That car booty feeling is coming on .....

I am lucky in that there is a car boot sale near to me every Sunday morning apart from Christmas Day .... it is under cover in a market so come rain or shine there is always someone there though have to say some days in the winter there are some desperate souls trying to flog even more desperate goods.

Easter weekend can't come soon enough for me, I am ashamed to say not for religious reasons, for my three favourite boots start so let the serious bargain hunting begin!

Ellie and I did pop down to another small one this morning at the Watermill in Barton and we both managed to grab a few goodies.  Ellie spotted a box of Baby Born clothes (I'd missed them so I am quite proud that she is learning fast and she is grasping that she can make her money go much further by spending wisely) and a recorder book.  She has been learning to play at school and on Friday the two classes in her year performed a short concert .... I must admit I was expecting a bit of a racket but they were absolutely marvellous.  They had obviously been practising very hard and hit every note in the right place and all looked very smart and focused.

My goodies were

These little cuties were tucked in the box in the photo below and I didn't realise what they were at first ..... the seller thought they were from the 1930s but although they are dressed in the crinoline lady style I am not convinced that the yarn is that old.  I am thinking more 1950s.  The little dolls all have moving eyes.

From the same seller was this hand made milk jug cover

Fine hand crochet table mat with little cotton circle inserts that have been embroidered

This little crochet dressing table mat has pale pink flowers around the edge

and these two gorgeous little baskets are crocheted in the finest cotton ..... with a little sugar starching they will sit as freestanding decorations

A vintage 1976 Blow Football game ..... only one ball is missing

and some of my favourite Art Deco glass from the 1930s ..... a carnival glass salad bowl

A Sowerby frosted green glass dish in ivy leaf stand

This time next week I will be another year older !    It will be a busy weekend as my daughter is taking me to Hampton Court Palace for the day on Saturday and on Sunday it is the first Buckingham Vintage & Handmade Fair organised by Ann & Trevor. 

Do come along if you are in the area ..... there will be a wonderful array of vintage loveliness on offer from some extremely friendly sellers and of course the event wouldn't be complete without tea and homemade cakes.

I am busy making and popped to the Cath Kidston factory shop at St Neots yesterday for some fabric retail therapy .... much bargains there too as the two floral prints were only £6 per metre

One more week of school and then I have a break until the 10th April ..... much needed I must say.

Don't forget to change your clocks tonight ..... Spring is most definitely here xx

Oh what a beautiful morning ....... oh what a beautiful day

Fingers crossed that Spring has sprung ..... what a glorious day, most of it spent outside with the central heating turned off and the doors wide open.

Loads of this done

the last of my daughter's belongings retrieved from the rental house ... most of which were the children's outide toys so they have been charging around the patio having re-discovered their bikes,  scooters and footballs.

A quick visit to the car boot this morning which was packed with sellers and a few bargains to be had by Ellie and me (yes I indulged with the words of my daughter ringing in my ears .... not more crap mum)

Ellie got a brand new with tags Tatty Puppy to add to her collection and yet another Jacqueline Wilson book.  Both items had shop price tags of £12.99 and we paid just £5 for both ..... as we walked around I was explaining to her how much we had saved and we did a little mental arithmetic to work it all out.

I found a sweet little Lloyd Loom type child's chair .... I have just the fabric for a new seat cushion and hopefully this will accompany me to the Northampton Vintage & Handmade Fair in 2 weeks

and then I found a box of Hornsea Fauna figures .... the lady was selling an old collection which were filthy dirty and had been living in her garage for years.  I debated about buying a few and then thought to hell with it and made an offer for the whole box.  There are thirty in all with only six that have slight damage. 

I am such a saddo and love gently washing things like this ..... here they all are waiting to be sorted into keeps and ones to sell.

Now I am gearing myself up to a busy weekend next week ... my first born is 30 on Sunday and I have no idea how that happened .... how can I possibly be the mother of a 30 year old when in my head sometimes I am still 20 myself (although the old bones would say differently).  He travels down from Glasgow on Friday and we are planning a day out in London and a family meal out on Sunday

This is one of my favourite photos of my two boys ..... my sister was getting married at the time and the eldest seemed to have a penchant for being a bridesmaid ..... he even went to the nursery picnic in the park dressed like it.  No adverse effects from this forray into cross dressing which does make me wonder what today's parents are thinking of by encouraging their offspring to switch gender.  He'll kill me for getting this one out and then stamp on me completely when he sees the one I have found for his birthday card ....... I knew they would come in handy one day ;-)

Hope you have all had a glorious weekend too x

Such a perfect day .....

