Charity Shop Finds

The last few weeks I have found very little in any of the local charity shops. However this week I found a couple of things that have made up for it. This old Tala bread bin isn't in great condition but is fine for display. I already have a similar one which I use every day so I will probably sell this one rather than add to my clutter. This morning I popped in to our local table top sale at a nearby nursing home and found the blue and white jug and also the pretty violas. The frilly ones are a variety called 'Can-Can'.

The little glasses are another charity shop find, they are very small and I guess are some sort of liquer glass but I loved the colours.

The rose trios were also from the sale this morning and were a bargain for a set of six trios.

More roses, this time yellow ones on a beautiful 1950s linen table cloth in unused condition, also from a charity shop.

I couldn't resist the bunch of dahlias this morning from a lady selling garden produce at the sale. They are so cheerful and add a real splash of colour.

Later on this morning I headed to town to the monthly Bicycle Basket Bazaar. I had my camera with me and then completely forgot to take any photos ! It was lovely to finally catch up with Annie, The Felt Fairy and her daughter Amy who is having a stall at our vintage fair in a few weeks as well as some of the other sellers. I bought the pretty needlepoint bag from Carol earlier in the week, she is also having a stall at the fair with her daughter Chelsea. Maybe one day my daughter will be inclined to join me !

I am off now for some very late lunch. I treated myself to some lovely cheese and fresh bread from a new deli and cheese shop recently opened in the town. I also decided to try some smoked garlic. I don't buy garlic that often so any suggestions as to how I might used smoked garlic gratefully received.

Tin Collection And Swap Goodies

I thought I would share another one of my collections or at least part of it. I have always loved old tins ever since I was a little girl and inherited quite a few from different relatives. In recent years I have looked out for tins from the 1930s onwards although I still have quite a number of much older tins. The one above is one of my favourites and purchased relatively recently.

The carnation tin is very pretty and the seagull tin sits with my collection of seaside themed items.

I really love this tin with the little girl on the shoreline.

I have come across this white heather tin a few times and also have a much larger version of the same tin.

The old Blue Bird tin was a boot sale find and it holds all sorts of bits and pieces.

This is another of my favourites and looks like a picture from a story book.

The little ballerina is really sweet and sits on my hall windowsill with a vase of flowers.

This cute little tin was an ebay buy a few years ago.

I think this one is very unusual, she seems to have quite a thoughtful expression.

As you know I have a weakness for doggy items especially terriers.

This one is a little battered but still charming.

This Vernon Ward picture was another great find by Mr C this week. He found it at our local tip recycling shop for £2.50. It will now join our other two Vernon Ward pictures on the landing or in the bathroom.

And finally this wonderful array of goodies arrived this week from Annie The Felt Fairy. She was my swap partner in Tilly Rose's vintage, shabby chic swap. I was so excited to open it that I forgot my camera until I had unwrapped everything. There are some lovely flowery garden gloves, some gorgeous rose scented Cath Kidston hand cream, a pretty floral candle, two cute little handmade felt hearts, a flowery needle case, a 'Make Do And Mend' book, and a fantastic Beryl Woods Ware bowl. On top of all that was some delicious chocolate and a packet of rainbow drops, neither of which lasted long especially once spotted by Mr C and my lovely girl. Annie is so kind and although we have never met seems to know me so well. I love the bowl especially and have read most of the book which is packed full of fascinating snippets. The gloves will be put to good use although I have to admit Mr C does most of the serious gardening. Thank you Annie you made my day x

All Vintaged Out !

This weekend has been full of vintage treasures and being surrounded by vintage loveliness . On Saturday we went to Stamford to the Discover Vintage Fair. It was lovely to catch up with Jo from HestaNesta and give her some flyers for the Northampton Vintage Fair in Oct. Jo's stall looked beautiful as usual but I forgot to take photos ! I am sure she will cover it on her blog so you will get a peek. Luckily for us Jo is joining us at the Northampton fair. I also met Vicki from Ticklepenny Vintage, she is also a new seller to the Northampton Fair this time and her stall was very tempting. I didn't leave empty handed as you can imagine. I bought the two tea cosies from two different stalls and will take them to the Northampton Fair. The red rose 1950s one is gorgeous and in unused condition. The little pink alarm clock will also be coming with me to the fair because as much as I love it the tick is quite loud !

This Worcester Ware tin will be staying firmly with me. It's another addition to my expanding tin collection and I love the colour and the flowers on the lid.

As usual I was tempted by some pretty linens including a rosy apron and what I think may be little hand towels.

The tray was a purchase from Vicki and I have displayed it at the back of my cupboard with my utility china.

Carol from 'Pure Country' has a booth at the Northampton Antiques Centre and is also a seller at the Nothampton Vintage fair. Today she had one of her open house sales and I popped along for a cup of tea and a browse around the mouth watering array of vintage treasures.

