Favorite Savings for the Kitchen

^above: Stoneware Roaster, Corningware in the Chutney pattern.
Find matching dishes on eBay or watch your thrift store.
Vintage Corelle plates in Summer Blush
Counter Savers, Teakettles, Glasses etc. were made to match.

Vintage Corningware casserole & Pyrex cover in the Wildflower pattern.
Corelle made dishes to match!

Hooray for Springtime- I think! My Dafodills are sagging from the snow two days ago and the grass is yet to turn green. That's spring time in the Rockies! But inside the kitchen I have flowers on the plates. Sometimes you want all white, like the new French White dinner dishes by Corning or the classic coupe style and thin Winter Frost White dishes. Sometimes I just want to celebrate the seasons with COLORS! Of course white dishes are made by all the major manufacturers, but those will chip and break while your Corningware made pieces will outlive us both!

Corelle is still the favorite plate setting at our house, and Corningware still the best cooking dishes. (Heavy stoneware is now being replaced by Corningware with a lighter weight line, similar to the light and durable original Corningware. These newest from Corning are half the stoneware Roaster and pot weights. (Read my eBay Guide to Corelle Corning Visions for more info.)

Camillia with a flitting dragonfly is such an adorable place settings. Most of the Corelle sets I have (yes, I have at least 4 at all times) are white based. The sand base Corelle patterns are nice but fewer. Abundance with fruit is still in demand I've noticed. This could be because it fits so well with the Tuscan deco. favored these days. Tuscan style is all about blending the indoors and outdoors, fruit & leaves, and rich colors in golden pear, green and old world creams to tans. Some Corelle Tuscan patterns are too bold for my table, but to each his own.

Yes, I am still shopping the thrifts, mostly Goodwills, for vintage patterns of Corelle and Corningware in super condition (no chips, no rough edges, not faded or scratched off patterns). (I buy it to sell at my eBay store, Step Up 2 the Plate, have as peek ->) http://stores.shop.ebay.com/STEP-UP-2-the-PLATE. Then while cleaning it I half fall in love with it and just can't list it until I have had the chance to adore it awhile. So if you need a replacement to your Corelle or Corningware, you can email me. I may just not have listed it yet! Also I can keep a look out for your favorite pattern and list what I find people are most interested in finding. If you want to purchase it from my store, fine, but no obligation of course!

Not only do I find breezing through thrift shops thrifty, I love the serendipity. I look for any Tuscan decor that will fit into our home decor, but anything that I end up selling on eBay benefits my favorite charity (Partners With Haiti). If you would like to help the kids in literally the poorest country on earth, check them out and sponsor a kid for only $25 a month for at least a year; or step up to the plate for charity at STEP UP 2 the PLATE!

"Green" Corelle Dishes!

Sunsations, retired Corelle pattern

Attention Baby Boomers! Go Green with Corning Ware

Is now the time to get back to where you once belonged?

All of you who used Butterfly Gold and Spring Blossom/Crazy Daisy Corelle dishes in the 60's & 70's know who you are. Now that I and you are 60 or close to it (ouch!) we ought to remember how nice and light weight that great Corelle was and is still. Arthritis? Weakening wrists or muscles? Corelle is the answer to heavy dishes that take up way too much space in the cupboard! Twelve dinner plates only take up 2"! It is unknown to many that Corelle comes in so many more patterns than the original narrow rim patterns. Those have their place still, just not on my table. Old Town Blue is still favored for its similarity to the classic Blue Onion. There are dozens of delicate flowers or bold fruits featured, solids, traditional round or new square shape plates too.

What better way to go Green than to recycle Corelle from the thrift store or ebay. Even brand new Corelle is a super deal compared to other dishes that will chip and break while the Corelle will last and last. Can you tell I'm hooked on Corelle dishes? December is when I use a gorgeous pattern, white poinsettia on butter yellow and white called Winter Harmony. In the Fall I like the deep lucious fruit on Abundance sand color plates. Oceanview/Mediterraneo features "handpainted" blue swirls on white; Classic Garden, Sun Garden & French Lilac are bright and beautiful patterns too. The patterns have come a long ways from the stencil look of Spring Blossom and Old Town Blue if those didn't appeal.

There are hundreds of patterns in fact, but the name of the pattern never appears on the back of the plate. You have to note it when you buy it from the box or research on-line. Then you can replace pieces or add to that pattern. Vintage Sunsations shown above has a current version of the sunflower Corelle.

I have an updated Guide on eBay about Corelle Corning Visions about the virtues of each and tips.

Corning Ware~ sturdy and dependable. (It will survive a house fire). White all the way through means you can scrub it and scrub it and it will still be super. Use a gentle abrasive like Bar Keepers Friend. Or beige Coreningware all the way through. Most Corning casserole and pans were made solid white. A few patterns like Forever Yours with 3 hearts on it was made solid sand beige and also the fruit pattern Abundance. I wrote a Guide to Visions /Corelle /Corning. Finding these at Thrift shops or eBay or other on-line sites is a great way to go Green. You can pour boiling water over them if you fear the dishwasher won't wash away the previous owners. Pieces (pots or dishes) rarely chip and can be kept shiny with glass top stove cleaners too. Do be careful about scrubbing off a pattern however.