At the weekend we headed to the South Bank for Vintage @Southbank. We were lucky enough to go last year when it was at Goodwood and knew to head straight for the Vintage High Street and Vintage Marketplace. There were lots of goodies to look at, from clothes to accessories to furniture. I visited the Cath Kidston pop up shop and bought a new fabric patch to add to Edward’s badge blanket. The displays were lovely as usual. I always enjoy looking round a Cath Kidston shop and I spotted some children’s bags made from beautiful vintage style animal fabric…
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I have a growing collection of fab vintage games which I pick up whenever I see them. Whilst on holiday I had to limit myself to what we could fit in the car boot. I think I’m drawn to old toys as my grandparents had a selection, kept in a vintage enamel bread bin. Whenever we visited I would rush upstairs to get them as they were hidden in their wardrobe. It was full of wonderful toys: a chunky jigsaw, colouring pens stored in an old shortbread tin and metal toys from East Germany, some of which had belonged to…
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I was recently asked if I would like to try some DYLON fabric dyes and I umm-ed and ahh-ed for a few minutes, quickly racking my brain just how I could use them. I soon remembered that I had always wanted to dye a woollen blanket so purchased a beautiful vintage cream blanket with a Snugdown label (which shows it was produced by the Co-operative Wholesale Society). How to use fabric dye on wool You will need a wool blanket and some Dylon fabric dye (for hand use rather than machine) The blanket I bought was huge so I cut…
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Last week we were on holiday in Teignmouth in South Devon, an area full of charity shops. Despite taking a bag full of toys with us, Edward did very well. He has just discovered tractors and I picked up a collection of Bob the Builder vehicles in perfect condition from a gem of a PDSA shop. Edward spent many happy hours lying on the floor pushing his new tractors around when the weather turned wet. My favourite shop was a Cancer Research shop in Newton Abbot which specialised in second hand baby and children goods. The shop was beautifully presented…
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I’m not sure how it started but I became obsessed with having a vintage kitchen cupboard. You know the kind, with lots of drawers and cupboards and a lead lined box to store your milk in. Somehow I ended up with two, greedy I know. Vintage kitchen cupboards The first I found in one of my favourite vintage shops in Exeter. The shop was stuffed full of antiques but they had a couple of kitchen cabinets and the decorated glass panels really caught my eye. It was made by Blue Gate Products Ltd. A ‘Pride o Home’ Unit, made in…
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I’ve had a fantastic few days with my family on the Isle of Wight where I got to explore the local charity shops at my leisure. There were a couple of items I wanted – and knew I would be able to find – and had loads of fun – charity shop heaven! I needed a vintage wool blanket to try the new Dylon dyes I’ve recently been sent and found a beautiful cream blanket with green edging by Witney. Hopefully I will be brave enough to cut it up and dye it. I couldn’t resist this lovely 1950s glass…
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I’ve been on the look out for a suitable tin for my button stash. I inherited a great collection of buttons from my grandmother, the buttons survived but not her old tin. Since then they’ve been stored in various boxes and even an old sweetie jar. Along the way I’ve picked up some lovely tins: But none have been large enough, until I found this old Cadbury’s Chocolate Biscuit tin in a charity shop. I think it really complements my vintage button stash and looks great alongside all my vintage thread boxes, patterns and ric rac. I’m linking up…
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The steal of my year was three vintage jigsaws for just 10p. I did query the woman who said 10p but obviously she didn’t see the potential in the jigsaws that I did. I happily handed over my 10p coin and took the jigsaws home. The vintage nursery The jigsaws were all made from thick board, cut into a few pieces and showed a cat and a dog, both in a similar style, and a third jigsaw of a clown character. I knew that the cat and dog would look amazing if they were framed and hung in Edward’s nursery.…
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I have a favourite shop in Totnes, Devon, which is stuffed full of vintage treasures. On our last visit I picked up a lovely vintage Star Yachts boat. Only the wooden hull remained, the sails, wooden masts and fittings were gone. Vintage wooden boat Star Yachts was founded just after the First World War by Franz Marie Denye, a Belgian refugee who had fled Belgium at the beginning of the war. Originally a builder of full size ships, he decided that models would provide a livelihood for him and his family. The works site was compulsorily purchased to clear the…
