Tins Of Vintage-y Loveliness ....On A Dreary Day ...!

Hello there ....

Well its been a dark and dreary day here ...

rain.. rain .. and more rain.

A Girls got a job trying to keep positive and jolly ...

I can feel the dreariness creeping up on me.

The thing is .. i tell myself ... is to look for the positives .. the loveliness .. the harbingers of spring...

They are there if we look closely enough.

Just look at this Forsythia ... I brought these bare twigs in last week ... and with a bit of warmth ... they are doing their thing..

I think its just what I need ... bit of warmth .. bit of sun...

A Girl can have a bit too much of this Winter thing!

Well today's job ... why is it there's always 'todays job' ..?

Well anyway ... yesterday Hubby P brought me this old tin ...

Someones ... friends mother .... its always a long complicated story ... was clearing their mothers attic ...

Along with some furniture Hubby P ...bought the old tin ... he thought it looked interesting.

It looks like it has been part of 'Mothers' sewing stash .. it was full of dressmaking patterns from the 1950's or thereabout. 

Just imagine .. its been sat up there all this time .. like a little time capsule.

So interesting to delve into the tin ... the designs were so glamorous.

Just imagine wearing dresses like this everyday ...  well I couldn't .. it would feel so uncomfortable I'm sure .. and I'd probably need 'sturdy undergarments' to boot.

Mind you .. you would look just fab hopping on a train to the seaside ... or greeting the milkman with a duster in your hand ... of course you would need a suitably frilly .. pretty apron to wear over said fab dress..

And how about this for cocktails ... would this be suitably sleek enough to contain your 'wiggle'?

After much 'faffing around' with them ... I decided to list some on ebay ... Oh how I hate listing on ebay .... boring!

But I thought all the vintage-y girls the Rockabilly's and those young enough to have a 'wiggle' would be able to use them.

And I just had to show you this ...

Lovely 50's floral-y cotton .. it came in the lot from the clearance last week ... a single curtain still with its hooks... but a crumpled dirty rag.

Well ... its washed up well.

It has a lovely softness .. gently faded .. that only years of 'living' can achieve.... being washed .. blown on the washing line .. grubby children's hands .. more washing ... and nightly drawn against the moon and stars ... as the years turned.

Well I have saved three good pieces from it ... I shall have to try and sell some of it .. that 'making a living' thing.

But of course I have a bit for me .. and last week I picked up an old Observers Book of Garden Flowers ... and today I thought this old fabric would look lovely as a jacket for the old book.

Ahhhh a new project .. 

something to keep me amused.. 

So whats keeping you amused at the moment ...?

 I know I am an impatient kinda Girl ... but my seeds I sent for.. Still Haven't Come ... !

I want seeds .. and sun ...

 and seedlings ... and garden ... 

surely it cant be far off!

I will leave you with this little flower ... 
blazing its little socks off ....such a super sunshiny yellow!

xx

Its Got To Be A Pudding Sort Of Day .....

Hello there ...

well ... what a cold and miserable day ...

the sort of day you need a good pudding...

What nicer than a syrup sponge pudding and a dollop of custard.

A friend had kindly given us some duck eggs ... now I can't eat them as eggs ... as it were .. you know what i mean... fried .. scrambled etc .. somehow they don't agree with my tummy.

Gran use to say they were too 'strong'...?

But they are ideal for baking with.

So today when we got home ... after we had stood working all morning at the car boot sale .... I put a pheasant casserole in the oven ... and scoured the cupboards for the making of a nice sponge pudding. 

I just used a single duck egg and its weight in butter.. sugar.. and 

S R flour.  Trying to use up oddments from the cupboard I used some soft brown sugar ... very sticky.

I simply greased a pudding bowl .. put a good spoonful of syrup in the bottom and the sponge mixture on top ..

it joined the pheasant in the oven.

As you can see .. the pudding looks a bit sorry for itself ... drooping in the middle .. something has gone a bit awry..

But turned out with a dollop of custard ....

It will taste just fine.

And it did ... it was delightfully soft sweet and sticky

As the wind ... yet again... whistled around the cottage ..

 and the rain lashed the windows ...

we sat around a nice warm fire  .. well i did ...

 Hubby P sat catching up with the news online ....

and tucked into a nice warming pudding.

Lovely ...

I have some duck eggs to use up .. any ideas? 

xx

Thrifty Snippets .. Wallpaper On A Shoestring...

Hello there ....

I wasn't going to post tonight ... I thought I had little to share with you ... we've just been working .. a bit 'same old'.

But I had a comment on the last post from Rosieposie asking to see more of my quirky wallpaper/wall covering/decoration.

So I grabbed the camera ... whilst the sausages were cooking ...

 not the best pic's but you too may want a peek at the weird and wacky walls... 

The story goes ... when I was very young I was brought up in a family who thought it was just fine to be yourself .. express yourself .. and of course all the Make Do and Mend ... Thrifty Living .. etc was par for the course.

As I grew older I began to find other people had similar interests and were living lifestyles similar to those of my parents.. 

