Wallpaper or Paint ?

Don't get me wrong I am a confirmed lover of an all white home but sometimes, just sometimes I have a yearning for a bright, patterned accent wall. 

Lithophane Ceramics

image Lladro

Despite the rain today, I needed to get a breath of fresh air at lunchtime and luckily I live and work in Heavitree in Exeter.  Luckily, because there happen to be not one but five charity shops, all of which usually have a treasure or two. 

Thrifty Shopping - #Stylewise

I found myself with a little time on my hands on Friday, so what better way to spend it than doing a little thrifty shopping, a great source of inspiration and white interior design bargains.

Shopping the shops

Working full time in a "proper" job these days leaves me very little time to go bargain hunting. Having spent over £300 on new uniform, shoes and other

Slim Pickings !

I don't know if its because I am no longer looking to buy stock to sell or because there just wasn't much around today, but for the first time ever I came away from the bootsale with hardly any treasure.  Not impressed having dragged myself out of bed at 5.15 this morning !

I did find this vintage crock bed warmer that had been painted white and given a pretty decoupage heart.  Lovely condition and a steal at just £2.  I'm going to use it as a door stop for my bedroom door which refuses to stay open.

How many times have I said this "I LOVE BUYING FROM MEN" Seriously !  THEY GIVE STUFF AWAY !  Next up this gorgeous Portmeirion Botanic Blue Jug.  Absolutely immaculate and soooo pretty.  50p !!! 50p !!! What was he thinking ! 50p !  I ALMOST told him to keep the change from the £1 !

So Pretty.  Looks lovely in my kitchen and there it will stay, oh yes it will !

I am always on the lookout for baskets or wooden crates.  I have a little obsession going on.  Snatched this huge log basket up for £4 !  Great for all the apples ready for picking at the moment from the old apple tree in our garden.

Going to keep this basket in the house, not sure what to store in it as we have no open fires in our home but love the Rustic look of it.  Its, clearly been around for a while.

So that was it !  Nothing else found today.  I was a bit reluctant to leave the bootsale convinced that I must be missing the treasure and that SOMEBODY must have something.  But, no after several trips around the market nothing else appeared so off home I went.

 As I needed to go food shopping I thought I would also pop into The Vintage Trading Centre on Marsh Barton.  I hadn't had my fix of bargain hunting and I usually find an unusual treasure or two in there.  I wasn't disappointed.  Found this little darling.

LOVE IT ! Solid wood vintage rack with immaculate ceramic and wood canisters for Tea, Coffee and Sugar.

So, all was not lost.

Maybe better luck next week (although hubby was pleased as we have just got the house decluttered ).

Recreating the Vintage Appearance of Your Period Property

 

                       image #Pinterest

Three Top Tips for Recreating the Vintage Appearance of Your Period Property

Period properties have a charm that simply cannot be emulated. The cumulative effect of a hundred or more years of rain dashing against the stones,

Fenn Wright Manson Rosmarin Dress

Is there any better feeling than a beautifully wrapped parcel arriving in the post !  I was recently thrilled to be offered my pick of the Fenn Wright Manson website.  So many beautiful dresses, which one should I choose ?  I finally settled on the stunning Rosmarin Dress, white, of course.  It arrived super fast and beautifully boxed and wrapped in tissue.

The Rosmarin dress is made from vintage style luxury lace in a delicate floral pattern.  A classic shift style, it suits any shape.  It has a clever Grosgrain ribbon trim running down the front and around the waist which gives the dress a lovely silhouette and for someone like me who suffers from a lack of waistline, really nips you in and defines your figure.

I love the detail at the hemline .

Sheer sleeves with scalloped edging. Pretty and feminine.  The dress is fully lined and no hint of underwear showing through which is a must when wearing white.

This dress is perfect for summer events, days out or even weddings.  I think though you might need to add a touch of colour so you don't upstage the bride !  Its a timeless style that would also suit any age .  If you pop over to the Fenn Wright Manson website, it is currently also on Sale !

Thank you once again to the lovely people at Fenn Wright Manson for sending me this delightful dress.

Come Rain or shine (but mostly rain)

Another Sunday morning, another rainy day !  When is this awful Summer going to end ? 

Unfortunately I have a serious affliction, I just can't stay away from boot sales whatever the weather. So out we popped with a pair of grumpy twins in tow.

Not too many sellers but as usual MASSES of desperate traders all looking for bargains to sell on !

I did manage to find a few lovely pieces.

Wonderful Salt and Pepper tins. I couldn't find any for sale in this country but they do seem to be available in America.  I think they probably date from the 1960/70's .  Great condition and sold as soon as I put them on Facebook *happy face*

Hard to find these days, gorgeous mint green enamel Saucepan in great condition.   Just enough small rust and chips to make it look *authentic French chic*  For Sale £16 plus P & P.  Message or comment if interested.

