Vintage At The Corner House

New Year Clear Out

2012-01-28T05:14:00.001-08:00

For a very long time the spare bedroom has been a junk room full of 'stuff'. Last weekend I decided enough was enough and spent a couple of days having a good sort out. I got rid of bags of rubbish as well as stuff for the charity shop.

By the time I had finished it still looked like a store room but at least you could get to the bed !

I sorted all my remaining bits and pieces out and put them in the old kitchen cupboard which for now is residing in the bedroom and everything else was hidden away in old hat boxes, suitcases and baskets.

This morning I managed to cram in visits to a small car boot sale and two fairs.

I came away with this cute tea pot and tea cosy and yet another Horlicks mixer,

a very sweet trug, some vintage ribbon , a little deco lady pepper pot and yet another tin!

The knives and the belt buckle were bargains from the boot sale. The buckle was black but it has come up a treat with a bit of a polish.

Finally it feels like Spring isn't far away and I can't wait to get back in to the swing of weekend boot sales and flea markets.

Thankyou

2012-01-18T13:39:00.001-08:00

I have been very lucky over the last few days, receiving a number of lovely unexpected surprises. January can be such a miserable month, it has really cheered me up receiving these kind gifts.

First of all I was lucky enough to win the giveaway on Maria's great blog, 'country style living '. I won this fab book that I had been reading about in the latest edition of Homes and Antiques magazine. It is full of great ideas and lovely pictures. I was really excited to win this as I never win anything and have never won anything in a giveaway before, so thank you Maria very much.

Today I received a surprise parcel from my sister in Scotland. She has recently started sewing and crafting and I had sent her my much loved Cath Kidston cardigan that Mr C had unfortunately put through a hot wash. I thought she might find some use for it at her craft group. She has turned it in to this lovely cuddly cushion for me and I love it. The photo really doesn't do it justice and the colour is actually much brighter.

On Saturday my mum left me a bag of bits and pieces that had come from my grandma's house. Amongst the things were lots of pieces of ephemera including the brochure for her old Rolls Rapide twin tub and her copy of ' The Big book Of Needlecraft' which I thought had been lost.

This original Lloyd Loom 'Lusty' linen basket , upholstered in pretty vintage fabric was a present from Mr C after he saw me admiring it at a vintage fair before Christmas.I fell in love with the faded fabric and original worn paint.

Saturday was The vintage Jumble organised by Mr C. It was a great success and amazingly busy considering it is January. It was good fun and really nice to catch up with so many people.

There was an amazing array of goodies on offer but I was incredibly restrained. I did treat myself to this cute egg cup from Jo of Hesta Nesta.

I bought this pretty bolt of fabric from another Jo although I have no idea what I will use it for.

I also found this old wooden scoring board that for some reason appealed to me.

On a sadder note I lost one of my lovely chickens just over a week ago when she suddenly became unwell and died. I had only had her a few months but I had already become quite fond of her. Happily my other two are still as lively and inquisitive as ever and laying lots of lovely eggs.

Vintage Jumble

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Hope to see you there.

'Wiggle The Dirt'

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These were the lovely gifts I received from my friend Debbie. I love ephemera and this little packet for 'Wiggs Cleanser' she brought back from America is wonderful. I love the caption "wiggles the dirt". 'Profitable Poultry' a little book from the 1920s was also a great gift as this year I have taken on 3 little hens.

The four legged animals had a lovely Christmas even if Ella, my mum's dog did take over Josh's bed.

My lovely girl spoilt me with some beautiful gifts, she knows exactly what I like.

At Christmas my lovely girl and I always do some baking together as usually I am so busy we never seem to find the time. This year we made the Waitrose Delia Smith Christmas cake and I can honestly say it is one of the best I have tasted. I did feed it rather generously with brandy though. My lovely girl iced it and did an amazing job.

We also made chocolate orange cup cakes from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. These were delicious, my only tip would be to halve the amount of topping mixture as there is always too much.

We both love tiramisu so we had a go at making our own.We used the recipe from the BBC food website, it was the Katie and Giancarlo Caldessi recipe and it was delicious. It actually got better over the couple of days we stored it.

This is the lovely wreath my friend at work made for me. It s completely bio-degradable as it is made on a cardboard ring wrapped with twigs. This has lasted amazingly well considering I had it a week or so before Christmas.

I like all the lights at night at Christmas, we always put berry red lights on our bay tree.

Tea lights are so pretty in the evening as well as lovely scented candles.

A few days before Christmas my lovely girl and I had a night away in London. There is always new street art to be seen near our hotel in Hoxton. This was a wall I hadn't seen before.

Liberty looked wonderful as usual

There are always plenty of amazing lights and decorations to see.

This was the view outside Selfridges.

We found the beautiful Leadenhall market for the first time.

It had a wonderful vibrant atmosphere.

As a special treat we went to Kensington Palace Orangery for afternoon tea. A tranquil little oasis in the middle of the madness that is London at Christmas.

A nice cup of tea and delicious cake is definitely just what's needed after a hard day's shopping !

Christmas At The Corner House 2011

2011-12-28T04:46:00.000-08:00

This Christmas has been lovely and quiet following a rather hectic lead up to the big day. The last couple of days have been spent relaxing in front of the tv, sleeping, eating and drinking.

Mr C painted his 'Christmas Twig' as decoration for the Vintage Fair just before Christmas. It came home with us and somehow stayed. Mr C used all of my most brightly coloured vintage glass baubles to decorate it and I think it looks lovely and cheerful.

My favourite vintage 1940s Disney decorations were brought out along with the vintage American Santa match box and vintage Steiff robin which was a charity shop find last year.

Vintage festive classroom prints were hung

and pretty vintage baubles displayed in old glass bowls.

I like my kitsch Cath Kidston reindeer decoration although Mr C is not so sure.

I love this gorgeous tin bought from Gail and her sister at our last fair. I really can't resist tins and seem to have them all over the house.

