Sad news....

....my local secret charity shop has been given a price list - grrrr!  I was in there having a quick look and I overheard the two helpers (who have also moved the whole shop around) that they have to re price the items as they are too cheap and they need to look at the price list - blugh!  I couldn't keep quiet so I said "that's a shame as its nice to go to a charity shop where the stock leaves the shelves and the pricing is good", they said that the manager advised the price change but they are going to amend the prices when they are in on their own anyway as they want to get rid of the stock - phew!  I'll be on price watch now lol.

But on a happier note I'm going to show my charity shop purchases this the week:

Vintage Irish linen embroidered tray cloth still in his original box - £1 :o)

Hand embroidered table cloth and 6 napkins - £1.50.

Glass dressing table tray that matches the trinket jar i bought at the boot sale on Sunday £1.50 :o)

Another embroidered table cloth but this one has pink hearts - can I get a combined awww... £2 for this beauty.

Sooty with wand for my little boy.  The funny thing was I was buying some books at the time I spotted this and said to the lady on the till "Hang on I've just spotted Sooty" - well I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the lady on the till hot foot it down to the toy shelf shouting "Sooty really??" and then she lunged for it.  I and the queue line were a bit taken aback at the blatant poaching of an item but the shop staff.  She then said that he was too big for her collection so I could have him - bloody cheek! lol.  So I bought for £1.99 just to rescue him from the feelings of rejection twice over (plus my little boy has taken a shine to him).

Very excited to find two 1940s Simplicity sewing patterns for 50p each!!  And remember ladies....Simplicity is smartness...and to be truly glamorous you must be smart *wink*

My Final bargain buy wasn't from a charity shop but from TK MAXX - it was in the clearance pile:

A Ladybird book print pencil case or make-up bag according to the label :o)  How fabulous is this, love it and it was reduced from £9.95 to £1.50.  The attached label is very cute too, love this little bit about being a product of the ladybird generation:

 I'm going to keep this little tag as it makes me smile so will find something crafty to do with it hopefully.

I've also found out today that there is another one of those church table top sales on saturday so I'm looking forward to some more 20p bargains!! eeeeee!

Scarlett x

Linking to the fabulous first-thrifty-things-friday

One down one to go...

I've finished one chair! Hoorah!  Remember these bad-boys:

Well a bit of blue paint, some Cath Kidston 'Chelsea Roses' napkins and some serious hours put in with the mod podge and we got ourselves a spanking new chair:

 Not bad for a £2 buy :o)

Thanks for all your ideas on what to do with these, the decoupage idea won me over :o)
I've painted the other chair but am deciding what print to use before I start another decoupage marathon!

Scarlett x

Linking to Treasures and Trinkets Thursdays , thrilling-thursday , Transformation Thursday and thrifty-thursdays

Wherefore art thou Jumble Sale

Now you all know that I've been missing out on a bit of jumble sale action and getting increasing needy of finding one from reading my fellow bloggy bargain hunter friends blogs.  I did find one on Saturday and as promised I will share with you little jumble finds.

On my quest to find a jumble sale I think I may have missed the important rules of 'The Jumble' - I'm up there in the carbooty do's and donts but rusty on the old jumble side of things. Firstly the main rule seems to be - Get there before the opening time and queue!  Said jumble sale was 20 minutes drive from my house, I got there 5 minutes after the 2pm opening (blame the lights) and the jumble was already a scene of complete carnage, it was like grannies rioting - they were taking no prisoners and I'm sure I saw one of them with a scarf over her mouth and nose to hide her identity! The tables were 5 people deep and everyone was trying to outdo each other by gathering the goods to their end of the table and sorting out their little pile while growling at anyone who dare pick up an item they had already claimed.

I knew my fatal mistake of the late arrival when I saw a lady with 6 vintage handbags on her arm and she paid 60p for each bag - gutted is an understatement. I swear she must have seen my eyes boggling and gave me a sweet granny smile but inside I know that lady was laughing.  I also spied the token wheeler dealer in the crowd, checking the markings on the ceramics and pocketing all the best bits for 30p a go.

Anyway here's the few I managed to get through the crowd (blood and sweat stains removed):

Vintage floral umbrella - 50p :o)

All these vintage scarves (including a souvenir one) for 30p each and yes they came with a free scent of eau de old-lady, what a nice touch *wink*

Embroidered napkins - 10p each.

