Lucy Bloom

Twas the night before the night before Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Each year I promise myself I will be ready in good time for Christmas, the day itself is over so quickly that I like to enjoy the lead-up, when tree and decorations are up, just sitting, relaxing and enjoying the view.

Each year I fail miserably to achieve this, with this year being no exception. Although the Christmas decorations are up, today I was still painting walls and tomorrow I will be re-covering the settee!

I managed to snap a few pictures, my main scheme is red, gold, silver and white. For me it just doesn't feel Christmassy without these colours.

A festive Lillipeg - I've named her Holly!

Baubles and birds are my favourite combination.

A mix of old and not-so-old.

Of course I love vintage decorations too and have dressed a small tree in the dining room with multi-coloured vintage baubles.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, see you again in 2010!

After the Party

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:45:00 +0000

So the big 50 has come and gone - do I feel different? - yes I do - I'm not sure if I like it much but there you are, nothing to be done.
I did have a wonderful birthday though, starting with the mystery mini-break which was finally revealed about half an hour from our destination. Mr Bloom chose well, this is the lovely country house where we stayed. It was right out in the sticks but not too far from the town of Ledbury in Herefordshire. I was quite happy to be there as we were close to some favourite antiquing haunts.

The B&B was superb, we were the only guests and our landlady kindly showed us round much of her home, done out in splendid English Country style. The kind of house most of us will only ever dream about living in. Sadly, photos were not allowed indoors, but I did sneak a few in our room.

We could choose our room and though the other one had a four poster, this room was bigger with the best views and the most luxurious bathroom.

Several shopping trips ensued over the next couple of days, including one to the pretty spa town of Great Malvern in Worcestershire.

You can stock up on spring water for free.

A view over the town from the romantic Waitrose car park.

The magnificanet Malvern Priory.

Something new since our last visit was this delightful retro shop called FOL (which stands for Fabric of Life). The owner was just doing up the front for the "Best Christmas Display" competition for local traders. He wasn't too keen for me to photograph it in a half finished state, but finally relented. I thought it looked great anyway, I hope he did well in the competition, I didn't notice much going on outside the other shops.

Great Malvern has a good selection of shops and some nice places to eat and drink, if you are thinking of visiting. After a lovely couple of days it was back home for the weekend, and a family dinner. I'm not much for big parties and this was the perfect end to my celebrations.

I was very spoiled and received some lovely gifts, these are just a few:

Beautiful hand painted box and glass perfume bottle.

Pretty candle cup and loads of flowers!

Mr. Bloom's gift had been a mystery too, there had been a trip out somewhere one Friday afternoon which I wasn't allowed on, and I had no inkling what my present might be, but I couldn't have chosen better myself - this beautiful vintage french lamp and shade, which I just love.

In fact, I did choose it myself, I just didn't know that I had. We spotted this back in the summer in a lovely french brocante style antique shop in Pewsey, I had oohed and ahhed over it, then promptly forgot about it, but not so Mr. Bloom. Lucky for me it was still there when he went back months later - there's dedication!

Something purchased whilst we were away was this huge chandelier prism, you should be able to just make it out in this picture, the postcard underneath should give an idea of size.

Not sure why I felt the need to show this, I just thought it made a pretty vignette.

Also wanted to say Thank you for all my lovely birthday emails, I think I have replied to everyone now.

Once my birthday is over, I usually get straight on with Christmas preparations, but annoyingly I have succumbed to this nasty cold virus going round and for the past week have been unable to do much other than lie on the sofa under a blanket feeling ill as well as old ;-)). It's still hanging around, hope it buzzes off soon!

Webshop Update: Due to other commitments I haven't been able to update my webshop and am postponing until January, hoping my customers will be prepared to wait!

Post Fair Haste

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:30:00 +0000

I'm probably the last one to post about the V&H fair so you'll have read all about what a truly wonderful day it was. Being determined to allow some shopping time, my friend Jayne and I hastily set up and I took some even hastier photos, most of which came out blurred, so here are some not very good pictures of my stall.

Looking around the other stalls I noticed how artfully they were all arranged whereas mine seemed to be a lesson in how much can be packed onto one 6ft x2ft table - quite a lot as it turned out.

Before we knew it the doors were opened, the rest is a bit of a blur until suddenly it was all over. Thank you to everyone who visited my stall, I wish there had been more time to chat, but it was lovely to meet you all.
A huge thank you to Jayne and Michele once again for a fantastic event! There are links to all posts of the event on the Vintage and Handmade blog and lots more pictures on the website (good ones!)

My plan to allow plenty of shopping time almost worked, I had about 20 minutes before the start, I could had done with three times that at least. I think I need to work on a simpler stall layout and less stuff for next time!

