Jubilee Celebrations and Latest Vintage Finds

Last Saturday was the Vintage Fair and Jubilee Garden Party at The Spinney Hill in Northampton. It was an an amazing day , hot sunshine, endless crowds of visitors to the fair and lots of beautiful stalls of vintage loveliness. We all enjoyed the sunshine and a few glasses of Pimms and caught up with friends.

The pub was decorated with bunting and floral displays and vintage cars were parked in the car park. 

The stall holders brought along a wonderful array goodies.

Lots of colourful kitchenalia and seasonal deck chairs.

I found a couple of additions for my expanding tin collection.

I also bought this lovely retro sun lounger that was put to good use as soon as I got home.

Yesterday was our first vintage fair in Stamford , held in the grand ballroom at the Arts Centre.

Lots of lovely kitchenalia again.

Wonderfully decorated stalls with fantastic wares.

The Arts Centre is in a great location in the centre of Stamford and has a lovely cafe inside.

There was a great variety on offer including home wares,clothes, fabrics and haberdashery as well as some gorgeous French vintage pieces from Charente Vintage.

I couldn't resist this small yellow airer from Amanda of Charente Vintage. It is a perfect match for my old yellow cupboard.

I bought yet another basket !

I love the picture on this old Coronation tin. The floral tin at the back is actually just a lid which I bought from Bryony who always has amazing things. I loved the colours and the flowers and was happy to give it a home.

Also from Bryony I bought this lovely chocolate box lid dating I guess from the 1930s. I am not sure what it is with Bryony and her stall but two weeks running I have bought lids from her !

This large vintage French cherry jar has to be my favourite purchase from yesterday. It was another purchase from Amanda along with the coffee tin and the lovely big blue tin. The red roses tin and Coronation tins were bought at the garden party the week before.

This lovely soy wax, freshly cut roses candle was another purchase from the garden party fair. The quality of these soy scented candles is amazing and they smell wonderful.

Finally a piece of beautiful fabric I purchased from Wend of Ticking Strips. My fabric stash is growing and one day I will find the time to start using it . 

I hope you are having a relaxing Jubilee weekend and enjoying the celebrations despite the weather. I have spent today relaxing in front of the TV watching the coverage and slightly relieved we decided against going down for the flotilla today. All being well we will be heading to London on Tuesday to try and see some of the procession.

Northampton VIntage Fair and Jubilee Garden Party

Tomorrow is the Vintage Fair and Jubilee Garden Party in Northampton. It is being held in the Spinney Hill pub garden. There is loads of parking and regular buses stop frequently right outside. It is shaping up to be a fabulous day with over 40 sellers, lots of sunshine, home made cakes as well as Pimms and lemonade. It would be lovely to see if you get the chance to pop along.

New Addition

Last week Mr C returned home with this little chap. He has one eye missing but apart from that is in pretty good condition. He is made by Pedigree and I think is stuffed with straw. I really didn't need another one of these but can't  seem to say no or to bring myself to part with them once I acquire them.

Him and his friends now seem to be taking over our front room !

Yesterday we braved the grey skies and set off for a nearby village for it's open garages day. Most of the residents set up sales tables outside their houses or in their garages. It was great fun following the map around the village and getting the chance to rummage through all sorts of treasure. I spotted this lovely vintage hand made wool rug straight away and was more than happy to part with £4 to take it home with me. It has now found a home in font of the fire.

This large Fortnum and Mason basket was another find from the same cottage. I couldn't believe my luck when I spotted this along with the rug. 

We also found this large floral Vernon Ward in it's original frame.

Mr C found me this French storage jar with it's bright red clip.

Other finds included this large stone ware jar, great to hold cut flowers, two Medici books, a vintage book showing you how to make paper flowers and a lovely old framed photo of the village.

Mr c also found this pile of yellow Jasper Ware and other assorted china including the pretty 1930s tea plates.

I was also pleased to find an old peg bag full of vintage wooden dolly pegs. They are now bundled  up with cheerful gingham ribbon . 

I am keeping my fingers crossed the rain will disappear and the sun will come out later in the week. It is the Jubilee Vintage Fair and Garden Party at The Spinney Hill Pub garden in Northampton on Saturday. The weather forecast is looking pretty promising so hopefully we will be lucky.

Buckingham Vintage Fair

I hope to see you at the fair tomorrow. Buckingham is a new venue for the fair but the ballroom at the old town hall should be a perfect place for lots of lovely sellers to display their vintage wares. Home made cake and tea will be available as always.

Floral Finds

I have discovered and re-discovered some pretty floral bits and pieces in the last week or two. First of all I treated myself to this lovely Worcester Ware tin from Louise Loves. I have long admired these rosy tins with their red lids but frequently the roses are more yellowy orange than red and it's the red ones I particularly like.

This little lamp with it's shade covered in a patchwork of vintage rosy eiderdown fabric has been tucked away in a cupboard. I bought it a long time ago thinking I would probably sell it at some point. I re-discovered it at the back of a cupboard the other day and decided to give it a home, at least for now.

I bought these pretty tea towels from Primark last week.

They cost a couple of pounds which has to be a bargain as they are lovely and soft as well as pretty.

These three miniature butter knives were another recent find. I have never seen any so small before and they are really sweet. They are a lot smaller than usual vintage butter knives you find. The larger green knife is a Cath Kidston knife just to give you an idea of scale.

This little embroidered mat was a 10p bargain I found at a table top sale on Saturday.

The sugar bowl on the right is another recent boot sale find. I already had the other bowl and one odd tea cup in this design. I don't know what the pattern is as none of the pieces are marked but I love it and am always on the look out for more pieces.

Finally more spring bulbs, this time some cheerful tete-a-tete in the old marmalade jar. The basket of white hyacinths was a £4 bargain from M&S reduced from £13. I can't wait for them to flower. I am really not sure why they were reduced as when I have been back since they are back to full price.

I hope you are enjoying the lovely sunshine, sadly I am stuck indoors at work all day but at least it means coming home while it is still lovely and light in the evening. The rest of the week will be busy as Mr C finishes off last minute jobs to prepare for the first vintage fair in Buckingham on Sunday. Hopefully the weather will stay fine and people will pop along and support the fair.

Lots Of Treats

I have been very spoiled over the last week. On Monday it was my birthday and Mr C surprised me with this gorgeous tin I had admired at the Northampton Vintage Fair on Saturday.

Last week a beautifully wrapped parcel arrived from the lovely Nicki of Homebird. I had won her fabulous giveaway and received this wonderful array of goodies.

Whilst I was busy at the fair my lovely girl put some of the baking goodies to very good use. She made me some of the lovely vanilla cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery cook book. She used the cute little flags Nicki had sent me and tried out using an icing bag for the first time. These were an early birthday treat and I am afraid were all gone by my actual birthday !

I found some lovely things at the fair

including this gorgeous vintage eiderdown in amazing condition. This bird design seems to be really popular at the moment so it was great to find an original piece.

Sticking with the bird theme, I found this very cute tin too.

On Monday I received some lovely cards and gifts

these pretty Cath Kidston tins and bag amongst other things from my lovely girl.

Mr C and I had a day out and stopped off in the pretty town of Oakham to have tea at a lovely vintage cafe next to the church. There were beautiful flower arrangements on every table using different vintage containers.

Back to the fair, I also found this sweet patchwork cushion

some gorgeous vintage French fabric from Wend of Ticking Stripes

And this pretty 1950s musical jewellery box from Carol of Sara Carol Makes.

The fair was a great success, busier than ever but still great fun and very friendly. It was lovely seeing lots of friends and meeting new people too. There are more photos over on the fair blog.