A 1987 Mickey Mouse thermos - 30p (looking inside and on the cap its never been used).

Embroidered seat back cover and table runner - 10p each.

I must apologise for the creases in the photos, I think after the trauma these goodies went through to be found by me they deserve a break before i iron them :o)

I can only imagine what amazing stuff I would have found had I'd been in the queue!  Not going to catch me out next time though oh noooo, going to be first in the line lol.  So the conculsion ... I loved every minute of it! I'm officially hooked on the jumble sale :o) 

P.s are there any more little Jumble Sale rules I should know about?

Scarlett x

Linking to twice-owned-tuesday , nifty-thrifty-tuesdays and thrifty-thursday

Boat Shelves done :o)

Righto remember the boat shelves:

Well Im going to admit that they were a complete bitch to sand and paint lol.  The shape of them made it a crazy job trying to get the sander inside and even the manual use of sandpaper was a nightmare but I did it and this is the result:

TA-DA! I'm now on the look out in my charity shopping and car booting for some little nautical bits and pieces to put on the shelves to finish them off.  I'm always on the look out for pirate themes toys and nursery bits but there seems to be a complete lack of pirates in the main land lol. 

I got painting fever after the shelves and ended up painting a table for his nursery too but I want to decoupage a picture of a boat or ship on the top, really need an A4 print or bigger so am looking like a crazy person leafing through books on my travels to find a picture I can cut out.  Its sods law as I used to see loads of nautical pictures but now I'm looking its seems to be another holy grail!  Wish me luck on my quest :o)

Happy Monday all

Scarlett x

Sunday Trinkets

I actually made it to the carboot sale today before it opened! It meant that I had to queue round the car park to get it with all the other bargain hunters chewing at the bit to be first to the treasures.  As we've had such lovely weather I was expecting it to be a really good sale today but it seems the sunshine has brought all the dealers/traders who are selling great stuff but with antique shop prices.  I did however grab a few bits this week which I was pleased to bring home. So lets have a look :

First off a vintage glass dressing table trinket pot:

It was caked in dirt but was all mine for 50p and the best bit is that it matches my glass dressing table set that i already have :o)

Another apothecary Jar:

A good sized one for my little bits and pieces and mine for 20p :o)

Vintage buttons -  I loved these as they are really decorative ones and there is enough of the same style to re-button a cardigan to give it a revamp, there are also some cool military style ones.  I got these for 50p a bag.

Another thing I don't think I've mentioned is my love of scarves, I have a good couple of cases full but I always buy them as you can get them cheap and they have so many uses.  One sort I am drawn to is the vintage 'souviner scarf' the ones brought back as a trip memory or an unwanted gift.  I haven't seen any for a while but got lucky on two separate stalls today:

The funny thing is they are both from Malta! Maybe its a sign that I should get my bum to Malta to find my fortune lol. These were 50p each and I also picked up another scarf:

Its a vintage St Michael's scarf and still has the original label attached.  I was drawn to it for the tea pots, cups and a bit of floral - couldn't be more fitting really could it, all it needed was a picture of Elvis and then we'd have had ourselves a party lol. I was chuffed to have this one for 50p too.

I came across a young man on a stall who was selling his nan's old bits and pieces - I love these stalls as you are always guaranteed to get a good price as they don't know how fabulous some of the old trinkets are.  Well I zoomed in to grab this little beauty:

How fabulous is this!  I actually fell in love with the box so wasn't bothered what was inside but inside there was a whole host of goodies:

His nan has kept magazine cut outs inside for icing cakes, these are dated from the early 60's there's also a few extra vintage bits like the designing rings which are still in the original sleeve and never been used.  I'm looking forward to having a read through the old magazine cut outs and will share any gems I find.  I couldn't believe I got all this for £1 - very happy Scarlett!

Also from the same stall I got a real kitsch find:

I've looked online and it's most probably 1950's and he said his nan used to serve her alcoholic drinks on this tray and the coasters were a bit of fun in her house - I think I would have loved his nan :o)  My favourite coaster has to be this one:

 So very true :o)  I bagged this lot for £1 - complete bargain!

I also found this Babycham glass on the same table:

In the bag for 50p.

I bought a lot of books (all for 10p!) mainly for my son. One which I had to have was a little wonder from my own school days:

Please tell me my blog friends that I'm not the only one who remembers the Letterland ABC from primary school?  My hubby doesn't know it at all so cant share in my joy of finding this lol. 