This is the fab vintage pop up book I bought last year.

The dogs joined in the festive fun.

I love the colours of this poinsettia Mr C bought me.

Yet another tin !

Little felt Cath Kidston dogs as well as the pretty candle my lovely girl bought me last year.

This year I stuck to pale colours on the tree and used all my crystal and vintage silvery and pale pink and blue vintage glass baubles.

The brighter colours looked great against the white branches of the 'twig'.

The lovely stocking I bought from Jo of Hesta Nesta last year was hung on the fireplace.

Mr C surprised me with this beautiful vintage book of dog drawings by an American artist. The quality of the paper and printing makes them look almost like the originals. The book was sold with the idea the prints could be removed for framing.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a relaxing break. I am off now for another slice of our home made christmas cake and another cup of coffee x

Northampton Christmas Vintage Fair

2011-12-08T12:55:00.001-08:00

This Saturday is the Christmas Vintage Fair At St Matthews in Northampton. Mr C has been very busy with all the preparations, delivering flyers and putting up posters. I really hope all his hard work pays off and people brave the chilly weather on Saturday to join all the lovely sellers. There will certainly be a warm welcome inside as well as Lesley's lovely tea and home made cakes and hopefully a little bit of extra entertainment to add a Christmassy feel.

The fair is supporting Alfe's Cause a local childrens charity, by donating raffle prizes for their own fundraising event on Sunday evening.

Hopefully see some of you on Saturday.

Weekend Finds

2011-11-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely weekend starting with the our second Vintage Fair at Market Harborough. The atmosphere was great and the stall holders went to enormous effort to make their stalls look wonderful. On Sunday we were selling at another fair in Winslow and we also had to fit in a trip to Brackley Antique cellar to tidy up our unit. The box and magazines were found on the unit next to our own.

Of course I had to treat myself to a couple of purchases from the fair. First was this sweet tin which has no name on it so I am unsure what it originally held although I would guess sweets.

I bought three beautiful crystal chandelier droplets from Bryony to add to my collection I use to decorate my christmas tree each year.

I love this painted pebble that I bought from some wonderful new sellers, Gail and her sisters. I also found the little tin on their stall.

The 1950s tray was another purchase from Gail's stall.

The duck tin was another find at Brackley, I love the muted colours.

Mr C found this vintage German christmas tree holder at Brackley, there are still a couple left if you are looking for one.

All in all we had a really enjoyable weekend although it was nice to finally put my feet up on Sunday evening.

Market Harborough Vintage Fair

2011-11-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that this Saturday is the 2nd Market Harborough Vintage Fair. It would be lovely to see some of you there. This time there are more stalls than ever with a second room of stalls and lots of new sellers joining us for the first time. As usual tea and cakes are available provided by the hotel. There will be lots of lovely ideas for Christmas presents as well as the usual vintage goodies to treat yourself.

Lull Before The Storm

2011-11-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

Things are fairly quiet here at the moment but I can sense the hectic build up to Christmas will very soon be upon us. The house has started to feel quite cosy, we have had a few log fires and I have started trying out some of the festive scented Yankee candles that have just appeared in the shops.

The garden is looking horrendous especially now the chickens have made it their own. However there are still a few flowers brightening things up and I always bring a few indoors to enjoy.

Mr C has been busy preparing for the fairs and renovating various pictures and pieces of furniture. These frames were a boot sale find some time ago. They were dark brown wood and falling apart. I wouldn't have looked twice at them but Mr C knew they could be repaired and that some light paint would show off their pretty detailing.

They still had their original old mounts and just needed the right pictures to set them off.

I remembered that I had these two original Victorian chromolithographs waiting for the right frames and they fitted perfectly. These will come along to a fair with us or find their way to our stand at Brackley Antiques Cellar.

The Christmas build up starts in just over a week's time on Saturday 19th with our second vintage fair in Market Harborough. We are both really looking forward to this as the venue is great and we had a lovely day last time.

The next day we are having a stall at the Winslow Festive Fair which will be good fun but means I will be pretty exhausted by the time I have to go back to work on the Monday morning.

The following Saturday Mr C is having a stall at another fair very local to us. There will be a range of antiques and vintage goodies on offer including some furniture and clothes.

Before we know it we will be in to December and we will be preparing for our Christmas vintage fair in Northampton. This will be our 7th fair at St Matthews in Northampton and we are supporting a local charity by donating raffle prizes for their own fundraising event the following day.

If you are free next Saturday the 19th please pop along to The Three Swans in Market Harborough and say hello, you will be made very welcome.

Dogs and Chickens

2011-10-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

Another dog on wheels has recently joined my collection, this little chap was found at Brackley Antiques Cellar and I couldn't resist him.

This is my lovely Josh proudly modeling his red rosette he won in the summer. We entered him in his first ever dog show which was held in the local park for charity. We were so happy when he won first prize in his category. My dog on wheels now wears it and looks very smart.

This week my lovely girl and I had our traditional half term trip to london. This was the view outside St Pauls along with lots of TV cameras.

We popped in to VV Rouleaux and bought some ribbon. This is to hang some pretty glass chandelier droplets I have been saving for Christmas and also to hang some lovely old rusted French keys.

Of course we had to visit Cath Kidston and I stocked up on some of the christmas goodies.I really like the bird design featured on the wrapping paper and cards.

Some of you know that in the early summer this pretty pair moved in. It wasn't long before it became obvious that Eliza on the left was not a she but a he. Thankfully after a stressful few weeks of wondering when the neighbours would start complaining we managed to re-home him to a friend of a friend in the countryside. We were sad to see him go but really had no choice and hopefully he will enjoy his new home where he can make as much noise as he likes.

Last week we decided the time had come to find some friends for Sasha and these two lovely girls have now started to settle in with us. There has been a bit of bickering but they are starting to accept each other. We finally have our first eggs which is exciting. Sasha still isn't laying which is a bit strange as she is definitely old enough but we will just have to be patient.

