Wednesday, March 9, 2011

True Blue

Cornflower blue is the subject of my shopping foray into the land of handmade and vintage today. Did you know that cornflowers, from which this color derives its name, are one of the only truly blue flowers - most "blue" flowers have undertones of purple! Where I grew up, we called them bachelor's buttons, and I remember these pretty blue flowers with the ragged edges growing along our garden's north fence. So how does a pretty blue flower end up being named after a yellow vegetable, anyway??

Evidently, in times long ago in England, these flowering plants were considered weeds that plagued crops of wheat, barley, rye, and oats - which were commonly referred to as corn crops... and the true blue "corn" flower became known as the cornflower. Today, the petals of this edible "weed" are often added to salads to add a dash of unexpected color, and dried, are used in the tea blend known as Lady Grey. Another little interesting piece of trivia is that this flower was the favorite flower of President John F. Kennedy. It's also one of 19 shades of blue in the 120 active Crayola crayon color array!

I hope you like the items I picked to share with you today!









Cornflower BLUE Harlequin Chalcedony Squares NECKLACE
from YOURDAILYJEWELS
Vintage Art Deco Periwinkle Blue Hall Teapot from jenscloset
Cosplay Kitty Hat - Cornflower Blue by armadaanime



Cornflower Bloom, reclaimed vintage celluloid cuff by CultivarBloom
Cornflower Blue Cowl by katebuckleyart
Vivid sapphire blue earrings from SunshineDaydreamz



Vintage 1980's sweater DUSTY PERIWINKLE chunky knit from capricorne
MOO Business Credit Card Holder Small Purse Periwinkle Blue by LMcreation
ACEO Limited Edition Print - Dayflower from HandmadeBySandi




Blue Czech and Swarovski Crystal Earrings - Jillian by MysticWynd
Cornflower Blue Seaglass Pendant - I Got The Blues by JoyfulDsign
Penelope Bobby Pins - Small - Cornflower from ThePetalCollection

I think this may just be my very favorite blue color next to cobalt blue - but then they're not all that far apart from each other, are they?

Hope you're all having a great week! I'll be back before too long with a feature on a great little shop on Etsy... see ya then :)

xo,

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Ooooo, I love the Chalcedony Necklace, and the Fleece Cap.
Thanks for introducing new shops to me!

LetaMarieDesigns said...

As blue is my favorite color, I love all in this collection!

Unknown said...

I always wondered about the name. Thank you for the little tidbits of history. And thank you also for choosing my item in your selections.

jenscloset said...

Beautiful color! Thanks so much for including my teapot!

LostRiverRags said...

Beautiful colors & items. I'm loving the credit card holder by LMcreation!

www.LostRiverRags.etsy.com

LMcreation said...

Love these blue choices especially the teapot! Thanks so much for including my cardholder.

Beth said...

Beautiful color & gorgeous items here! Thank you for featuring my earrings :)

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for including me! Loved the article - what interesting info on the cornflower - have shared on my facebook page!

Anonymous said...

Oh my - so many beautiful items! Thanks for sharing my day flower :D

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