The North wind doth blow ...

Good morning, my lovelies! Well, it's a grey blustery Tuesday here on my little island ... but do you know, I quite like days like this nowadays. I always thought, that if I was asked, I would say that Winter was my least favourite season, but if it was forever Summer, we wouldn't be able to batten down the hatches, snuggle down and just potter about, would we?

I work from home, so am lucky that I don't have to brave the weather if I don't need to ... apart from a brisk walk with Ruby, I can put on my paint-splattered clothes, play my favourite music and just get on with it ... if the sun is shining though, it's very easy to get distracted! I bought a very dirty, forlorn dresser from a furniture warehouse for £30, brought it home with the intention of upcycling it, then selling it on ... somehow it found its way into my home ... the perfect fit for a wide alcove that I'd given up hope of ever filling ....

When I'm not working, I like nothing better than just faffing about, filling teacups and other containers with spring bulbs, they really make a difference to the 'feel' of a room, don't you think?

I've rediscovered my love of crochet ... I'm still a very basic crocheter, and even though I've been doing it since I was a child my grannies never seemed right! I've joined two lovely crochet classes and  after all these years I've mastered the art and started filling my home with granny squares galore ... however, some never make it to my sofa, my last two blankets were snatched up by two of my sons, so one blanket now resides in Leeds and the other in Salford!

My son's girlfriend gave us this lovely basket for Christmas, filled with lots of amazing presents for the whole family ... it really is huge and just the thing for all those projects ... most of the things I've made are practical, like blankets and cushion covers

but some are just for fun!

I made this little heart wreath one wet and windy Sunday afternoon ... all credit must be given to Lucy at Attic24 blog, her tutorials are amazingly easy to follow ... if I can do it, anyone can!

Our family has increased with the arrival of four new girls ... meet Nellie, Peggy, Dolly and Minnie, our lovely rescue hens! They have settled in really well, and knock on the kitchen door if their porridge is a bit slow to be delivered.

They pay for their keep by giving us the most amazing, sunflower-yolked eggs every day, and I'm so glad that we decided to have hens in our lives once again.  I really missed their reassuring clucking and manic running when a bag was rustled anywhere near them ...

Dotty has been earning her keep too ... while a little too cold just yet to sit in and crochet (and when the wind is blowing, it really does feel as though you are going to take off) she has been turned into a very beautiful shop, and held a few Sunday sales ...

It really won't be long until Spring blusters her way into our lives, with all her pretty colours and new beginnings ...

but until then, I'm going to enjoy a few more candlelit baths ...

and snuggle up on the sofa with a new magazine and a mug of hot chocolate ...

amidst dimmed lighting and warmth ...

safe in the knowledge that the best is yet to come ...

Enjoy the last few weeks of winter my lovelies, don't fight it, just give in to it ... embrace it, welcome it with open arms,  and most importantly,  make the most of it ...

With much love, Claire xxx

Stormy Weather ...

Happy August, my lovelies ... how on earth did that happen already?

Well, my garden sale was an absolutely fabulous event made so by the wonderful people who dropped in ... it was a meeting place for old and new customers alike and also of course, friends and family. £130 was also raised for NW Air Ambulance, just from donations in lieu of an admittance fee, so thank you all so much.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, so I got up early and started lugging furniture around ... I had several big pieces: 3 dressing tables; a Dutch Dresser and plate rack, as well as the usual smaller items of chairs, side tables, etc.

Once the furniture was in place I was able to do my favourite thing ...  tittivate!

Even Dotty got a makeover and she was decorated with vintage teasets, old board games and annuals (anyone else remember Princess Tina?) ... there wasn't a moment in the day when there wasn't someone in there, oohing and aahing over everything and singing along to the LP's being played on Millie's vintage record player.

On Sunday, it was a bit cloudy, but I got on with it and it was a bit easier as everything that had been packed away related to a certain area of the garden.  At ten o'clock on the dot, I stood back and surveyed the scene ... I thought it looked even better than the day before ... I opened the gate ready for the visitors and the heavens opened! It was coming down so heavily I couldn't even attempt to bring anything in until it calmed down a bit.