Neither have names yet but this one is a Columbian Blacktail made famous by Waitrose as their egg laying breed.

The black and gold one is a Rhode Rock.

Finally I am not too sure what Sasha is but I have been told that when she does start laying they will be blue eggs.

This morning we made pumpkin soup adapted from the BBC Good Food Guide recipe and it was rather scrummy. We had bought a couple of pumpkins to make Halloween lanterns and really didn't want to waste the flesh.I tried to tempt the chickens with the seeds but they were unimpressed.

Happy Halloween for tomorrow.

Giveaway Winner

2011-10-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

My special giveaway closed last night and so today the winner had to be drawn.I thought about using a computer generated hi-tech approach ... but in the end I settled for the tried and tested method of Mr C and a hat !

And the lucky winner is ...... Lalabibaby of Dreaming of The Simple Life. Congratulations to Debbie who had an extra entry as she also did a lovely link back from her blog for the giveaway.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. If you haven't checked it out already the Ramsign website is definitely worth a visit if you are looking for a beautifully made traditional sign.

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY-Now Closed

2011-10-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

The lovely people at Ramsign approached me a couple of weeks ago about hosting a giveaway and I thought you would like the chance to win one of their beautiful vintage style, enamel house numbers so here we are.

Ramsign are a Danish company producing traditional hand made porcelain enameled house signs. The beautiful enamel signs are typical of the vintage enamel signs seen across Europe.

All of the signs are produced by hand using original stencil techniques in porcelain enamel.

The signs have characteristic, fat glossy enamel and have a 30 year guarantee.

Five different designs are available in a range of sizes, shapes, colours, trims and typeface. They are Metropolitan, Arrowhead, Lighthouse, Highlander and Engelhart. Visit the Ramsign website to see more details.

The winner of the giveaway will receive a house number sign of up to five digits in the design and colour of their choice.

The giveaway is open to everyone, as Ramsign will ship free of charge anywhere in the world.

In order to enter please leave a comment and for an extra entry please do a link back from your blog. The draw will take place next Wednesday the 19th October. I will send the winner's contact details to Ramsign who will then arrange for the winner's choice of house number sign to be made to their specification.

Good Luck !

My giveaway will close at 10pm tonight and the winner will be announced tomorrow.

My Special Stanley Calendar

2011-10-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

I am afraid I have been rather absent from blogland recently but the weeks seem to fly by and I don't spend so much time at my computer in the summer months. I guess now the days are getting shorter I will be spending more cosy evenings indoors catching up with my favourite blogs.

When I was Edinburgh a few weeks ago I popped in to the gorgeous Cath Kidston shop. To my amazement I spotted this sweet dog treats tin and packs of playing cards with this lovely image of 'Stanley' on the front. Nothing unusual in that I guess you are thinking. However a couple of years ago I acquired some gorgeous 1940s ex-shop stock calendars with this lovely terrier picture on them. I sold a few through my Etsy shop and at my unit at the Brackley Antique Cellar. Of course I kept one or two aside for myself and have had one on display since I bought them. Around 18 months ago I sold one from my Etsy shop to Cath Kidston headquarters in london. I thought that one day it might pop up in a picture of a room setting in the magazine or as a display piece in a shop. Anyway I had totally forgotten about it until I walked in to the shop in Edinburgh and there it was on the shelf. It is currently on the website as one of 'Cath's Favourites'.I have to say the original image on the calendar is far lovelier than the reproduction but I couldn't resist bringing the tin home with me.

A few weeks back was the Northampton Vintage Fair which was great fun and very well attended. I treated myself to these little dogs from one of our lovely new sellers , Bryony. She will be joining us again on Saturday at Olney and at Market Harborough in November.

I couldn't resist this lovely cushion from Vicky of 'Vicky Loves Vintage' another of our regular sellers.

This pretty rose print was another recent purchase from Suzette who has a beautiful stall selling mainly her hand made items under the name of 'Hearts n Kisses'.

I have had a few lucky boot sale finds although nothing like the amount in previous years.I was really pleased with this enormous pile of vintage fabrics and curtains I found at a recent boot sale. It includes bark cloth, Sanderson linens, and lots of floral fabrics.

This is a large piece of screen printed Sanderson fabric which is beautiful and very unusual.

I love this sunflower bark cloth and pretty 50s apron.

There are three different vintage Sanderson floral linens, my favourite is the gold coloured one on the top.

These 'atomic' 50s curtains are not really my taste but still pretty amazing. I am no expert but they remind me of a lot of the Eames era designs.

And last but not least this enormous vintage Girl Guide/Scout camp blanket. The actual wool blanket has a label dating it to the 1940s. The badges sewn on to the blanket date it from the 1960s onwards. It has a hole in the middle which has been bound to create a poncho to wear whilst sitting around the camp fire. Definitely another Cath Kidston original I would say.

Saturday is the second Vintage Fair to be held in Olney and there are going to be some wonderful sellers attending. Unfortunately I will have to miss this one as I am in Leeds with my lovely girl at another Uni open day. Mr C will be there as usual, hopefully keeping everything under control without me flapping around panicking about something going wrong.

I will be back next week with news of a very special giveaway.

Hope To See You There

2011-09-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

Edinburgh Break

2011-09-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have had a bit of a summer blogging break and have just returned from a holiday in Scotland. The first part of the holiday was spent staying with family and then we had a few nights in Edinburgh. I have only ever spent a few hours in Edinburgh before and I have always wanted to go back and explore properly.

We seemed to spend rather a lot of time in the numerous little cafes. This was the famous Elephant House cafe reputedly the cafe where JK Rowling penned the first Harry Potter books at the table overlooking the castle. It is a lovely quirky little place with great views from the windows, it appears in a number of Ian Rankin's novels too.