If you follow my blog regularly you may remember some months back I mentioned the *ranty* man who regularly shouts at customers (he has a wonderful manner)  He was back again today and as I cautiously approached his van I noticed a very interesting box on the floor.  It was full of this :

Absolute shabby chic HEAVEN ! Hand painted Adams Calyx Ware !  There is a mixture of patterns (I think the previous owner must have been a collector)  I particularly love the one above which I think is called Lowestoft.  It is English Ironstone and is totally Divine.  Perfect  if you love the Vintage French style look.  Over 22 plates, 3 soup cups with plates, 2 large Singapore Bird HUGE platters and a Lowestoft small platter!

I actually walked away the first time around as the box was large and bulky and as I didn't have too much money I didn't want to spend it all on one lot.  I went back THREE times to check if it was still there and take a peak inside.  He noticed me *scared*  obviously in a good mood he made me an offer I couldn't refuse to take them away. YIPEEEE.  Poor hubby had to lug the box all the way back to the car.  All home safe and sound now. 

Finally for today (because my camera hates me and its taking ten times longer than it should to get this post finished)

A selection of china.  A girl can never have enough mis- matched pieces of china.  These are the staple "money maker" when I sell at Topsham on a Friday.  Just £1 per piece people can't get enough.  Comment or message if you are interested.

Many thanks for popping by

In other news I have an amazing lady working on a new look blog (and possibly website) all coming soon.  *EXCITED*

linking up with Lizzie over at Magpie Monday

French Market Chic

After an exhausting few days selling at two vintage fairs on Friday and Saturday we had already decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather to clear out our cupboards and try and make a few pounds to put towards the Birthday Bash next Saturday.  This meant getting up at 5.30 Sunday morning (with all three boys in tow) to go to Exeter cattle market boot sale.  To be honest I wasn't in the selling or buying mood.  Made worse by the swarms of people who descended on us as soon as we parked up.  I really, really hate this aspect of bootsales, there is none of the normal British reserve as they dive into the back of your car or all start screaming "how much, how much " as soon as you plonk a box down on the floor.  Combined with over tiredness and sunburn from selling outside on the previous two days I was not a happy bunny.  Still sales were brisk and within half an hour I was able to go for a wander myself.  Although pipped to the post on several wonderful quilts, baskets and a particularly beautiful tea set I was  able to find one or two nice pieces.  Unfortunately four of them were chairs !  Hubby was really not going to have his happy face on when I rolled back up to the car with No 1 son and four chairs.  So much for going home with a clear boot.

Here is what the car looked like packed up to GO HOME ! 

As for that great lump of a table perched on the edge of the boot, in my excitement to unload my treasure from the car, I opened the boot and the thing fell out onto my leg.  Spent the rest of the day with ice pack and elevation unable to move it.  Nasty cut, swelling and bruise but nothing more.  One bonus, it meant I rested and hubby also made steak and chips for lunch ! Result !

There also seemed to be a bit of a theme going on this week.  I 'll call it French Market Chic.  A lot of the items I found were French.  Not that I am complaining.  French vintage is a big trend at the moment.

Really pretty French Limoges Porcelain Child's tea set in a hamper

Set of FOUR immaculate French Betjeman and Barton tea caddies !  You will see why I am so thrilled if you take a look at their website where you will see each tea caddy (without tea) sells for over 12 Euros ! Woop.

Tired but gorgeous toy doll high chair.  I am going to give this a lick of paint and turn it into the perfect shabby chic little girls play thing.

Wonderful 1950's Sirram picnic hamper complete with original contents.  Needs a bit of work and some serious cleaning but a fab find with China cups and plates not plastic . *big smile*

HUGE gilt and cream mirror.  Knocked the seller down to £12 from £15 for this beauty.  Don't be afraid to haggle especially if its a big item, they won't want to take it home again !

Now for the random piece.  Whilst selling on Saturday in Budleigh I remembered one of the lovely sellers from the last Crikey Its Vintage Event I attended had a shop there.  I thought I would pop along and take a peak.  What Katy Did  is the most wonderful treasure trove of Vintage items you will find anywhere on the planet.  I got talking to the lovely Katy and it came to light she rents out cabinets in her shop.  Result : I am now, along with my lovely friend Liz the proud renter of space in Katy's shop.  So when I saw the Brush Hall set above I thought it would be the perfect piece to fit right in with the style of Katy's Shop.  Wish me luck and watch this space for regular updates on how it goes.

Two teeny, tiny ceramic puppy dogs.  I saw them on the same table as another old child's tea set I purchased and though they looked so sad, I just couldn't leave them behind.

That's it for today.  I have lots and lots more treasure including four chairs but will save those for another day.

Linking up with the lovely Liz from Magpie Monday

Mad Blog Awards Finalist

 

I'm thrilled to say this blog made it into the finals of the 2012 Mad Blog Awards ! I am over the moon as there are just 77 finalists across 20 award categories.

