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Past Times Victorian Ladybird Trinket Box
by stacey10304
I got this for christmas a few years ago from my parents after they saw me looking at it in Past Times once - I think it cost around £10.
The ladybird itself is about 5cm in diameter and stands around 4cm tall. It really quite heavy for how small it is and looks very nice and expensive. It is a deep rich red colour, with a ... black face and black spots, there is also a row of diamonte crystals running along the middle of the back and across the front. The spots and the diamonte crystals have gold/bronze piping around them which is the same as the base and the legs, aswell as the inside of the wings.
To open it you simply pull the wings upwards, it fastens with a magnet just behind the head and is attached at the back. The inside looks just as good as the outside and is the deep shiny red on the base and goldy bronze on the inside of the wings.
I use mine to store my favourite more expensive pieces of jewellery but there isnt much room in there for much else. Its describe on here as storage but you can't really store much in here, id say it is more of a display piece or ornament.
Overall if you like ladybirds then you'll love this, its very pretty and looks and feels extremely well made. It might seem a little bit expensive but looks asthough it is worth the price and more, and it is perfect as a gift!
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Traditional Hanging Horseshoe
by k2705
One of many wedding day traditions is the giving of lucky tokens to the bride as a gift as she leaves for the wedding ceremony or after it, one of these tokens which is frequently given is a horseshoe. In keeping with this tradition my parent presented me with a very pretty horseshoe on my wedding day, perfectly co-ordinated with the ... colour theme and containing pearls to match the pearl jewellery I was wearing that day.
The horseshoe I received was the Past Times Cut-out Horseshoe. It came presented in a small cream coloured box, on the lid it has the words "Past Times" in a burgundy coloured writing, this is literally it for the front of the box, it is very plain and simple. The bottom of the box contains the name "Past Times" but this time in black and a sentence about the purpose of the horseshoe itself stating "Celebrate a special occasions with our range of traditional keepsakes that will provide a lasting memento of a very special day". Again the information on the back of the box is very limited, but it does tell you all you need to know. The lid of the box simply lifts on and off of to reveal the horse shoe which is sat on a cream raised colour cardboard square, the cream background really sets off the silver of the horseshoe.
The horseshoe itself is made from a silver coloured metal, it consists of the tradition horseshoe shape measuring approximately 3 to 4 inches high and 2 to 3 inches wide, although the horseshoe shape is a little difficult to measure. Rather than being a solid metal horseshoe a swirly pattern has been cut out of it edged with a slightly rippled border. Set within the horseshoe positioned within the swiry pattern are 10 small cream coloured pearls, this was particularly specific to me as the jewellery I was wearing on my wedding day was made from cream coloured pearls, so the pearls in the horseshoe matched this perfectly making it co-ordinate with the theme of our wedding. The silver coloured metal that the horseshoe was made from had a shiny finish to it and was very sturdy, not at all flimsy, even the cut-out sections of the horseshoe are not weak or flimsy, it is made to a very high standard and a lot of care has been taken to ensure the horseshoe is perfect, personally I did not carry the horseshoe with me all day, however if you did choose to you would not have to worry about it bending or breaking as it really is made from a strong metal, although despite the metal of the horseshoe being strong it is not heavy at all and is surprisingly light should you wish to carry it with you throughout the day.
Attached to the top of the Past Times Horseshoe is a piece of ivory coloured ribbon neatly tied into a bow, this is designed for you to carry the horseshoe if you wish or even hang it up to display it after the wedding. Again the ivory coloured ribbon was a perfect match to pearls and I was wearing and the ivory colour of my dress and shoes. The ribbon was tied so that the horseshoe did not hang too low, although you could untie the bow and retie it to suit you, personally I left mine as it was as I knew I would never get the bow as neat again.
My horseshoe came from the Past Times shop which use to be in the town where I live although unfortunately this has recently closed down. The horseshoe cost £8.00 which I think is very reasonable especially as the horseshoe is very well made to a high standard and is very detailed. You can get much cheaper looking ones made from plastic which do not cost a lot less.
This horseshoe makes an ideal bridal present for anyone's wedding, it is a very pretty keepsake from your day, although with the ivory ribbon and pearls it was specific to my theme the neutral colours would go with any wedding colour scheme and would not look out of place at all.
I would definitely recommend the Past Times cut-out Horseshoe to anyone looking for a lucky item to purchase for a bride on her wedding day, it is made to a very high standard and is of excellent quality, it will go with any colour scheme and is also very reasonably priced, I was extremely pleased with mine and would definitely look into buying this for someone else on their wedding day.
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