Just down the road is Grey Friars famous for the story of Grey Friars Bobby.

The statue was smaller than I expected but very sweet.

The Fringe Festival was drawing to a close but there were still plenty of street performers to be seen and we had a good wander around the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

There was plenty to see at every turn with lots of narrow, hilly, cobbled streets to explore. The walking is certainly good for your leg muscles ! We also went on a city tour on a vintage open top bus that was a little chilly but good fun.

There are some wonderful vintage clothes shops but not much in the way of other vintage shops or fairs. Antique shops clearly cater for tourists with

things priced accordingly.

There were some lovely little independent shops and cafes. Eteaket was a gorgeous little cafe which sold every sort of tea you could imagine with scrummy home made cakes and all served on vintage china.

Edinburgh is certainly a beautiful, historic city full of character and a great place to spend a few days. Coming home was lovely too , I always love arriving home after a holiday and this time it was nice to find the weather was actually warmer than where we

had come from !

The Summer seems to be over so quickly, I can't believe we are back to the routine of school and work on Monday. The next Northampton Vintage Fair is fast approaching on 17th Sept so the next few weeks will be hectic with last minute preparations and advertising. Hopefully I will see some of you there.

A Busy Week

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Last week was certainly busy and started on Monday with us moving in to our new and larger unit at Brackley Antique Cellar. Mr C and I have taken on unit 60 and we spent the day setting it up. Deb has kept unit 95 which previously we both shared. There were some pleasant distractions however called Bunty and Ruby. These two gorgeous girls belong to the lovely Debbie who owns the Antique Cellar. They are such characters and real cuties.

At the end of the day we had managed to fill the unit up with lots of pretty and colourful vintage goodies.

It certainly looked well stocked even though some of the items were sold as quickly as we unpacked them.

There seemed to be a colour theme of pastel pinks,blues, greens and yellows.

After a busy Monday and the rest of the week at work we then had our first Vintage Fair in Market Harborough.The Three Swans Hotel was a lovely venue with friendly and helpful staff.

As usual there was a lovely array of vintage and hand made treasures on offer.

We had regular visitors to the fair make the journey from Northampton as well as new customers from Market Harborough. We had some lovely people travel to the fair from quite a distance , some by train and bus as well as by car.

Some very special visitors also arrived, the lovely Susy and her husband on holiday in the UK from Italy. Many of you will know Susy from her blog Susy Cottage.

We also welcomed some great new vintage sellers who really added to the variety on offer. We are already preparing for our next Vintage Fair in Northampton on Sept 17th. There will be more photos of the fair on the Fair Blog.

I was very restrained in my purchases but did find this sweet little pair of soft white leather doll or baby shoes. I knew they would be just right to fill a space in my newest little cupboard.

I also couldn't resist another little dog to add to my collection.

I found another rosy tin to add to the little collection on top of my dresser.

The next couple of weeks should be a little more relaxed so fingers crossed for some sunshine and the chance to get to a couple of boot sales again.

Market Harborough Vintage Fair

2011-08-05T11:38:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is our first vintage fair in Market Harborough. We have just got home from setting up the room which is lovely and light and spacious. Fingers crossed the good people of Market Harborough will come out and support us and our lovely sellers tomorrow. The fair is taking place at the historic Three Swans Hotel on the high street and the hotel are providing the refreshments for us in our tea room area. The fair starts at 11 am tomorrow and finishes at 4pm. If you are anywhere near please pop in and see us , we would love to see you.

More details can be found at the Northampton Vintage Fair Blog.

Vintage At The Southbank

2011-07-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

On Friday my lovely girl and I took a little trip to london to visit the Vintage Village at the Southbank.

As soon as we arrived we were greeted by the sight of the vintage style seaside, themed river bank.

Brightly painted beach huts and vintage ice cream and fish and chip vans were dotted along the river bank.

Once inside the vintage village as well as all the lovely vintage clothes and home wares stalls there was a pop up vintage tea room.

On the vintage high street there were a range of shops including the beautifully decorated Horrockses shop.

The dresses on display were gorgeous and the prints were the inspiration for the lovely vintage style bed linen.

In the shadow of the London Eye the Chap Olympiad took place.

I arrived just as the cucumber sandwich discus throwing event was taking place.

Also on the high street was a hair salon courtesy of Batiste if you fancied a couple of Victory Rolls and right next door a beauty salon courtesy of Benefit to add the finishing touch.

A colourful vintage fun fair was also in full swing.

Of course Cath Kidston had set up shop and were launching their new Autumn range.

We had a great day, the sun shone and there was a fabulous outdoor food market at the front of The Royal Festival Hall. I managed to track down Vicky of Vicky Loves Vintage who was selling in one of the marquees. Vicky is a regular seller at our vintage fairs but this was a completely different league !

Of course I made a couple of purchases but I was quite restrained.

I found this gorgeous double eiderdown in the Oxfam pop up shop.It is in wonderful condition, lovely and plump with no stains. I gave it a quick wash and dried it on the line in the sunshine yesterday. This was a real bargain considering where I found it and certainly much cheaper than on ebay.

I also found this cute Chad Valley seaside pail on the lovely Acorn and Will stall.

This pretty vintage French 1930s fabric covered box was another bargain find.

All in all it was a wonderful day, I will certainly be back next year if it returns.

Update Part 2

2011-07-24T01:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I finally managed to get out to a boot sale although very late on. I obviously missed all the best bargains but still managed to find a few nice things.

I found this pretty blue rose, vintage silk cushion cover, I have added a nice feather pad . The chair is one of pair Mr C found at the tip shop and painted in an Annie Sloan paint ,he mixed the blue colour himself using a white and dark blue.

I also found some pretty china , a sweet green and pink carnation dressing table set, some cute vintage crocheted crinoline lady egg cosies and a china crinoline lady.

Going back to our first Olney Vintage Fair, I thought I would share a few photos to give you

a flavour. My sister and husband were visiting from Scotland with their children and they got roped in to running the tea room. They were completely exhausted by the end of the day.

