Northampton Vintage & Home Made Fair

As many of you know there is a Vintage & Handmade Fair at Chipping Sodbury next Saturday 14th November. It would be lovely to go there, but quite a long drive from Northamptonshire. A fellow blogger in Northampton, Ann from http://vintageatthecornerhouse.blogspot.com/ , and her friend, Debbie from http://homethoughtsfromvintagewants.blogspot.com/ , decided it would be a good idea to have one in our area.

As you can see above, this event was arranged for today, and that is what I would like to share with you. It was a beautiful, sunny, cold, crisp day, and a great way to spend an afternoon! We have never had an event like this before in the area, and it was definitely something to look forward to, lots of beautiful things to see, and buy, also the chance to meet lots of blogging friends. Have a wander round with me, and see for yourself!

This was part of Ann's stall, prettily laid out with lots of gorgeous vintage finds. Love that colourful bunting!! Unfortunately, she disappeared, when I got my camera out!!!

The next stall belongs to Laura of http://myvintageparty.blogspot.com/ . She has a marvellous selection of beautiful vintage china, that she hires out for weddings, parties, and any other events you'd like a touch of vintage added. another interesting fact, is that she has recently restored a vintage caravan, and this can be hired out too. Well worth taking a look at her blog, it's gorgeous!

Here's part of Debbies wares. It was wonderful to see such a fantastic mixture of vintage, all under one roof! It was a busy afternoon, and you had to catch photo opportunities when you could!

Here's another blogging friend, Annie from http://birdcagesnbutterflies.blogspot.com/. It was great to meet her for the first time, and have a chat. Her new collection of vintage alphabet blocks are so pretty, and the cinnamon scented Christmas decorations smelt divine!

Next door, was Annie's mum, Lorraine of Sew Lolly. She has a fantastic selection of handmade cushions, quilts, lavender hearts, and cute Christmas decorations. she must have been so busy in the run up to the fair, making all these lovely goodies.

The stall above is 'Spots and Stripes'. These two talented sisters specialise in making custom made accessories such as bags, purses, jewellery, dresses, and other clothing . Also home items such as cushions, lampshades, and soft furnishings.

Their e-mail address is spotsandstripes@live.com

A lovely array of beautiful, eye candy is on this stall ! It is made by Emma of http://silverpebble.me.uk/ I just wish I had a better camera, as her jewellery is awesome!! She makes her own silver rings & necklaces, and it's certainly worth checking out her blog to see that marvellous jewellery! There are even tutorials too.

I loved this corner display below. It looks so rustic, autumnal, and countrified!

It is all part of this stall. Love those willow wreaths : )

Aaaah here is something you don't see every day of the week! Have a look below.

This is the vintage bike that belongs to Lindsey of http://elsiesparrow.co.uk/ . No it is not for sale!! In Northampton town centre there is a monthly 'Bicycle Bazaar' at the Old Fishmarket, on the last Saturday of the month. Approximately 50 local artists , gardeners, and crafters take their bikes along, selling their crafts, vintage items, and homegrown produce! Lindsey is one of these people, and it was lovely to meet up with her today.

There was no way you could go hungry here!! This is Sam of 'Crafty Cakes'. She had a whole tableful of the most scrummy cakes you could hope to see! She is certainly a talented cook, she makes, and ices cakes to order. Have a look below for an example!

A vintage tearoom was at the fair serving tea and cakes on pretty vintage china. Certainly nicer than polystyrene cups, and paper plates. I really enjoyed that piece of Victoria sandwich I had!!
I did buy myself a few goodies, but will post those very soon.

All in all, it was a great afternoon, and a real success. It was busy, there was a lovely friendly atmosphere there, and it was great to meet fellow blogging friends! Hats off to you, Ann, and Debbie! we loved it, and look forward to the next!!!!!!

SWAPS & LATEST CK BAG!!

Recognise that material?? Well, wait a bit longer, and I'll show you more............!!!!!!!!!!