I was very pleased with my own shopping though - pretty fabrics and trims...

One of Niki's superb fairies...

and a lovely brooch pillow.

I thought once it was over I'd be able to slow down a bit, but it's been a very busy week so far with one thing and another, so this is a hastily-written post. I will be taking it a bit easier for the rest of the week though, as Mr. Bloom and I are going on a mini-break tomorrow. This is a bit of a special break as it's my birthday, and a milestone one too. A lady doesn't like to give away her age but it begins with a 5 and ends in an 0. I don't know where we are going, it's a surprise, but I will be taking my camera so hope to have some pics to show you when I'm back next week. Now I'm off to do some hasty packing!

TTFN - Lucy x

Results and Preparations

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:53:00 +0000

I'm a bit late announcing my giveaway results, sorry to keep you in suspense. I just couldn't find a slot to get onto the PC yesterday, but thank you to everyone who left a comment! As always there can only be one winner and the random number generator selected number 5 - Congratulations to Victoria of Florence and Mary. Please email me your address Victoria and I'll get the goodies posted as soon as I can.

As to preparations - under three weeks now to the Vintage and Handmade fair and I am almost permanently surrounded by fabric, paint, paper, glue, trimmings, and my (way too big!) To Do list constantly whirring round in my head.

The kitchen table is taken over by stock - at the same time as Mr. Bloom is doing a bit of DIY in there - not a good idea!

So, in the absence of very much to say, I'm showing a few snippets of what will be on offer from Lucy Bloom. Hope you like!

(p.s. I'm switching off my comments for a while again - just until I catch up with myself!)

Monday Nights and a Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:30:00 +0000

In common with (probably) a large percentage of the population, I don't like Mondays. It's that horrible back to work feeling together with a disbelief that the weekend whizzed by so quickly. Monday evenings, however, are a different matter as that's when I go to my painting class.

It's a small class - just 5 ladies and our teacher, Jayne (who is lovely!) at Jayne's house. I've been going for several years and now it's really more of a social event - we still paint of course, but we choose what to do and probably spend as much time chatting as painting, and indulging in tea and chocolate biscuits (some of us more than others ;-)).

Most of my projects end up in new homes, since I don't have room to keep it all, but I so loved this project I worked on recently that it's been found a spot in the house - for the time being at least!

It's really a combination of painting, decoupage and collage, and a bit of a departure from what we normally do - not all the ladies share my vintage tastes! I would love to say I painted the roses, they are the decoupage part, from floral gift wrap - my contribution was the corset and trellis leaves.

I ruched some pink ribbon to trim around the bust and also for the hanging loop. I then trimmed top and bottom of the board with lace, braid and pink fringe, then added tiny self-adhesive pearls as a finishing touch. Now adorning a spot on the side of my wardrobe that miraculously wasn't yet occupied.

I haven't been able to blog as much as I'd like in recent months and have been a terrible respondent to the lovely comments and emails I've received, so to say thank you to all my readers I have put together a few things for a giveaway.

Included are a selection of vintage cards:

A fat quarter of my favourite Laura Ashley fabric - Isabelle, of course in pink!

A tiny frame with a fragment of vintage wallpaper, a vintage soap, a floral tin, a vintage hanky, a tiny sprig of pink millinery flowers and a rose scented sachet.

And Blossom, one of my Lillipegs, dressed in flowers and lace with a mass of golden hair.

The giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere - just leave a comment, short or long, before Monday 26th October 2009.

Right, must get back to more mundane things - enjoy the rest of the week - Lucy x

Branching Out

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:29:00 +0000

I few months ago I took a unit at Lechlade Antiques Arcade. It was something I'd had in mind for a while and wasn't sure where I'd go but I booked it on the spur of the moment one day when we had popped out to Lechlade for lunch. I started off with a tiny unit tucked away in a corner which was a bit dark and cluttered and impossible to get a good photograph.

Recently I've moved into a larger room and although it's still quite cluttered, it means I've been able to put more stock in and get a half decent photograph. There's still no natural light, but I have a room all to myself with it's own doorway. It's looking much more how I want it now, though there are still a few finishing touches to go.

I haven't gone for any particular style, just a mixture of bits and pieces - vintage, country style and shabby chic, that I hope customers will like. It's going well and I pop in once a week to add stock and have a bit of a tidy up - customers cannot always be relied upon to leave things as they find them ;-). It's been keeping me busy for the last few months but I'm really enjoying it.

