Surrounded by Beauty

I think I must be one of the last of us to post about this, but on Saturday I was definately surrounded by beauty at the first Vintage and Handmade Fair, and I can confirm that it was just an unforgettable experience.

So many lovely, friendly and talented ladies (and some of their gentlemen), stalls full of beautiful handmade and vintage loveliness, a real treat for the senses.

Jayne and Michele had decorated the hall in traditional union jack bunting which gave it a lovely garden party feel, despite being November!

If you read the same blogs as me you will have seen lots of pictures already, mine didn't turn out too well, but I know that Hen and Sue at Vintage to Victorian have posted pics of all the stalls.

I managed to stuff my stall to overflowing, some things didn't make it out of the boxes, and some things I meant to put out and just clean forgot about!

There was something for everyone - colourful, muted, vintage, recycled, shabby chic, ethereal, cute, quirky - and the quality of everyone's work was outstanding. There are some great photos out there but I can tell you they are no comparison to seeing everything for real, and do not do justice to how beautiful everything was - ten times better than any picture could show. I think the customers were surprised and delighted at what they found.

It was such a busy day, I wish there had been more time for us bloggers to chat and get to know each other, but it was a case of grabbing a few minutes to rush around with one eye on one's own stall to rush back when customer's appeared - which they did - all day long! I think I was in a bit of a daze a lot of the time as well. Fortunately I was next to the tea hatch, where Julia, with Jayne's daughter, did a grand job of keeping everyone refreshed with tea and cakes.

Naturally I did a bit of shopping for myself . This pretty dolly and lovely lilac fabric and flower covered box from Frances at A Little Bit Vintage.

Frances' dolls are exquisite and I had a real hard job deciding which one to buy. Fortunately her stall wasn't too far from mine as I had to nip over several times before deciding which one to get.

I'm really pleased with my choice. (My sister-in-law came along later and bought what was my second choice, for herself, so I can pop round and admire her too!)

Next to Frances was Lynn at Sea Angels where I bought this gorgeous collaged heart and waxed cones - aren't they delightful. Lynn's stall was divine, I wish I'd taken some pics of it.

I bought the little rose tin from Michele, the cute bird from Carol at Katherine's Dream, and the vintage wallpaper snippets from Sue.

And just look at the lovely packaging too (puts my recycled carrier bags and paper to shame!)

My purchases are just a very small cross-section of the goodness on offer. If I hadn't had to stick to a budget, I could have bought from every single stall, they were all stunning.

And as if that wasn't enough, Jayne and Michele had organised a Secret Santa -look at the lovely bag of goodies I got (from Hesta at Green Glamour).

Lavender sachets, a cute egg cosy, badge, sweet toadstool card, lovely mohair wool, all recycled, and in the background a pretty pinny (just right for Mr. Bloom to wear on Christmas day when he cooks the dinner - hee hee!)

There is a small issue I'd like to clear up though - somewhere out in blogland there is a picture of me behind my stall (despite my best efforts to avoid being photographed). I have my head down and my hair has fallen forward making it look like I have a pudding basin haircut. I would just like to state for the record that whilst I may have had such a haircut as a child, I do not now have a pudding basin haircut!

Of course, all this was thanks to the hard work of Jayne and Michele who did a spendid job and I'm glad to say will be putting themselves through it all again next May - an event not to be missed. I'll be there for sure!

p.s. I've switched my comments back on as I don't want to appear arrogant, and actually, it's quite lonely without them. I have rather a lot of demands on my time at the moment and don't log on regularly, so I hope you'll understand if I don't always reply.

Update 26/11 - oh, and how could I have forgotten to say thank you! to everyone who purchased from my stall. I'm not sure how many blogger customers we had but I hope I didn't not acknowledge anyone who bought from me - I was in a dizzy daze at times.

...don't forget the Fair!

I meant to post this earlier in the week but haven't switched on my computer since Monday, so busy have I been, amongst other things, getting ready for tomorrow's Vintage and Handmade Fair. I've still got a few things to do so I can't stay long, but if anyone can make it tomorrow it promises to be rather a special day.

I was going to do a dry run of my stall but ran out of time so can't show any previews, though I did snap one of my display units in the process of being prettied up with some heart bunting in festive colours.

On a festive theme, I picked up this family of carollers this week, they are quite large, the mum and dad about 12" tall and their clothes are made entirely of paper. I think they are something you either love or hate, though I can't decide which it is for me. I'm taking them to the fair to decorate my stall.

So don't forget Saturday 22nd November, Rangeworthy Village Hall, 10am - 4pm. See you there?

On My Mantelpiece

My mantelpiece is looking quite autumnal at the moment.

It's not a large room so not a large mantelpiece. I have loads of stuff I would love to put on there, but have restrained myself to a few favourite pieces.

Small details - beaded earings clipped onto a lampshade, a mother-of-pearl heart hangs on a bottle, bling in a glass salt, a tiny floral brooch, candlesticks dressed with floral paper.

Though I love bright colours I seem to be drawn to russets, reds and creams for my front room decor. It feels calm and peaceful, I love to sit in there at dusk, no lights on yet, just listening to the clock ticking - if someone has remembered to wind it!

Tall, Dark and Handsome

You might have thought I was going to post about Mr. Bloom... but no, though he might well be those things, it's not about him, nor Pierce Brosnan for that matter. Tall Dark and Handsome is this cupboard in my front room. It's tucked into an alcove and was acquired because it was the right size and had shelves behind glass for displaying lots of trinkets. When I saw it I knew it would be just right for this space - Mr. Bloom needed a bit of persuading, but came round to my way of thinking in the end.

Not a very handsome pic, that's the 'before', I wasn't too keen on the dull green/gold fabric lining the inside. It didn't make a good backdrop for the contents, so one afternoon out it came.

In it's place I used some fabric left over from making the curtains in this room (my favourite Malmaison fabric from Laura Ashley). I used fabric on the back of the cupboard only, the top, sides and shelves were lined with a co-ordinating cream wallpaper.

What a difference - so much brighter and prettier. Then onto the fun part - putting things back! I added a lace trim along the back then placed a few carefully chosen pieces, mainly glass, so that my efforts could be seen and appreciated.

I really liked the light and airy effect. Unfortunately I was left with a table full of trinkets that had nowhere to go. So now, the contents look like this.

So much for light and airy effects...ah well - I can live with the over-stuffed look for a while, until I find new homes for everything.

Of course, I'd like it even better if my cupboard was Tall, Light and Handsome, I was thinking a nice creamy white eggshell, but I haven't been able to persuade Mr. Bloom what a good idea that would be!

I'll be darned!

Sometime during my summer thrifting expeditions I bought a bag of empty cotton reels and wooden darning mushrooms. Does anyone actually darn anything any more, I don't, well certainly not socks anyway. I might darn a tiny hole in a woollen jumper but that's about it. And though I have a couple of darning mushrooms, they haven't seen a needle in quite some time.

These though, were obviously well used so I thought they could do with a bit of sprucing up. Some vintage fabric, trim a dollop of glue and some fiddling about later...

They are just decorative now, but so much prettier I think.

Some of the cotton reels became tiny pin cushions.

And some were just trimmed for fun.

Once I've decided which ones I'm going to keep, the rest will be going to the fair.

They were fun to make and they're so darned cute!