As usual there were a wonderful array of stalls. The hall looked really pretty and we had a steady flow of visitors throughout the day.

There was a nice mix of vintage and handmade with some lovely new sellers too. Some had travelled quite a distance including the lovely Amanda from Charente Vintage who had travelled from France.

We had a lovely day which made all the preparation worthwhile. The next day we were up bright and early as we were selling at The Winslow Vintage and Handmade Fair. This is a lovely event outside in the market square. We were pretty tired but luckily it was a sunny day and we were able to sit behind our stall on deck chairs and relax and listen to the music.

After all the fairs we needed a day of relaxation so we headed to one of our favourite National Trust properties, Wimpole Hall Farm.

It was a lovely way to relax, ambling around the farm looking at the baby animals and of course sampling the tea and cake in the tea room.

Things are very busy again now, with only two weeks to go until our first fair in Market Harborough. And before that I have to squeeze in a little trip to Vintage at The Southbank !

Catch Up Part 1

2011-07-15T03:24:00.000-07:00

As I explained in my last post, life has been very busy this last month or so and I have struggled to find time to think about blogging. I have still been trying to keep up with all the lovely blogs I follow but apologies if I haven't had time to leave a comment. Hopefully things will settle down again now for a week or two.

A few weeks ago my lovely girl and I had one of our little trips to London and decided to watch Trooping of the Colour. It was a truly colourful and exciting experience with us being really close to the gates of Buckingham Palace. We had a great views of all the Royals as they came past and the bands and horses were amazing. This was Kate and William's first public appearance since their wedding so the crowd was really excited.

This isn't a very good picture of the balcony , the ones my lovely girl took were far better, probably because she is loads taller than me !

I have managed to squeeze in one or two boot sales and amongst my finds were the pretty crinoline lady tea pot, the Lotto game and rose pyrex dishes.

I also found this Lizzie Long Legs doll and the Noddy tin.

This large Asiatic Pheasants plate is beautifully faded

and I found yet more crocheted blankets.

This was a wonderful find in a local charity shop. I spotted it in the window after the shop was closed so despatched Mr C to wait on the doorstep the following morning when the shop opened. It is a very large and beautiful barbola plaque in the prettiest blue.

I treated myself to these to add to my collection, they came from a friend who had them displayed in her kitchen but finally agreed to sell them to me. They are a pair of Goebels salt and pepper pots and just the sort of things I love.

Mr C found me yet another little cupboard which he painted and repaired. It is now just waiting to be filled with more little bits and pieces , I am sure that won't take long !

Finally I must mention the wonderful fair we attended near Warwick organised by the lovely Amy of Blighty Boutique and her mum Annie. We had a great day and had the chance to catch up with friends as well as meet some lovely new sellers and customers.

I will be back over the weekend with my update part 2 with some photos of our Vintage Fair in Olney last weekend and some more of my vintage finds.

Olney Vintage Fair

2011-07-07T11:02:00.001-07:00

I am afraid I haven't had the chance to visit Blogland much over the last few weeks. Life has been very busy at work and home. I have been visiting lots of new places with my lovely girl checking out possible universities, I have been to London and seen the Queen at trooping of the colour, I have had a stall at Amy's fab fair in Hatton Park and I have seen Take That ! This Saturday is our first Vintage Fair in Olney and we are really busy with last minute preparations before I head off again tomorrow to another uni open day. I will be back next week with a proper update of what I have been up to with some photos to share.

If you are free it would be great to see you on Saturday.

Vintage Finds

2011-06-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

This little lady arrived this week from the US. I had bought her to add to my little collection and was really pleased when she arrived as she was loads bigger than I expected. I really ought to take notice of measurements but in this case it was a real plus.

This sleepy head is a pretty 1930s print I found in a charity shop .

Mr C and I headed for a boot sale this morning. We haven't really been to any yet this year but decided to give it a go today as the sun was shining and we were up fairly early. I found these sweet couple of books illustrated by Renee Cloke.

This Midwinter sugar sifter is gorgeous although the top is pretty tarnished. The little ladle is really pretty too, not sure what it would have been used for though.

This enormous rosy pitcher was a good find but heavy to carry around !

Both of these paintings are originals. Mr C will paint the frame of the top one. The street scene is local to us in Kettering and is somehow reminiscent of a 1950s Agatha Christie scene.

These are little pair of painted bakelite egg cups.

We found assorted old playing cards and various pieces of pretty china.

I also bought a pile of pretty vintage crocheted blankets.

Mr C also found this lovely old Singer sewing machine at a local auction this week. It seems to be in full working order but looks great for display.

The garden has taken a bit of hammering this last few weeks.

Even so there are some lovely David Austin roses in full bloom.

I bought this lovely rose last week when I was out with my mum at a nursery near her house. It is a new David Austin rose called Princess Alexandra of Kent and is a gorgeous dusky pink with a beautiful scent.

Vintage Finds From The Fair

2011-05-25T01:24:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the day of the 5th Northampton Vintage Fair and we had a lovely day. I have spent the last few days recovering and trying to put stock away. Of course I didn't come home empty handed. The four pretty glasses have already been put to good use, I found them on Lesley's stall. Lesley is also the lady who makes the famous lemon drizzle cake and runs the tea room. I always use vintage glasses at home because they are usually prettier and more delicate than modern ones and I just enjoy using them.

This is a gorgeous piece of bark cloth I spotted on Jen's lovely stall.

Mr C found us this lovely floral Vernon Ward to add to our collection. This came from Wend of Ticking Stripes.

Sorry about the camera flash on this one. The picture came from Vicki of Ticklepenny Vintage. Mr C has just re-painted the frame in a chalk white Annie Sloan paint.