These pics are all from my unit - the other units are quite a mixture, if visiting you need to allow time for a good look around as there are two floors and many rooms. Of course, when I visit my unit a can't resist a look around the others, here are some things I have bought from there for myself:

Pretty perspex box, great for displaying sparklies.

Plus these two sparklies:

These cute steps which I showed a little while back.

A complete album of Wills Cigarettes Film Stars cards from the 30s.

Very glam!

If you are thinking about visiting Lechlade, there are three other antique shops/centres, a few gift shops and the famous Christmas shop, plus you can dine by the river and take a walk along the Thames. I'll post more about it another time.

The Antiques Arcade is on the High Street, at the junction of the A417 and A361, click here for a map. They have a website but the link is broken at the time of writing, I've put the link anyway as it might sort itself out. The arcade is open 7 days a week, 10am to 5pm.

I do hope you'll pay a visit :-)

As a result, I'm afraid my webshop has become rather neglected. I do have some pretties put away though and hope to have an update before very long.

Mr. Bloom's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:14:00 +0000

Last Saturday was Mr. Bloom's birthday, so I took him out for the day - we went to Monmouth. This is a lovely historic town in the Wye Valley. An early start meant we had plenty of time to explore and relax.

We started with a fine breakfast here:

The town has two rivers running through it - this a view of the river Monmow (after which the town was named) which runs along one side of the town.

I thought I could see something in the river behind the trees so we walked down to the little bridge to investigate. I thought we had stumbled into the Wild West when I saw this herd of cows taking a communal bath in the river!

It was quite a warm day so I expect they were cooling themselves.

There's plenty of interest for those who don't care to shop - this is the military museum.

And the remains of Monmouth Castle.

For those who do like to shop, the town has a good selection of shops, this is Agincourt House which is a great junky style antique shops, packed from floor to ceiling, great for rummaging, plus there are several good independent gift/home shops.

This is Monmow Bridge -the only complete Medieval bridge of it's kind in Britain.

In the afternoon we drove along the Wye Valley and stopped at the Boat Inn for refreshments.

This is accessed on foot from the village of Redwood along this quaint iron bridge.

Lovely views from our spot in the garden.

A final stop on our way home at Tintern and the magnificent ruins of Tintern Abbey.

Now of course, no day out would be complete without a bit of thrifting (for me :-) and even though it was his birthday, Mr. Bloom was happy to allow me a bit of shopping time - there just happened to be a market that day plus several charity shops to investigate!

Cute bunny girl figurine

Rosebud china and ceramic knobs

Gorgeous and HUGE crocheted bedspread, someone must have spent months making this!

For more information about Monmouth you can visit their website here.

Kitschy Corner

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:36:00 +0000

This summer in an attempt to keep the flies out I bought a bead curtain for the doors in my breakfast room. I have been struggling to devise a suitable window treatment for this room, something to provide a semblance of privacy whilst not blocking out too much light.

I know bead curtains might be regarded as dated or even naff and I never would have considered one as a window dressing, but over the weeks mine has grown on me and I really rather like it.

The beads are clear with a pearlised finish, and they do rather a good job of reflecting the light and brightening the area. I think they look quite kitschy.

In the centre I have hung a wire heart into which I tucked a few bits and pieces, plus the last of the lavender from my garden to dry.

A bit of sunshine helps too - currently my favourite place to sit!

Now and Again

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:25:00 +0000

Last weekend, Mr. Bloom and I ventured out for a spot of bargain-hunting.

Mr. Bloom doesn't always accompany me on these trips, but I am lucky that he does like to wander around antique shops and flea markets, (and even car boot sales) now and again.

Last Saturday was one of those now-and-again days, a visit to an antiques fair and an antiques centre.

I prefer car boots and flea markets for bargains but there were a few little gems to be found.

Not quite car boot sale prices, but still very affordable.

Some are to keep and some are to sell though I'm finding it very difficult to choose which things to sell - nothing has made it into that category so far!

First day of autumn tomorrow, I don't know about you but I'm feeling rather cheated of a summer this year. Have a good week!

Lucy x

Pink at the Pear Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:25:00 +0000

Last weekend we had lunch at a pretty country house hotel with a charming name - The Pear Tree. We had been invited by our friends Kathryn-Rose and George to celebrate George's 50th birthday (and I am hot on his heels, but I'm not saying when!).

I was rather taken with the pink striped hall which I thought you might like to see.

The rest of the hotel decor was rather more formal and it was a surprise to walk into this pink paradise.

I wondered what the wallpaper was but on closer inspection (as you do) I discovered the stripes were all painted - what a job that must have been for someone.

Two galleried landings with an atrium window at the top and pink corridors leading to the bedrooms.

