Elvis has entered the building....

First of all thank you for all the lovely comments on my anniversary blog post, we had a great day out yesterday fighting the crowds at legoland lol.  So normal bargain hunting post resume and thought I'd share this weeks finds all before the boot sale tomorrow :o)

So my theory is that at soon at the sun is shining people get happy and sell stuff cheaply, I've had a romper couple of days finding goodies in both the charity shops and my impromptu visit to the Saturday boot sale today, so put the kettle on and settle down for some of my finds.

Starting with the boot sale booty:

Box full of vintage cottons  - a lot of them on the wooden reels!  Very exciting seeing that she wanted 50p per reel so when I started sorting through them all her mother came from the back of the car and said I could have the whole box for £2!!! See sunshine = cheap stuff!

Vintage silver plated dressing table set in original box and with the comb still wrapped - as per picture.  This was on the dreaded 'collectors' stall so I had a quick look but wasn't going to ask the price as thought it would be top buck but when the stall holder called over that I could have the set for £1 - my purse was out like a shot - couldn't believe this whole set for £1 - thus again sunshine theory :o)

Ladybird books 20p each.

More vintage books - 20p each

Hoorah some Elvis!!! These are vintage Elvis fan magazines and one of them is even from my birthday month and year:

 Yup a November 1980 baby - this was so destined to come home with me!  I got the magazines for 30p each.

More Elvis! Although a rather unfortunate photo of him on this magazine lol - another 30p well spent.

I love this find - Victory Cookbook from 1940-1954.  Its amazing, full of recipes as well as information from the era. For a little taster this is the rations per week for an adult:

This little gem was 50p and will be one of my favourite finds this weekend, cant wait to start reading it and discovering all the dishes I can make with a Marrow and a potato ;o)

A rather 'shabby chic' wicker basket - yes more wicker for me but this tatty bundle is a little bit special:

Oh yeah a Harrods hamper to keep my F&M hampers company *wink* and guess how much I paid for this in the sunshine.......£1!!!!! Hell yeah!

So if the boot sale wasnt enough these are a couple more bits I picked up in the charity shop the last few days:

Vintage, Kitsch and Spring themed - whats not to love (maybe the weird smiles...)  These two were £1 the pair.

Cut Glass jar (yes another jar - eek!) - £1. Sorry about the crappy picture quality.

Diddy little pressed glass trinket dishes - £2.95 for the 3.

And I couldn't leave this post with out a bit more Elvis.......

Tacky - check, tasteless - check, coming home with me - check. This is so awesomely tacky I love it, Elvis in the iconic gold Lame suit figurine - £1 :o) I've actually seen the original suit at Graceland, oooh get me!

Would you believe that this isn't all I've bought? I got a more goodies at the charity shop today, this sunshine is killing my bank account and still got to tackle the boot sale tomorrow - good times! I think I've bored you all enough for this evening so the CS goodies remaining in their bag for a little bit longer.

Have a fabulous Sunday all.

Scarlett x

Linking to: joyful treasure hunting

Viva Las Vegas

Tomorrow is mine and hubby's 2nd year wedding anniversary - its amazing how quick two years have gone!  So thought I'd share a bit about my wedding. 

Ever since I was little I loved my Nan and Grandad's wedding picture, it is so timeless and I always said that when I got married I wanted to have a picture like that. This is their picture which I have been lucky enough to inherit (they knew how much I loved it):

On the 8th April 1939 my Nan and Grandad got married at the local registry office as my Grandad had a new job which they had to relocate for, they didn't have enough time to apply for the papers for a church wedding.  The second world war broke out a few months later.  My family all say they look like Bonnie and Clyde in this photo :o)

So when I got the ring on my finger I knew I wanted to get married on the same day, and I also wanted to have a 1940's theme, the day we were married was my Nan and Grandad's 70th wedding anniversary :o)

Being an Elvis fan there was one place it had to be done - Las Vegas!  As a vintage film fan there was one place in Las Vegas I had to be married - The MGM Grand!