 ............ well actually a perfect weekend !

Yesterday was the first Northampton Vintage Jumble organised by Ann & Trevor .... the buyers were certainly champing at the bit and when the doors opened at 11 it was manic.  A bit of post Christmas vintage shopping withdrawal I feel and they were certainly quenching their thirst (in the tea room area too ... it took me an hour before I could battle my way through the crowds to grab a cuppa !).

Not complaining though as a lot of old stock was snapped up, did a spot of bargain hunting myself and had catch up chats with the lovely sellers.  Here is a collage of the day ...

On our way home we stopped in Great Doddington to visit Poppy Patch .... a little bit of fabric retail therapy and of course to spend some of my cash

The weekend just got better when I awoke this morning to another beautiful sunrise and sharp frost and trotted off to Hitchin for the Sunday car boot sale.  There I was ambling along having just bagged some vintage cotton reels for a pound when I heard a voice beside me say we will wait 30 seconds.  Wait for what I wondered ..... then it dawned on me that the church bells were ringing and when I turned to my left there stood Eric Knowles and a BBC film crew.  They were filming the next series of Put Your Money Where Your Mouth is.  Just around the corner by the river was another crew with John Cameron.

So good readers if you watch this autumn's series look carefully for a daft old bat in the background with a pink flowery shopping trolley and a sewing box tucked under her arm ;-)

All in all a great weekend doing what I like best which was a great pick-me-up as my OH starts a three day week from tomorrow into March with a whole week off at half term.  He also had a return visit to hospital last week about ongoing problems with his replacement knee .... looks like Mr Surgeon messed up and there is nerve damage so now he goes back for blood tests this week and a biopsy in February with the possibility that they will have to operate again to sort it out.

Keep smiling :-)

Getting ahead of myself .....

Blimey I have excelled myself this weekend and have got the tree and most of the decorations up a day earlier than planned.  Seems strange though this year without the snow outside to give that festive feel.  Yesterday on my walk with the dogs I did some foraging .... some branches for spraying gold, pine cones and some sloes to make some sloe gin .... nothing like a drop of mother's ruin !

I didn't realise till I downloaded the photos that there is a ladybird on the pine cones if you look carefully ... heaven knows where she is now.

I made it to the car boot this morning and did find one lovely bargain .... a set of pretty 1930s pink glass bowls - large fruit bowl & six serving dishes

Can't wait till it gets dark later and I can turn on all the twinklies ready for a peaceful Sunday evening.

Hope you have all had a good weekend x

Sunny Saturday ....

Was up with the larks so decided to take myself off to a couple of car boot sales .... perfect day for it with brilliant sunshine and a warm breeze

My little old heart skipped a beat as I turned off the road into my first car boot which is set in open countryside with poppy fields to one side and sheep grazing on the hillside on the other.  I like this one because there is a good mix of items and lots of "we've been clearing granny's house" type sellers .... my favourite !!

First to be popped into Lala's booty trolley today was the blue coffee set ..... the coffee pot, cream & sugar are Grindley Petal Ware and the cups & saucers are Johnson Brothers

The little box on the front caught my eye and on closer inspection it was obvious that with a midwife for a daughter I had to have it .... she can take it into work and show the new mums ..... this is how it was done pre Cow &  Gate etc.

It is made by Maws who apparently have been in existence for some 200 years and now sell under the Tommy Tippee brand.  The Improved Breast Glass ..... a breast pump from around 1890 ..... must have been sitting in someone's cupboard for a very long time !

Next stop was a ten minute drive away and although it was cram packed today it was mostly stuff for babies and children .... anyone who is a bit cash strapped could kit out an entire nursery and clothe a child for years for very little outlay .... wish car boots had been around when my lot were small - I'd have saved a fortune.

Did manage to pick up the brass candlesticks here and the deco green glass boat dish ... I've seen lots of these but this is the first time I've seen one in a pretty plated basket type stand.

This CB is right next to a PYO so with some time to spare I thought I'd get some strawberries

From polytunnel to punnet to jar .... mmmmmmm

Hope you have all had a sunny Saturday too xx

Busy Busy Busy

Flipping heck it is 2 weeks since I last posted .... the Easter hols seem to have flown by and weren't they glorious .... so much for April showers !

