Latest Vintage Acquisitions

I'm pleased to announce that car boot season is now in full swing in Sheffield, and I went to my first one of the year yesterday. It took an hour to get in (my poor knee hurts today from all that clutch control in loooong queues!), but myself and Beatrix certainly enjoyed getting back into searching for vintage treasures, haggling and chatting to the stallholders once again. And eating meaty treats (Bea, not me).

Here's what we came home with.

First of all - and I think this has to be my star buy of the day - some more Dean Enid Blytons for my small but growing collection. I have never read The Magic Faraway Tree, and it was one of the books read by another group of the Pretty Nostalgic Vintage Book Club while we were reading The Wind in the Willows in Sheffield, so I'm very pleased to have a copy in my collection at last. Will it make me have psychedelic dreams?

There was even a makeshift bookmark inside one, on very 1970's paper!

Here is my Dean & Son collection as it stands now.

Next, and speaking of The Wind in the Willows, here are two Ladybird books I snapped up. The first has gorgeous illustrations and makes a wonderful introduction to the story for young readers, and the second replaces a copy I had as a child, and which my now-forgiven mother gave away with a great deal other of my children's books when I was away at university. I've nearly bought them all back now! I know I had another Ladybird Disney book, and it was blue, but I can't remember what it was. I'm inclined to say Peter Pan. I do remember that they came from Woolworths! 

"The clever men at Oxford

Know all there is to be knowed

But none of them knows half as much

As intelligent Mr Toad!"

There was a shiny motor car like this one in the car park at the car boot sale yesterday. Fate! Poop poop!

More books. I have never owned these two Beatrix Potter Ladybirds before but I think I have read them, so can only assume I borrowed them from the library when very small. The photo illustrations are nothing like Potter's drawings but are still rather lovely.

A collection of Ladybirds, scooped up at 50p each. It's quite rare to find them these days.

This decoupage had to come home with me. This is my very favourite of the Mrs Tiggywinkle illustrations, because she looks so cheeky! In fact she reminds me a little of my gran! This will look splendid on my gallery wall along with my Beatrix Potter Alice in Wonderland picture. 

Lastly, some linens, which reminded me of both a Spring day and the talented Jenny of The Custards. Apologies for the pre-wash photos...

And here they are, resplendent and clean on the washing line, after I'd done my own Mrs. Tiggywinkle act. Not bad for 25p each. 

So after that quite literary acquisitions update, have you found any treasures recently?

Guest Post: Beautiful Clutter on Vintage Children's Books

Welcoming my good friend, fellow tea supper and collector of pretty treasures, Jem, of Beautiful Clutter...

Charity shops in general can be treasure troves for magpies like me, but charity bookshops are fantastic places!  Books have been my chief addiction for as long as I can remember, as a child it didn’t take me long to work out that by hunting for the books I wanted in the local charity bookshop my pocket money would stretch that much further.  Today these are where I tend to find most of the vintage and retro children’s books I come home with – especially with jumbles and car boot sales thin on the ground in my area.

My reading diet is generally a mixture of classics, contemporary fiction and fantasy – so the old children’s books I find are a brilliant palate cleanser between lengthier reads, besides which they put me in such a cheerful mood. I recently re-read my whole Beatrix Potter collection – one of the many things Anna and I have in common is a love of Miss Potter – as a January blues beater, and it worked! I think the NHS ought to look into handing out bundles of half a dozen childhood favourites to everyone having a miserable time in hospital, I can’t testify to their effectiveness as a painkiller but as a mood-booster they score very well!

With anything second (or third, or fourth!) hand comes a quirk or two; I’ll often find an exuberant crayon annotation, dog-eared pages, or a handwritten dedication on the inside front cover. Once I found a perfectly flat daisy, obviously left over from a flower-pressing experiment, in the middle of an Enid Blyton book, which made my heart sing.  These little things just add to the charm, because in general old copies of children’s books are beautiful things – the vivid covers, the illustrations inside, even the typography - are all wonderfully nostalgic. It seems funny to say that when most of the books I pick up were printed decades before I came into the world, but I’ve always felt I was  born into the wrong era!

