the duck and the squirrel

Me and the little man finally made it out today for a stroll to the shops. The first day in a while where the autumn weather hasn't consisted of torrential rains and blustery winds. 

Infact it was glorious golden sunshine with a frosty nip in the air so we wrapped warm and headed out on our errands.

When I say shops, I mainly mean the charity shop because it has been yonks since I’ve had a nosy in the window and to be honest I was getting a bit fidgety with lack of charity shop treasures to ooh and ahh at.

But look at these beauties we picked up today. I’m not sure if it was the christmas advert from John Lewis, or the ‘woodland’ theme the little mans bedroom has adopted, but these two little treasures just seemed to call out to me from their rather mundane shelf in the way that many inanimate ornamental types often do to me while shopping…. 

“Take us home and admire our rustic woodland charm”

And so I did and I have!

egg cups

A few weeks ago we went to Ardingly. It's an enormous antique fair thats held a few times a year. It was pretty awesome although sometimes when faced with big enormous 'treasure markets' like that {the little ladies words} I get a bit overwhelmed and ummm and ahhh over too many things so that I can't really make a decision about anything and end up panic buying right at the bitter end, convinced that I've missed a stall with an abundance of 'me' things.

Anyway. My mum collects egg cups, has done for years and now has quite the eclectic collection. I think it's quite a clever thing to collect really, as they don't take up too much room and can be found relatively cheaply. 

So I spotted these egg cups pretty soon into the Ardingly visit and instantly fell in love.

They are 1930's, made by Burleigh and are in perfecto condition. I gave them to mum for Mothers day.

Their minty springyness just makes my heart sing. I love the hand painted tree design and what looks like, can it be - feels like an age since I last saw growing - oh my goodness....are those ...... Daffodils??!

So, enough already with this freezing, snow flurried spring! Myself and the wee ones are off to go see if we can find the sun to warm our goose bumped flesh and put a rosy pink glow on our pale wintry faces.

Happy Easter xxx

lemon, mint, lime & teal

Today has been the coldest day that I've felt in my bones for ages. 

We shuddered and held hands tightly as we quick stepped to school, braving the snowy drifts and icy winds. 

Snow? It is March. MARCH! I tell thee!!!

Anyway, still feeling defiantly springy I'm surrounding myself with springy colours, mothers day daffs and some recent 1970's treasures which have been cheering and brightening these dark wintery days.

Mint green teapot {no mark} £2.50 

J & G Meakin 'Galaxy' casserole pot £2 

Mushroom pot {no mark} £2 

desperately seeking spring

It's been so dark and gloomy here of late* that I can't help but seek out spring hues and surround myself with cheery colour. The blossom is slowly unfurling on the plum tree outside the kitchen window and yet the air outside is freezing and it makes me gasp in horror as though it is such a surprise that it is still so cold.

Even Miss Tabitha was unwilling to get her paws wet!

A few weekends ago, I picked up this stash of haberdashery delights at the Hammersmith vintage fair. A selection of 1930's buttons in subtle springy shades, a vintage buckle, some coral thread, a pair of 1950's teal flower earrings, a box of celadon green glass beads, some crocheted lace motifs. I also bought a pretty pastel patterned silk scarf and a couple of metres of vintage Liberty fabric { watch this space }.

 

It was quite a haul. It's my second visit to this fair and it is utterly ace. I'm quite addicted to buying vintage haberdashery bits, trimmings and fabric. I get quite carried away discovering old treasures to make new things with.

I am pretty much a seasonal shopper. I can't help but be influenced with the time of year when looking for thrifty treasures even if the weather has other plans.

So despite the lingering cold, frosty mornings, predictable rain and occasional and surprising flurries of snow, I'm utterly smitten, at the moment, with pastels and summer shades of jade, lime, teal, lemon and coral. 

So very optimistic of lighter brighter days to come.

It's no surprise that out of all the unfinished projects, the one thing I was keen to do of an evening was stitch together these candy coloured grannies. So bright and beautiful they are.

They started life as a blanket for the new baby. But new baby is now on the brink of toddlerdom and he has a distinct dislike of anything blankety which may hinder his 'destructive crawl'.

And anyway on the most recent count I worked out I had only enough squares to make a cushion cover. So that is what I thought I'd do.

Although I quite like them now as a seat pad for this newly painted { f&b 'green blue' } ikea stool! So now to decide....hhhmmmm...!!!

* I wrote this a few days ago. Then lo and behold, today has been utter springy perfection in a sunshiny  bright and breezy sort of way. Hooray!

✴ the unintentional vase, part two

I really can't resist looking out for unusual, or unexpected, vessels for pretty florals.

There is something so charming and quirky about filling an old tin can or bottle with a bunch of delicate blooms. 

And such nifty, thrifty chic to boot. 

I found this decanter {cut glass, or dare I wonder, lead crystal, perhaps??} in the local charity shop the other day. 

I only nipped out for cat food. 

It was missing it's stopper which I think contributed towards its very respectable price tag of £1.

I gave it a good clean in hot soapy water and tied a scrap of pointe shoe ribbon around the neck, filling it with the prettiest rose tinted lisianthus.

