• Gingerbread house finds - sewing - vintage

    Vintage tins

    June 19, 2011 - By 

    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…

  • nursery - playing - vintage

    The vintage nursery

    June 12, 2011 - By 

    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.…

  • Cath Kidston - Gingerbread house finds - handmade - vintage

    Vintage child’s boat

    June 5, 2011 - By 

    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…

  • vintage

    Vintage wooden items

    May 29, 2011 - By 

    I’ve been on the look out for some vintage wooden items to decorate our home. I love old advertising and I’ve found some great items. First up is this vintage crib board advertising Wills’ Golden Virginia tobacco. My grandmother worked for Wills’ before she got married so I thought this would be a nice link to her. This little polish brush is in great condition. I love that it is proudly stamped ‘British Made’. Do you remember when people had little boxes next to their phones so you could make a contribution for using the phone? They belong with rotary…

  • vintage

    Vintage thingummyjigs

    May 22, 2011 - By 

    I have two completely different items to show off this week. The first item I’m very proud of. Can you guess what it is? I found it in a local charity shop for pennies. My husband hates it so won’t let me have it on display but I love it. I didn’t know what its’ purpose was until I saw one on Eastenders. Dot Cotton had one in her kitchen and it is a kitsch string dispenser! When I have the perfect 1950s kitchen I will have it on display. The second item I need your help with. I fell…

  • Gingerbread house finds - handmade - sewing - vintage

    Vintage embroidery

    May 8, 2011 - By 

    I’m a bit of a hoarder, probably not surprising that I decided to become a curator. It started off with rubbers, then My Little Pony stickers, vintage postcards,  and since I’ve been a grown up, fabric. My hoarding instincts got so bad I had to limit the number of fabric shops I went to, only going in if I needed something specific. However there is one exception to the current moratorium on fabric buying and that is vintage embroidered napkins and tablecloths. I can’t bear to see something that has been stitched by hand being sold for 50p so I…

  • vintage

    Thrifted royal goodies

    May 1, 2011 - By 

    I’m a sucker for Royal memorabilia and have a growing collection of royal mugs. There always seems to be a plentiful supply in charity shops and now it’s a case of filling in the gaps in my collection. Unfortunately we don’t have anywhere to display them just yet so they’re boxed up until we move to a bigger place. I found this lovely commemorative ceramic mug, which is Burleigh Ware, made in Burslem, England. The mug was produced for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on the 2nd June 1953. The mug is common and the glaze is cracked so…

  • vintage

    Opposites attract

    April 25, 2011 - By 

    We’re currently on holiday so I have been lucky to have several new charity shops to browse. Last week we were in Teignmouth where I found this beauty: a vintage Tonka truck. I was strangely excited when I saw this as it wasn’t plastic but metal. There’s a little bit of rust but nothing that can’t be fixed and it’s perfect for Edward to play with in his new sandpit! It’s quite big so I couldn’t hide it in my handbag but fortunately my husband liked it so was happy to buy it. We’re currently on the Isle of Wight…

  • vintage

    Too many toys?

    April 18, 2011 - By 

    I scored some amazing bargains in the charity shops of Crouch End for Edward. A lovely wooden Noah’s Ark with all the figures for £4. It’s made by BigJigs and sells for £29.99 so I’m very pleased. A wooden shape sorter. Edward keeps taking the lid off so he’s not quite using it the way you’re meant to but it’s lovely watching him play with it. I bought it for £1. Finally we picked up some vintage Beatrix Potter books for our collection, 50p each. My husband may have *cough* slightly told me off for buying Edward more toys so…