Left Behind

I was so busy the day before Love Vintage that I completely forgot to collect the embroidered pictures from the framers.

I picked up two embroidered pictures on my travels - very beautiful but completely filthy!  The linen was stained and brown, the glass was filthy and the backing of the pictures was practically non-existent.

I took a chance on them and bought the pair.  Several hours later the linens came up beautifully.  That left just the frames that needed work.

So off I went to the picture framers and tried not to cringe as I took out the manky frames.  The worst part about it was telling the lady that one frame needed new glass and PLEASE could I keep the mounts (as they were just the right side of shabby chic)!  Oh, and could they add new backs and hanging string please.

But the end results were worth it.  Shame they didn't make it to Love Vintage.  

But there will be other events.  So Cinders will get to go to the ball ..........................

Kitscherama

You know how sometimes you come across items that just err on the right side of tasteful? Well I think the mirror that I bought at the boot sale last week, fits that criteria completely.

It is a 1950s/1960s - not entirely sure which era - metal work mirror. I spent a minute or two looking at it and debating whether I wanted it and tentatively asked the price.

When the response was £1 that clinched the deal. So into my bag it went and it finally was hung in the right position today.


Not sure how everyone else in the house feels but I love it. And the green leaves seem to go perfectly with the eau de nil polka dot Swedish blind in the bathroom. The next thing on my To Do list is to hang two Victorian painted mirrors that were also bought last week at the boot sale. I think I may give Stephen a day or two to get used to this mirror before I dare hang the others!

Filling Up

Remember the display cabinet that I posted about a few weeks ago? Well slowly but surely I have been finding small items to fill it with.


Nothing is valuable and nothing has cost more than £1 - which has been good new for my miniscule budget.

The fun part has been in finding the items for the cabinet - all thifted and all vintage items. Things that are too small to be put on a shelf on their own but look so much better when they are placed together.


The most recent has been a Pierrot clown that I found in a local charity shop for 50p. I initially thought that it may have been a lavender sachet but when I took about the grubby white silky "puffball" at the bottom there was only stuffing inside.


It was only a 15 minute job to use the original as a template and make a new puffball using a beautiful faded cotton pillowcase that I found a few weeks ago at the carboot sale.



She still looked rather bare after I had attached the fabric to the china head.


Out came a reel of vintage ribbon and a broken diamante earring - and doesn't she look the belle of the ball?

I thought I would show the display cabinet as it is now. A little fuller than before - but there is still come room left! Watch this space!

Treasures

As it was a lovely day, weather wise. yesterday, I popped to a local car boot sale/market. I wasn't expecting much, but came away with a bag full of jewellery bits and pieces.


Everything was piled into a vintage suitcase.


I left the suitcase as it wasn't anything special and it was the jewellery I was interested in. So a deal was struck (after all it would have been churlish not to haggle) and everything was tipped into my shopping bag.


After running over and trawling through the contents, I made the executive decision that I ought to buy the whole kit and caboodle.


The yesterday evening I started to sort through the jumble. There are individual diamante earrings, beads and buttons galore. And was I glad I bought everything. Included in the jumble are necklaces that have been broken but the beads have been kept. A quick search on Amazon yesterday led to a jewellery stringing book being purchased as I would love to be able to restring the necklaces (It's hideously expensive to have it done at the jewellers). Now I just need to untangle the jumble of necklaces and decide what can be restrung and what will be used in future projects.

In Season

The car boot sale season is now well underway and I thought I would take full advantage of the beautiful weather today and visit a local market/bootsale.

Unfortunately there wasn't much there for me, but I did buy a charming cupcake ceramic trinket box. When I got it home and looked underneath, there was a Marks and Spencer label stating that it had once held chocolates.


It's perfect for my dresser and sits nicely next to the Allsorts jar that I bought some months ago.

Dulcie was on the prowl when I was taking the photographs and managed to sneak in to the shot.


The kittens have all been rehomed: one to a friend, one to the friend of the lady that works in our local vet and the two tabbies have gone to their new home together - which was very comforting. She initially did look and call for them after they had left for their new homes (although I tried to make it as stress free as possible and rehomed them over the period of just over a week) but really has settled down well without them.