In those days all information was in print...books and magazines .. my father never lived to see the advent of the World Wide Web .. he would have loved it .. always a man before his time .. a man with an enquiring mind.

So I have a collection of books .. Seymour ... Patrick Rivers ..On Next To Nothing ... many of you will have similar.

In amongst one of these books I read about someone decorating their study with old maps and newspapers ... because its all they had.

We too had very little when we first had the house .. the walls were rough and uneven .. 

What I did have .. from years of thriftiness was a collection of bits of old newspapers (I just loved their aged colour and texture)... vintage wallpaper (the odd roll might come in for present wrapping .. or something) .. old music ... wartime magazines ...and sundry bits and bobs ... I had rather a lot.

Its just the hallway and kitchen I have papered like this ... as you can see ... the hall leads into the sitting room ...who's that then ... having a peek at us? ... he doesn't miss a trick does he!

The ceiling was the most difficult ... the whole process took a long time .. I did it over months really .. as and when the inspiration flowed.

I would search through my stash of materials and rough tear 'patches' .. using watered down pva glue I would paste them onto the wall ... overlapping ... and give a good paste over the whole thing. A bit like the process of papier mache really.

Its nice to take a moment now and then and read some of the little quotes I have amongst the papers ... just a little something to muse over..

The whole thing has an old .. vintagey .. faded look ... its well sealed with the pva .. so its wipe-able ... and its lasted years. Maybe one day I will get tired of it and I will just paint over it .. the walls are so uneven it would be difficult to paper with a modern print...

and anyway ... 

this is more me ...

And back to tea ... what are we having ...

well .. nice fat sausages .. black pudding ... potato cake-y things (yesterdays leftover mash mixed with a little bit of stuffing and a handful of flour .. mixed and patted into cakes)...

 And a couple of our very own eggs ... 

we are getting one egg a day ... the Girls are looking good .. and Rocky is as perky as ever.

Hope wall paper is not too mundane a topic for you ...

hope you have had a good day ..

Has anyone any thrifty decorating tips ... it can be such an expensive thing.

xxx

The Junk That Greets Me Daily....

Hello there ....

just a bit of a random ... kinda off the wall post tonight ...

I've been waiting .. and waiting ... for a break in the rain to get some bright outside pic's of bits and bobs for ebay..

Well as you know ... if you are living in the UK .. there's been no chance of that ... very soggy wet here ...

So I gave up and decided I would have to photograph them in doors ... I had a play about to see what would work .... how could the item be best displayed .. I like to try and give a 'true' picture and description of the item.

I rolled out my 1950's hospital screen.

We have had a few of these ...so handy to screen off areas ... and we often take one to the car boot to use as a display stand .. and hang clothes for sale on it.

As an aside .... I thought the fabric on the screen looked a bit like a pineapple ... my healthy treat this week.

Anyway back to the 'Carry On Matron' screen ... this one has its original blue fabric covering .. I saw the very same ones being used in the 'Call The Midwife' programme ... exciting!

So I rolled out the screen ... Hubby P of course makes some silly comment ....'Ooooo Matron'....

so I quickly wrapped him up it the screen and made some silly suggestions myself ... he fled out of the door pronto ...!

It seems he didn't want to play Doctors and Nurses ... 

shame ...

 but it got him out of the way.

Free to wield the camera now ...

I scanned the hallway ... come dumping ground ... I'm sure most people have them ... its the bit we always hide when taking photos.

I espied some feet ... try and ignore the dust and muck ....

I'm afraid the top of the lady hasn't a head  ... I just pop my hat on top ...

 The mannequin is another unfortunate soul who has come to live with us ... I have draped her nakedness in an old 40's housecoat ... and she looks after my warm car boot coat between outings ...

I know it just looks like I have just thrown it around her ...

and I have ...

Like I said ... no frills today.

 Back to the Hello Matron theme ....

I also have this old bathroom cabinet ... love its 'batteredness' ...is that a word?

and it is filled with all kinds of old medical supplies ... nothing lethal of course...

I just love all the old containers ... 

just look at the Fullers Earth tin .... 

they just don't make anything like it today .. its all horrible plastic.

And the lovely bottles ....

just love it all ....

not that any of it is 'useful' ...

But it makes me smile ...

What daily clutter greets you  ... what makes you smile?

xxx

The Girls Are Getting Their Act Together .... This Weeks Clearance...

Hello there ...

Good news here .... the Girls are getting their act together ... and as a treat they had a few chips for lunch ...
(well we had a treat last night ... we were so tired after a long full day at work we had chips)
... so the Girls had the leftovers .... 

I went to feed them this morning and spied this in their makeshift nesting box.

One very large and misshapen egg.

 

Well ... its a beginning I thought ... you often get very small or misshapen eggs when they start to lay.
As I went to pick it up it cracked in my hand ... very very fine shell.

I quickly dropped it into the empty water dish ... the chickens heads had pricked up at the smell of the fresh egg .. they love fresh raw eggs and if they get a taste of them they will peck and eat their own eggs ... to I took it away quickly.
 But look what was inside the large egg ... another complete egg (as well as the yolk and white) ...what a mix up ... lets hope Mother Nature gets things sorted out and we have one egg at a time .. and one after another.