Last Saturday, I planned to meet up with a fellow blogger to finally swap our 'Sleepover swaps'! I met up with the lovely April from http://cakemakestheworldabetterplace.blogspot.com/. We decided to meet up in a lovely local coffee shop/giftshop/chemists in a local village, and have a coffee and chat. Above is the lovely swap she bought me, I'm afraid the 'Roses' chocolates have been eaten though!! First of all was a lovely, pink, rosy mug, crammed with a mouthwatering selection of various choccy drinks! A beautiful little pad decorated with a lovely pink cupcake, that April had cross stitched, looks good enough to eat! Finally, a Charlies Angels DVD! I will have to get the girls round for a girlie night, if not a sleepover!

Thanks so much, April, it was lovely meeting you, and a lovely swap gift!!

Another lovely surprise I received , was a PIF gift from Elaine from http://bloominmyrtle.blogspot.com/. This was a lovely little parcel with a great little set of 'handbag helpers'. There was a pack of tissues in a little stripy case, decorated with ric rac, a little matching holder for the 'private' bits we need to carry around in our bags. Last of all was a lovely matching tote bag, that cleverly folds down into a little matching package ,decoarated with ricrac too!! A great idea, and so useful! Thanks so much, Elaine, you're so clever, and creative!!!http://bloominmyrtlesshop.blogspot.com/ is the link to her wonderful shop. There are some lovely items there, and it's well worth a look!!!

I had a little look around in Dunelm Mill on Tuesday. I only went in to get some iron on interfacing for a project I wanted to complete, but Dunelm Mill is just one of those shops that you have to have a good look around in, and you always come out with more than you intended!! They have great sales, and great bargains. The fabric above is a Dorma double bed valance sheet. As you can see, it's white with a tiny all over green leaf design , really pretty, and fresh looking. For £3.99, I just had to get one!! I am going to use it as a sheet, but just think of all that fabric you're getting for such a low price!

They had pink too, but this is a kingsize. Very pretty too, and again £3.99! This may be made up into curtains, not sure yet! Will keep you posted!!
Have been getting a bit crafty lately, want to see?

First of all I made a little heart from pretty pink scraps for April's sleepover swap. I had read that she likes pink, so I hoped she'd like this!

The next is a heart in Rosali blue prints, and blue ticking. Just to ring the changes a bit, I sewed a heart button on, and stitched a little chain of red flowers. It's great putting your scraps together, and making something pretty from them. I want to do more in different colours with different themes. Have a few ideas in mind.

Now onto that material I showed you earlier. In the summer, I found out that one of the girls on the Shabby Chic Cafe lived not far from me. We arranged to meet up for a coffee, and I really enjoyed it! We had loads to talk about, and both found out that we wanted to go to the Country Living Christmas Fair, but had no-one to go with! Well , we resolved that, and are going next Saturday, I can't wait,it is something I have always wanted to go to, and it will be great to meet up with some other blog friends who are going too!!

Ellie had a lovely bag with her that she'd made, I asked her where she'd got the pattern from , and she sent me a link to it. As my printer wasn't working, a few weeks later, she came over, and bought the pattern & instructions that she'd printed for me!! How kind of her!!!

On Sunday evening, I had chosen some CK fabric I had, and started cutting it out!!

Tuesday afternoon, I started sewing.

On the inside, I added a zipped pocket to keep things safe.

On the other side is a mobile phone pocket. I hate it when your mobile phone is going off in your bag, and you can't find it, among all the flotsam & jetsum in there! Now I will know where it is straight away : )

Here is the finished result! Can't wait to use it!! I'm becoming a real bag lady lol!!! Once I used one bag for everything, now I have, and want to make bags galore!! Thanks so much Ellie, for the pattern!

Talking of bag ladies , I was lucky enough to win Emma of http://emma-bagladee.blogspot.com/
Halloween giveaway!! Will post my goodies as soon as I get them. Hope this postal strike will be over soon.

