Today's Thrifty Finds

It has been a lovely sunny day here in Sheffield, the perfect weather to drag your boyfriend round jumble sales, charity shops and car boot sales and I am pleased to say that I managed all three. The jumble sale and charity shops weren't a huge success but I managed to buy some new (to me) things at the car boot. 

I bought this bag of vintage Coats threads for £2. Aren't they the cutest colours? I know these will come in handy for future quilts. I particularly love the old wooden spools and labels. 

I also bought this mismatched set of 1960s melaware. I was a bit of an eager beaver with the photography and haven't yet had chance to give them a good wash as you can see, so apologies for that. I was attracted to them because of the bright colours and somehow I have visions of these becoming the start of a new collection.

From the same stallholder I also bought this set of three nesting containers. Who can resist bright orange with a daisy pattern? Certainly not me.

 Next up I bought a couple more vintage sheets which will soon be cut up and making their way in to the fabric shop

And finally, I actually bought this a few weeks ago but had completely forgotten to share. It is an old baby blue hairdryer with it's original box in full working condition. It only cost me £1! What I haven't picture here is the fact that it comes with a long plastic tube attached to what looks like a shower cap so you can put your rollers in and dry your hair around it. Fantastic!

Today's Outfit

This vintage pleated skirt and leather handbag were originally destined for my Etsy shop, but after I tried them on I decided they might be keepers. I love the bright splash of aqua, which is my favourite colour.

Excuse the fact that I have cut my head off in these pictures, my hair was definitely not looking it's best today, but I was excited about the skirt and wanted to show it off!

Top - H&M

Vintage skirt - Oxfam £2.99

Vintage leather handbag - Bakewell car boot sale - £2.50

This week...

This week I bought myself some lovely vintage fat quarters from Vintage Sheet Addict on Etsy. I have already started cutting them up in to 3" squares for my quilt. I can't wait for it to all start coming together. The fabrics are all rather fabulous patterns, bright colours and in great condition so they will be absolutely perfect.

I also bought myself this rather cute glass container from a charity shop for 99p. It has a blue house one one side and a pink house on the other, I have no idea where it came from originally but I am using it to keep all my mini fabric scraps together.

What crafty projects are you working on at the moment?

Pyrex & Chrome

I found these pyrex bowls in my local charity shop. I love the fact that they are in a stand which makes perfect for serving snacks at parties. When I bought them, the chrome stand was in a bit of state. It was covered in rust patches and ugly green calcium spots. I had a quick search online and read that wet pieces of aluminium foil act as the perfect abrasive to remove rust and calcium, without damaging the metal itself. Being in a bit of a hurry to try out this theory, I failed to get any decent photos of the before, but hopefully you get the idea from this not so great iPhone shot...

After I spent about half an hour scrubbing every little nook and cranny the end result was fantastic. I also read that you can use this same idea for cleaning up old tap and chrome car parts. It's well worth a try.

The best charity shop find ever!

I nearly had a heart palpitation today when I wandered in to one of my local charity shops on my lunch break and saw this...

Yes, that's right, it's a gorgeous cathrineholm lotus enamelware bowl. It was actually hidden away inside a larger glass bowl so when I pulled it out I couldn't believe my eyes. I have never seen one in real life before, nevermind owned one. And here's the best bit... it only cost me £2.49! Looking at the prices that these go for on Etsy and eBay this may not be the beginning of a beautiful collection, but maybe one day I could strike it lucky again.

My cat seemed quite keen on it too...

Now I need to go and buy a whole new shelf just to display it on.

Thrifty Finds

1. 1960s faux fur coat from a local charity shop - £5
2. My new vintage hat, my boyfriend says that I look like a train driver in it (excuse my face!)
3. My lovely mum bought me this as a present. When we finally get around to decorating our living room this will take pride of place on the hearth. I love the scallop pattern!
4. I picked this up in a charity shop for £1.50, I am not entirely sure what it's original purpose was but I plan to use it in our new bathroom.
5. 1960s layered velvet dress, my favourite part of this dress is actually the back which has a lovely bow at the top of the zip - £6
6. Another lovely 1960s coat with faux fur collar from a local charity shop - £5
7. 4 cute multi-coloured jars. I think these will look lovely with candles in as a table decoration for special occasions. These were on sale in Urban Outfitters for £2 each.

Recent finds

Here are some of my recent thrifty purchases. The clock is a brilliant retro style flip clock, it cost me £4 from a charity shop. When I bought it the day didn't flip over but after a rather fiddly half hour I managed to fix it. This will have a home in my Minnie Vintage room.

The red, yellow and blue vintage glasses, the 1950s multi-colored shot glasses and the cute cat figurine will all be going in to my Etsy shop.

The two vintage duvet covers were £2 each, I am saving them and eventually I want to make a quilt. My sister has recently starting quilting and has agreed to teach me, although I'm sure mine won't be as good as hers!

Today's finds

Today I had time to pop in to a couple of charity shops. I found this 1970's bikini set and matching kaftan, some girl's vintage sandals and a copy of Jack Kerouac's On The Road, which I have been wanting to read forever.

Car boot finds...

I bought this sewing machine for £5 from the Bakewell car boot sale. A lovely old lady sold it to me and it's in perfect working order. It did need a bit of a scrub though, you can see in the photograph the patch that I cleaned and what a big difference it made. The only problem with the machine is that some of the metal has yellowed, can anyone recommend a way of removing this? I  have tried bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice so far but neither have made much difference! The first project I have planned is to make my own cat collar, so I will post the results when I have finished.

Charity Shop buys...

 I have been keeping an eye out for a small suitcase to use as a sewing/fabric box and was delighted to come across this navy one for £3 in my local charity shop. It is in excellent condition and I love the bright red lining fabric.

The embroidery in the hoop is a project that I started a while back but haven't got round to finishing it yet. It's based on a photograph that I traced on to a piece of cotton. 

As you can see, I don't keep it as neat as I should!

This weekend's finds

This weekend I did really well in charity shops and car boot sales. The collection of threads will come in really useful for various craft projects that I have planned, and only cost me £2. The blue floral dress near the top is by Liberty of London and the green 1960's dress is by Peter Barron and has a beautiful drape back. I have to say though, my two favourite items are the four mini pyrex bowls in the cutest colours and the bunny figurine which is currently smiling down at me from the mantle piece. Here is a close up of it's little face...