Mad March Christmas

Every year I celebrate Christmas with various groups of friends and family and last weekend it was the final Christmas of 2009 - late for a very important date indeed! I met up with two of my best friends in London for the festivities. We went to Angel (thematic, no?) and found small district of antique shops and market stalls selling vintage jewellery and goods.




Last pic by my good friend the Shoegazer We could have spent hours looking around but we had to scarper to see Alice in Wonderland! Which incidentally, we all loved despite the extortionate ticket price. The design of the Queen of Heart's castle was particularly delicious, as were the costumes, but seeing the hat's the Mad Hatter made rekindled my strange desire to be a milner...

Anyway, after the film we opened presents! I got some lovely gifts...

I'll be making the miniature zoo in a separate post so look out! The brooches on the left were a welcome addition to my Hannah Zakari collection. All in all it was a wonderful time!

It's For You

I've always loved pretty wrapping paper, especially the designs from Paperchase but at £1 - £2 a pop for one sheet it was an expensive habit. That's why I was very happy to find these beauties at a local store called Tiger for 50p a roll!


Tiger also do a small selection of colourful tapes, perfect for presents and letters.


Speaking of letters, I ordered some kawaii writing paper from Japan and it arrived yesterday very prettily presented!

Car Booty

One of the best things about summer is the car boot sales. I've been to more than I can count in my years and have discovered many a bargain. The one closest to me holds between one and two hundred stalls on a good sunny morning. Until then it's a more humble affair but while I whet my appetite I thought I'd show off some of my favourite finds from past boot sales.

♥Above: Limoges apple pot 20p ♥ White rabbit 50p ♥ Musical jewellery box 50p ♥

I have a thing for oriental jewellery boxes. This is one of many!

Ceramic hands lamp - 50p. I've had this for over ten years. It obviously still works and I still love it!

Vintage lace dress £3

There's plenty more where those came from. I'll share some whenever I find the time to snap more photos. This Sunday I'm going to another car boot sale so who knows what I'll find! It's also Chinese New Year so expect some photos from the London celebrations unless I get snowed in...

You Could Be My Flamingo...

Robots, bears, cakes, owls, elephants, teapots, origami and bees. Having themes makes shopping even more fun! Adopt a theme and go hunting for items that carry it. It makes finding a pair of robot knickers even more fantastic! (Just the one pair so far...)

A particular favourite theme of my friends and I is the mighty flamingo! My collection is pretty humble so far. Once I get a house with a garden I'll be after some of these babies for sure:


Lawn flamingos available at Get Flocked! and watering can from Love thy Space.

But who needs a garden when you can have a lawn flamingo chandelier?!

This whimsical creation is by Palmerschallon at etsy. And here I was thinking my conflicting love for pretty vintage and bright 'n' bold tack would never work.

If you're after something a little more subtle, how about these fab earrings by fellow Brit nelli D over at etsy.


I hope you'll forward me any fabulous flamingo finds (it's so easy to alliterate, and no, I won't apologise). I might focus on a theme a month, we'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll show my robot knickers one day. Probably not whilst I'm wearing them...

Past Presents

One snow day last week my folks and I opened a dusty box. This box came from my late Grandfather's attic and it contained photos and memorabilia from generations of my family. It was a joy to look through!

As you can see, a lot of it is Navy related - journals, souvenirs, logbooks and postcards.


And much of it is personal photographs, letters and sentimental items. Unfortunately not all of the photos were inscribed so unless we recognised the people in them, we were at a loss as to who they were. That didn't detract from the experience. Wondering was half the fun!

I leafed through this Navy Week Souvenir Guide from the 30s and found some great old school advertisements.


Typographically I don't think the fonts are that dated. I wonder if they come around full circle like fashions do.

A colour ad! Carlsberg must have been flush in the thirties.

Philately Lately

At a car boot sale a lady was selling packs of around 500 stamps from all around the world for £1.50. How could I say no? The tiny canvases are perfect for incorporating into jewellery and other art projects. I had more fun than I thought I would going through them all.



These are seven of my favourite designs.

Cute as a Button

Last weekend I went to my first car boot sale of the year! I just love walking around the boot sale, not knowing what people are giving up. There's a huge one near my house every Sunday and the weather was good so we headed up. I was on the lookout for old watches, having missed out on some ebay lots recently. I found four watches for £3 (plus a pretty pearl brooch for £1), way cheaper than on ebay. Oh how I love a bargain.



I intend to use them in jewellery pieces.

Rekindling a lost love for antique trinkets, I dug out my grandma's sewing box, where I remembered seeing some old school buttons. Who doesn't love buttons?



I love how the designs are so intricate for such small things. I can't help wondering what they were originally intended for...I think these are my favourites:

Colour Me In

I bought myself a new camera for Christmas, since my old one was getting on in years! It's a simple slinky Sony W110 and I've been playing around with it. I wanted to go out and about but it was so miserable outside I stayed in and made colour grids.

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