Hope you all keep warm, and enjoy the fireworks and bonfires over now & the weekend. xxx

BEDROOM MAKEOVER & 'SHOW US YOUR CATH!!!!'

This post has two themes, the main one being 'Show us your Cath', which was a great idea for a post, cleverly thought of by Lissy Lou. The second theme is a few pics of my bedroom makeover.
I will warn you now, this post is very pic heavy!!! Hope you don't mind!!! : )


Love these two books! If you haven't read, or dont have them yet, they are definitely worth putting on your Christmas pressie list. Absolutely loads of ideas, and inspiration, combined with oodles of eye candy!

Let's start with the bedroom makeover. First of all are two little make up bags I made in CK pink paisley, with a pattern from 'Sew Pretty Homestyle'. These have now pride of place on my dressing table in the bedroom.

I have been on my own with the children for almost 10 years. When you don't have an extra pair of hands around , it is impossible to do some jobs, such as moving heavy furniture, and some DIY jobs. All I had done was painted the ceiling, painted the walls a cream colour, and had changed the position of the bed. There was certainly more that needed doing, it was a bit of a grotty, dull room ,but on my own, I didn't have the time , or muscle power to do a lot about it!!
I do now have that muscle power, and help, and that's Dave my partner! I am so happy, and grateful for his help, and here's what we've accomplished!! (I chose the colours, and wallpaper, and he's done most of the work!!)

This is a lovely old jug, and bowl I acquired in the 80's from a car boot sale in Oxfordshire. There is a small amount of damage on the spout, but for £10 at the time, it was too good to miss!

Have you seen the wallpaper before?.

Well the wallpaper was a real bargain at £5 a roll from Focus! It is part of a range called Millie, and has now been discontinued. With the other 3 walls painted a pale pink, it makes a lovely accent wall for the room. Very pretty, and reminds me of CK. The duvet cover is IKEA Rosali, which is rumoured to be designed by Cath Kidston herself.

The dressing table with its vintage china tray, and antique looking perfume bottle. I will have to transform the lampshade with a pink CK cover, and paint the lamp base itself with ceramic paint.

Do you have scraops of wallpaper left from decorating projects? This was one of the ways I used mine. I keep a lot of fabric scraps in shoeboxes, so this is a lovely way to transform a tatty old shoe box into something useful, and pretty. Great to recycle too!!

The main work has been done in the room, but I need to find some curtains, and make some pretties for it, such as lavender hearts, and I want to stitch a sampler. This should keep me busy over the winter!!

Now onto the 'Show us your Cath'. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the other posts, and am a bit early in posting, as I am a bit busy for the next two evenings, so here goes!!

These are more ideas for recycling CK, and other vintage style wallpapers in my craft room.

I needed some tubs to hold items such a scissors, pens, pencils, and knitting needles etc. With empty hot chocolate, and chai latte containers, I covered them with CK scraps, and some leftover Millie wallpaper & made these useful storage tubs. My thread box is a lovely box that 2 CK mugs were in, that was much too pretty to throw in the recycling bin!

I love to keep my sewing bits and pieces in pretty containers, and it's great when they're free!

The bedroom has been decorated, and we are now stripping the wallpaper off in the bathroom. No pretty CK inspired pics in there, it looks awful at the moment! The little bathroom cabinet above will be put up in there, and I am going to line it in a duck egg blue CK wallpaper with roses on it. Can't wait to see it up in there, not bad for £8.00 at a car boot sale!!

I love china, and CK tableware is soooo pretty. I love it on here with my eclectic collection of vintage, and newer china on the Kitchen dresser top.

Here on the dining room dresser too.

I have started collecting this CK range.

My favourite mug. Great for big, warming winter drinks!!


As you all know Cath Kidston is most famous for her lovely range of vintage inspired, and some a bit more contemporary fabrics. These three are some of my favourites!

So bright and cheerful, I love them!!

Here's a closer pic of the tubs. CK looks perfect with polka dots!!

