Car Boot Loot #18

Finally some sun!  It's been so long that I've forgotten what sunshine looks like.

I think the whole of the UK has me to thank for the sun!  Yesterday we all trooped out to buy the Wee Man some wet weather gear.  Not only a windproof, waterproof jacket but also an all in one rain suit thing.  The type that you zip yourself into with just your face and hands showing.  

So because of this timely purchase of wet gear, the sun has decided to spite me and shine it's smug glorious face all over us.  Shouldn't really complain should I.

What the rain did stop us from doing this weekend was go car booting.  They were all closed because the fields were pretty much lakes.  So I don't have much to show this week.  Just some goodies from charity shops.

First up, a beautiful set of Paragon tea plates.  They are the right shade of green and the pink roses are gorgeous.  I do love pink roses.

And another train game for the Wee Man.  He has so many board games they are taking over my house but for £1.50 and it's a train game, I had to buy it.  It'll be a lovely surprise for him when he comes in from school today. 

That was my lot for this week.  Not much to show really.  The rain really has a lot of answer for.

If you liked my Car Boot Loot post have a look see at my other Loot posts.  Just click here.  

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Car Boot Loot #16

Well I'm back from my hols in Wales and the Wee Man had a fantastic time.  More of our Welsh Adventure at a later date.  But today a quick - ish rundown of all the loot I have gathered since the last Car Boot Loot Post.

I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to go to as many charity shops as I had hoped to on hols, but I still found some treasures during my travels.

First up a vintage Oxo cube tin.  All for a mere 10p.  The tin design was the winning design in the Oxo Graphic Design Award for schools and colleges in 1992.  It was designed by a very talented Martin Sanders age 19 and the theme shows that OXO can be enjoyed by everyone throughout the day.   (I write this as if I am knowledgable about all things Oxo tins, but really I'm only copying it from the tin!)

My favourite part of the design is the circus lion licking it's lips.  I wonder if he's eyeng up the cup of Oxo or the lion tamer.  

Next up some serious vintage china porn.

Four very gorgeous Johnson Brothers tea cups and saucers.  I love the bright Spring colours and the lovely floral detail. 

My first ever handled cake plate.  It's an Old Foley one bought from a charity shop in Porthmadog for a very reasonable £1.99.  The price sticker said £2.99 but the lady behind the till gave it a look and said it was only worth £1.99, so that's what I got it for.  And of course I put a little donation in the collection tin at the till.  

We found an attic sale in a church hall and amongst all the toot there was this fine example of a stately tea pot poking it's spout out of the chaos.  It's Royal Albert Inspiration and is currently looking lovely and serene on my dresser.  

And lastly a "little" something I picked up on our last day on hols.  Two lovely and very heavy red enamel pots.  The colour reminds me of "Keep Calm and Carry On" and I'm thinking of either stencilling the logo on to the pots or using a decal.  Not sure yet.  Bought for a meagre £1 each from a vintage steam train station platform.

That's my lot today.  More holiday adventures to follow.  I hope you all had a fabbo Easter holiday.  Not sure what your weather was like, Wales was wet!

If you've enjoyed gawking at my loot, why not gawk some more at my other Car Boot Loot posts here.

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Car Boot Loot #15

Well after a rubbish start with the new charity shop, it's finally come good.  Remember I missed out on the lovely F&M picnic hamper?  I've been visiting the charity shop nearly every day after I drop the Wee Man off at school and over the weeks I have come home with some rather fabulous finds.

These are my most recent.

A set of gorgeous mini playing cards.  I bought them to put my handmade flower hair clips on.  I thought the pink birdies on the backs would look lovely.  It wasn't until I got home and had a proper look at them, I realised what a bargain I got.  All the face cards are different and oh so gorgeous.  Instead of Queens there are "Ds" and the Jacks are "Bs".  I'm thinking Duchesses and Barons?  Anyone know? I showed them to the Big Man and he suggested they should be framed since they are so lovely.

I also got a set of vintage "Lexicon" playing cards.  I know they sell on Ebay for a fair bit so I'm toying with the idea of selling them on, however my wannabe crafty mind is going into overdrive thinking of things I could do with them.  A Google search is in the offing.

Of course some more vintage china.  A set of Royal Albert Gossamer tea cups, saucers and tea plates.  I love the colours and the fine marbling detail.  A bit different from my usual vintage flowery desgins but the colours are divine.