On cue, my lovely friend Ruth arrived, and we swabbed everything down with old towels and wrung out the upholstery on my chair seats.  The rain came periodically throughout the day, and whilst not as busy as Saturday was still a good day with more lovely people coming through the gate, and some returning for a second visit! I'm sorry I haven't taken any pictures of the customers ... it was so busy I really didn't have the time and all my photos are taken beforehand.

We also had the pleasure of the company of the amazing Miss Becki Fishwick, who serenaded the shoppers on Sunday afternoon. Such a shame we didn't have the beachgoers passing by as we had the day before ...

My stock is now at an all time low, so a great excuse to go treasure-hunting once more! I can actually move in the house, and when Steve returns to work next week, I'm going to give the house a bit of a Spring Clean (well better late than never!) and revamp. Last week I took it easy after all the excitement, and as Steve is off work we've just been pottering about, doing jobs that need doing, and Steve's birthday was on Friday so I made him a cake that I'd been itching to try out after seeing it on t'internet. Didn't turn out quite as imagined but it tasted delicious, which is all that matters really!

Anyway, I'll love you and leave you my lovelies, until next time! Thanks for dropping in, you're always welcome ...

Love, Claire xxx

PS: I really need to get a wriggle on ... Betty the Wood Fairy's swap is due in soon ... will reveal all in due course xxx

All I want is a room somewhere ....

Oh, what a beautiful morning! Today, as I approached 'my' beach, I had one of those heart-swelling moments of happiness, that this is on my doorstep, free to enjoy whenever I like ... how lucky am I?

 I don't know about you, but I could sit for hours, sifting through pebbles, at first glance they look alike, but up close and personal, there are so many different colours, shapes and sizes ... I wish they could talk, what tales they could tell ...

There seems to be a lot of yellow around at the moment too ... a very welcome antidote to the greyness we've been experiencing lately! The gorse is in full bloom, and I spotted lots of sunny dandelions, wild daffodils and celandines too.

Something else that I always welcome, is my Country Living magazine popping through the front door! Always a lovely read, it never disappoints and provides me with lots of inspiration.

A lovely friend treated me to Molly Makes and Steve got me the new Reloved magazine, as I had been dropping hints.  It is a lovely magazine, very aesthetically pleasing, but when I sat down to read it properly was quite disappointed to find that a lot of the projects had already appeared elsewhere, so I have them in books which I have already paid good money for.  Felt a bit cheated, really! However, there are other ideas which were new, but I don't think I'll be a regular customer. What do you all think?

I couldn't resist this Pippi Longstocking book, when I spied it whilst out treasure hunting.  I devoured Pippi books as a child, and Pippi in the South Seas was a favourite.

This cheeky chap appealed to me too, I think I might keep him! Eyeing up the girls while dragging on a fag ... probably a Gauloise, as it definitely has a French feel to it ...

These ladies caught my eye too, as they looked so cheerful! Must say though that inflation has reached an all-time high, as when this was published pre-decimalisation, it was priced as 6d, which is 2.5p in new money.  I was charged a whole ten bob (50p ... for you youngsters who don't know what I'm blathering on about) ... I could have bought 20 patterns for that in the old days (correct me if I'm wrong ... Maths never was my strong point).

Remember my workroom renovations ... I'm ready for the big reveal! I found a roll of wallpaper which was just enough to cover one wall (it looks a bit much, but it's over the workbench, so only half a wall really).

It features all my favourite flowers in one go! Roses, tulips, hyacinths, primroses and lots of other UFO's (unidentified flower others)

The focal point as you entered the room was a radiator, so decided I needed a radiator cover ... the one I wanted was £75!! I wasn't paying that, being thrifty (not tight, thrifty) but on closer inspection, if I bought an identical, unpainted one, it was £24! That was more like it, as I was painting it anyway.

On my travels I found this very old, warped, broken and splintered cupboard, but I knew it would be perfect to go over the radiator ... for £10, including delivery, I couldn't not, could I?

This is a rubbish picture as the sun was so bright, but this is another cupboard which was filthy and had been there for over a year ... £20!

This is the cupboard and radiator, after painting with Annie Sloan Antoinette ...

and lined with my favourite 'vintage' London wallpaper!

The corner cupboard is painted in AS Country Grey, and again lined with the London paper. I'm very pleased with how they've turned out ...