Here's a key cupboard that needed brightening up. A scrap of CK wallpaper, and a lick of duck egg coloured eggshell does the trick!! Must find that knob though!


This is a bag made for a lovely blogging friend , Floss, with CK fabric, LA polka dot fabric, and contrasting red polka dot ribbon. I love making bags, and CK cotton duck comes in a lovely range of colours and designs, and is sturdy, and hardwearing too.

Last of all, some hanging hearts made for Floss too for a P.I.F. earlier this year. Blue is definitely the favourite colour here. Another CK make which shows how a little CK, can go a long way!

Crocheted blankets are another vintage item that has been inspired by the Cath Kidston range. This one is a W.I.P (work in progress). I started it in January, and after completing the final block, and crocheting a border, it will be completed.


The last pic, but not least, is a patchwork quilt made with pink, and blue nine patch blocks. it was easy to do, and you may be able to spot the CK, and Rosali patches. It is bordered in blue Ikea Rosali paisley fabric, which was a perfect choice for all the pinks , and blues!

Hope you like the post, I have enjoyed doing it! Cath Kidston has certainly 'done her bit' in this revival of pretty, cottagy, colourful home style . I love it!!!!!!!

Buckingham, and Bridge Street Stores!!!

Just a little taster of what's to come!!!

This week's post is all about the lovely market town of Buckingham. My partner lives here, and I would like to show you why I like it so much! It is a bustling, pretty little town centre with so much history, and so much to see and do. Come and have a look round with me.

The pic above is of a new florist, and interiors shop , love that old bike!!

Here is the very centre of the town, The Old Gaol. Not used for that purpose now though, but a wonderful landmark! Near here is the market, the stalls you can see are the general market with the usual food, and vegetable stalls, and plants etc. Past The Old Gaol, is an area, that was formerly the old cattle pens, and this is where the Saturday Bric-a-Brac market is held. This is something I love to look around, with lots of old furniture, linens, china, and other fascinating items.

Here is another florists, that always has a lovely , colourful display outside.

It certainly cheers you up, on a dull day!

Here is my favourite shop in the whole town, Bridge Street Stores. It is a gorgeous place to visit, and I can't resist going in, every time I go into town!! It is run by a lovely lady, Nicky, and I am always astounded by all the lovely items she has for sale here, and the gorgeous displays are constantly changing. Come, and have a look with me........

This is downstairs in the shop, crammed very tastefully with a wonderful selection of goodies! Beautiful shabby chic furniture, lamps, bunting, and ornaments.

Love that shabby chic bureau!

Glassware, linens, candlesticks and quilts a plenty.

Love this display of cushions!

Then through the corridor, to the back of the shop. I think we're beginning to see the first Christmas Angels here.

Outside the back door, is a lovely selection of garden related items. Don't you just love these surroundings? The stone walls, the rustic cobbles, the colourful flowers, and greenery conjure up a perfect outdoor room.

Tea for two, maybe?

Love that Ivy! All we need now is a coffee and cupcakes!

Now into the next building, a pretty bedroom, with graceful shabby chic furniture.

How would you like this as your Dining room? What a wonderful room with that glorious old
fireplace. This building just oozes with character!

Now up the stairs. More of a rustic, antique feeling up here, with beautiful, rustic, country furniture, and mellow folk art items.

Lots more here too!

Well, as you have probably gathered, its easy to see why this is one of my favourite shops! What I have showed you, is only a small selection of the great selection of items that are sold here. It is a lovely place to visit. Nicky is friendly, and really helpful, and everytime you visit, it's a great experience, there is always something new to see, and I just love it!!!

All in all, if you are in the area, Buckingham is an ideal place to spend time in, lovely shops like this one, a great new Patchwork, and woolshop just down the road, with a mouthwatering selection of fabrics, and a rainbow of Rowan & Debbie Bliss wools. There are all kinds of eateries, tearooms, 2 excellent Italian restaurants, Chinese, and Indian restaurants & takeaways too.