I also found a knitting book:

I will learn to knit someday especially if i can make this:

Who wouldn't want to make a knitted bottle cover - hahaha!  Come on those of you who can knit - this should be the top of your projects list *wink*. 

And of course I couldn't go home without a 40p piece of Pyrex!

Now for the highlight of the week:

Witnessed at a Boot Sale:

Lady: How much for the tea light holder?
Stallholder: 50p
Lady: I'll take that thanks (offers 50p coin)
Stallholder takes coin but lady remains at stall
Lady: Can you wrap it?
Stallholder: This isn't Harvey Nicks love!

On the topic of bagging Boot sale goods I also saw a middle aged lady with the biggest (empty) Ikea bag on her shoulder who kicked up a stink at not being given a bag by the stall holder for the jumper she just bought!  I of course always carry extra bags lol.

The last bit of fun was over a vase:

Man: I'll take the blue vase please
Stallholder to her son: Can you grab a carry bag for the Turquoise vase please.
Man: Oh is it turquoise blue, well I only want a blue vase so I'll leave it.

Hope you've all had a cracking weekend.

Scarlett x

Linking up to penny-worthy-project , flea-market-finds, newbie-party, thrift-share-monday and magpie-monday

Finds for the Week

Saturday night, dirty (but yummy) take-away food eaten, baby in bed so thought I'd get on here for another post to show you my accumulated finds for the week. I've had a couple of sneaky trips the the charity shop this week, also went to a boot sale and a jumble sale today! Yes I actually found a jumble sale to go to and it was a real experience, but will have to blog about it another time as trying to make this a quicky post (first time for everything lol).

So here's my charity finds for this week:

These plates are Gladstone Staffordshire in the 'Honeymoon Rose' design. I bagged 6 dinner plates and 6 side plates and because it was half price day I got them all for £4 :o)

Also bought from the same shop:

Blue Iris Pyrex - another beauty to add to the Pyrex obsession. Got this one for a whole 50p.

I found 6 embroidery hoops plus a tapestry frame (which I've been after for ages).  I got the whole bundle for £3.50 in the half price deal - well chuffed!  I've got 2 cross stitch projects on the go, both of which i get into for a while and then put down and leave for a few months but I'm wanting to finish so I can get cracking on the Emily Peacock Hug pillow chart which is like this:

The Saturday boot sale today was a bit of a disappointment again this week, too many collectors stalls and not enough one off sellers who just want to get shot of all their stuff.  I did pick up some curtains and a double duvet cover:

Yup more for my floral obsession too - these will probably be used as fabric for something or other (or added to my fabric pile to be honest lol).  They wanted £6 for them, I offer £4 - the lady said no so I did the usual walking away trick and again it didn't fail me - she came running after me and said I could have the lot for £4 - thanks very much! 
I also bought this French Le Parfait kitschy printed glass bottle:

I'm loving these bears running from the swarm of honey bees. Have no idea how old this bottle is but i couldnt resist it for 70p :o) My hubby groaned when he saw it so I might annoy him further by putting the milk in it in the fridge for a chuckle so he can have the pleasure of seeing those little bears again when he has his cereal tomorrow - mwahaha!

So that's all from me for this evening, hope you all are having a good weekend and my fellow Brits - remember to change your clocks this evening (I need to make sure I'm not late for the first dibs on the carboot sale goodies tommorrow!).

Scarlett x

Scarlett x

Need my eyes checked...

Bought myself a couple of "home style" magazines yesterday as I love to have a nosey at other peoples homes and the styling. So imagine my surprise when I turned the first couple of pages and saw this:

A page on the top high street finds and there is only a blooming Rug Beater included!  Those regular readers will remember me buying a rug beater from the charity shop not long ago for 50p see here . The must have beater on the high street is £16 so I'm quids in and bang on trend *wink*.

And for a bit of fun...I was also looking through my vintage books I bought from the boot sale on Sunday checking out the illustrations when I came across this gem from Little Men:

I had to reread possibly the best quote ever in a vintage book:

I don't think I'll be threatening to 'duck someone till they cant see' anytime soon., might end up in a whole heap of trouble ..... ;o)

Happy Friday all - I can see the weekend peaking round the corner.

Scarlett x