A home for some of my craft books ....

 I had great fun 'titivating' with all my sewing bits and bobs.  I really need to learn to sew ... I can't even thread a needle, but I'm determined and hoping to start lessons soon.

Old Sylkos ... reminds me of my lovely Mam, who sat at her sewing machine ever day, making curtains for a department store ...

Packets of press studs and hooks and eyes.

My little window, with a table to sit at and gaze at the view! I'm really pleased with my workroom, especially as it has cost less than £50, because everything other than the furniture, I already had.

Need to love you and leave you now my lovelies, just going treasure hunting for a high stool to sit at my bench, and a cupboard for my fabric stash and wool! 

Whatever you do this week, have fun!

Love Claire xxx

Hey, Big Spender!

I know, I know, we're well into the New Year, but better late than never! I hope you've all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year and escaped any illness ... me and Harry succumbed to the Christmas Lurgy but are over it now, and it's nice to start to get back to 'normal'. As my sub-title is 'a diary of vintage, thrifty adventures' I realised that my posts have been sadly lacking in this department recently, so thought I'd share with you what I've been up to lately.

Some time ago, I saw a cooker made from a bedside table on a load of old tat blog so decided to borrow the idea as my sister was buying a log cabin for her grandchildren for Christmas and it needed furnishing inside.  Steve did all the work and I bossed him around  instructed him, but the cooker was well received ... I only wish I'd known of this idea when my own children were little, instead of spending large amounts of money on plastic rubbish kitchens and the like.

With everyone in the family back at work/school/college yesterday I decided to go thrifting as I hadn't done this since before Christmas, and I was starting to go a bit stir crazy! (There was method in my madness too, as there was no-one to witness my arrival back home with crates full of stuff!) I'm glad I went yesterday or I might have missed this little lot! All these items were purchased for £12 and that included a donation.

Thirty-nine pieces of Wood's ware crockery, including a teapot, milk jug, cups, saucers, side plates and dinner plates all for £3!! They were predominantly in the green Beryl colour, but the lady then found some Iris pieces and said "I'll throw these in too, love, to get rid of them and make some space". To think this crockery has survived almost 70 years shows that it has staying power, so that'll do for me!

A lovely dessert spoon set in leather case ... this looks unused, and I can imagine a young bride receiving it as a wedding present and putting it away 'for best' ... I hope that 'best' arrived and that she did get to use it.

Lovely, shaped standard lampshade.  A bit tatty and not really my colours so requiring a bit of Granny Chic, I think ...

Little Hornsea squirrel to join my growing collection of fauna ...

and a lovely little wooden cow on wheels who just asked to be rescued ... could do with a little tlc and a bit of a polish (but then again, couldn't we all?) ...

This is the best treasure that I've unearthed for a long time, so I hope it's going to be a good year on the thrifty front. I'm trying to have a 'no-spend' January, but this doesn't include thrifting obviously ... you have to speculate to accumulate, after all! I'm only buying necessities, such as food ... and never paying full price for anything, if I can help it.  Just try and have a week of living off what you already have instead of shopping for more stuff you don't really need. Think of the time you'd save trawling around a busy, soulless supermarket, not to mention the money!

This Sadler teapot is my alltime favourite piece of treasure I have ever found! I discovered it in a charity shop before Christmas, which I only go to once a month, when I collect my chicken food, and it was only £3!! I absolutely love it as hearts and flowers are my favourite things, and the two combined on a beautiful china teapot is just perfect.

I advertised on a local site requesting a reasonably priced old, wooden rocking chair and this is what I got ... it too needs a bit of care and attention, but I've got plans! I saw a very similar one in a local 'shabby chic' shop, which had been painted, waxed and distressed and was priced at almost £300! This little beauty was £15 and is definitely a keeper.

I'll just share my lovely red tulips with you ... these are one of my favourite flowers and a reminder that spring is on its way, bursting through the dark, grey days of winter!

I would like to thank you all for visiting and leaving such lovely comments on my last post.  I was overwhelmed by the volume of visitors sharing their stories with me and by the kindness, support and loyalty you all give so freely. I was really touched, so thank you, once again.

See you all soon,  keep warm and carry on!

Love, Claire

xxx