Wednesday 29 February 2012

An amazing adventure and a kitty in a colander.

What a day!
We (the other Oooh Betty and moi) have travelled afar.
We have thrifted and shopped for antiques up Yorkshire way.
I would like to tell you about a lovely lunch and coffee but alas, we were too busy miss lizzy for all that eating and drinking malarkey.
Before I show you my treasures I must show you some pictures of a great antique shop we visited. It was like a tiny piece of heaven.



Plenty of orange.



Loads of West German pottery.



Oh how we could have spent!! But of course, we are far too thrifty for that.
The treasures I did return home with were all thrift shop finds.



An Arthur Wood cheese dish.
Some vintage tins, they are growing on me.
Two 1950s desert dishes.
A totally cool retro board game 'the house that Jack built'
Homemade letter shelves.

I am so pleased with the little homemade shelves. As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what they were destined to be.
Absolutely great for display purposes and I will use them in my craft area when not in use at the fairs.



Do I paint them?

The other Oooh Betty didn't do to badly either.



That girl loves her glass!

The most fascinating find of the day, for me, was this and she is mine.



It is an antique Topsy Turvy doll. I am absolutely in love with her (and her).
Such gorgeous faces and a really pretty print dress.
If anyone knows anything else about these dolls I would love to know more. This sort of thing is not really my forte but as you know I am mad for vintage toys.
I hope someone can tell me her story.
I already know that I am not going to be able to part with her.

As you will know if you read yesterday's blog I had a strange day of doubt. I am not going to dwell on the tale of woe as I have decided to put it down to experience and move on.

So, I will just show you what I did last night. This sort of thing takes my mind off any worries.



So relaxing, sat in front of crappy tv, cutting, sticking, packaging and generally messing about with vintage haberdashery bits.







I will have a stall on two fairs this month so I am trying to be as productive as possible which is more often than not, not very productive at all.

Last but not least.



My kitty has decided to sit and sleep in my yellow colander. I use this colander for my fabric scraps so it is nicely lined for his little stinky bottom.
What do you folks do to make a bad day turn good?

Thanks for reading. X

Location:Rochdale (not incl kitty)

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Has anyone else fallen foul of a scam?

Today was going to be book related but I have felt it necessary to let off steam regarding a most unfortunate event.

I, a skeptic and a cautious Colin, have possibly fallen foul to a scam. I have not lost millions of pounds, I don't have millions of pounds to lose so that would be impossible.
It is not a scam of epic proportions eg, a lottery from foreign lands. It is not worthy of a Sky news headline banner. It is however worthy of me forsaking my book club and sharing the story with you.

Facebook is something I have little interest in I must admit. I love all the finding old pals and the craft/vintage side of things, don't get me wrong. But I seem to air my thoughts on very few an occasion. I like my blog and just lately Twitter for that side of my life.
Anyhows, I have a friend that was supporting a cause and thought I may like to get involved. It involved a person on a low income trying to raise money for a very sad and personal reason.
I don't wish to go in to too much detail as it would be unfair.
The person was well off their target amount and had little hope of reaching it via the avenues she had chosen. I decided to donate money directly (not a huge amount I am quite poor myself) and some of my handcrafted goods. The crafty bits would be sold and in a bidding style sale and any proceeds would be donated directly.
These are the items.



Just this morn I discovered a comment on the fundraising group wall that immediately raised alarm bells. I felt that I had to contact the aforementioned comment maker and find out more, I did not want to be involved in a scam of any sort.
I have received an email back and it does seem that although the fundraiser has suffered a personal tragedy it does not warrant a fundraiser and the money, quite possibly, is not going to be spent wisely (so to speak).
I am now in a kind of quandary as to what to do about my crafty donations. I don't want to cause aa hoohaa or any distress. Do I withdraw the items? Will I be letting down the bidders, surely it is their choice to donate??
I hope that I have not said too much and that I have not caused any upset but surely a blog is a forum to express what is happening in ones life and how one is feeling about said things.
I think I am full of doubt today.....

Monday 27 February 2012

Favourite Folksy Finds

Pinks and greys.


Oranges and yellows (my fave).


Black and White.



Blues and greens.



Just a quickie today.
See you tomorrow for Tuesday book club. X

Sunday 26 February 2012

This weekend has mostly been about...

Trying to wake up with the aid of coffee.



Shopping with middling son for chinos (they are back in fashion....big time!).
Lunching at Nero's, tomato and basil soup for me, tune melt panini for middling. More coffee.
Buying new/old ladybird books (London and How To Sew)
Thrifting a chalk and whiteboard easel for littlest, the theory being word practice, the reality being scenes from Star Wars.



Crochet. Using a 'How To' book and following new patterns.



Lounging about on sofa.



Trying out ways of packaging vintage lace etc
Failing at the above due to lack of imagination.
Cooking my fave veggie cannelloni.






















Eating it with piles of watercress on the side.
Drinking lots of decaf tea.
Getting ready to go out on a 'Hen Don't wearing leggings that look like mummified legs.



Going out on said Hen Don't and feeling pleased that I managed to be a designated driver and stay out til after midnight, drink free.
Cutting up and bundling fabric for Folksy.



Listing fabric on Folksy in a very long winded fashion.
Loving my boys and my kitties.



And finally deciding to use my collection of old haberdashery cards.



So simple!
Why didn't I just do that in the first place.
Hope you have all had a fabby weekend.
Thanks for reading. X

Thursday 23 February 2012

Thrifty Thursday and other bits

Spring is in the air. I can feel my S.A.D lifting. (this is something to do with being a misery during winter). I defo have it.