There is a line in one of my favourite films ‘You’ve Got Mail’ from Kathleen Kelly (played by Meg Ryan) the owner of The Shop Around the Corner. Her children’s bookshop in New York is under threat of closure with a behemoth of a discount bookstore opening across the street, she said something that has always stayed with me:

‘I started helping my mother after school here when I was six years old. And I used to watch her. And it wasn’t just that she was selling books, it was that she was helping people become whoever it was (that) they were going to turn out to be. Because when you read a book as a child it becomes part of your identity in a way no other reading in your whole life does . . .’ 

To my mind she hit the nail right on the head, and I think that goes some way to explaining why children’s books are so very special!

Thank you for taking the time to read my ramble! Another thank you to Anna for having me, I hope she is having a lovely time of her well-earned break!

Jem xXx

Oh Jem, you write so poetically about the wonders of these childhood delights! A whole world within each, with many more memories besides. I'm off to lovingly stroke my Enid Blyton collection. Thank you for sharing your lovely collection with us.

A Most Serendipitous Vintage Find

It was one of those strange weeks last week where all routine goes out of the window. I was lucky enough to benefit from a snow day on the Monday, and then my working days for the rest of the week were shuffled round, and so it was I found myself ambling round Chesterfield Flea Market on a Thursday.

Having arrived with my parents, and stopped off for a quick chinwag with Debs of Once Was... Beatrix and I soon wandered off on our own, noseying at stalls packed with vintage crockery, lace and linen, books and brass.

Bea pulled me over to one particular stall having cottoned on to the potential for fuss and attention from three male stallholders (such a flirt) and it was there I spotted this.

I could tell it was Beatrix Potter, but couldn't immediately recognise the scene. All I knew is that any picture by Ms. Potter depicting guinea pigs was meant to be mine. Anyway, at three pounds I took the curious framed print home, did some scouting and pootling about on the internet, and lo and behold, it turns out to be a picture of the scene from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in which Bill the lizard is bundled down the White Rabbit's chimney, and where he is booted out again by a rather enlarged Alice. Potter seems to have added the guinea pigs herself, as they don't appear in the book.

I may have done a happy jig at this discovery, as it so happens that not only am I a huge fan of all things Alice and Beatrix Potter, but I have been known to impersonate Bill the lizard's terrible Cockney accent in the Disney film ("Why, guv'nor, I've cleaned more chimneys...") and when life throws situations at me that I can neither explain nor do anything about, you'll often hear me muttering, "Well, there goes Bill..." (I may also have a slight infatuation with the dodo - "No co-operation, no co-operation at all.")

A most serendipitous and interesting find; this one will be joining my new collection of pictures on my alcove wall. Once it's had a good clean and I've untaped the print to see if it has anything else to tell me, of course!

Junk Genius: A Book Review

Junk Genius: Stylish Ways to Repurpose Everyday Objects, with Over 80 Projects and Ideas, by Juliette Goggin and Stacy Sirk. 

I stumbled upon this upcycling craft book on Amazon while adding others to my wishlist. I hadn't heard of it before and wondered why, only to realise my discovery must have been an early one, it only having been published in September, as it's popped up in several craft magazines since! So when a Waterstones voucher came my way, I knew exactly what I wanted to spend it on.

You may recognise Juliette Goggin's name as she's a regular on the channel 4 tv programme Super Scrimpers, in which you'll find her patiently showing young sorts how to makeover their clothes and home furnishings. Her career includes designing her own gift and home collection, and sourcing products for names such as Cath Kidston and French Connection. 

Stacy Sirk works in product development alongside some huge brands, such as Urban Outfitters, Macy's and Nike. The pair wrote this book from opposite sides of the pond, reminding me of another very successful craft book of 2012! Terminology throughout the book is primarily American with the British alternative term in brackets, and this pleased me, because we all want to feel a book is written 'for us'. 

 The first section of this rather sensual (yes, I said sensual) hardback is dedicated to 'finding junk'. This reminded me of Sarah Moore's Homemade Gifts Vintage Style and I always find it handy to get an author's viewpoint on the best ways to find lovely treasures to upcycle. I get really excited about thrifting, so a section dedicated to this filled me with enthusiasm. There then follows a list of '40 Common Items' - perfect if you're like me and carry round a shopping list of the things you're after, only to become overwhelmed.

The projects themselves are divided into sections, Jewelry and Decoration, Fabric and Trims, Paper and Card, China and Wood, Glass and Mirror, Metal and Wire and Furniture and Furnishings.