And a door leading to the pretty gardens outside with wellington boots under the settle and a croquet set in a wooden chest. How heavenly to stay here (hint, hint, Mr. Bloom!).

The garden was not dissimilar to my own...maybe one day... sigh!

Lunches are taken in the conservatory - anyone for chess?

The front of the house.

All in all a wonderful afternoon - thank you dear friends!

And to finish on a pink note, some pretties that will be appearing in my next post (not that I like pink or anything!).

Making for Me

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Most of the things I make are for selling so it's nice once in a while to make something for myself. I've had this wooden box for a while with the intention of a makeover for it and I finally made some time this week to do just that.

And here's the end result, I used the two different designs from the fabric for the top and the base.

Covering the box didn't take too long, it's that finishing touches that made it into almost a morning's work.

Lace trim with a sparkly button on the front. I added little bun feet which I also trimmed with lace.

Inside I lined it with ditsy rose wallpaper and a rose motif cut from the fabric.

It's now on my coffee table to hide all those necessary bits and bobs - pens, scissors, remote, etc, that are handy to have near but not so pretty to look at.

Here it is in situ, makes the tissue box look a bit plain - that's next in line then!

Tiny Things

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:59:00 +0000

I took a plain wooden cutlery tray and spent an enjoyable evening transforming it into something much prettier.

I used a large-scale floral Sanderson paper on the outside and a small-scale "you-know-who" print on the inside - I like the contrast.

These trays are quite inexpensive to buy and can be used for all sorts of storage, on display or in a drawer, not just for cutlery.

With a couple of hooks in the back they are also a more readily available alternative to printers trays for displaying tiny things.

I spent the rest of the evening finding tiny treasure to fill up my tray.

Filling it up was the best part, I have to say that covering it was very fiddly and faffy, not something I'd want to do again in a hurry - though I know I have another three of these trays stashed away somewhere - hope I don't find them soon.

Before I go, I'd like to thank the heavens above for opening up most of the two weeks I've had off, meaning that as well as having to spend more time in the car than out on our break, I haven't been able to get outside to do gardening or painting or just sitting, or any other lovely outdoorsy activities in the past two weeks - Thank You very much! And no doubt, to put the boot in, you will stay firmly closed next week when I am back at work!! But despite your best efforts at sabotage I've had a lovely two weeks off - HA!!!

Zani's Antiques Emporium

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:00:00 +0000

If you ever visit Ludlow in Shropshire, you must make a stop at Zani's Antiques Emporium. On our last mini-break, I spent a generous amount of time in there, taking in all the vintage loveliness on offer. They very kindly allowed me to take some photos, which I'd like to share with you.

the outside:

the inside:

It has a very French Brocante feel and there are three floors packed with treasures. With a lot of antique centres you might get one or two really stunning units amongst a lot or ordinaryness, but at Zani's all the units are a treat.

You might have noticed that Mr. Bloom and I have been up to Shropshire a few times for our mini-breaks. This started quite by chance when I was searching the Travelodge website for cheap rooms and Ludlow happened to come up, how lucky for me as that part of Shropshire, as well as being picturesque is a great area for antiquing and I'm always happy to go back there.

Of course, this was back in May so my pictures are quite out-of-date, but fortunately Zani has a website here which is frequently updated with pictures of lovely new stock. Be warned though, it might make you drool!

I'll bet you want to know what I bought - well actually just a piece of fabric, a very lovely one, the blue in the background in this pic. Not that I couldn't have bought half the contents of the shop, but the budget didn't permit, and sometimes just looking is enough.

This weekend Mr. Bloom and I are off on our summer break - we're not going to Shropshire this time (though I wouldn't mind if we were!), Norfolk is our destination, for a change. Finger's crossed for good weather!

Meant to Be!

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:10:00 +0000

These were found yesterday - gorgeous bright red stripes. They nearly weren't mine as I had planned to go straight home after work, but decided on a whim to go slightly out of my way and stop in at a charity shop.

As I was deliberating whether to buy them (can you believe that?!) another customer came in and started picking them up for a look, that clinched it, soon after they were mine. It was meant to be!

More red lusciousness on these (in my opinion) stunning rose tablemats.

They could easily have been missed, lying in a box of junk under a table at the car boot, inside their own very plain box. Who would have guessed what was inside (I suspected cutlery and nearly didn't look), but on second thoughts decided to take a peek. They were meant to be too!

They are a bit too small for dinner tablemats and a bit too big for coasters but far too lovely to be kept inside the box. I'm thinking I might create a tile effect with them on the wall above my cooker (after protecting them with varnish), as the space is not tiled.

I'm also thinking it might be a bit OTT - we'll see (maybe it's not meant to be!)