Hubby P has had a big clearance this week so he was moving stuff all yesterday and today ...

Some of the new bits we have had in ... 

These are rather sweet ... a set of kitchen curtains ... real vintage retro...
and made of a sturdy printed plastic. 

They still had their little hooks attached. 
They seem in good condition ... I shall give them a good soak and a wash in soapy water and see how they come up.
Can't say I have ever seen any others like them ... they are really rather sweet.

And another haul of vintage curtains .... 

Yesterday I went with Hubby P to the clearance place .. just to have a good ol poke about really.
In the attic I went ... up some very rickety stairs ... it was dim and dusty up there and the floor was very iffy ... wonky floorboards with big holes ... It must be said .. I didn't feel very safe at all.

Luckily Hubby P is very good at following directions ...and I pointed at various interesting bundles and he did the fetching and carrying ..
I pulled out the above .. interesting patterns and colours.
I have yet to look at them properly .. and I will wait to see if today Hubby P can find more .. so that I can see if there are pairs of curtains ...
and if the curtains are usable as curtains .. or maybe they will have to be salvaged for their good bits and sold as reclaimed fabric.
It all takes time and work ... washing and sorting ... but I do so love giving these delightful old fabrics a new lease of life.

They must have lain in the attic room a good 40+ years ... 
I wonder what stories they could tell.

The interesting tale of this clearance (there is always an interesting aside) ... as Hubby P was sorting ... he pulled out from a cupboard .. an old haversack type bag and dropped it onto the floor ...later as he went through the papers and bags from the cupboard he found ... in the haversack ... a stash of live WW2 ammunition/bullets.
He informed the police ... can you believe this ...on his way home last night he called at our..
 'Brand Spanking New Ultra Modern ...Cost A Fortune Police Station'

There was no one there ... not a single Bobby .. doors locked and everything. 
'No one manning it tonight '.... he was told ...as he stood outside and rang the police ..
and this is in the main town of the Island ... not some little village.

The best the police could suggest was that they would send someone tonight to pick up the 'Live Ammunition'.

We are still waiting ....

Anyway enough of me .... do you like the curtains? or are these loud retro prints a bit over the top do you think?

xx  

Always Carry A Bit Of Bargain Huntin Money ....

Hello there ....

bit of a dreary damp sort of day ... 

I'm a bit tired of this rain now ... thank you!

We have so much to do outside ... so we donned hats and coats and did it anyway.

We have this awful looking tin shed ... we both agree its an awful thing .. practical ..yes .. keeps everything nice and dry ..but just not pleasing on the eye.

Its where Hubby P keeps/kept the vintage tools he collects .. ready for restoration and then selling on. 

Well we have had a bit of a sort out .. a swap around and the tools can now be stored elsewhere ... so the tin shed can go.

We've even found a friendly farmer who thinks the good dry tin shed is great .. ideal for storing his sheep feed ... and is happy to take it away ... so its a win win situation.

So that was today's job ... well done .... in the rain.

~~~~~

Sunday was a trading day ... it went well.

I had a mooch around the stalls ... not a lot to get excited about ...

but as I was passing the more market type stalls one of the chaps started shouting out ...  as they do ... 

'Sale On' ... 

'All on the table 50p'....

So of course I had to go and have a little look.

He was tipping out boxes of winter stock ... hats, gloves, socks and the like ...probably to make room for newer summer stock.

Luckily I always carry a little bit of  Bargain Hunting Money ... if you have got the ready cash there ... its amazing what you can snap up ... tis no good dithering .. often it won't be there in an hour or two.

The sock chap tipped out another box ... packs of thermal socks (12 pairs in a pack) just £3. 

Just the sort Hubby P wears .. and swears by .. they are so warm and comfy ... the only problem .. they were ladies.

Now occasionally I have borrowed Hubby P's socks ... and indeed they are warm ... a bit big and baggy ... being his socks on my much smaller feet ... but I have been disinclined to buy Ladies Thermal socks because they tend to be the same colour (as Hubby P's) ... and I could see total confusion when it came to sorting the laundry.

But 12 pairs for £3 ... that will last me ...years!

That's ... what ... 25p per pair.

So I came up with the idea of marking my socks with colourful thread ... it was going to be just a stitch .. but hey! a little flower.. much prettier.

Now the test is whether or not Hubby P ... on laundry duty (pairing socks and putting away) will actually see and note the little flower... or will he end up trying to force his size 10's into my flower bedecked .. much smaller socks.

Sock chappie's 50p table held lots of these ... pretty little gloves.

I got a few pairs to put in my Christmas box ... ready for next year. We have lots of children in the family and I like to donate bits and bobs I have picked up over the year to the Christmas Shoe box charity thingy ... 

So I always have a little Bargain Huntin money ... just in case.

It seems like I am spending .. but over the year it saves money and spreads the cost.

So ...what bargains of the week have you come across ... do share ... give us ideas.

xx