 

 That's my lot for this week.  What Loot did you get?  

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Car Boot Loot #14

A very quick post today as the Wee Man has the lurgy.  I was all set for going to a car boot yesterday,the first time this year, then the Wee Man was struck down with lurgy.  I was so excited but needs must and we spent yesterday stuck indoors entertaining a poorly Wee Man.  Sigh!

I was able to get to town last week and did a quick tour of the charity shops.  I found lots of lovelies but only came home with one.  Charity shop prices have gone mental.  I know there's lots of blog posts about charity shop prices so I won't bore you with another one.  Alls I'll say is "BLIMEY!"

Lookey at this gorgeous Royal Albert tea plate.  It makes my heart sing.  I'm going to put some plates on my dining room wall and make a plate display.  All I need to do is get rid of all the Wee Man's "art" first.  Which may be a wee bit tricky.  

And of course I can't go into a charity shop without coming out with a pile of books for the Wee Man.  He's such a book worm.

So the Wee Man did better than I did this week.  Next Sunday will be a wash out also as we'll be visiting family.  So I'll lose another week of car booting.

Will I ever get to a car boot this year?!

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Car Boot Loot #13

Yesterday was the Grand Opening of a charity shop that's a 5 minute walk from my house.  I'd spied a gorgeous F&M picnic hamper in the window and was determined to make it mine.  Unfortunately the woman in front of me in the queue was just a little bit quicker than I was.  Grrr!

The Big Man was not in the slightest bit sympathetic when I told him I'd missed out on the hamper.  I've obviously married an idiot.  He reasoned that I had enough F&M hampers, we don't have room for any more and I'd bought the exact same one from a charity shop a couple of months ago. 

Hm.  Maybe he's not that much of an idiot after all.  But I do love baskets and I especially love Fortnum and Mason ones.  They make me feel posh.

I've bagged a few bargains since my last Car Boot Loot post.  Mostly from charity shops as the car boot season has ended in my town.  There is one in a neighbouring town but the Big Man has been working weekends recently.  Thankfully the show he was working on has ended now so we shall be heading up there next Sunday.  

Here's some of the goodies I got recently.

A beautiful Royal Ascot tea cup trio.

Gorgeous pink Grindley and Johnson Bros bowls.  They go perfectly with the pink tea pot the Big Man gave me.

A Johnsons Bros Rose Cloud platter.  This thing is huge!  It would comfortably fit a Christmas turkey with all it's trimmings.  I'm not sure if pink is a suitable Christmas colour scheme so I'm not too sure what to do with it.  It's currently on top of my dresser looking pretty.  

My utility china collection is getting a wee bit out of hand now.  But the Wee Man has now moved into his new bedroom which means I can now move his toys in there, which means there's more space downstairs for me to have more gorgeous things on display.  Result!

I've got loads more to flaunt but I'll keep them for another day.

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The Big Man has FINALLY Learned

The Big Man and I have known each other for a fair few years and finally after all those years he has come up trumps with his present buying.

Lookey what he gave me yesterday.

It's a gorgeous Johnson Bros Rose Dawn Coffee Pot.  It's in perfect condition and will be proudly displayed on my dresser.

Not only is it gorgeous and perfect, it was also bought from a charity shop.  Double points for the Big Man.

The Big Man done good!

A Handbook for Christmas

Come December, the shops are choc full of guides and handbooks on how to have the best Christmas ever.  How to dress your tree, how to serve a Michelin starred dinner and how to make exceptional presents that will become heirlooms.

Not one to deviate from the bandwagon I found the best Christmas handbook ever published.  Bought for a meagre £1 from a charity shop last week, the book has given me a lot of  lightbulb moments and a few chuckles.

It covers everything you need to have a very merry Christmas for all the family with recipes, decorating ideas, craft ideas and even instructs you on how to take down and store your decorations for next year. 

By far my favourite section in the book is the "Choosing of Presents".  With a handy illustrated guide on which presents to give and not give each member of your family.  For example,  who knew giving Gran a corset for Christmas would elicit this response from her?  

And it is really not a good idea to give Mum toilet paper and a scrubbing brush?

The kids would take exception to receiving a school uniform or writing paper.  And poor baby should definitely not be reminded of his incontinence.

There's also a chapter on how to decorate your tree to a theme with great crafting ideas for ornaments.  There's the Children's tree.