Glimpses of England - Fairford

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:02:00 +0000

Being a reluctant townie, I like to get out and about now and again for some country air and open spaces, always on the lookout for thrifting opportunities along the way. After a particularly busy morning on Thursday, I stopped off in the small market town of Fairford in Gloucestershire which has a special meaning since it is where my parents did their courting way back in the days before me.

On a Thursday afternoon it was lovely and peaceful, just a few locals about their business and visitors wandering about. I sat for a while on a bench in the churchyard and soaked in the sun. I noticed this unusual tombstone, for Tiddles the church cat (which died in 1980) - how quaint!

This gate in the churchyard is marked private - wouldn't you just love a peek behind it?

Ha - you can, through a gap in the hedge!

I wouldn't mind living in this pretty house.

Fairford is probably most famous for it's church which is unique in this country for having a full set of original medieval stained glass windows.

Also in the days before me there used to be a junk shop where my mum picked up many bargains to furnish her first home. That shop is long gone now, there is just one charity shop for thrifters. I've just shown just a glimpse of this pretty town - have a look here for more info.

Of course, being out and about means that thrifting opportunities are usually found, here are some things I've picked up this week, standing on a pair of folding steps - a nice small set which I've been on the lookout for ages.

Lovely roses jug and bowl.

Red rosebud hankie and some home-made hatpins.

Colourful embroidered hanky case.

This gorgeous clock smothered in roses, which still keeps perfect time.

It's already in situ, along with the green vase and hatpins.

Have a lovely weekend, hope the sun shines on you!

The First Boot

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:27:00 +0000

I have been asked a few times by non-UK bloggers what a Car Boot Sale is. For some reason I always thought the concept of Car Boot Sales was imported from the US, don't know where I got that idea from. According to Wikipedia the world's first Boot sale was held at Nepicar Farm, Wrotham Heath in Kent in September 1980, called a Car Boot Sale because items are sold from the boot (trunk) of your car - though most people bring trestle tables.

They are probably something of a cross between a flea market and a yard sale. Some stalls are dealers, sometimes market traders with new goods (not always allowed), but mainly just ordinary folk clearing out their junk and if you are looking for something in particular, sooner or later you will most likely find it. Children's toys and clothes are very popular, as are CDs and DVDs. I was looking through my photos to see if I could find a typical stall but all I could find was this picture of my stall (together with my Dad - that brass is not mine!). Somewhere in there is the obligatory fondue set and in the left of the pic a blue box of something which proves you can buy almost anything - and I did sell them!

I came across this huge cake once at a huge charity boot sale - it was taller than me.

This is not a typical stall, this lovely display was at a posh boot sale.

Usually Car Boot Sales take place on a Sunday morning at a hideously early time, though there are some afternoon ones, and occasional mid-week or Saturday. When Mr. Bloom and I had our break in Ludlow it was mid-week so I had no expectation of 'booting' and couldn't believe my luck when I saw a sign in a field advertising one at 4pm on a Wednesday! Of course we went - my luck ran out - there were 4 boots, I didn't buy anything!

I first discovered the joys of booting in the 80s. I had my first home, which I wanted to decorate in an 'olde'worlde' style - the term vintage wasn't really used in those days for home decor. I couldn't afford to buy in antique shops and the car boot was a real treasure trove for me, my house soon filled up with lots of vintage goodies, prices were much better those days too. I no longer have many of those early boot finds - circumstances forced me to reluctantly part with them over the years, probably just as well otherwise I'd need be living in a mansion by now!

I opted for a lie-in last weekend, so no boot finds, but I did manage a bit of thrifting elsewhere and acquired a few bits and bobs which are in all the other pics.

I didn't go to a Car Boot Sale yesterday either, but I did go to the Giant Flea which so huge it was almost too much to cope with. Needless to say I bought a few things, I'll try and post them sometime soon.

I am going to be busy with various things over the next couple of weeks so my posts may become even more sporadic than usual, but hoping to restore some normality soon!

For Garden Lovers

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:35:00 +0000

Not the figurine, that's for later. A few weeks ago the Bloom's took a short break to Shropshire, one of the places we visited was Stockton Bury Gardens near Leominster.

Stockton Bury is a working farm with a beatutiful 4-acre garden set amongst medieval farm buildings. If you are in the area, it is well worth a visit and you can buy unusual plants there too.
From the car park you walk past the orchard where the sheep graze, you can see the tithe barn in the corner.

Beautiful wisteria on one of outbuildings - also the plant sales area.

The dovecote is completely covered in ivy.