As usual there were a wonderful array of stalls with many of our regular and popular sellers. Return visitors included Karen of Tilly Rose, Jo from Hesta Nesta, Sharon of Shabby Polka Dots, Debbie from Lalabibaby, Wend of Ticking Stripes, Amy from Blighty Boutique, Deb of Vintage Wants as well as other more local and new sellers.

I will let the pictures do the talking.

You will find more on the Northampton Vintage Fair blog, as well as on other lovely blogs such as Karen's of Tilly Rose.

As well as being surrounded by vintage lovelies the best thing for me about the fair is the friendliness of sellers and customers alike. It is lovely to catch up and chat with people who have now become friends.

We now have to start preparing for the next fair which we are holding in a new venue for us in the pretty town of Olney on 9th July. Hopefully some of you will pop along then to say hello.

Northampton Vintage Fair 21st May

2011-05-18T07:06:00.001-07:00

Saturday is fast approaching and last minute preparations are being made. Life is pretty hectic at the moment and finding time to even sort out stock to take to the fair has been tricky. However it is starting to come together with a little pile of sorted and priced stock forming on my landing. I am really looking forward to catching up with everyone again sellers and customers alike. Hopefully the rain will stay away although it's pretty miserable looking out of the window at the moment.

Mr C has been busy transforming this mannequin we found at the tip shop some months ago. He started by painting the base and top in Farrow and Ball paint.

He has then covered it in pieces of vintage adverts taken from 1940s copies of Punch magazine. I bought a job lot some time ago and they are full of great adverts. It has been a long and painstaking process but the end result is really good. I am trying to convince him that as he has made such a good job of this one he should make a start on the female mannequin we bought at the same time. This chap will be coming with us to the fair on Saturday.

Mr C found me a pile of blue utility ware this week. I found a box full of green Beryl Woods Ware in a charity shop a few weeks ago too. This is just some of it as there is still more of the green in the dishwasher as I am writing this.

I will be sorting this in to sets and bringing some along to the fair on Saturday.

Anyway if you are not too far from Northampton , please pop along to the fair on saturday, we would love to see you.

The Winslow Handmade and Vintage Fair

2011-05-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we were up early and packed the car to go to The Winslow Handmade and Vintage Fair. After a very wet night we weren't sure what the weather had in store for us, but apart from some strong gusts of wind the rain stayed away.The fair was held on the pretty market square and had a lovely vibrant atmosphere. Hayley from Vintage Scoops in her vintage ice cream van did a roaring trade. The Sasparillas entertained us with some great 1940s tunes.

All of the lovely little shops around the market square were open for business. This one seemed particularly popular with young and old alike.

Our stall was on on the corner of the market right next to the musicians which was great.

Our new vintage bunting got it's first public airing.

Mr C and I had a lovely day and met lots of nice people. It was great to catch up with Sharon from Clover Cottage who was having a day out as well as Lindsey from Elsie Sparrow who was selling two stalls along from us. There were yummy cup cakes on offer as well as some very nice alcoholic ginger beer that went down a treat in the sunshine.

Lisa from Polka Dot Gallery along with her friends did a great job of organising a really enjoyable event.

Last week I found this really pretty vintage Suffolk Puff or Yo Yo bedspread.

I am guessing it may date to the 1930s and is made from beautiful pastel coloured rayon type fabric.

It is a very large single and backed on to pink fabric.

It is in amazing condition and must have taken hours to make. Sadly I really can't keep it as I have an ever growing collection of eiderdowns and bedspreads so I think it will be destined for our little area at Brackley Antiques Cellar.

Cambridge From The River

2011-05-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

At the weekend I had a wonderful day out to Cambridge with my mum and my lovely girl. The weather was just perfect and Cambridge looked beautiful. We decided to take a tour of the college backs on a punt on the River Cam. This the famous Bridge of Sighs.

This is the historic St John's College which was used for famous scenes in the Harry Potter films.

Clematis and roses tumbled over many of the historic walls.

The views of the colleges are really breathtaking from the river. Drifting along in the sunshine in a punt is just the perfect way to sight see.

The colleges are grand and imposing and each have their own distinct character.

We also explored on foot and enjoyed a pitcher of Pimms in the famous and ancient Eagle pub.

We went in to Queens College and admired the varied range of architectural styles.

Inside the Old Hall there were magnificent stained glass windows and vibrant Arts and Crafts painted walls and ceiling. The tiles around the fireplace are by Morris,Marshall,Faulkner and Co. and Ford Maddox Brown.

The reds and greens were beautiful and impossible to capture properly on a photo.

Kings College is magnificent especially with a bright blue sky as a back drop.

We had a wonderful day and of course managed to fit in a little bit of shopping too. Cambridge has a lively market and great shops including a large Cath Kidston where we had a little browse.

Hidcote Manor Gardens

2011-04-28T03:13:00.000-07:00

Last week Mr C and I had a lovely day out to Hidcote Manor Gardens in the Cotswolds. We have been a number of times before but love to visit at different times of the year. The gardens are always stunningly beautiful whenever you visit, even in pouring rain !

When you go in you pass through this cosy sitting room with faded floral armchairs, old books and this beautiful painting on the wall.

The view from the desk window is wonderful.

The gardens are divided in to 'rooms' with different themes. There are lovely little places to rest and take cover from the rain or sun all around the gardens.

This is the beautiful red border full of red and orange tulips.

An artist was at work renovating the lovely wall paintings in this summerhouse.

There were gorgeous tulips everywhere along with lilacs,magnolias and peonies.

The shades of pink, lilac and the blue merged beautifully. Bluebells were everywhere along with forget-me-nots and coiled ferns.

Every way you turn there is a beautiful view. The white garden was restful and cool.

The peonies were stunning.

Little glimpses of a thatched cottage could be seen through the trees.

The yew hedges and conifers gave wonderful structure.

The ponds will be magnificent once the water lilies are out.