I came home with another picture for my ever growing collection going up the side of the stairs. I also found this wonderfully plump and snugly eiderdown.

The cute dogs picture will look great hung alongside my other scottie dog pictures.

Somehow I have also ended up with three aprons, the rosy one from Vicki and the others from Carol. I couldn't resist yet another doggy themed item !

Last night I finally made a start on sorting out all my things for the fair. I couldn't believe the amount of things I had squirreled away and forgotten about. Anyway at least I have made a start and completed quite a lot of the boring labeling and pricing. Back to work tomorrow and a very busy week.

Weekend Finds And Utility Ware China Collection

First of all I wanted to show you this cute little wicker doll's pram Mr C spotted for me in a charity shop last week. It is painted a lovely green,the paint is a bit chippy though. I have no idea how old it is but it's very sweet. I will try and get round to making it some bedding and bring it along to the Vintage Fair.

I treated myself to these two pretty dried flower wreaths made by a lovely lady called Julie. Julie is also a vintage jewelery seller as well as being a trained florist. She now works with elderly dementia patients and I bought these on Saturday at a fete at the home where she works. All the flowers she had grown and dried herself.

Sunday morning we got up early and headed out to a couple of car boot sales, we haven't been to one for months. We were rather late but thought we would give it a go. I didn't find as much as I have done earlier in the summer but still managed to find this pretty glass jug.

I also found this unusual 1930s jug at a local collectibles fair Saturday morning. I will bring both jugs along to sell at the Vintage fair.

Back to the boot sale, I found the Tala icing set

and assorted books.

I hope these next pictures won't bore you as I know I have shared some of my utility ware collection with you before. A Thrifty Mrs recently did a posting all about utility ware so I decided to share my collection again.

Amongst the collection I have also displayed my pink, green and blue bee hive knitting wool holders. I have a mixture of designs including a Rose Dawn tea pot,yellow,pink and green Petal Ware jugs, lots of Beryl Woods Ware and lots of the common Blue Dawn. I also have a few unmarked pieces such as the large green jug in the back right hand corner and the blue cups and saucers.

My favourite pieces are this Peach Leaf Petal jug and the Lu-Ray Pastels cup and saucer which came from America.

I use my utility ware plates and bowls every day. The big Rosa platter gets used on a Sunday and the blue Celeste tea plates and dishes are used every day, along with a Grey Dawn bowl Peach Petal dishes.

Finally the Beryl Woods Ware tea pot which I found recently.

Holiday Treats

Last weekend I had a great day out with my lovely girl. She wanted to go to Hackney City Farm as we had spotted it the last time we were in london. It really is a little oasis in the middle of London with a lovely cafe too.

We spent a relaxed couple of hours wandering around looking at the animals and eating apple cake in the cafe.

The donkey was definitely our favourite animal with the pigs coming a close second.

Conveniently for me the farm is only a couple of streets from Columbia Road. Last time we visited most of the shops were closed but we decided to give it another go.

The street has great character and lots of little independent shops. If you visit their website there are pictures and descriptions of all the shops. This fabric shop would have been heaven I think to many of you. I loved the vintage car parked outside.

Back to my kind of heaven, this wonderful shop that was closed last time round. It is crammed with all sorts of vintage treasures especially tea sets and glassware.It has a lovely coffee shop in the back of the shop too, so you can drink your tea surrounded by vintage goodies. I spotted the picture and when I enquired about the price was pleasantly surprised. It turned out it was an old price and the shop owner had forgotten to remove it and re-price . The lady let me have it for the cheap price anyway so I was very pleased. The photo doesn't really do it justice but it is in a faded yellow painted wooden frame and the picture has lovely muted colours.

I took this through the window of 'Suck And Chew' a vintage style old fashioned sweet shop. I wanted to show you the row of lovely dogs on wheels under the table. Sadly they weren't for sale, I would dearly love one of these.

Instead I had to settle for this old photo I bought this week. It has been made in to a postcard and the sender writes that it is her dog that showed at Crystal Palace. I don't know how old it is as there is no stamp but I am guessing anywhere from the 1930s onwards. I love the picture with the dogs at the top of my post too. It is another scrap from my 1930s scrap book.

On Sunday we visited the Bank Holiday Antiques And Collectibles Fair at Lamport Hall. The weather was terrible but I found a couple of things including this pretty oil painting. It is obviously done by an amateur but is quite old and I love the soft colours especially the powder blue background. Sadly there isn't a signature but there is an inscription on the back giving it to someone as a present and saying it was 'painted by Jean'.

Lastly , these are a pretty set of crocheted mats I found in a charity shop this week. I had intended to put them by for the Vintage Fair but yet again Mr C said he liked the colours and suggested we keep them for a while. I am starting to get worried about him !