Kitsch Vintage Birthday Cards.

A while ago I found these brilliant 21st birthday cards.  They were so 'groovy' I couldn't resist them and a great bargain at just 10p each.

Almost everyone I know has already reached 21 (and beyond) so I'll just have to hold on to them and admire their kitsch style instead.

Everything a 21 year old girl could dream of - presents, chocolates and a blue record player.

This picture is inside the card - seems like the chocolates have been eaten already.

Cute little Scotty dog holding the key to the door, a great tamashanta hat and red bow tie too.

Pretty cottage scene - perhaps at 21 this means it's time to settle down?

This is my favourite - there is a little diamonte in the girls eye, open up the card and...

a rosey cheeked boy is strumming a guitar, the girl dances - with a crazy pop-up leg. 

Pretty Vintage Pinnies

I'm sorting stock to take to the Kitsch and Stitch fair in Cranbrook this Saturday. I've just washed and almost ironed a pile of vintage aprons, but can I part with them all? Some of the fabrics are just so nice.

This one is embroidered and has clever deep pockets.

The classic tabard - any cleaning lady would be proud to wear it.

I love the fabric of this pinny and the strong contrast of colours - I think its a keeper.

Practical 60's

Bright flowers

Spanish Dancers - this one would be a must have for any sophisticated hostess!

The classic cross over at the back.  I think this looks very 1930's.  The fabric is also very pretty.

Vintage Snap Cards

Today I found these fantastic vintage Snap cards, there are about 4 of each design, some are in perfect condition with a few raggedy ones, which shows the set has been a favourite in its time.    

I think I may put them in frames as they look great grouped together.

The colours all compliment each other perfectly and their simplicity adds to their vintage charm.

The images would appeal to any small person wanting to play with them as well as any grown up wanting to admire the different designs.

A couple of close ups.

Even the box is picture perfect.

Making a Vintage Style Quilt

This year my best friend Lizi is turning a 'special' age (its the one when life begins).  We've been friends since school and over the years we've always stayed in touch and we now both live by the sea side - not in the same town but not too far away either.

I didn't just want to buy Lizi a present for her birthday, I wanted to give her something more memorable and unique, so I decided to make her a patchwork quilt with 40 squares (one for each year of her life) in vintage style, of course.

To start I needed to choose the fabrics and colours.  I went for blue, greys, and pinky salmon.  I didn't want to make it too girly as this isn't Lizi's style - so I chose classic Gingham, mixed with a few plain squares and a bold retro abstract flower pattern.

Stage one was pinning and sewing all the squares together.

It was quite tricky working out how to assemble the squares so that there were no doubles or similar fabrics close to each other.  

I just about managed it.

I added squishy thick wadding to pad out the quilt so it would be nice and cosy.

I then needed to find some fabric to back the quilt.  At first I thought I would do this in plain cream, but I came across this pale yellow and blue flower fabric.  It's actually from a duvet cover I found in a charity shop for £1.50.  I love a bargain and Lizi loves a bit of thrifting too so will definitely approve.

Pinning and sewing the backing along with the thick wadding was quite difficult but I managed it without any hiccups.

Finally I needed to quilt the quilt. 

This took quite a while and was slow going... but I got there in the end.

Here is the finished article.

 

There is also a little 'L' for Lizi hidden somewhere on the quilt for a little personal touch.

Sunny Saturday Vintage Fair

Yesterday I had a stall at the Red Rose Vintage Fair in Bexhill. It was an amazing summers day and lots of people stopped by to check out all the vintage goodies on offer.

I sold a real mixture of items including a few things I'd had for a while and thought might be destined for the bargain basket. It just goes to show I need to be patient - something I'm not very good at.

I also tried out selling some cute jam jars that I made up with pretty doilies and candy ribbons. They went down a storm. 

Small side plates were a hit as well.

Classic Vintage Penguin Books

A while ago I was having a rummage in the loft at my mums house and came across a little stash of classic vintage Penguin books.  Luckily my mum had forgotten they were there and was more than happy for me to give them a new home.  Since then I've managed to gather a few more to add to the ever expanding shelf.

Each of the different colours represents a genre.

The orange books, that we're probably most familiar with, are fiction.

The green books are crime.

I'm very chuffed to have found a book with the word 'vintage' in the title.

Blue is biographies and memoirs.

Pink is travel and adventure.

I have yet to find some in classic purple - essays, grey - world affairs, which I have never seen before and red - drama.  I expect there were less of these printed so are much harder to find.

Vintage Bank Holiday In Bexhill on Sea

Today I had a stall at a vintage fair in Bexhill on Sea.  It was held in a great location at a hotel over looking the sea.  The day started as a typical Bank Holiday, grey and cloudy but it didn't stop plenty of people stopping by. Eventually the sun did put in an appearance to finish everything off nicely.

I sold lots of pretty plates and glasses and was almost cleared out of vintage table linen.

Lots of people also took a trip down memory lane, remembering how their grandmas used to give them jelly in sundae glasses, not forgetting Angel Delight with sprinkles on top.

This pretty coffee set also attracted a lot of attention.

I displayed all my trio sets on shelves and popped some lilac from the garden into a tea cup as a finishing touch. 

(It smelt nice too)

My next stall will be on 26th May with Red Rose Vintage Fairs, also in Bexhill on Sea.