So the all important question here, is what did I think of the content - the projects themselves? Well there are certainly some projects where the idea is quite well worn; decorated decanters, for example, covered notebooks and flower brooches. BUT I think that depends on how much a seasoned upcycling/craft book reader you are, and there were many, many more projects that were new ideas to me and got me adding them to my 'to try' list. The tweed laptop bag (recently in Mollie Makes), thimble pendants, bunting made from ties, and a rather beautiful medicine cabinet all gave me 'aha' moments. If you have never tried upcycling before or are new to the vintage-infused lifestyle, you'll find plenty of ideas, presented in a fresh way. 

If you're already a crafter, I'd say many of the projects don't need a how-to, simply the images will be enough to spark the idea and get you thinking of new ways to use thrifted finds. However, if you're new to this sort of thing, or wouldn't know, like me, how to make a laptop bag, you'll find the instructions full and clear. 

The images throughout the book are beautiful, adding value as an idea generator and source of inspiration as much as anything. This book's about introducing you to a new lifestyle, a new way of thinking, as well as providing ideas for a quick gift for Aunt Mildred. I really like the fact that the projects aren't overly feminine. Although many will inevitably appeal only to women, if you're looking for a gift idea for a chap you'll find plenty, and male readers can be inspired too. 

All in all I was really pleased with this book. A brand new hardback isn't something I would have bought without a voucher, so I most certainly would have returned it if it couldn't bring something to my life that others in my collection can't. I'll be using it for inspiration and as a resource for fresh ideas, and think it would be a real revelation to those who are new to the idea of making new from old, especially on a budget. 

It's difficult not to compare it to Granny Chic as there are a number of similarities other than the geographical space between the authors. A curtain embellished with doilies, and a lace-covered lampshade, for example. This is either unfortunate timing - no one's fault, after all - or a bonus, as it just shows how popular vintage and upcycling are right now. For me it was a good thing, and as I don't see vintage and making new from old as a passing craze in my own life, for me, this is just more of the stuff I love to read about. To be fair, this book was published [just] first!

Junk Genius left me with a warm, homely feeling, a renewed excitement about getting out there and tracking down finds - especially little ones to make into quirky jewellery - and lots of new ideas. It would also make that most pointless and hated of things... an 'ideal coffee table book'. Gah. Pretentious, moi? My copy has certainly being hanging around my living room over the festive period, being picked up and passed around. Just what these sorts of books are perfect for. 

Have you stumbled across any cracking craft/vintage books lately? 

A Few Vintage Acquisitions

A few little treasures to show you today! Firstly, thanks to a tip off from Miss Imogen Smith, I have completed my collection of Beatrix Potter 1980s biscuit tins, nabbing the three above from eBay and adding them to the original, my Peter Rabbit tin...

...And the Tom Kitten one I fought very hard for at a car boot sale a few months ago.

These will be handy for storing all sorts of small craft bits. I'm still trying to retrieve the Tom Kitten one from Bea who is storing her spare collars in it! 

Secondly, I was lucky enough to be given some odds and ends of vintage crockery by my aunt, left over from my cousin's wedding in the summer. 

Hopefully I should be able to finish decorating my glass topped desk with these saucers, and will show you the results.

Finally, I added a few more Enid Blytons to my collection.

I'm hoping to get the chance to revisit my childhood and read one or two over the Christmas holidays! (I have so many plans for the Christmas holidays, I really must think I'm having about six months off. In my dreams, eh?)

Have a thrifty Wednesday (last Wednesday before Christmas, hurrah!),

A Spot of Pyrex Thrifting

I may have mentioned in the past that I'm having a bit of a love affair with Pyrex - or versions of it -  and to be honest, I can't see it ending any time soon. I ambled along to Chesterfield flea market yesterday and it was packed, both with people and vintage and antiques. It was a lovely surprise to meet Debs of Two Bones and a Bagel and I added another Enid Blyton to my collection from her lovely stall!

Pyrex being the unbelievably useful stuff that it is my eye is tuned in to spotting it. I noticed these latest finds on the basis of the colours, and only then did a little squee of joy when I saw that they are good old low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass! 

Roses again! This one is Arcopal and the others are Pyrex. 

At £3 for all three with a free chinwag and a dog biscuit for Bea thrown in we both left very pleased!

Have a wonderful Friday,