There were a number of stunning old wisterias that scented the air all around them. Every time I visit I am reminded of my lovely grandad as this was his favourite place to visit. Hopefully we won't leave it too long to go back as I would love to see the rose garden in full bloom.

Wedding Fever

2011-04-28T02:21:00.000-07:00

A few days ago my lovely girl and I had a night away in London. The sun shone and we had a great couple of days. Wedding fever had certainly started, Regent Street looked great in the evening light decorated with flags and all lit up.

The city was packed with tourists enjoying the sunshine and the atmosphere.

We spent a lovely couple of hours on the King's Road and of course had to pop in to Cath Kidston. This was the shop Kate Middleton was photographed outside of a few days earlier.There were still plenty of paps hanging around and tv cameras from around the world. My one concession to the Royal wedding with a bit of encouragement from my lovely girl was Cath, Royal wedding tea towel.

The window display in Liberty was quirky and fun and decorated with vintage bunting.

We decided to join the crowds and visited Westminster Abbey. It was worth the wait and lovely and cool inside having waited outside in the scorching sunshine. The audio tour is well worth doing and we both enjoyed it. Outside enormous platforms had been set up for the world's media and cameras were being set up on surrounding buildings.

First Car Boot Sale Of The Year

2011-04-26T01:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the first proper car boot sale of the year. We probably didn't really get there as early as we should have but I still came away with a few treasures. This little lady was my favourite find of the day. I have admired her for months in our local antique centre and was always told she wasn't actually for sale and she wasn't priced. Imagine my amazement when I spotted her nestled on a stall at the boot sale being sold by the dealer at the antiques centre for just £2. I am sure it was meant to be. I know many people will wonder why I would want her with her broken arms but I think she is beautiful as she is.

I also found this cute donkey on wooden wheels. He has no maker's label and I would love to know more about him. He is definitely quite old with a solid body and mohair type fur.

This is an original water colour in a very pretty frame, it must be pre 1930s I would think.

Mr C was busy in the garden last week building a new raised bed and planting it up with salad and vegetables.

Our lovely peony 'Molly The Witch' flowered and after a few days is now gone.We bought her from RHS Wisley years ago and it took her around 6 years to flower.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T03:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter, I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter weekend.

I thought I would share a few more images from my lovely 1930s scrapbooks.

As well as this sweet old Rowntree's Easter egg box.

A vintage 1930s Easter chick lemon squeezer.

Some vintage bunny and chick nursery ware china on my dresser.

Dreaming Spires and Vintage Fairs

2011-04-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

This little lady arrived in the post this week. She was very grubby but after a gentle clean came up looking fine. She has now joined the rest of my little bisque dolls.

We have had a lovely extended weekend which included a trip to Oxford.

This time the sun was shining and we had a tour of the city on an open topped bus followed by a relaxing lunch in Jamie's Italian.

We always love wandering around Oxford, peeping in to the colleges and exploring the narrow little streets.

The mellow stone looked lovely in the sunshine although the sun seems to have disappeared behind a cloud in this picture.

Yesterday I somehow managed to squeeze in a small boot sale and two vintage fairs in to the space of a couple of hours !

The first fair was a lovely little vintage fair in the church hall at Earls Barton. The tea and home made cake was delicious and there was a lovely atmosphere. Sharon from Clover Cottage had a stall and it was great to catch up with her.

This gorgeous linen , embroidered table cloth was one of my favourite purchases this weekend.

The gorgeous pink eiderdown was a purchase from the second fair we visited and I couldn't resist it although I know I don't need another one ! As soon a I got it home I gave it a gentle wash in the machine and got it out on the line in the sunshine to dry. The two little hand painted glasses were found at the same fair.

The lovely yellow Jasmine Ware jug was found at the Earls Barton fair and the Tala cake tin and rolling pin at the second fair in Northampton.

The rolling pin is really pretty, I think it dates to around the 1930s and is hand painted with flowers and butterflies.

The Spring Country Living Fair, Mother's Day Treats and Vintage Treasures

2011-04-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of catch up for the last couple of weeks I am afraid as I have been rather lazy and not managed to do a posting for a while. Anyway a couple of weeks ago I went off to London with my lovely girl to The Spring Country Living Fair. Although it was exceptionally busy it was still good fun and there were some beautiful stands. Afterwards I had a browse around Camden Passage antique market. I was really surprised to come away with this Union Jack bunting at a bargain price. Not what you expect in London at all. I think it dates to the 1940s or 50s and is in pristine condition with 27 flags. It wasn't exactly cheap but knowing what this is currently selling for on ebay I know I got a bargain. Mr C has been looking for some of this original bunting for ages for us to use at The Northampton Vintage Fair and we hadn't found any at a reasonable price.

Of course I had to pop in to Cath Kidston to spend some money I had been given for my birthday. I treated myself to this lovely bag which is a great size for shopping.

This large vintage Kilner jar was from Acorn and Will's stand at the fair. I think it looks great used to display some cheerful daffs.

The Bluebell Posy candle smells wonderful and was purchased from 'Made In Pixieland's' beautiful stand.

The large fabric covered box was from Velvet Ribbon's lovely stand.

This rather delicious eiderdown also arrived last week. I originally purchased it with the idea that I would probably sell it. As usual by the time it had been washed and dried on the line I had decided I couldn't let it go and it has joined my ever expanding eiderdown collection.

Mr C and I had a day out a couple of weeks ago visiting places recommended to us by Debbie of Lalabibaby. First stop was Hitchin flea market where I found the old French linen mangle cloth and the pair of vintage Kilner jars.We also stopped off at a lovely cafe and deli for some lunch. I couldn't resist a photo of the window displaying the delicious looking meringues.

We then headed off to Country Matters in Hexton where Debbie sells some of her beautiful handmade quilts. This is a village hall which has been turned in to an Aladdin's Cave of vintage and hand made treasures and a lovely tea room. I found the red vintage shopping basket and the old pond yacht. On our way home we stopped at a house clearance shop and I picked up some pretty cups and saucers and old tin sandwich box. All in all it was a lovely day out so thanks Debbie for all the recommendations.