The MGM Grand is the second largest hotel in the world, it has its own wedding chapel inside and the decor is amazing, lots of pictures of the old Hollywood greats, all very fitting for my vintage wedding dreams. Although I must admit planning a wedding in Vegas from England was a bit of a daunting task. One coincidence of the date was that our Las Vegas visit also coincided with the fabulous Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender - an amazing rockabilly festival so I was in good company and in my element :o ) See here for info on Viva Las Vegas.

So the 8th of April 2009 I walked through the casino in my wedding dress being cheered by the crowds of gamblers and having my picture taken by loads of tourists - not your usual trip to 'the chapel' lol.

We also had a great photographer who took some amazing (and very expensive!) pictures.  One of my favourite was this one of hubby:

Taken outside the MGM Grand after his dad had handed out cigars to all the men to celebrate.  Now I bet you want to see a picture of me...well another favourite wedding pictures is this one:

This is actually inside the MGM Casino too.  Yes I went for a wedding dress instead of the 1940's suit like my Nan as that little girl inside still wanted 'the dress' lol.   Bit of a cop out of a picture of me huh lol.  Should I reveal myself a bit closer up?........

There you go the big reveal! *wink* - just want to show you my victory rolls :o)  So you can all now put a face to the thrifty Scarlett.  We were lucky enough to receive a gift from father in law of the rights to our wedding pictures and the disk of every picture taken which is amazing.  The chapel also loved the pictures too and asked to use a couple of them in the chapel - so if your ever in Vegas go and check out the MGM grand chapel and you might see the picture of me :o) 

Who'd have thought it a Las Vegas wedding without an Elvis impersonator...that'll be for when we renew our vows *wink* But alas the dress was trashed rock and roll style by partying in Las Vegas after the wedding.

Normal bargain hunting posts will resume....

Scarlett x

P.S Only a couple of days left of my giveaway so click HERE to get your name in the hat :o)

What are you reading?

I love books, in my pre driving days when I had to take the bus to work I used to get through books so quickly that I always made sure I had a ready supply at home, this is where the boot sales and the charity shops came in handy in feeding my book addiction.  I couldn't and still cant justify spending £9.99 on a book I can get for 20p at a boot sale or £1 in the charity shop.  However now on maternity leave and also being able to drive my reading to book buying ratio is out of sorts and I now have a room full of my bulk buy books which I am now trying to get through.  So I'm reading and donating and then replacing with vintage books which are lovely to look at on the shelf :o)

This week's book is:

I know I'm well behind the 'must read' book fashion - this one I do believe was one of Richard and Judy's book club choices so its got to be good *wink*

What are you reading at the mo?

Scarlett x

And there's more...

The table top sale and the spring fair were a bit of a disappointment at the weekend.  I bought a couple of bits at the table top sale but as the fair was for a cat protection charity it was full of pet goods and had the token 'wood work' stall selling wooden mushrooms and keyrings.  I do have two cats but was in no need to be buying them anything from here where the prices were very similar to the Pets At Home store and I don't think they would appreciate a wooden mushroom with their name engraved.  I also managed to dodge the photographer from the local paper who was asking people to pose with a guy dressed in a rather mangy cat costume - phew!

So here's what I couldn't resist buying:

Vintage silver plated dressing table mirror - a complete bargain at 50p (even I wash shocked at how cheap this one was).

1956 copy of Little Women - 10p

A creepy slightly psychedelic tales and stories book from the 1970s - 10p, also has an inscription which you know gets me everytime:

So if anyone knows Michael Hanson let him know I've got his book!

1950s jar - 10p. One day I will show you all my jars filled with my bits and bobs so you can see why I buy so many lol.

Ladybird Books - 10p each.

Sewing patterns which are going to be given to a friend - 50p.

And that was all my table top and spring fair buys :o)  I also popped into the secret charity shop this morning on my travels and was pleased to see that the pricing hasn't really changed much at all, all I could see was that some of the glass bits had gone from 50p to £1 but the ladies tops and dresses seemed to have gone down to £1?  So you can all sleep easy knowing my local CS haunt has not succumbed to the CS high street pricing pressure *wink*.

Happy Tuesday All.

