Northampton Vintage And Home Made Fair

If you don't like looking at lots of photos then it's probably best to give this posting a miss. I couldn't let Saturday's fair go unmarked though and I wanted to share with you some of the lovely things that were on offer. It was a great day with a lovely friendly atmosphere. The weather was kind to us and the rain only started as we were all packing up.I tried to get plenty of photos this time but sadly some have not come out well including those of Jo's (Hesta Nesta's) gorgeous stall. We had some very bright sunshine which meant that taking photos of some stalls was impossible, so apologies to those people whose stalls I haven't captured.

This was my stall before the doors opened.

Part of Debbie's pretty stall.

Linda and Jake's of Tabby Roo.

Vicky from Tickle Penny Vintage

More of my bits and pieces

I did sell quite a lot but still seemed to come home with loads so if there is anything you see that takes your fancy drop me an email. At some point I will get round to listing things in my Etsy shop but it could be a while !

Carol from Pure Country, she also had a wonderful display of floral pinnies.

Lindsey of Elsie Sparrow, I can never leave her stall empty handed.

Lots of lovely knitted goodies from Carol of Sara Carol Makes. Her mannequin was great.

I love this red mangle but I can't remember which stall it was on. Wend of Ticking Stripes maybe ?

Amy from Blighty Boutique was joined by her mum Annie The Felt Fairy. Amy had made some lovely felt poppies for the poppy appeal.

Caroline's quirky stall, love the tea cosy.

Lovely eiderdown on Debbie's stall, Bella Bella.

I snapped up this wonderful old painted WI glazed notice board. It has been converted in to a display cupboard and I was so excited when I spotted it. I can't remember the name of the lovely lady who was selling it but I know it was Kris's mum. Sadly the pictures of Kris's amazing stall didn't come out.

This was Vicky of Vicky Loves Vintage. I was very tempted by the barbola plaque.

Sharon of Shabby Polka Dots had some beautiful hand made pictures and note books.

Eleanor was selling some gorgeous bags made from vintage fabrics, I am really cross that I didn't snap up one of the yellow rose bags.

And finally another snap of my lovely WI cupboard. It needs a new catch and I may remove the doily shelf edging but will share some more photos of it once it is in it's new home. Mr C also bought the lovely old Moroccan style stained glass lantern to hang in the garden.

Finally I just want to thank all of the amazing sellers for making the event such fun and so friendly. Also thanks to all of our lovely customers who were so appreciative and also so wonderfully friendly. They had travelled from far and wide including one lovely lady who had travelled all the way from Birmingham on the train having read about the fair on my blog.

Weekend Finds And Fair Preparations

This weekend was pretty hectic, with a late night work's event Saturday and getting ready for next weekend's Vintage Fair. Saturday morning Mr C and I popped over to Brackley to the antiques centre and had a wander. Oddly for me the only things I bought were brand new ! The spotty red dog tin above is a replica of an old French tin and came in lots of different sizes.

The large Union Jack cushion was spotted by Mr C and was a bargain ex-display cushion.

I bought the chalk paint in 'Cream' to have an experiment with. It can be layered and waxed to give a distressed effect. It can be painted straight on to any surface with no need for any real preparation or priming and sells itself as 'a paint for girls' ! I tried it out on an old wooden cutlery holder I wanted to give a make over to.

Evenings have been spent making more paper chains to decorate the hall at the Vintage Fair. This is actually quite therapeutic in front of the TV. I bought these spotty ones from the Dot.com gift shop at the last Country Living Fair. I notice they are doing some great vintage ones on their website for christmas.

These are a couple of pressies Mr C received for his recent birthday. The 1930s water colour was spotted by him on Jo's (Hesta Nestas) stall at the last fair in Stamford. I arranged for Jo to send it over for his birthday and he was very surprised and pleased. The book is the new Farrow and Ball 'Living With Colour ' by Ros Byam Shaw. This is a lovely book and I thought it might inspire Mr C to get his paintbrush out again !

The photos are gorgeous and show all sorts of styles from elegant town houses to modern apartments and country cottages.

Finally these were charity shop finds last week. The two saucers were found in a different CS to the sandwich plate and tea plate but they all match.

The Baileys cup was another 50p charity shop find. I have put it up on my dusty kitchen mantelpiece with my old cups and egg cup. The two cups were purchased on ebay some years ago and came from America although I am sure they are English. I think they are from around the 1930s and may also have been made for some sort of advertising purpose. If you know anything about them please let me know. What I do know is that they are quite old and I think the Baileys cups must have been based on them.

Fifties Fashions, Florals and Favourite Finds

I have been busy this week deciding what to take to the Vintage and Home Made Fair in two weeks time. I have been sorting out lovely vintage floral curtains, cosy crocheted blankets and pretty linens. I added a lovely rosy pair of curtains I found this week in a charity shop, they look as though they may be a Sanderson print but I am not sure.

A favourite find this week was this lovely framed print by Lancelot Roberts, I am just deciding where to hang it.

Today I went to Julie's garden sale. Last weekend I bought the pretty gloves, hankies and hand bag from her. Today her and her neighbour did a joint sale in their garden to raise funds for Children in Need. I bought this delicate Shelley tea set. I have tried to find out the name of the pattern but had no luck so if you have any ideas please let me know. I love the pale blue handles on the cups and edging to the plates.

The floral vase was another charity shop find this week,

as was this colourful vintage paper parasol

and fifties framed ballet print.

I also found these wonderful 50s and 60s dress patterns in a charity shop. They are all stamped on the front with the names of the shops in London where they were purchased including John Lewis.

Today is Mr C's birthday and we are all off out tonight for a lovely meal and few drinks . We were hoping for warm sunshine today but sadly the forecast was wrong but we have still had a nice, relaxing day.

Autumn Treats

Lovely shiny conkers picked up on this evening's walk with Josh

The pinks and purples brightening up the garden still

the cheerful faces of sunflowers, these were some I grew from a packet of Cath Kidston seeds bought earlier in the year

Our little pear tree laden with conference pears

Gorgeous cakes bought at Bay Tree Cottage open day today. These are chocolate and pumpkin cake and the most delicious blackberry,mint and ginger cake. It sounds strange but you have to try it, it was one of the finalist's recipes in the Great British Bake Off and the recipe is on the website. This one was made into a large cake rather than the little cup cakes in the recipe and it was decorated with big juicy blackberries.

As always we enjoyed getting out of the town and breathing in the country air, and it was a lovely sunny autumn day.

Inside the village hall we enjoyed tea out of Beryl Woods Ware china and home made cakes and had a browse around the stalls.

Back home and here is the little stool Mr C spotted earlier in the week. It is very grubby but will look perfect after a fresh coat of paint. It has a lovely smooth worn seat and chunky rustic legs.

This morning I caught up with Julie, a lovely vintage jewelery and accessories seller at our local collectables fair.

I treated myself to this original 1950s tapestry handbag which I have already used this afternoon. Some of you may have seen Cath Kidston's version of this in her latest collection. I had my eye on it but couldn't justify the price tag. This is the real thing and at a fraction of the price.

I also bought these beautiful silk handkerchiefs , two of them vintage Liberty .

The silk hanky with the pretty rosy blooms around the edge and the floral blue chiffon one will be staying with me . The sequin applique flowers and butterfly and corsage brooches are very pretty. I also bought some unusual vintage wooden Czechoslovakian hand painted buttons and a pair but not quite (have a closer look) of crocheted gloves. Some of these treasures will be coming with me to the vintage fair on the 23rd as long as I don't convince myself that I need to keep them myself.