I have had a most wonderful Thrifty Thursday.
I have not actually been out a thrifting. I just fancied a day at home, sorting and nesting.
The sun is out and I feel really happy.
Doesn't it make a difference!

On a thrifty note, I wanted to share a most fabby idea I had.
My smallest boy has lots of books, books that have been bought for him, hand me downs from his big brothers and even some of Mr Bettys and my childhood reads.
I got this crate from Freecycle. It is an old bulb box, probably from a garden centre.



I have tipped it onto it's side so that it has a shelf and the lid makes a handy door. It even has a little latch. Smallest son is most pleased and it has sorted out one of my many storage issues.

My other thrifty project of the day was Bunny painting. I have not actually painted a real bunny, that would be madness. No, I have painted a bunny lamp that I purchased from Next.
I love the bunny lamps but have always deemed them slightly too pricey for my thrifty nature.
I found one in Next for a very good price but I was a bit unhappy with the colour.



I hated the shade for starters, not such a prob...just remove and drop at local charity shop. As for the bunny itself.



Quick lick of perfectly peachy paint, bit of white for the eyes and bobs yer uncle, far more pleasing bunny lamp. Anyone got any ideas on choice of shade??
Since this pic it has gained some black pupils btw

I mentioned previously that I had acquired some art at the Jumble sale.
All the pictures are Fair bound. I do love each of them but they are just 'not me' if you know what I mean.









Vernon Ward, bit a Dallas Simpson (really large print) and another one that I am not sure about but it is very kitsch.
It is a while since I had any art on my stall so I am pretty pleased with myself.

I had intended to knuckle down to some haberdashery packaging this week. I have to admit to being a bit slack and only managing some vintage ribbon reels.



I now need to think about what to do regarding my haberdashery de-stash. I want to make it appealing and saleable, nice packaging and combinations etc.



I have lovely vintage lace and other linens, lovely buttons. I will do a bit of investigating tonight.

Whilst I was painting my bunny I decided to do a few more happy hangers.



I love these. I have sold a few in the past so I really should have done these sooner. I may add some little lavender bags to them and make them just perfect for displaying spring frocks!


I am thinking of joining Pinterest.



I know nothing of it. Is it better than Flickr? Am I better off going on Instagram instead?
It is all too much for me and my PC issues. I need something that works well with the IPad as I have to use the home pc for Flickr and Mr Betty gets all agitated.




I did tidy his desk today so I hope doesn't get too angry about the odd icon that seems to have gone amiss.

I think I have chunnered on enough for one day. You can tell I have lacked human contact today, I can't stop going on!

I hope you have all had some sun, maybe some washing has been hung out? Gardening done?
I will be back with any haberdashery developments, all ideas welcome. If I use your fabby idea I will wing a de-stash selection your way. Xx

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Tuesday book, my first top ten and a sieve full of lace.








MAKING YOUR HOUSE A HOME BY CLARE NOLAN! Lifestyle Editor of YOU Magazine.

I treated myself to this book with my birthday money and I must say that it is one of the best interior books I have ever owned.
It has snippets of my existing style.






And lots of new ideas.

I particularly love the section on 'finding your signature style'.

Bohemian is described as follows; This style is a fantastically free, youthful look with a slight hippy edge to it. It's not so much about the items in the room, but about the room's spirit. Colour and clashes of colour and style are an ingredient of bohemian style, but the heart of this look relies on your own collections and their artful display.

I just love that.

Where do you sit in the style arena? Minimalist (shiver), Modernist or maybe Traditionalist?
I feel I maybe don't need to read the section in the book on 'becoming a hunter gatherer' ;)

Really recommend this to everyone, go buy it!

I have decided to do a top ten. If I like it and you like it I may do some more.
Because I am always collecting things I thought I would list the things I would love to find, the heart stopping items I dream of.






1- Carlton ware owl money box
2- 70s flower power sewing machine
3- Kenner Blythe doll
4- Carlton ware cat cruet (I have the fish but I am very demanding)
5- Dewhurt's SYLKO cotton reel drawers
6- any amount, any pattern, any colour of vintage liberty fabric
7- 70s Staffordshire child's mug with an orange lion design.
8- an Ercol day bed (like that's ever gonna happen)
9- Hornsea 'John Clappison' newspaper print mug....preferably the lion.
10- a dog just like Sophie's






She knows I'm after him!!

Just a brief chunner about my activities today. Breezing past the washing etc and getting straight to the interesting bits (to me anyhows).


A most exciting find.






4 owl mugs, as I call them. These are fair bound as I have a gazillion mugs to my name.





Washing some very musty lace and ribbon, Mr Betty said that the bedroom smelt of loft..
Then hanging it all out to dry.






Planning on packaging little gift packs of vintage haberdashery with the next Fair in mind.
Going to include vintage buttons, fabrics and lace.

Also did a little Oooh Betty work on an old battered music box.






Bit of Farrow and Ball paint and a vintage decal. The little cat decal is my absolute fave. Must find new ways of using them, any ideas?

A very basic makeover on a knitting needle box.







I used my fave Fablon, red with a little peachy dot.

Tomorrow I am at hospital in the morn, just routine thingy majiggy.
Afternoon will see me helping 'the other Oooh Betty' with a mammoth jewel sticking task.
Evening will be spent bundling vintage fabric and decalling (not even a word) some pretty vintage hangers. I love having plans.

Anyone else fancy doing a top ten 'wanted' list? Would love to see if I can help anyone out with their wish list and just have a good nosey. Anyone want the same things as me?

Thanks for reading folks.Enjoy your pancakes. Xx