Keep a look out in charity and junk shops for anything imperfect. That is, missing a lid or a stopper, or a handle or perhaps even has small chips and cracks. They make the loveliest and thriftiest of vases.

In case you are wondering, part one was these pretty milk/cream jugs which I filled with bluebells. Although these are perfectly perfect and are also used for their original purpose, they sometimes like to moonlight as flower vessels! 

Who can blame them?!

Taking part in Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

✴ retro teatime

I'll admit that I'm not usually drawn to 1960's and 70's retro patterned pottery. Which is odd as I love Orla Kiely and her designs are clearly inspired by this era. 

Anyway, this little teapot sang to me from it's box of donated goodness in the corner of the charity shop.

It whispered to me that in it's state of lidless perfection, it would make a wonderful planter. 

I agreed and instantly began to imagine a flurry of trailing vinca pouring over the pot and through the spout. 

And really, what else could you do with a lidless teapot?

Anyway, then the lady found the lid and when I asked the price she sucked her teeth and said.."Oohh...well it is Sadler.....better make it £2.50" and I knew then it was probably sacrosanct to fill it with earth and leave it out in the rain. 

And don't you just love thrifty shopping when something seemingly so revered can still only cost £2.50!

{crocheted pot holder from a pattern in Kyuuto! Lacy Crochet}

Flea Market Finds here.

✴ we will repair to our rooms...and consume our fruit in solitude

One of my favourite scenes in Cranford {the BBC adaptation, it only merits a few lines in the book} is the evening when, by candlelight, the sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah together with their guest Mary Smith, sit around the table to eat the oranges that Mary has brought for them. They discuss their preferred ways to eat an orange {which seems such an exotic treat for them all} and after much debate, Miss Deborah decides that the act of sucking juice from such an altogether messy fruit is far too unladylike and vulgar and that they had best eat their oranges each of them in their own rooms out of sight from one another. Brilliant.

What on earth would Miss Deborah make of us ladies today. Constantly eating on the go. Shoving a sandwich in as we nip round the house with a hoover....I'll admit to often having a packet of crisps open in my pocket while out shopping....an utter disgrace, I know.

Anyway, I spotted these transferware pieces in my local charity shop during the week. I have a bit of a weakness for transferware and I'm starting to gather an eclectic mish mash of pieces, like this blue, and this green. It's just lovely don't you think? I can so imagine the Jenkyns ladies eating their oranges off such a plate and dish as these. In their own rooms, of course.

Having just had a few weeks of a cough and cold I've been eating a lot of oranges, and Miss Deborah is so very right..."Consuming them is a most incommodious business".

{ red transferware dish £2 and plate £1.50}

more Flea Market Finds here

✴ the tale of the fish and the bird

Once upon a time, in a distant land called 2010, there lived, in a musty old - although surprisingly treasure laden - charity shop, a fish and a bird.

Alone and unloved, there they sat. The fish hidden from view in the large window display, the bird even more so at the back of a dusty shelf, next to a toast rack, behind the shop counter.

And so they waited. In the dead, dark loneliness of night they recounted their past days of glory, the fish as an ashtray, the bird as a sideboard ornament. Would they ever again feel so cherished and worthy.

They feared the worst. And then one day, a rather harassed looking mother pressed her nose to the window of the shop {as she was often inclined to do} and she spotted the fish. Dragging her small child inside she asked to see the fish more closely. The fish could hardly believe his...ermm...ears? 

"Two quid? I'll take it" said the mother. She thought it might make a pretty trinket dish for her 'Nemo' obsessed child. And then on paying she spotted the bird. 

The women of the shop were used to the harassed mother. And her strange ways. They couldn't quite fathom her penchant for kooky old nik naks {not to mention crocheted doilies} for someone so relatively young. Then the harassed, but much happier mother left the shop, with the fish and the bird. And the child, of course.

The bird cried out to be painted, "Oh, cover my chintz and transform my old fashioned-ness...", the mother thought she heard it say. And so she obliged and a new creamy coat with porcelain hues the bird now wears. It occurred to the mother that with his newly painted coat, the bird might just make a perfect mannequin for displaying her handmade jewellery. The bird was delighted, as he had always fancied himself as a bit of a model and had perfected the art of keeping positively still. 

The mother wondered if the fish would like to have a go, but he was more shy than the bird and really couldn't make his mind up whether he should be painted or not......and neither could the mother, she had begun to grow fond of his brassy ways......The end.

{ brass 1950's fish ashtray, £2 :: china bird, £3 :: embroidered linen pillowcase £4 }

Jewellery made by me, yonks ago, forgotten by me, then discovered by me, yesterday!

Flea Market Finds for more tales of treasure.

✴ precious metals

{silver card tray, £5}

{pearl knot clip earrings, 50p}

A magpies haul of shiny metals from the local charity shop this week.

The brooch and earrings will be fashioned into new vintage style headdresses and I  had hoped that the silver tarnished card tray might well prove to be a precious metal of sorts. 

I had been practicing my 'pleasantly shocked' face and picked out an Antiques Roadshow appropriate outfit. I think I may have got a bit carried away. 