She has also discovered a love of Arthur and after a few nights of her roaming around the house and waking us all up with her howling, she is now shut in the kitchen at night with Arthur and that has solved the problem. Hope I haven't spoken too soon!

And now she is starting to come out of her shell and settle in. And in true Siamese style, she may be small and delicate but she has a voice like a foghorn! She just walks around the house making the most horrendous noise - but I find it very endearing. Stephen doesn't though; especially when he is trying to watch TV and it is getting drowned out by Dulcie. At this point even poor Arthur doesn't know quite what to do with her.

On Display

Well - what can I say? Where have I been? Not entirely sure of the answers. The time just seems to have flown by. Plus I lent the boys my digital camera and they lost the charger - which meant I couldn't take and upload photos.

But the charger has been found and I have finally taken some photos of my "new" display cabinet.
I had mentioned to a friend that I wanted a display cabinet (the stumbling block being Stephen's lack of enthusiasm) and about a week later she said that she had been driving home and spotted the cabinet at the side of the road with a "Free - take me if you want me" sign taped to it. How could she leave it there? It came to my house and sat out the garden for a few weeks, whilst I let Stephen come to terms with the fact that it was coming into the house. And there it sat.

Deciding to take the bull by the horns, I started painting and a few days later, the display cabinet was finished.I plumped for Farrow & Ball paint as it always looks beautiful when painted and was lucky enough to find the lilac wallpaper for a measly 50p in the Laura Ashley batch end bargain bin.

Admittedly the cabinet is still looking a little empty, but that just gives me an excuse to find some little objets d'arts to put in it. I've started with the two terriers which were a Mother's Day present from Keanan.
Stephen is less than impressed - to say the least. But I just love it. And the best part of it all for me is that it cost under £10 in total. And of course there's the ongoing fun of looking for items to put in it. I'm sure that one will be an on going saga!

Tulips from Amsterdam

After all that I said about he lack of "knick knacks" in the house, I brought one home. Courtesy of the charity shop. She looked so appealing, how could I leave her on the shelf?


What really clinched it for me is her face - it was so pretty, that straightaway I could see the perfect spot on my dresser for her. Plus I just has enough money left in my purse for her and a rather natty striped cardigan. I was determined not to spend any more money than was in my purse - so no dash out to the cashpoint.


So here she is in the spot that I envisaged for her - between a vintage china jug and 1960s eggcup. And guess what, there's still some more room for more objets trouves!


One of the perks of living in a small village is that you get to chat to people. Popping into the shop last week, the owner gave me a slip of paper with the telephone number of the lady that used to work in the Post Office. She had been given some fabric from a friend's Mum's attic and wondered whether I could use it. How could I resist? I collected the bag of fabric yesterday - the label gives a glimpse of what's inside.


Inside there was a jumble of fabrics that had previously been made up into dresses. They have either been cut up or there are tears in them that make them unusable. Perfect for scrap and small projects. All they need is a good wash and then I can have fun re-using them.

Bits and Pieces

Not a very inspired title for this post - but it sums up just how things are are the moment. Flitting about (sewing wise) all over the place and only a few things to show for it.


I am rather fickle with my pincushions and regularly make new ones that are flavour of the month until I get fed up with them. After seeing these felted pincushions on Betz White's blog, I was thrilled to discover her book in the local library. How could I not check it out?


Out came the box with all the felted sweaters in and I finally finished choosing the wool and made two pincushions. One for me and one for a friend Jo.

I have decided to learn some new skills this year and with that in mind, have signed up for dressmaking classes. As I am able to use a sewing machine, I have been told to sign up for the Improvers Class - am now having serious doubts about my ability. Making bags/pincushions/cushions etc, no problem. But clothes?


So it was with the course in mind that I bought this piece of vintage fabric on my charity shop trawls. What is it destined for? Not entirely sure at this point in time. But maybe a duster jacket. I think I am going to have to see how the dressmaking course pans out!

And also on my travels I found this hand knitted lion.


How could I leave him there? He is destined as a gift for a friend who has had a baby. I thought the little lion with a small tote bag and maybe a book. Which means another one to add to my To Do List.