbishing. I will be shipping her off to be returned to her proper working order and cleaned very soon.

Lastly, a little Konica C35.. a pocket sized 35mm camera (again, obviously!). I am not a 35mm camera kind of chick, but this one was in near perfect condition. I shot a roll and sent it out for developing this afternoon. I actually had fun with this camera, and it's kind of nice to anticipate how my photos will turn out... in this world of instant gratification, it's sort of like a rare gift to have to wait for once.

xoxo, Arbor Lane

Falcon Miniature With 35mm Film

 

Meet my new toy... The Falcon Miniature. This camera is fully mechanical, with no batteries or auto features of any kind. The body is made from Bakelite. As far as I can tell, this model was made in the late '30s/ early '40s and originally used 127 film. I bought it at a yard sale for .20 and figured, what the heck.. might be fun to give it a try.

 

Firstly, I used 35mm film instead of the original 127 film. The cannister didn't quite fit, and dented slightly when I put the cover back on.

 

Secondly, there are two red windows on the back of the camera. These windows were used to advance the film... which would have been awesome if I had used 127 which is paper backed and doesn't allow light to hit the film... but I didn't. So I had to cover the holes. I used several layers of foil and some tape. As you can see, this was not adequate:

 

 

 

Orange streaks through the entire roll.

 

You can also see that I had several double exposures and overlapping pictures, because I had to guess how far to advance after each shot.

 

 

 Turns out that 1 full turn of the knob worked out the best on this particular camera.

I plan to try another roll of film and apply what I learned from this one. Ideally, I'd like to shoot a roll of black and white with this camera. If I can get it right, I think the photos would come out amazing.

 

 

 xoxo, Arbor Lane

Bacon Wrapped Cracker Appetizers, Recipe Trial

 

This past 4th of July weekend, we were invited to several parties and asked to bring something along. I've been wanting to try these bad boys for awhile now.. and oh em gee. They were a huge hit.

Basically, you sprinkle cheese on a Club cracker and wrap it in bacon. The original recipe is from Pioneer Woman Cooks, and you can find it here. If you don't know who the Pioneer Woman is, be prepared to spend the rest of your day reading her site.. it's fantastic, funny, and real.

The only change I made to the original ingredients was to use a finely shredded romano cheese, instead of the grated parm. The shredded cheese worked perfectly fine. I wouldn't recommend using a soft shredded cheese like cheddar or mozzarella, but harder cheeses like parmesan, romano, or asiago would work out o.k. This recipe is a little time intensive, with a long baking time (2 hours), but trust me, they are delicious and flavorful.



I should mention, I've also made her recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers, which were an even bigger hit with the guys as a football party snack and everyone asks me to make them now.

Enjoy!

xoxo, Arbor Lane

A Cup of Coffee Cake, Recipe Trial.

 

This, my friends, is a cup of coffee cake. In less than 5 minutes, you could have a moist yummy cake with crumble topping. A cake in a mug with a twist. Ah-mazing!

 

 

The genius behind this concoction is brought to us by The New Prudent Baby. Find the full recipe here.

 

 

I made only 2 changes to the original... I added a tbs of finely chopped walnuts to the crumb topping, and I substituted the sour cream for half and half (only because I was totally unable to wait to try this, and I was out of sour cream.) The coffee cake still came out moist, but I will be buying sour cream to make it the proper way.

 

You test for doneness the same way you do any cake, stick a knife in it until it comes out clean.

 

When my guy came home, I put together two more and pretended that it was the first time I made it. That's how good it was.

 

Enjoy!

 

xoxo, Arbor Lane

Melamine

Headed for another little road trip, and just wanted to share a few new items from our Etsy shop before we roll out.

 

 

Melamine!

 

   Melamine and Melmac always remind me of road trips in the camper. The lilac coffee cups are particularly sweet. The top green set is made by Oneida.

   I can imagine having coffee outside in the early a.m. with any of these, smelling of camp fire and listening to the birds sing. Time to unpack the camping gear!

xoxo, Arbor Lane

 

New Lisbon Indian Mounds

 

We took a little drive this weekend, and came across a little site of Indian Mounds.

 

These are the Gee's Slough mounds, and they are located in New Lisbon, Wi on the edge of the Lemonweir River. The site wasn't very well maintained, but it was an interesting side trip.

                                                                                                                                                               As a side note, we made our first sale in the Etsy shop today! One of our Polaroid cameras is headed to New York, NY!

xoxo, Arbor Lane

Sugar, Sugar

 

 Today was the start of the Summer city wide garage sales. I found several treasures that I can't wait to show off and stock in the shop! The aqua sugar cannister was one of my favorite items of the day, simply because I love the color.

 

This yellow cannister was one of last weekend's finds:

 

 

 

I scored a Polaroid One camera with film already loaded, and several unopened packs of film. I tested it out at a friend's house... her kitty was the only willing model I could find. 

 

I like how the picture has that vintage 70's feel , it reminds me of when I was little.

 

 

My largest purchase of the day was a fun 60's orange leather office chair, pictures to come in a later post.

 

xoxo, Arbor Lane

Upcycled Thrifty Print DIY

 

I upcycled this baby from some ugly .10 prints I found at a yard sale. I got the idea from Elsie and Emma @A Beautiful Mess. I followed the directions, except I used pink spray paint rather than acrylic paint. I applied 3 coats, drying completely between each, and drying over-night before I lifted the letters off. (I found the stick on letters at the Dollar General). In the mean time, I sprayed the frame with aqua... and who doesn't love The Princess Bride, seriously.

 

 

Welcome

Welcome to Arbor Lane!

We are Ricky and Freedom, partners in life and business.

Once upon a time we lived together in New York, but have now settled in the great state of Wisconsin. I won't say cheese was a major factor, but it might have been.

Our focus is on fun vintage household items and kitchen goods. We love hunting for new items to decorate our own home and yours! (I also won't mention that Ricky wants to keep more things than he wants to sell, but at least our pad is looking retro fab!)

In future, we will also offer handmade items for your home.

Follow us on Facebook or Pinterest.... and be sure to check out our new Etsy Vintage Shop.

 xoxo, Arbor Lane