off to cornwall

I'm heading south for a few days - see you next week!

Vintage map garland from Naturally Heartfelt, a lovely Falmouth-based etsy shop.

lost property finds

 

Another successful week of finds, including discovering a new city full of excellent charity shops! The mouse will be added to my collection of kitchy animals - although he is a money box and far bigger than his friends. The first aid tin is a rare eBay purchase.

Not the most glamourous purchase, but these plate racks are very handy - I already have a yellow one, but this blue and red version is much prettier. It's sat on a vintage Laura Ashley skirt, which will be lovely next summer.

Last weekend I attended my first jumble sale. I thought I was a hardened thrifter, but it was too much for me. There was far too much pushing and too many elbows! But I scored this lovely wooden coat hanger. The vintage wool coat was a charity shop find, and will be making its way to eBay shortly.

And it's not quite the right version, but this vintage Penguin copy of The Great Gatsby will make do until I find the perfect copy!

Linking with Her Library Adventures, Apron Thrift Girl and The Thrifty Groove.

my thrifting wishlist - part two

Do you have a thrifting wishlist? Items that, if you're very lucky, you will come across one day. Preferably tucked in a box in the back of the charity shop, or under a table at a car boot sale, just to make the find that little bit more special.

I've decided to put my wishlist out there into the universe, in the hopes that they will come my way.

Item 2 - retro bride painting
 

 
I came across this image in Living etc magazine a few years ago. The painting of the bride jumped out at me immediately and I was hooked. I love the colours, the style and the unusual perspective of the picture. Occasional eBay searches have come to nothing, but I live in hope that one day she will appear.
 
And isn't this room the perfect setting for her? The simple colour scheme lets her shine, with a hint of the colours echoed in the cermaics on the shelf.
 
What's on your thrifting wishlist?

school never looked this good

Can you believe I used to go to school here? Needless to say, it didn't look anything like this when I was there. It was a run-down old mansion house, complete with the overgrown kitchen garden and tennis court.

They sold off the land a few years ago and turned the garden into a football pitch, which broke my heart. And the house is now for sale for a whopping £2.75 million!

The living room pictured below was one of the class rooms, and I can remember making a totem pole out of cereal boxes that towered up through the stairwell. When I first started primary school here, the first floor was occupied by a costume hire company. The lights were always off, and there were mannequins lining the stairs. Obviously I blame it for my fear of mannequins and statues!

(please excuse the tiny pictures - they are borrowed from the estate agent's website)

lost property finds

It's been a good week or so of thrifting, with a couple of excellent car boot sales. These cheeky little Fisher Price telephones came as a pair - the lady selling them said she had to buy her sons two of everything to avoid arguements! (photo by S)

A selection of my favourite finds (with in a slightly blurry photo I'm afraid).

Up close, there is a lovely 1930s jug, which only cost 50p, the Good Companion jigsaw of a pet show (a very timely subject!), a tiny seagull to hang on the wall (only 20p), a stack of plates monogrammed 'Eglwys Sion M.C. Pontygwaith' (a church in Wales, I think) and a sweet little brass swan.

The little tapestry purse (made with Welsh wool) is now my 'car boot sale purse' (keeping a supply of pennies on hand), little Rum Butter jar and a miniature fiesta ware set.

And another installment in the category of 'the weirdest thing I have ever bought' goes to this reserved sign. I'm planning on putting it in the garden, peaking out from amongst the plants. I certainly got some comments walking round the car boot sale with this!

And finally, the one that got away. I missed out on a set of five blue Le Creuset saucepans, with lids, by mere seconds. It would have been bad enough, except the seller only wanted £1.50 for them! I've been kicking myself for the past week for not being quick enough.

Have you had any near misses lately?

Linking with Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures and Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove.

some favourite things

A round up of the best things I have found on the internet in the last few weeks...
The best advice and inspiration:
Photography 101 - a beginners guide to product photography
A fun tutorial on customising a paint by numbers set by Megan at File Me Away
And check out these fab paint by numbers murals

Interesting snippets:
How eyebrow styles have changed over the decades (via)
Have you read the Design*Sponge newspaper?
The alternative read - Better Book Titles (via)

And something to look at:

Crafty meets MCM - knitting an Eames chair (via)

Beautiful wedding dresses from the archives of The Kyoto Costume Insitute, such as this 1950s stunner (via)

David Bowie's Space Oddity as a children's book (via)

Might have to make a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park for the Donna Wilson exhibition this winter

best in show

It's my favourite day of the year - the local dog show! Despite the name, it's open to all sorts of pets and awards range from 'cutest guinea pig' to 'dog the mayor would most like to take home'. I took S's camera with me to snap some pictures of the crowd, and am really pleased with the results (it's my first go with the fancy camera). Sadly, there were no daschunds to be found, unlike last year when there were hoards of them - so much fun!

And it wasn't all household pets...

thrifting in france

And I'm back! It's been a busy summer, not least because of all the weddings I've attended. Having never been to a wedding before, three of my friends got married this year! All were lovely, of course, but the most glamorous took place last weekend in France.

And it wouldn't be a typical weekend for me without one little thrifting trip. I had been keeping my eye out for signs for brocantes or vide grenier, but not expecting too much (particularly as we didn't have too much spare time). And then I came across this...

Which led to this...

Most of it was your usual junk, but I did manage to find one item - another tin, of course. If you are headed to France, this website, Brocabrac, looks quite helpful for finding flea markets.

And the wedding? It was fabulous of course. We stayed in this lovely house in the centre of town, which had been converted into hostel-style rooms.

And it was a short stroll to the chateau for the reception, with cocktails on the lawn (the view is of the reception venue from the hotel)...

(linking to Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures and Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrify Groove)