The main house

The garden is divided up into lots of smaller garden and planting areas, nooks and crannies, with lovely names such as Pillar Gardens, Dingle Gardens and Iris Walk. There is also a working kitchen garden.

Indside the greenhouse.

I loved the secret garden with it's own folly and view onto the countryside. It was so well hidden we almost missed it.

The water area at the bottom of the garden is the Dingle Garden and hides a grotto behind the trees.

Lovely rose arch.

I'll bet the bees love living here.

I have shown just a few highlights, the gardens are utterly charming, with lots of planting ideas that wouldn't be impossible to achieve on a smaller scale. I would definately visit there again. You can see more lovely pics on their website here.

As for the ballerina, she's a tiny Dresden figurine I thrifted recently. She's only about 4" tall, but so sweet and pretty - and pink!

She's lost a finger and a bit of her dress at the back, but that's no big deal. Currently gracing my mantelpiece.

Well, hope you all have a good weekend, I'm not booting, but if you are I hope you have a fruitful day!

To Boot or not to Boot

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:18:00 +0000

I always have a dilema at the weekend deciding whether to go to the Car Boot on Sunday morning. I get up at 5am, 6 days a week for work. I love sleeping and every morning is a struggle to get up. So Sunday morning is my one chance of lie-in and as luck would have it, also Car Boot Sale day.

Most of the sales around here (the ones worth going to) start early - 7 or 8 am which means an early start to get the best bargains. Most Sundays I opt for a lie-in, last weekend I saw there was a Car Boot Sale in Marlborough as part of their Summerl Carnival, starting at 10am. Yippee - a lie in and a car boot sale - heaven!

I thought it might be rained off, but no, Sunday morning turned out dry. Off I went in eager anticipation. Turning off into the field, I saw the car in front of me with a very full boot, and a very interesting set of cabriole legs painted a pale shabby blue visible in the back window. Great, I thought, I shall rush over to their car as soon as they start unpacking and investigate those shabby blue legs... as I watched the car pull into the buyers parking area - drat! They'd obviously got up a lot earlier than me and visited a few sales already - ah well, the bird that doesn't lie-in catches the worm!

As it turned out, the prospect of rain had put a lot of sellers off and there were only about 10 boots, still unloading - mostly toys and DVDs. I hate when that happens, I feel really cheated and can't quite believe that there's nothing to be found. Fortunately, after walking round 3 or 4 times, there was something to be found and I got to go home with a few things in my boot.

My favourties are probably these tiny pink flower stamen earrings, though the lamp is rather sweet too.

Best bargain was the pretty piece of fabric - it was in an empty box under the table, turned out the seller used it as packing material and let me have it for nothing - what a nice man!

The wooden bookstand will get a paint treatment and maybe a bit of decoupage, but it will have to join the long makeover queue. This little letter rack was in the queue for about 3 years, finally got it's turn a couple of weeks ago when I needed a rack to display some calendars I was taking to the V&H fair. I'll probably do something similar with the bookstand.

I have finished updating my webshop this week. Thank you to everyone who has made a purchase so far, some parcels are already on their way, others to follow.

Available in my Shop

Pink Poodles

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Today was meant to be a stay-at-home-and-get-loads-done day, but it was all mundane stuff so I used delaying tactics by popping out for a bit of thrifting. There wasn't much thrift about - serves me right, though I did find this delightful lady with her pink poodles.

Sitting on a shelf crammed with undesirable ornaments, I noticed the poodles first, then I saw they were attached to a pretty owner. They stood out from the crowd, I was surprised no-one had snapped them up before me.

I love the way their fur has been made from spaghetti clay (I don't know if that's a proper term, I just made it up).

I have named them Mitzi and Fifi, quite appropriate I think.

I don't have a name for the lady, but doesn't she have a pretty face? I think I could develop a thing for poodles.

This weekend we have a guest staying with us - of the canine variety - he's a real sweetie. Pip comes to stay occasionally when his owner is away, I love having him around. Cheeky chappie too, every time I leave the room he jumps straight onto my place on the sofa and makes himself at home there.

I didn't get my shop update done last week, but I have put a few Lillipegs in the shop today. More handmade and vintage to follow in the next couple of days. (One-of-a-Kinds updated 7/6/09)

With this rotten weather, I think tomorrow might be another stay at home day. Maybe just the car boot sale as a diversion!

A Dream of a Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Of course I'm referring to the Vintage and Handmade fair on Saturday, which was nothing less than extraordinary. To quote the bard, it made "breath poor and speech unable". Eagerly anticipated, weeks of preparation, nerves and excitement all rolled into one. A dream of a day I wished not to have ended.