Finally on Sunday I was very spoiled by my lovely girl. These beautiful flowers were delivered to me on Sunday morning and I love them. They are stunning pink roses from Jane Packer, displayed in a pretty pink hat box. They are still going strong and look as good now as when they were delivered.

In the afternoon we headed off to Canon's Ashby which is our local National Trust property.It was as beautiful as ever and we wandered around the house and gardens.I love this gate and think I have probably shared a photo of it in a previous post.

The views from the garden are stunning and it is so peaceful. I would definitely recommend a visit if you get the chance. There is also a lovely tea room and shop as well as a second hand book shop. I managed to find a pile of old Ladybird books very cheaply which are destined to be turned in to more bunting to decorate the next fair.

Vintage Florals

2011-03-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

Mr C has been framing some of my old classroom prints this week. Some will be sold but this one I am keeping as it is one of my favourites. They look great in old frames painted with chalky paints .

This is a gorgeous barbola fire screen I bought from Vicki of Ticklepenny Vintage at the Northampton Vintage Fair last Saturday.

I also treated myself to this pretty handmade cushion from 'Vicky Loves Vintage' also at the fair. The duvet cover was a surprise find in TK MAXX last week. They had quite a few Cath Kidston duvet covers and pillow cases at bargain prices.

The pretty floral Vernon Ward picture was another buy from Vicki of Ticklepenny Vintage. It has a lovely frame and Mr C gave it a quick coat of paint to smarten it up. It has now joined the other Vernon Ward pictures dotted around the stairs and landing.

The two small ones below are my favourites.

I have had a few lucky finds in charity shops in the last couple of weeks. I spotted the old dolls pram and assorted dolls including a Rosebud and Roddy doll being unloaded outside a charity shop as I went past. I popped in and the ladies were unpacking three bin bags full of old dolls which had been been owned by an old lady. The pram is very sweet but the hood is sadly disintegrating. I am not sure what I will do with it but it is good for displaying vintage dolls and teddies.

Finally the 'pot' below which was another charity shop find has been put to good use holding the pretty azalea some friends at work gave me for my birthday.

Northampton Vintage Fair

2011-03-20T08:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a great day, beautiful weather, lovely people both sellers and customers and lots of gorgeous vintage goodies all topped off with delicious home made cakes and lots of tea. Before I go any further I need to apologise as I have only captured a flavour of all the wonderful stalls in these photos. However I know lots of fellow bloggers will be posting more photos over the next few days so between us we should have pictures of all of the stalls to share. There were lots of gorgeous stalls as usual with some really great new sellers too so sorry if I haven't managed to include you here.

I made use of my Lloyd Loom shelves for display and vintage coronation beakers on the tea tables.

This was Debbie's lovely stall, lots of interesting little vintage pieces and homemade gift boxes and tags.

Lindsey from Elsie Sparrow brought her bike along again.

Karen from Tilly Rose had the most beautiful stall in gorgeous spring colours with lots of floral hand made goodies.

Tracey came along for the first time with her hand made fabric and wooden hearts.

Jo from Hesta Nesta had an amazing array of lovelies as usual, this was just one small shelf.

Sarah Jane had an array of vintage goodies and delicious hand made cup cakes.

There was lots of wonderful fabric on many of the stalls, sorry I am not sure which stall this great collection came from.

I had a lovely day and was lucky enough to have time to catch up with lots of fellow bloggers including Debbie from Lalabibaby, Dreaming Of the Simple Life who was next to me. She had made the most beautiful patchwork bedspreads. She has posted some great photos on her blog as has Sharon from Clover Cottage who was our official photographer for the day. I am sorry I haven't included photos of every stall but Mr C disappeared with my camera at some point in the day. Thank you to everyone who came along yesterday and made it such fun. Hopefully we will see you all at the next fair on 21st May.

See You At The Fair

2011-03-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

Well it has finally arrived, the day before the fair. We had lots of good intentions about not leaving everything to the last minute but as usual this week has been one of frantic activity. Now the day has almost arrived there is a feeling of excitement mixed with the usual bit of anxiety about people not turning up or the weather being awful. Anyway I am sure if it is as much fun as the last three it will be a great day. It will be lovely to catch up with lots of bloggy friends a well as regular customers. I will be back in a few days with hopefully lots of lovely photos to share.

Birthday Weekend ( Part Two)

2011-03-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

On Friday I had a day's holiday from work and Mr C and I drove down to Hertfordshire to explore. We headed for Berkhamsted, somewhere we hadn't visited before. First stop was this lovely shop, 'Home and Colonial'. Four floors of beautifully displayed antique and vintage items as well as lovely shabby chic home wares and gifts.

The 'Attic Cafe' on the top floor was wonderful. The setting was amazing, enormous floor to ceiling sash windows overlooking the street, high vaulted ceilings, vintage furniture and advertising pictures. Oh and the food was delicious too !

The top picture was an enormous and beautiful advertising poster, and the Zebo poster was also a large original displayed above the window.

Further down the street we found another little antique centre full of quirky pieces.A few of my purchases are propped up outside. I found a pretty basket, a dainty sugar pink clothes airer, and a yellow handled rolling pin amongst other things. We then headed off and explored Hemel Hemstead Old Town and found more antique shops before finally heading home with some lovely purchases.

This pretty vintage American rose postcard was amongst one of my finds last week I also purchased this pretty rose and heart hankerchief. It appears to be a vintage one from the fabric and has no label on it. However it is so Cath Kidston in style I am wondering if it is one of her designs, if you recognise it please tell me.

I have picked up a few old glass apothecary jars over time, one of which I decorated with vintage sailing yacht decals last year. These two have finally had the same treatment using vintage American rose decals too. They make great storage for lotions and potions in the bathroom.