Scarlett x

Linking to nifty-thrifty-tuesdays

 and thrifty-thursdays

Weekend Finds

What a busy weekend I've had in the search of bargains, a table top sale, a fair and a boot sale.  I'm going to share the booty finds first and save the others for another day  As it was mothers day yesterday my mum joined me on the boot sale scrum down, which was somewhat of an eye opener to her as she hasn't been to a boot sale for years. These are my latest house guests:

1950's french decanter, not sure if this is for oil or vinegar or another pourable liquid but who cares - I just love the look of it and it was £1!

1950's Puzzles - both for 80p.  The guy who sold them to me told me that these were played with by himself and his brother when they were little. I love that the came from the original owner and not a house clearance or trader stall.

Pyrex jug - probably 1960s or 1970s,  pleased to have got this one for £1.

Little blue glass apothecary jar - bought from a little old lady who told me she kept her cotton wool in it for years.  Bought this little lovely for £1 and a smile.

Poodle tea tray!! lol - how could I leave a tray with two poodles with a calculating look in their eyes! Love it especially as it was 50p.

Vintage curtain fabric, there is about 4 meters of this -  got the lot for £1.

Another wacky buy - cowboy boot beer glass.  Probably would hold half a pint but it made me smile so will probably now be a juice glass - I bought it from a guy raising money for Cancer Research for 50p. He told me that he had raised 4k over the last year for cancer research - what a star!

Pair of 1950s curtains (to use for fabric), they look like they were never used!  Got the pair for £1.50 :o)

These amazing vintage french glass bowls - probably 1950s, bought from a teenager's stall and found nestled among a pile of primark belts and bags, she gave me the 3 for £1! Mucho squealing!

Huge Dorothy Perkins silk scarf - not vintage but amazing anyway and a steal for £1.50, it still has its tag attached.

1970s storage jars - 50p each. I remember my mum had a set of these when I was growing up and she laughed when she saw I had bought a couple.

One for the royal wedding - Sandringham tea tray, ideal for when posh people come to tea *wink*.

A beautiful cream lacquer jewellery box. I did a bit of an Internet research and looks like its probably 1940s/1950s.  It has a small bit of damage to the lid but hey its survived pretty well.  I found this on the Sandringham tray stall and it was in a box in the ladies car so asked if it had been sold and she said she didn't have room to put it out - well hello jewellery box! Snapped  it up for £1.50!!  The best bit is that when you open it up it smells of vintage face powder - not everyones cup of tea I know but I love it.

1950s Beaded purse - 50p!

Vintage face powder compact with mirror - still has original liner :o) Bought this with the beaded purse for 50p also - again much delight and a pay and run moment.

And of course couldn't come home without the usual Pyrex casserole dish - check this one out:

Its a miniature casserole dish! I laughed so much when I saw it, maybe it's the dieters friend.  I've taken a picture by a mug so you can see how small it is:

I'm very tempted to make a tiny casserole in it and give it to hubby for dinner for a laugh.  I got this little gem for 50p :o)

Witnessed at a Boot Sale

The first boot sale funny actually involved me.  As its such a fight at this boot sale I was squeezing past a lady to get through the bottle neck of people when i felt my bag tug.  I've got a Cath Kidston Satchel which I wear across the body, well when I felt the bag tug and heard a lady squeal I turned round to be faced with a very surprised Polish lady with her hand of her butt cheek.  It suddenly sunk in what had happened - the buckle of my satchel had caught on the bum pocket of her jeans giving it a tug, she thought I had grabbed her bum!  I apologised saying my bag had caught her jeans but she just smiled at me and chuckled, looks like I may have come home with a Polish lady as well as my bargains! I quickly made my getaway.

I also saw a stall which was selling autographed sporting memorabilia. A Thai lady was picking up the signed caps and putting them on her sons head:

Stall Holder: "Can you not put those on your son"

Thai Lady grabs another cap and put it on her sons head

Stall Holder: "I said can you not put that on you sons head" snatches the cap from the lady "this is signed by a golf pro and costs £50"

Thai lady: "50p?" she goes to take the cap from his hand

Stall Holder "No £50! You're not going to buy it for £50 are you so leave them alone"

Thai Lady "£50?? No I give you £1"

Stallholder "Are you taking the piss?"