Having arrived early so as to have plenty of time to set up, I suddenly found myself with only seconds to spare before the doors opened. Hence the rather blurry photos taken in the nick of time. I wished I had taken more as I can honestly say the quality of all the stalls was first class, it truly was a vintage and handmade lovers paradise. If you go to Jayne's blog there are links to some great photos and reviews of the day.

I had about 5 minutes to whizz around the stalls before the doors opened, thinking I'd go re-visit them during quiet moments and do some shopping for myself. Ha! No chance - once the doors opened I (and the other stallholders) didn't have a moment to ourselves. In the first 3 hours there was not time even for a cup of tea or a biscuit. Fortunately, Mrs. Snippets came over and very kindly offered to hang around my stall whilst I popped out to the loo, I don't know how I'd have managed otherwise.

At times I was almost overwhelmed and would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made a purchase from me. I feel sad that I wasn't able to acknowledge or chat to many of you, I really wasn't expecting it to be as busy as it turned out.

I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to go round all the stalls and meet my fellow stallholders properly, I know some of you came and purchased from me and I didn't realize at the time who you were. A friend came shopping later in the day and briefly manned my stall while I flew round and made a few purchases, but sadly I didn't have time to linger.

I knew in advance that I was going to buy one of Niki's gorgeous fairy dolls and managed to secure this lovely before they were all gone. I'm so happy to at last be the owner of one.

I also bought a few pretty fabrics and trims which I can't wait to start using.

Jayne and Michele are to be thanked and loved for organising this wonderful event, they pulled out all the stops - look out for the next one as it really is a day not to be missed.

My one disappointment of the day was that I missed out on such a fantastic shopping opportunity because I couldn't leave my stand! I've briefly looked at some pictures out on other blogs today and seen so many things I could have bought. Next time I'm going to bring someone along to help me, so if everyone who came this time would kindly book again I'll be able to do some serious shopping!

(p.s. I didn't sell out completely and hope to list some things in my webshop towards the end of the week.)

Welford Park

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:09:00 +0000

The end of a busy week for me and a Bank Holiday (public holiday) plus a week off work to look forward too - yippee! And of course the Vintage and Handmade fair on the 30th. The weekend looks to be just as busy but Mr. Bloom and I are taking off for a couple of days break next week, hopefully a chance to relax a little.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my Pink Saturday post last week, I haven't managed any replies yet but will hopefully remedy that some time. I had some useful hints on care of the dress (which is vintage and was home-made) and also how I could to alter it to fit me, I'll have to think about that, I don't think I could bare to take scissors to it!

Last week I attended the Produce in the Park fair - in the beautiful setting of Welford House near Hungerford.

The fair itself took place on the lawns in front of the house. A great family day with local produce, crafts, dog show, fairground rides and something to do with haystacks which I didn't quite work out what it was.

Not having attended before and having read the literature I think I was expecting something a bit grander really. The craft marquee was at the far end of the lawn, if you enlarge the pic you might see the red circle which denotes where I was. There were about 10 craft stalls in the marquee plus a couple outside with their own gazebos.

My stall was at the entrance to the marquee which I was pleased about as it meant I could spread out a little.

A fair number of people came to the marquee, unfortunately they weren't buying much except home-made jams and chutneys - the stall across from me did a roaring trade all day. For the rest of us it was very slow going. I guess people hadn't come that day with the intention of buying handmade goods. I normally don't take stalls at these kind of charity events, they can be a bit hit and miss, I decided to do this one on impulse, it had sounded promising. Though I did make a profit, it wasn't enough to justify having spent a whole day on the effort. It could have been worse, my mum and dad did a table-top sale locally the same day and made £1! Ah well, c'est la vie.

Unusually for me, I didn't buy anything. I almost did but the lady whose stall it was on (selling bought-in mass-produced goods) subsequently came over to mine and made what I felt was a very rude comment about one of my items - along the lines of "do you sell a lot of those, I've seen them before but I've never really seen the point of them myself.....why would people buy them?" After that I found it very hard to see the point of her!

Anyway, hope you all have a lovely weekend, whatever you are doing.

Lucy x

Pink Saturday - A Dream of a Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Browsing around in a charity shop recently, not really expecting to find much, I spied it out of the corner of my eye. It was the pink that caught my attention first, then the lace. When I pulled it out of the rack I had one of those moments - one of those " I can't believe I found this" moments.

Stunning pink lace - the colour of strawberry milkshake and just as delicious. Yards and yards of it - the skirt is two full circles.

It might have been a prom dress or a bridesmaid dress, its wearer must have felt like a princess. I would love to have worn a dress like that for my prom - except I didn't have one. We had an end-of-term school disco. I can't remember what I wore but it was the 70s so I can imagine!