It is a wonderful old town, full of character. So good, I felt I had to share it with you!

Crochet, Ebay win, and Giveaway winners!!!

It's definitely the end of a hectic, busy week!!! I had Friday, Monday, and Tuesday off, and these were spent clearing out, and decorating my bedroom. You know how it is, one room has to be cleared, and the rest of the house looks like a bomb's hit it!! I can hardly get in my craft room, boo hoo!!! ; ( There is still a wall to be wallpapered, so will have to post a few pics when that is done).
Because of this, I have turned my attentions to my crochet. I love seeing the beautiful crocheted blankets on blogs such as Attic 24, and others, and I am well & truly inspired!! The selection of yarns above, are ones I have acquired lately for the next project. The existing one is below, and as you can see, I have still to complete it. At least I can get to this in my living room, it doesn't involve fighting my way to my sewing machine!!!

The next pic is a vintage cantilever sewing box, I won for £4.99 from Ebay. I wanted something to keep threads, pins, scissors, and other bits of sewing paraphenalia in, something I could bring downstairs when I wanted to sew ,without having to run upstairs for bits and pieces every few minutes. Also I get fed up with looking for reels of thread in my overflowing sewing basket!!
This will be ideal! I have wanted one since I saw a tutorial of one that was transformed beautifully by Lacey of http://lacehearts.blogspot.com/. She made a wonderful job of painting it in a lovely cream colour, and the boxes were all lined in the gorgeous Laura Ashley 'Bibi' fabric, which is white, with red roses scattered on it. I have been looking for a sewing box to do the same with, so watch this space!!!

Last, but not least ............TTTTTADDDDAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need to announce the winners of my recent giveaway!!!!!

The decoupaged 'HOME' letters were won by.................Kirsty of Vintage and Cosy blog!

The other prize will be this little patchwork bag, filled with goodies. (Haven't quite got all the 'goodies' yet, but will be doing that this weekend). The winner of this is................ Annie of Birdcages & Butterflies blog!!!

Well done girls!! If you could let me know your e-mail addresses, I will be able to find out your addresses.

Great finds, and Crafting.

First of all, I would like to apologise for my last blog being printed in pale green!! I have now found out how to change the colour of the text, so if you would like to read it, it will now be a lot easier to see!
The first pic is of my dining room dresser. I love pretty china, jugs, plates, mugs, egg cups etc. If it's pretty, I like it! The dresser is a great place to display my finds, and I like to change the display around every so often.
I visited a nearby town this morning, and had a lovely surprise! I called into the charity shop, and couldn't help noticing a little rosy mug. The shape looked familiar........

Cream in colour, with pretty pinky red roses on it, blue ribbons too.

Does it look familiar?

There is even a little rosebud inside, how cute is that?!!

I turned the mug upside down, and it was an Emma Bridgwater mug!!! It had a price tag of 50p on it!!!! How great was that! I picked it up, and took it over to the till, with a smile : )

I am always going into charity shops, and have never found anything like this before!

When I got home, I checked t'internet, and found out that this is a discontinued design called 'Scattered Rose', and was introduced in 2004. I was , and am sooooo pleased!

I also found this lovely old piece of Doulton ware on the bric-a-brac market! What a lucky day I was having!!

This was a bargain from ebay a few weeks ago. My house isn't that big, and mirrors can make a room appear larger. I wanted one for my dining room, as I have a blank wall in there, and wanted to create the illusion of more space. I was lucky enough to win this great mirror for £10!! It is a bevelled mirror, and has a beautiful frame, it weighs a ton!! I'm sure that a comparable mirror of this quality could have easily cost ten times as much

I havent just been bargain hunting, look what I finished last night.

Yes, the bunting for the craft room! Sorry about the naff pics!! As you can see there are florals. polka dots, stripes.....

Cath Kidston, Laura Ashley, and Rosali too!!!

It really brightens the room up, and the good thing is, if I have a party, or other occasion in my home or garden, the bunting will be there to decorate the surroundings! I think it would look good tied between the apple trees at a barbeque , or summer party. Maybe I need to make more, and join them up!