Thai Lady "£1" (At this point I was admiring her haggling technique)

Stallholder: "No its £50!" Stall holder then takes the cap and puts it in his car.

Thai Lady : "How much for these two" picking up 2 more caps.

Stallholder: "They are not for sale..."

The last thing that happened was me again, there was a crowd around a new table so I peered in and saw a vintage Kelly style bag - I picked it up and then suddenly got my hand slapped by the lady next to me "Mine" she barked! First time since I was 5 year old that I've had my hand slapped! lol.

Happy Monday all.

Scarlett x

 Make sure you all check out Bee Happy 100th Follower giveaway :o) too and my giveaway is still running, check it out here.

Linking to thrift share Monday , magpie-monday and newbie-party

 

Second Chair Make-over and Scarlett's How -To

I've finally finished the second chair make-over and as requested here's a little 'how to' so you can rescue some chairs too!

Firstly you need your chair:

Sand it and paint it your chosen colour. I used a Fired Earth paint in 'Moonlight' which is white with a hint of light green:

I did two coats of paint but I wouldn't worry too much about the finish on the top of the chair as this will be covered with the decoupage.

Next you need your napkins:

I use the Cath Kidston 3 ply napkins as they take really well to decoupage and I'm loving the prints.  You also need a pot of Mod Podge which you can get from Hobbycraft or online:

I use the Matte Mod Podge as I don't want a gloss appearance on the chair but you can buy Mod Podge Gloss (I have never tried this).  Mod Podge is a glue and a sealer so I don't need to varnish the finished chair :o)

Lightly sand the top of the paint on the chair so the mod podge has something to grip to, only needs a couple of rubs with the sand paper so don't worry about more sanding hell (yes I do hate it that much).

Now to the napkins. You only need to use the printed part of the napkin so peel away the two blank sheets (if using 3 ply):

Once you sorted the napkins let the sticking begin!  Apply a thin layer of  mod podge to the area you are working on:

Then place your napkin. As I'm using a repeating pattern I used a whole napkin to start off the seat:

I made sure the napkin overlapped the edge to give it a seamless appearance on the front of the chair. You will get air bubbles as per the picture above so I use a dry cotton cloth to flatten out the bubbles and the creases - just dab the cloth on the napkin lightly so not to tear it.  Even if you do have some creasing this is a shabby chic chair so adds to the effect (always have an excuse for any mistakes lol). 

Once the first sheet is down you can then cut and paste the remainder of the seat - like wallpapering you just cut the next napkin design so it links up to the already pasted bit.  For the gaps in the spindles i take a piece of napkin and mark where the spindles are and the cut out the spindle spaces (looks like a comb when cut) and slide the napkin in the spaces.  The seat sides can be done by using strips of napkin and fixing the seam with mod podge under the chair base.

For the spindles I cut long strips of napkin:

and apply glue to the front of the spindle and place the strip down the middle (doesn't matter is strip is not straight as demonstrated in this picture lol):

You can then fold the napkin around the back and overlap it neatly (make sure you have applied mod podge to the back when doing this). I then use a little mod-podge to seal the seam by dabbing it on lightly.  Remember to use you cloth to smooth out any bubbles or unwanted wrinkles.

For the chair back sides I also use wider strips of napkin and again wrap it around as above:

Keep going until you've covered the whole chair, by the time you've done this the base glue will be dry so you can cover the chair with the first top coat of mod podge. Give a generous covering, it will look white but dries clear. Leave this to dry and then you can do your second coat.  I do 3 coats of mod podge on top of the napkin so it will hopefully hold up to use :o)
This is the finished chair:

As for those who didnt see the other chair:

And that's it!  I've never done a 'How To' before so sorry if this is complete rubbish but if you want any help just ask :o)
I'm now on the look out for 2 more chairs like this so I've got enough to go round my dining table, I'll be checking the sales area at the tip again next time I go.

Busy weekend for me with a table top sale, a spring fair and the boot sale so hoping for lots of bargains to share with you all (hopefully no grannies will be harmed in my thrifty exploits!)  - send me your lucky thoughts.

Happy Weekend all

Scarlett x