There were 52,000 nominations for over 3,000 different blogs.  So its a BIG deal.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everybody who nominated me.

If you would like to vote for me to win you can do it really quickly and easily  Vote Here  Just scroll down to the Best Home Category, click on the please choose button, select The White Approach, scroll to the bottom of the page and enter !

Please do keep following and reading my blog, lots of great ideas are coming soon.  I have made some big business decisions over the last few weeks and I would love you along for the ride.

Thank you so much once again for all your support, encouragement and great comments.  This blog would not be what it is if it was not for you.

Karen

XXX

Topsham Vintage and Homemade fair

It's been raining for weeks (or so it seems)  I have missed two Sunday boot sales so I was doing my serious "no rain" dance last night in order to get my fix.  After an awful night's sleep I awoke to beautiful clear skies and the chimes of baby twin asking if he could come with me today to the boot sale.  But, but, but .....  I need to concentrate ! I need to march around at speed snatching bounty from beneath the noses of the less astute!  No problem.  The boot sale gods were looking down, hubby came with me and No 1 son assured me (after I shook him out of his slumber) that he would stay awake and look after Big twin when he woke up .

Off we rushed.  Here are some of my goodies all bound for the Topsham Vintage and handmade fair along with the stools and a few other pieces I have "reloved".

I've had this 1950/60's picnic hamper for a while but have finally got around to cleaning it up and sorting it out to take to the vintage fair tomorrow.

Lovely wicker hamper with a great greyish/white whitewash effect and grey handles, gorgeous. Shall I keep it, shall I sell it ?

Really beautiful palest yellow and white with gold stars English Bone china tea set

Lovely, ceramic Jelly/Blamange mould

You may remember a while back I mentioned about a gorgeous French glass set of tea cups and saucers I saw and didn't pick up (I already have a set myself) well the lady was back again today and she still had the set ! Mine, all mine ! Won't make that mistake twice.

Immaculate Enamel Bread bin, no real age to it, made in Poland, a beauty all the same .

Sorry but that's all I have time for today.  Hopefully most of the above will sell tomorrow.  If you are in Devon and fancy a treat of Vintage and Homemade loveliness please do pop down to Topsham (we are in the hall next to the Fire station) from 10 am to 4 pm.

The Jones Family Likes .....

Our home if full of paintings, pictures and vintage signs.  This is the latest addition to the collection.  I love it.  If you would like one for your family let me know.  Selling them for £28  including the frame plus P & P, you can choose from reloved vintage frames painted in aany colour of your choice or new frames in white vintage (as shown) modern white, black or brown.  Contact me for more information. xx

An invitation from the Master of Vintage Clothing & Magpie Monday

To my shock and delight an invitation popped into my inbox from the true Vintage Clothing King - William Banks-Blaney who is holding an event at the V & A Museum to mark the wedding of William and Kate Next Friday.    Sadly I will be attending a not so prestigious party at my next door neighbours house, otherwise I might just have popped on my Manolo's and jumped on a train to London. 

This did get me thinking though about my own love of vintage and thrifted clothes and accessories.  Bargains have been few and far between for this week's Magpie Monday so here are some of the beautiful designer items I have collected over the years and although most don't now fit, I just can't bring myself to be parted from them.

Emporio Armani Ladies dressing gown, purchased off Etsy and THE most gorgeous mink coloured silk.    I love the detail on the back.

Ralph Lauren Tweed jacket, totally too die for tayloring and wonderful buttons.  I adore Ralph Lauren and snap up jackets whenever I can from Ebay. 

Another Ebay 100% Silk Ralph Lauren Jacket in a beautiful soft cream, I wear this with wide legged trousers or the Silk Skirt below.  Only when there are not any children about though !

Devine Ralph Lauren softest of soft fluid sik skirt again another Ebay find and as new !

Palest Pink Silk Ralph Lauren.  This was advertised as a dress, but it is totally sheer and you would need nerves of steel and a figure like Kate Moss to get away with it.  I wore it as a nightdress on a few occasions! Sadly it no longer fits.

What girl doesn't want to own a killer pair of Carrie Bradshaw Manolo Blahnik shoes !  These are my totally gorgeous, too die for Sneaklo Porc Velour Rose Mules as worn by Carrie in Sex in the City.  Purchased prior to the birth of the twins they are rarely worn now as you can see but I take them out from time to time, just to look and stroke !

Finally, a PUCCI Bag again off Ebay and a total steal, appears brand new with all the tags included and the dust bag.  The lady who sold it must have been distraught at the price I won it for but bless her she still sent it to me, not so sure I would have been able to part with it if it had been the other way around.

A selection of some of the beautiful clothes I have managed to buy thanks to Ebay, Etsy and other internet sites.  As I have always maintained you really don't need a bank full of money to buy quality designer pieces, they last for years and if you stick to classic styles you can wear them again and again year in and year out.  Please pop over and see the other MagpieMonday entries.