Thursday 26 May 2011

Shop Update


I have been really good & added some more new stock to my on
line shop. There are some lovely vintage items so I thought I'd share some of them with you here....


Second Childhood


Glassware





China





Bits & Bobs


Pictures






Boudoir


Monday 23 May 2011

All Quiet & Vintage Finds

At last the carpet is down & there is no more 'clip,clip,thud,clunk' on the stairs. It feels so thick & squishy & luxurious underfoot & we are very pleased with it.


Lucy had to do a bit of stair modelling....



As did Cowboy the rocking horse who is stabled up here....


This bit where the stairs split is one of the dogs favourite places to sleep - they can watch what is going on downstairs & sneakily attempt to trip up anyone walking up or down the stairs!
As you can see Toby blends in quite well so is camouflaged in the dark & can get up to his naughty tricks....


This week I have been working on sorting out & pricing goodies for the V&H Fashion & Textiles Fair which is under two weeks away. I bought myself a rail & got to work on fabrics & tablecloths & a few items of vintage clothing including baby dresses. There is even a pretty blue girdle by Triumph - it is marked Medium but is sooo tiny!


For those of you on Facebook we do have a V&H page where we post updates & news if you'd like to 'like' us!



I also wanted to share a couple of vintage toys that I bought recently. I have collected antique & vintage dolls & toys since I was a child so am always excited to find something new for my collection.

I bought these little Edith Reynolds horses which are in super condition - they were made in the 40's & 50's & were sold through retailers such as Harrods & Hamleys. They are made from calf skin over a wire frame & filled with rubber. You could buy tack & riders for them too. They are a forerunner of the beloved Julip horses of my childhood.



Who could resist this sad looking Panda? He was just crying out to come home with me, so here he is flanked by two doggie friends! Isn't he cute?


Wednesday 11 May 2011

All Sorts


I have had rather a busy week or so with one thing & another but I thought it was time I posted a catch up post so you know that I am still around.

The first adventure of the week was another dramatic Chicken Rescue (an idea for a new TV programme perhaps?).
Toby (aka Son of Satan or SoS to his friends) was barking like a crazy dog at the bottom of the garden so I went out to see what all the fuss was about. Yes, you've guessed it, yet another chicken in the pond trying to be a duck. Our house is like Chicken Run in reverse as they try to get in rather than out.

Anyway, I was wondering how I was going to fish her out as she was on the other side of the pond where all the lovely brambles & nettles live when she very calmly SWAM over to me! Who knew that chickens could actually swim?
So, I picked her up & she was a sorry sight - soaking wet, shivering & covered in pond weed.
I wrapped her up in an old sheet to dry her off.



After giving her a rub & a bit of a cuddle we put her into a box with a thick layer of shavings in the bottom & parked her next to a heater for a few hours. We kept her in the house overnight & by the morning she was looking decidedly fluffed up & perky.



We think she was a refugee from the farm who had been living rough since they took the flock away & as I didn't want her being nabbed by a fox or dog I popped her into our chicken pen, much to the consternation of the other ladies. In the evening when it was time for bed she was nowhere to be seen so I thought she had decided to leave us but the next morning she reappeared & has been here ever since - it only took her 2 days to decide to go into the hen house at night.

We have called her Amelia Pond as she is a redhead, was in the pond & disappeared & reappeared (probably in her chicken Tardis). Also, we had been watching Dr Who....

So, here she is - about half the size of our other hens but I bet she'll catch up quick!



Of course the cats couldn't care less....




I popped over to the Gloucester Antiques Centre on Saturday to drop off some new stock including some vintage toys.


I was pleased to see some of my stock (the glassware & scooter) in the outdoor picnic themed window display.


Sunday morning saw all the carpeting being removed from the stairs in preparation for a new carpet - I was surprised to see rather nice wooden stairs & floorboards underneath & contemplated painting them instead, but the "clip, clip, clip" of dog & cat claws & "thump, thump, leap, clunk" of big teenage boy feet is rather annoying so we are sticking with carpet.






Finally, I thought it was time to add some new stock to my online shop which I haven't updated for a while. Items include this unusual Jack Russell ribbon plate...



....cute Pixie cake decoration....



......lovely vintage china terrier.....



.....Rosebud doll.....
(sorry, I'm sold)


.... cat string holder & more.


Of course Michele & I are working on the next V&H Fashion & Textile Fair to be held on the 4th June which necessitated a "breakfast meeting" on Monday - just an excuse to eat bacon rolls & drink lattes really! :-)

PS...just wanted to say sorry to all those that posted a comment that hasn't appeared - it seems Blogger was having issues & lots of the comments have just vanished & I can't retrieve them. Some people's blog posts have also been deleted. This happened on Wednesday & Thursday but they seem to have it sorted out now.

Wednesday 4 May 2011

At Last!

I don't seem to have had a minute since last Saturday's Vintage Bazaar to download the photos from my camera so I was determined to do it this morning. We had a very busy long weekend & then I had to do a trip to Bournemouth & back to collect Tamzin's belongings as she has finished uni for the year now. My poor house has been neglected, I need to sort out my stock once again, vegetable plants need repotting or planting out, the car needs a wash, my website & unit at Gloucester needs new stock, the next V&H Textiles Fair is taking up lots of time as we are working on promotion & publicity...there are just not enough hours in the day!


Anyhow, enough moaning.....here are a few photos I took on Saturday - the first few are of my stall - mainly homewares with a few toys this time.



This lovely boudoir doll was my first sale of the day.



I can't remember who owned all the stalls as there were sellers that I hadn't met before so please forgive me for not identifying them all. As you can see, there were some lovely goodies on offer! Thanks to our friends Lizzie & Clare for their smooth organisational skills (and it was nice for me to not have to do anything except set up my stall & chat to other stallholders & customers for a change!)