It clearly isn't real silver. There is a slight copper tone over the pattern which would hint at years of exuberant Brasso scrubbing by an eager maid, I'm guessing that if you owned and used a card tray, that you probably had staff...It's such a piece that depicts a bygone era, don't you think?

The custom of 'calling' in Victorian society and the etiquette of leaving a calling card for the lady of the house. 

Texting just seems so crass in comparison!

{goldtone pearl brooch, 50p}

Here is the method I used for cleaning the tarnish from the silver tray. It should work well for silver, silver plated and EPNS {but not best for gemstones and pearls} although care should always be taken when cleaning antique treasures.

Even though this is an eco cleaning method, there is a slight sulphurous odour during the cleaning process so it's best to do in a ventilated room or even better outside.

• Line a large bowl with aluminum tin foil.
• Sprinkle over 3 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda.
• Place pieces to be cleaned on top.
• Pour over freshly boiled water from the kettle to just cover pieces.
• Leave to soak for 10-15 minutes.
• Remove and buff gently with a dry clean cloth, tea towel or silver polishing cloth.
• See your silvery bits sparkle in the sunshine....or, under a very bright light....

Flea Market Finds here

✴ weekend crumbling

{tea lights in vintage brioche tins and lace doily}

You know when someone is a little bit poorly by looking into their eyes, glazed over, perhaps a little pink and with a droopy lidded tiredness that sums up the overall feeling of being run down. I saw this on the little lady over the past few days {a lot better now but for a bit of a cough} and I saw this in my own eyes in the bathroom mirror last night.....Eughhh...lurgy has at last got me. It was inevitable but nonetheless annoying and totally unwelcome.

{brioche tins, wire basket, 1920's ash butter bats and rolling pin and embroidered tablecloth}

Not helped that I was solo parenting all of yesterday and last night and had planned to prepare a lavish dinner for a dear friend who had a special valentine birthday. When cooking for friends I usually plan the menu for days, pouring over the cookbooks and cookery magazines  but yesterday, struggling with a general feeling of Hhhmmppffff  I ended up completely and utterly making it up as I went along, and actually it worked a treat... to the point that I wish I'd paid a bit more attention to what I was throwing into the cookpot {or tagine..} so I can recreate the tasty dish which magically appeared on the table last night! Chicken and squash tagine followed by rhubarb and strawberry crumble. Yum. I think I just about got away with it! Or maybe I was feeling so poorly that anything would have tasted sublime and warmed the cockles?!

 {vintage lace and trims currently being used for headdresses and accessories}

{a bundle of french linen pieces and assortment of cross-stitch monograms}

Although I' haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to recently I have been shopping, oh yes. Thrifty vintage shopping, my absolute fave! With recent visits to Kempton, Kingston and Farnham I have gathered quite a few lovely things. I'll show you just a small selection now and hope to get round to photographing everything else soon.

{glass dome with blue and white china dish and 6 small cocktail glasses}

Anyway I think it's time for more honey and lemon to soothe my croaky throat. Or perhaps a hot toddy?!
Tonight I'm making a completely-made-up-as-you-go-along* sausage stew and blackberry and pear crumble. A gloomy dark and damp day such as this {where are you spring???} deserves a warm and cosy evening of stodgy comfort food and something good to watch on the tellybox {where are you Lark Rise???}.

* although completely-made-up-as-you-go-along several times before so practically a bona fide recipe.

Taking part with Flea Market Finds

✴ crochet cosy

In a desperate attempt not to sound too much like a bit of an oldie...I have to say that I simply can't believe where the time is going at the moment. Can you believe it's already mid November...I can't! Every year Christmas seems to appear to be ages away and too early to think about then all of a sudden it creeps ever closer and surprises us all into unreadiness and disbelief.

Trying not to sound like an oldie may already be a case of locking the door after the horse has bolted {or something like that} as I have spent most evenings these last few weeks, cosying up with some crochet and Autumnwatch......yup! Definitely not 'down with the kids'...all I need now is a big bag of Werthers and a blue rinse...

And to add to my granny chic, I've been vintage shopping. 

A pressed glass plate {£1.50} which on closer inspection appears to be the base of a butter dish rather like the one back here, and a Grindley jug/sauce boat {£2.50} in a lovely 1950's mint green glaze. Both from the local charity shop.

Also, couldn't resist {who possibly could?} this gorgeous 1950's Arthur Wood jam pot {£10} from the local antique shop. Quite a good haul I think. 

These long winter evenings are getting very cold in our draughty 1930's house. Bbrr... heating on! 

Lots of cake baking, this one in particular was a big hit all round, yummy Bonfire Parkin.

More Flea Market Finds over here.

✴ small gatherings

Me and the little lady are still suffering with our autumn colds. It's so much worse for a little person who hasn't yet learnt how to blow her little nose. Poor thing.

I find it almost impossible to completely switch off when I'm ill. Obviously I have no problem with switching off from housework...euhh...any excuse. 

I've been cooing and ahhing while sorting some new and old vintage buys.

Lace, hankies, buckles and beads.