Going Round in Circles.....

The fact that my life seems to be going around in circles just lately, did at least inspire my latest handmade creation. A boudoir cushion with spirals of vintage cream and mocha lace stitched onto antique French linen, creating ruffles of whirling 'froufrouness'! With a circular brooch to finish it off, of course!

Niki

'Springtime' Goodies!

I have updated my on-line shop today, with some Spring inspired vintage goodies.

Niki x
Thank you to everyone who made a purchase from my website yesterday - I am VERY grateful for your support and for all of your kind emails - I hope you will be pleased with your items. Niki x

Antique Sheet Music

Its been a hectic week this week and so I have not managed to achieve all that I set out to do. My hubby has been away working in Germany for the week and there have been lots of things going on with my girls.............so as a chill out activity to do in the evenings, I decided to sort out my collection of vintage greetings postcards.

I discovered this antique music book a while ago. I loved the fact that it is shabby, worn and well loved! Some of the pages are dated to the mid 1800's and have wonderful old repairs.

I decided to use it like a scrap book, mounting the postcards inside with photo corners, so as not to damage them or the book.
I've arranged them in sections to make pleasing displays. Beautiful painterly roses.....

....Forget-me-nots for loved ones......

Violets for faithfulness.....

Charming portraits.....

....more roses!!

And Easter greetings.

Within the book are stunning title pages for each new section of music. I chose to leave these on view to add interest to the book.

I have only ever discovered two postcards with names printed into the design; unbelievably, the two that I have found, are my two grandmothers names! (Gertrude and Elsie.) I have surrounded these with hearts and hands.

Lovely ladies in their finery.....

And fancy French cards....I could go on!!

It will end up as rather a chunky book when it is complete, but should be a joy to pick up and look through now and then.

I hope to add a few music books to my website soon - they make delightful scrap books. The pages can be reproduced on a computer scanner and printer and used for crafts too.
The papers can be fun to use in all sorts of ways, such as binding lace and ribbons and creating vignettes around your home - I enjoyed gathering this little collection together for a future project.

I've also been creating some postcard storage boxes, covering and lining a simple box and embellishing with braids and a vintage postcard.

Have a great weekend,
Niki x

A Good Days Work!

The Sunday flea market that I attended, turned out to be a very productive days work of hunting and gathering! I only ever buy things that I love and would be happy to own myself, so it will be a while before I can decide which of the treasures that I can bare to part with, but for now, here is my haul:

The loveliest embroidered backed dressing table brush set that I think I have ever seen, a vintage toffee tin with a Bullfinch design, a sweet little perfume bottle for my bathroom collection, all resting on a vibrant rose printed barkcloth. The 3 doilies have tiny rose embroidered cameos which coordinate beautifully with the brushes.

Victorian greetings cards are always hard to resist.

There were several c1950's chocolate boxes with retro designs, that would be ideal as gift boxes for Easter treats. The purple satin covered egg is ripe for a Faberge style make-over!

The large Victorian jug was the bargain of the day at just £1, as it has a chip on the rim, but is perfect for displaying cut flowers.

I found several fabulous old wedding photos throughout the fair - some have heavy foxing to their cardboard mounts, so I shall probably add some lace or collage borders (If I can find the time......I'll add it to my list!)

More fabrics and trims and my best buy was the gorgeous glass beaded bulb covers - I have always wanted some, so these needed to come home with me!

Brooches, buttons and bowls for gift sets and handmade items.

And a stunning pair of single European quilts from the 1920's/30's, with the incredible Chrysanthemum design in typical colours of the era - still so vibrant and eye-catching.

Two framed prints that have already been hung on my kitchen wall; the top one is the home I aspire to live in one day, with a beautiful cottage garden and stone mullioned windows!

And the other is dated 1895 and reminds me of my three blonde daughters and our chickens - it is entitled 'The Eviction' - the little Victorian girl is chasing the cockerel from the cottage, puffing fire bellows at him.

And finally I couldn't leave without this little chap! He is VERY worn, with virtually no pile left on his coat at all, but he still has so much charm - I think it was because he reminded me of my daughter's favourite book when they were younger. 'Dogger' by Shirley Hughes, was one of those books that I could sit and read to my girls and have them enthralled. When I finally got to the end of the story there would be a chorus of 'again...again' and I would have to read it from cover to cover once more.

(I've always been a sucker for nostalgia!)

Have a great week,

Niki x

Mothering Sunday

It is Mothering Sunday today, here in the UK - I'd like to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to all the Mums everywhere - have a wonderful day, hopefully with a little pampering from those who love you!

I'm off to a flea market now - enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Niki x

Vintage Fashion

My middle daughter came home at the weekend and announced that as some of the fashion students at the University had gone to New York this week, she had been given a half-term holiday and was to create a new costume project during this time. So to help her with this, we decided to visit the Bath Costume Museum (now re-named The Fashion Museum) this morning.

As residents of Bath we are entitled to free entry, which is an added bonus. It is only a small exhibition, despite the size of the building, as much of it is used for functions and events in the Assembly Rooms.

One of the oldest exhibits is a child's dress which dates from 1660, but the displays span the decades right up to the present day and include two mannequins dressed in jeans, t-shirts and hoodies, complete with skate boards and trainers!

Two glamorous dresses from the 1950's.

Yes, I would quite like to try this one on!

There are various designer dresses too, including this paneled 1970's dress made from leather.

A slinky oriental little number....

....and a fragile lacy evening dress from 1906.

One of Bath's famous residence was Jane Austin - this delicious lace bridal gown is from her era - its size is minute, surely women weren't really that tiny? (Please enlarge photo to see the delicate lace details.)

There are also some underwear exhibits, including corsets, which totally fascinate my daughter -she inevitably designs her costumes around them. As well as an exquisite, but looser fitting, flapper girls undergarment c1920.

A bustle dress from Victorian times - how ever did they breath, let alone sit down?!

I found the hats fascinating, as I have a small collection myself, but none as beautiful as this flower encrusted cloche.

As we left, we spotted a small sign requesting that visitors don't take photographs! Whoops! You won't tell anyone, will you? I just wanted to share these treasures with you this afternoon.

Niki x