Whoever wore this dress had the tiniest of waists, I couldn't do it up at the back on Delphine (the mannequin). No zip, just dozens of hook-and-eyes sewn on by hand.

The pink lace is exquisite, a pink tulle underskirt and organza under that. It needs a wash and an iron but I daren't in case it disintegrates or becomes scorched.

This dress deserves to be worn - alas it won't ever be by me. Even if I could squeeze myself into it (I'd have to reduce in size by at least half), I'm past the age for such dresses.

It deserves to go to another prom, or sweet sixteen, or wedding, to receive admiring glances, to be the belle of the ball. Maybe one day it will, but for now, it's mine to enjoy - and dream...

Visit Beverly's blog for more Saturday Pinkness.

Produce in the Park

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:00:00 +0000

I might have bitten off more than I can chew, given I'm doing this at the end of the month, but I have booked a stall at an event called Produce in the Park. It is held annually at Welford Park near Newbury. Welford Park is probably better known in the area for it's displays of snowdrops in January and February for which it opens to the public. I haven't been there before but by all accounts the Produce in the Park fair is a huge event well worth a visit.

It takes place next Saturday 16th May from 12pm and I shall be there with lots of handmade and vintage goodies in one of the marquees.

Whilst I am hoping I do well, I also hope there is enough left to take to the V&H fair, otherwise I shall be very busy for the rest of May.

If you are free next Saturday and in the area, do pop along and say hello, directions here. I'll have my name displayed somewhere on the stall so you'll know it's me!

For the last 3 weeks I have had a mock-up of my stall set up and have been adding things as I make them. The pics are just a taster, there will be lots more. I'll be taking quite a few of these ladies with me.

I do have some to go in my shop too, but I don't think I'll have time to update it in the next week, I may just post a few pics on this blog. I don't have a mailing list at the moment, but if anyone would like me to drop them an email when I do a shop update, just email me and I'll get a list going.

Enjoy the weekend, TTFN,

Lucy x

Blossoms and Blooms

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Sat, 02 May 2009 10:59:00 +0000

Yipee, Bank Holiday weekend, I've been looking forward to this since Easter! Mine officially started this morning when I finished work. I had a few errands to do afterwards and eek, 1/6th of it is nearly gone already.

It's nice looking out of my kithchen window at the moment because the apple tree is in bloom, sadly almost finished now, I took the pics a couple of weeks ago.

I love the blossoms before they have opened and have that lovely deep pink tinge to them.

I have some birds which permanently reside in this tree - it's quite an unusual variety - tinbird. They used to be part of a mobile hanging in the tree but I got fed up of having to untangle them every spring as the winds wound them around the branches. There were six originally but one disappeared - I wonder if a neighbourhood cat got confused and gave itself a bad tummy ache.

It's lovely to have some (free!) fresh flowers to bring indoors now - actually these lilacs were liberated from my mum's garden as mine haven't flowered yet. These are one of my favourite things about this time of the year, especially the scent.

I would love fresh flowers in the house all year round but I have neither Rosemary Verey's garden nor Elton John's budget so I have a few artificial blooms dotted around as a poor substitute - still they add some colour.

Pretty pink blossoms in the hallway.

Geraniums and roses in the kitchen.

Chrysanthamums on the landing window - actually I think these are prettier than real ones!

This basket of blooms doesn't really belong anywhere, I sometimes use is as a prop for pics of things to sell. The flowers are one of thoses candle rings and I think it works perfectly on this wirework basket as there are no stems to be seen.

I have gradually been adding more items into my online store and will continue to do so regulary (I hope). If you have a minute, pop over and take a look. I have added some fabrics (more to come) and a Shabby Chic section too. More Lillipegs hopefully next week, though there are a few currently listed on Etsy, as a trial.

Well, that would be about it for now - hope your weekend is happy and sunny, I'm off to enjoy mine before it's gone!

Lucy x

In praise of...

noreply@blogger.com (Lucy Bloom) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:37:00 +0000

Yellow!

After posting my Easter vignette I felt in need of some more yellow. It's sunny and cheering, goes well with most colours and I'm sure a little does you good.

Yellow doesn't feature a great deal in my decorating schemes but I do like it as an accent colour, in the right shade and dose.

Not a really bright modern yellow, more of a soft, subdued, vintagey yellow. Like on this teapot - one of my favourites.

Laura Ashley used to be an excellent source of yellow for decorating, not so much these days.

Yellow stripes on a vintage chintz.

Beautiful and intricate ribbonwork.

I'm not about to start re-decorating in yellow, but on a wet and dreary day, what better than a spash of sunshine.