Skip to main content

It's always worth rummaging around ...

Sometimes you mooch around a charity shop and find nothing of interest.  Just the usual racks of cast-off Primark and Tesco brand clothing, endless DVDs of films you'd never want to watch, plus books ghost written on behalf of celebrities you've never heard of.  Then again, sometimes you strike lucky.  

Today's rummage was very productive.  I found this battered but still handsome vintage confectionery tin.  Apparently the Squirrel Confectionery Company are a Stockport based business, and the picture on the tin's lid is a reproduction from Sir Edwin Landseer's painting 'A Piper and a Pair of Nutcrackers'.  The tin was a mere £2.99.  I spent another 99p on this handy basket in turquoise and pink.  Always useful to have a basket for storing reels of thread or any number of odds & ends.  

I also paid 99p for a pack of  'Thank You' stationery, complete with pink envelopes.  I like the seventies feel to the floral design on the paper.  A quid bought me two packs of 10 white cards with a cut-out heart design.  Not sure what I'll do with these, but I'll find a use.  Added to my haul were a couple of applecore die cuts by Debbie Shore, the pack never having been opened, and finally - ta dah! - these fab cards in cream coloured card. 

I think they're for tables at fancy events, to show the table number so you can find your seat.  I love the stylish grey numbering, and want to use them somehow for my October Make a Book challenge.  Probably joined in a long line to make a concertina book.  I'm waiting for an eBay order to arrive, lettering stencils, so these cards could be printed with an alphabet theme.  Perhaps in black & white only.  

Well, apart from my charity shop delving I also nipped into Lidl for groceries, and besides a calorific white chocolate cookie I snaffled these rolls of washi tape.  

Couldn't resist 'em, just too pretty.  Especially the kitties.  Don't you agree?  

Labels:

Comments

  1. Vix30 October 2023 at 23:48

    Hello Valerie! Thank you so much for leaving a comment on my blog as it's led me to find yours!
    You're spot on with the usual charity shop fare, the poor quality high street fashion, the celebrity biographies and the odd DVDs and that's what finding an absolute gem all the more exciting, isn't it? I absolutely love your squirrel tin and I'd have snaffled that pretty basket, too. Those die cuts have a very deco feel to them and were too good to miss.
    I try to avoid the middle of Lidl middle but I may have to make an exception for that cat tape! x

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to make these decorative birds

 I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes.  I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made.   It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light   I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer.  (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern.  For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.)   WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER:  Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures.  Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns.  You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're more the minimal Scandi
2 comments
Read more

Paper flowers, leaves, feathers ...

  I had a few requests after posting this photo on Facebook, people asking if I could explain how I made these paper flowers. Your wish is my command, and here's the info.  It's all very simple and you don't need any advanced drawing skills.  So grab a stack of gell prints, a pair of scissors and off we go!  The type of print that seems to work best is one where there's a fair amount of detail, rather than a block of solid plain colour.  Prints where you've maybe channelled your inner Elizabeth St. Hilaire and 'layered layered layered' as she's always urging us to do.  POPPIES If we start with simple poppy seed heads and stalks, they're cut freehand from paper that's mainly shades of orange and brown.  I glued those on to a sheet of white copier paper, then cut them out, leaving a narrow border around each.  Backing the gell print with the white paper adds that contrasting border, but also strengthens the piece, especially the thin stalks.   I
Post a Comment
Read more

Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

  I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day.  It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice.  Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle.  Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it?  I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning.  I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point.  Time will tell.   This is a link to the listing, if you're interested.  This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs.  It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday.  I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax.  The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out.  The glue's su
4 comments
Read more