With wool and stick stars.  I remember making these at school.

Sweetie garlands which will no doubt rapidly become an empty sweetie wrapper garland.

And fluffy woolen pom poms.  Did these at school too and hated it.  They are so monotonous to do.

There's also the Victorian tree with gravity defying doves at the top of the tree.

A Soft and Safe Tree for baby with cotton wool garlands and paper chains.

And my favourite tree is the Wildlife tree for your garden.

Who needs gawdy Blackpool lights in your garden when you could have this lovely creation?  It's so simple to make and the little birdies will be kept happy through the Christmas season.

The book also gives some handy tips on how to build with snow.  Who'd have thunk you could use a cardboard box to make snow squares or a wasing up liquid bottle to make towers?  Genius!

All I need now are four trees, two feet of snow and definitely not toilet paper or scrubbing brushes.  

Out of Chaos Comes Lovelies + Giveaway

It's been a bit hectic here.  I've picked up some bits and pieces from my travels to show you all but I just haven't found the time to take pics and post about them.  It takes a lot of time and effort to take really dark, out of focus photos, dontcha know?

The past couple of weeks have been all about the Wee Man and his allergies.  But to be honest it normally is all about the Wee Man and his allergies.  I've had meeting after meeting with various people at the school.  Discussing this, that and everything in between.  He starts reception in September, so he will be moving from the safe bubble that is his nursery class to the big school and beyond.  He'll also be having lunch at school which is a whole minefield in itself.  I won't bore you with the details of it all, but needless to say it's been quite a stressful time.

We all had lunch at the school yesterday, so we could witness first hand what lunch time at the school is like.  Think sixty, four and five year olds eating lunch with very little adult supervision.  After the lunch, the Big Man declared that he wanted me to be at the school every lunch time to watch the Wee Man.  He was physically shaking with fear with wide starey eyes and everything.  Thankfully, I talked him down from the precipice he was tottering on.

Anyway, there's still a lot to discuss and do before the end of term, which is only a couple of weeks away.  So really, not feeling any big pressure or stress at all.  Nope, not me.  Stress free and emotionless me(!)

Anyway, in spite of all these goings ons, I've found great solace in shopping.  A girl's gotta shop and all that.  I've picked up a few lovelies on my travels this past week.  First up, a set of vintage playing cards.  I've seen some gorgeous ones floating around blog land and of course I wanted some also.  They're so pretty and I'm going to use them for some crafty thingie rather than play with them.  I'm not sure they would survive a game of Scabbie Queen or Snap in our house.  We do get rather excitable when playing cards.

They are illustrated with wild flowers from Western Australia.  They sure beat the native British dandelion.  They are a complete pack with their original plastic case, £1.

The Wee Man and I went to the dentist last week and of course we had to pop into the charity shops on the way.  There were very poor pickings on the day but at the very last charity shop we went into I found this delightful lovely.  I very nearly didn't pick it up as it is a far cry from my usual vintage bone china.  But when I did pick it up I couldn't put it back down.  A quick peek at the bottom and I realised they were Gisela Graham and not only that, they were brand new and still had their stickers on them.

It's a Gisela Graham Gingerbread man jug and plate, £1.99.  It's so cute, the Wee Man is enamoured with it as am I. The Big Man however did his rolley eye thing when he saw it.  It's perfect for Christmas Day dinner and I'm thinking of using it as the theme for the table this year.  But that's six months away and only one day.  It's too cute to use only once a year, so I'm on the hunt for the perfect display spot in my house.  Which is a lot harder than it sounds.  I think it'll look a wee bit out of place next to vintage tea cups and the like.

Giveaway

On Saturday we also made a visit to our local scrapstore.  It's a great place and I'll write a whole post dedicated to the Aladdin's cave that is our scrapstore.  But that's another day and another post.  One of the things I did pick up was a great knitting pattern book.

It's got lots of great children's knits in there.  Beautiful, whimsical knits that I would love to be able to make.  I picked it up thinking that one day I'd be good enough to attempt them, but in truth I think that will be many, many years from now.  I think it would be a shame for this book to get lost in my craft stash so I'd like to give it to someone who would make use of the patterns.

There are 12 patterns in all.

My favourite is the green Maid Marion jumper.  It's so cute with a little fringey frilly thing at the bottom.

If you would like the book, just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a name out next week.  I'll give it until next Tuesday 12th July.  Good luck.

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