This was my first attempt at decoupage. I had bought the letters, but wanted to practice on something else first. Luckily it came out well, so I couldn't wait to get going with the HOME letters!

A while ago I posted about a bathroom cabinet I got from a car boot sale for £8.00
As it was a bit water stained, to paint it was the answer. This is as far as I have got at the moment, it needs another coat, and I'm lining it with some CK wallpaper sent to me by the lovely
Pipkin of Raspberry Grace. Will post again, when it's finished.

Last but not least, I wan't to tell you of a marvellous giveaway being held by Lajoni of http://painting-new-memories.blogspot.com/ .Lajoni is an incredibly talented artist, she draws, she paints, and is offering a giveaway of a pencil portrait of your choice! This is wonderful, and I urge you to check out her blog!!

Autumn Blogging!

I love Autumn, season of 'mists, and mellow fruitfulness'. It's so colourful, seeing the reds, yellows, and browns of the leaves. It's the season of harvest festivals, windfall apples, blackberry picking, and searching for conkers.Both of my apple trees are well loaded this year. The red ones above, are quite small, and sweet, and don't keep too well. These are the ones that need turning into crumbles, cakes, and purees first of all.

The bigger tree's apples, are not quite ready yet. They are a later variety, and keep better than the others. On Sunday afternoon, I spent the afternoon making some apple, and apple and raspberry crumbles. It was a lovely sunny afternoon, and very satisfying, making tasty desserts from produce from my own garden. I really do need to get another freezer, so I can fit more in.

The tomatoes are doing well. Last year I just grew cherry tomatoes, which were lovely. This year I have tried a few different varieties, the little yellow ones in the middle being one of them. I will have to save my jam jars instead of recycling them next year. I have lots of green tomatoes, but no jars, and I would love to try making green tomato chutney.

I haven't been doing much crafting for a while, but will show you a few items that I have created. First is a little patchwork & calico bag. I made this from a tutorial on a craft website, and thought they'd be nice made up in Christmas fabrics.

The next two items I really enjoyed doing, as they were quick, easy, and effective. The first was a little Ikea key cabinet that I decided to transform. I had kindly been given a large piece of Cath Kidston wallpaper by the lovely Pip of Raspberry Grace, to line a bathroom cabinet with, and I used a small piece to decorate the door panel. There is a knob for the door, but I will have to find it, & glue it on!

The little frame, was from a car boot sale, and was that lovely orange colour!!! At 20p, I

had other ideas for it! I like doing stitcheries, and frames can get expensive, so I gave this the Duck egg treatment too. It certainly looks nicer now , and cost next to nothing!

I found a lovely old piece of white cotton petticoat lace from a local bric-a-brac market. There is well over a metre of it. I'm not sure what it will be used for yet, but I thought it was beautiful!!

Also a lovely embroidered vintage tablecloth, with the motif above embroidered on each corner.

At the same car boot, I found the little vintage gem below!

It was a a complete book of embroidery transfers with floral sprays for lingerie, circus figures for the nursery, cutwork designs, and cross stitch posies. It has never been used, and I tried to find a date on it. I couldn't find one, but would imagine its 1940's-5o's. Whenever it was, it cost the grand total of two shillings and sixpence!!

From vintage to now, here are two new books I have bought. the first one is as above , full of lovely ideas for applique, bags, floral corsages, and cards etc. There's a lovely backpack in there that I want to make, and I will have to make some of the corsages too!! So much inspiration!!

The authors have their own website it is www.aliceandginny.co.uk , if you fancy taking a look.

The next one is my first crochet book, full of beautiful crochet flowers.For a long time I have admired all the lovely crocheted blankets & crocheted flowers on blogs, and I want to learn more. I can crochet, and am making a granny square blanket. but I need to learn all the different techniques for half trebles, double trebles etc, so I can be creative with wools & cottons too.

Wish me luck !!!