Some good news .... our Royal Family listing on Ebay finished on a wopping £113 and we were absolutely delighted .... 100% of the sale was going to the Japan Tsunami Relief Fund.  While we are on the subject of Royals wasn't it the most heart lifting day yesterday .... only us Brits can do pomp and circumstance like that and have the whole world watching.  Kate's dress was just what I had hoped for .... simple but stylish, traditional and lacey .... I hate meringue type dresses and bustier styles.  We gathered at my daughter's house to watch the proceedings while stuffing sarnies and cakes washed down with a drop of Earl Grey of course.

Today I have been here

This is a new event for me and it is so handy as it is close to home and I must say although footfall was light (must have been the good weather keeping peeps at home I think) I did extremely well and was a good girl and didn't spend too much either.  A lovely cream tea, a jar of homemade Apple Chilli Chutney and these sweet markers for the veg patch.

My remaining stock has been sorted with some heading for Country Matters tomorrow and the remainder packed away until the next Northampton Fair in three weeks time.

Hoping for perfect car booting weather tomorrow .... my favourite one at Stondon started last week and if I can summon the energy there will be three boots to have a good rummage around tomorrow.

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend x

Bumper Car Booty

I just love a car boot .... I will rummage around in other people's cast offs all day long much to the dismay of my children and my dear husband trots behind me carrying the bags !

Our best local ones aren't starting until the end of the month but there is one just up the A1 near Biggleswade so off we went this morning.  It was absolutely heaving with buyers and near enough full to capacity with sellers too.  We wandered around for nearly three hours and I am always amazed at how the time flies when I am engrossed in bargain hunting. 

Would you like to see the booty???

A Betty Pease Gutmann print ..... can you see the similarity with my Lilian Rowles avatar .... Betty was American and painted between 1905 and 1935.  Next is a 1903 print entitled Me Loves OO by Maude Goodman.

Amber glass trinket pots, a Royal Albert cup & saucer, blue Pyrex gravy boat, pretty deco bluebird plate

A tinplate 1950s typewriter, two dolls in Edwardian period costume (they are very Sindy like and perhaps one of you dear readers may recognise them), a knitting bag, child's wooden picnic seat, some embroidered linens

Embroidered linen table mats and matching tea cosy, some more white linen, these two dolls actually came from the flea market on Friday .... they were absolutely filthy but have now had a bath and are looking much better and finally two nice summer skirts for moi.  I did get some other toys for the children and my total spend was £28

The only downside of the morning was that it took an hour & a quarter to get out of the car park because it was so busy ... it was an absolute free for all and the organisers need a good kick up the wotsit for not marshalling everybody out safely.

Whizz of a weekend & a Giveaway

Wow this weekend has certainly disappeared at a rate of knots!  We started on Friday evening with a surprise Silver Wedding Anniversary party for my sister, organised by my nephew, which went off splendidly and she didn't suss anything out.  She was crowing last week that nothing ever gets past her ..... well this one did .....  she was gobsmacked!

I was up early yesterday morning to take DS1 to the railway station for his journey home to Nottingham ... he has been staying with us for 2 weeks so he could be here for the grands birthdays and the party. The rest of the day was spent tidying up but I don't know why I bothered because the grands had a sleepover last night and it was back to square one by this afternoon.  We went off to the car boot with them this morning .... this one has only just started for this season and it was packed but I had to have one eye on them and one on the stalls so I am sure I missed loads of bargains. 

They both did very well .... Ellie is into Roald Dahl stories at the moment and Care Bear soft toys and she found some all by herself .... not bad for a 6 year old (she has her nanny's eye for a deal!).  Charlie found a lovely big megablocks transporter with vehicles and he kept saying he wanted something with a cone in it, then I twigged he wanted an ice cream.

I didn't come away empty handed myself of course and here is my booty

A vintage curtain which has washed up beautifully and will be stashed for a rainy day project

Some FQ of Christmas fabric and there was a whole stall selling fabric to my absolute delight .... Liberty prints at £5 per metre .... well what was a girl to do!

A box of vintage Anchor threads and a wicker basket

We came home via Barton Watermill where we stopped for a coffee & cake.  I was saddened to hear that the Crafty Quilter's shop will be closing down in a couple of weeks but there is an online shop here so please support them if you can.

The postie also brought a nice surprise yesterday morning ..... I won a bag of buttons in a competition from The Button Company via The Sewing Directory  ..... they are both sites that I recommend any crafter to bookmark as a favourite.

