vintage valentines

My family and I have been cleaning out my grandparents' house for what is starting to feel like forever.  They were antique dealers, collectors, and, really, toward the end of my grandfather's life, maybe just hoarders.  Five bedroom house, boxes floor to ceiling, no rhyme or reason. It is not uncommon to find family heirloom photos in the same box as last year's junk mail.  There's simply no way to explain it if you haven't seen it.   

While the process of unearthing, sorting, cleaning, and disbursing has been physically and emotionally exhausting, we've encountered some great stuff (hmm...maybe I'll do a "finds" post later) and I've also found lots of things, like tintypes, glass boot buttons, and even WWII-era  OPA "points" to incorporate into my work. 

My grandparents' specialty though was postcards and other ephemera, and I'm having trouble not keeping every scrap of paper because I think it might one day be useful in an assemblage or collage piece.  Still, I've managed to part with a few things, like these charming 1920s and 1930s vintage Valentines, which are just a few of the many I've made available in my etsy shop, apvintage.  Admittedly, I did keep several for myself! They look lovely scattered throughout the house in little Valentine displays, and they store flat, making them easy to stash away for the rest of the year.  With the hoarding gene clearly in my DNA, I need all the space I can find!