I'm planning on visiting my nearest Scrapstore tomorrow morning  .... I have just discovered this via blogland and what a wonderful idea to keep perfectly good arts & craft materials out of landfill ..... I just cannot believe that they would dump this stuff if not for the scrapstores.  I will update on what I find during the week and I'm hoping to get stocked up on lots of bits to keep the children occupied for the remainder of the summer hols.  This week is my week off and I am so looking forward to getting up and slobbing round in my jim jams in the morning .... my day usually starts around 7 am with the first child arriving at 8 am and the last one leaving just before 6 pm.  A massive de-cluttering is called for this week and some painting with a bit of luck.

I have just realised that I am close to my 200th post so a celebration giveaway is called for methinks ..... give me a day or two to get some goodies together and I'll be back xx

A new experience and more Car Boot Loot

I haven't been to the mid week car boot for ages and I'd mentioned to the small boy that I look after that we may go today.  He has been nagging me and his parents ever since and arrived yesterday with some change that he had scrounged at the weekend ..... bless him.  I couldn't disappoint him could I?  So off we went after the school run this morning with him clutching his little man purse.

As a childminder I constantly have to replace and update my equipment & toys and I just couldn't do it without good old car boot sales and charity shops.  I find that I can buy loads, use them for a while, donate them back to the charity shop or sell at a car boot and then start all over again.  Recycling at it's very best.  The small boy must think the boot sale is some magical place because whenever he spots something new to play with and asks where I got it from of course the answer is the car boot!  He wanted some lego but there was none to be had today but he did find a new Arsenal pencil set in a lovely case which included coloured pencils, notepad, sharpener and rubber and a little Arsenal football kit to hang in the car ..... impressed his dad who is an ardent Gunners fan and when we told him we had only spent £1.30 he remarked that we needed to teach the small boy's mum how to shop!

It was a lovely experience for both of us.  He learnt how to look closely for things he likes, to talk to the stall holders and ask how much money was needed, to pay himself from his own money and receive change too ... one more step on the road to independence for an almost 5 year old.  It may seem strange to some that a childminder takes children to a car boot sale but what better way to develop socialisation & numeracy skills.

Of course I didn't come away empty handed and here is my loot

A metre of retro nursery fabric and some Anchor embroidery yarns

4 metres of gorgeous nursery binding

Wedgwood 'Barlaston Rose' Dinner Service ... I haven't

 picked up such a lovely set in years

and here are some bits from the weekend

a dolly deck chair to re-cover

A sewing box which I think needs a shabby chic make-over with LA paint and some pretty floral fabric on the top

Phew what a scorcher

I thought I may have spontaneously combusted in the night (hot flushes + high humidity aghhhh!) but managed to sleep and arose this morning to a grey sky and light wind.  I took the opportunity to walk the dogs at 7 am while it was cool and it actually started to drizzle as we left the fields but an hour later the skies had cleared and the sun came out.

The girls and I decided to drive over to Hitchin to have a look at the car boots and also a Vintage Fashion & Accessory Fair that was being held in the Old Town Hall.   The hall was filling up with visitors when we arrived at 10.30 and there were rails of vintage clothes everywhere and lovely 60s music playing to add to the atmosphere.  I just hope that our Craft Fair next weekend attracts as many visitors.

The car boot today was very disappointing ... don't you just hate it when you see the same sellers with the same old tut week after week but yesterday was a little more successful. 

 

a pair of very colourful curtains made with Harlequin fabric

 

some more embroidered linens to add to my collection

A blue & white transferware soup dish to add to my collection ... this one dates to around 1860 and is by the Glasgow pottery of J M P Bell .... the scene is of Crystal Palace in London and it has some other buildings in cartouches around the rim which I am going to try and identify.

a pretty little sugar shaker with hand painted flowers which is a souvenir piece from St Anton in Austria

A Victorian cookery & housekeeping book dating to circa 1870 ... I just love looking through these old books for recipes and remedies and the terminology is just hilarious.

Total spend this weekend was £11.00

I am always on the lookout for ways of displaying my bits & bobs at craft fairs and thought I would take a chance on a pine effect shelf unit that I spotted on Ebay .. it was only a few miles away and I was lucky to get it for the grand total of £1.20.  So this afternoon I have been playing around with my cushions and I'm very pleased with the result

No more bootying for a few weeks now because I have three craft markets and two special birthdays coming up ...... this little man has his first birthday on the 28th ... he's walking now so he keeps us on our toes .... and his sister is six on Friday

and that's my baby on the left !

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend ... only two more weeks to the summer holidays x