Malvern Flea

One post this week ........

A few pictures today of some of the things that caught my eye at The Malvern Flea, which Lu and I visited the Three Counties Showground on Easter Monday. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 18 months since we were there last, although it seems like only yesterday. Last year, 2022,  we didn’t manage to get there at all because we always seemed to have something else booked whenever it was on.  However it was still just £5 each to get in (including car parking) and for us it’s one of the the best £5 worth of entertainment ever, even when (occassionally) we don’t actually buy anything.

Due to the weather the fields were a little muddy under foot and I reckon, because it was early on in the year, there weren’t as many stalls as we’d hoped. Usually it takes us a good 5 to 6 hours to get around, but this time we did it in about 3.

I have a collection of small pieces of this gold/enamel, bohemian type of glass on the shelves in my shower room. I have only paid between £1 to £3 for my bits, but I have noticed that even charity shop prices are now creeping up!

I am pretty sure I’ve photographed this erm ……. monstrosity, before, so I guess it’s taking a while to sell ……. very much an acquired taste!

I bought this plaque, it was £2, however, I will admit to putting it on eBay, because once I got home I wasn’t so sure, however, if it doesn’t sell, it will definitely come out for Halloween and put amongst my other decorative bits.

There is no real age to this large, emerald jewelled cross, the picture doesn’t really do it justice. It was only £1 with all stones present, so I am now on the look out for a suitable, deep, gothic/ornate frame to put it in and then maybe, give it as a present to someone whose “thing” it is.

How I wished this box of china flower brooches had been a bargain job lot! I have wanted to decorate a mirror with these forever, but it would take anything between 50 – 100, depending on the size of the mirror, preferably heart shaped.  They wouldn’t have to perfect, chips wouldn't hurt, but I rarely see them on my travels, even at £1 a pop, it would take forever to amass enough, as well as costing a fortune!

This was my very favourite stall, where I couldn’t afford a flipping single thing.

I think most of the pieces was French, but as per usual, it was the Marriage Domes that I “lusted” after, but sadly well out of my budget.

As you know I love a religious statue or two, especially a Mary, and there were more than I can ever remembered seeing before throughout the stalls.  Again, they were pretty expensive, even though many are made of a chalky material and so a lot are chipped.  My best hunting grounds for these are charity shops, however whenever we are at the Flea I always tell Lu that my quarry is a St Bernadette/Lourdes souvenir, I found a Fatima one this time, but sadly no Lourdes, but I do enjoy a quest.

Lu and I do have a penchant for a cocktail trolley, however, where the purse may be willing, the space in our homes is not, but we still enjoy a good oooooo and ahhhhhhhh!

As for this little bed, well, when I win the lottery and buy an old Edwardian house ……. this would be in Iris’s sleepover bedroom, with beautiful broderie anglais bedding!

As for this Italian, cherry liquor drink bottle, I’d had something very similar pop up on one of my Facebook feeds during that week, it’s pretty awful, but in a weird sort of way, I also quite liked the artist with his lenticular naughty lady in a frame.  I paid £2.50 for it …… it’ll be on my shelf for a while, and then when it doesn’t make me smile as much, again, it might go on to be a birthday present for someone who I know will very much appreciate it.

And finally to the 50p box of unbridled pleasure …….. six, awful, brown EPNS spoons, which turned out to be pretty OK after a good soak and polish and will be used on picnics etc.

….. the cherub plate, goodness only knows why, but I am thinking it may end up in either Marc or Rick’s festive tut sacks …… with a silly message about our love children!

……. and finally a pressed glass, Queen Victoria, 1887 jubilee compote, which I adore and is perfect for my grapes! Happy, happy days!  Hope we can get back a couple more times this year.

http://www.b2bevents.info/malvern_flea.html

The Works Wooden House Revised

Sorry, only one post this week ......... I am completely out of ideas!!!!!!

Remember this Works little, wooden house drawer (below) that I wasn’t 100% with last week, thinking the bird and branches on the front and back looked a little out of proportion ……

…… well, I’ve had a little play and this is what I eventually came up with ……

I managed to remove the bird etc. pretty easily and after a bit of sanding to remove all the glue I replaced them with three butterflies on the front with a little foliage, to which I think I may also add some really tiny fimo flowers and then another three butterflies on the back……….

I think the proportions look much better now and the butterflies and space make the house feel fresher. This was a one off experiment but I reckon either Iris and Bertie will lay claims to it over the Easter holiday.

As I have a few more of the drawers squirrelled away I’ll be playing again, thinking perhaps a gingerbread house next time, we shall see……..

Easter Bonnet Favours

Please note - This is not my idea, I found it while perusing Pinterest as is my want and just had to try it ………

However, the first hurdle was finding plain, foil wrapped chocolate cup sweets which was nigh on impossible, in the end I  resorted to using Reese Peanut Butter Miniature Cups, which explains my use of yellow and orange materials in an effort to minimise and detract from the logos.

I cut the bottom of the hats using my ancient Stampin’ Up scallop edged punch, with a small daisy flower to decorate/disguise the top.  If I had found plain, foiled sweets I don’t think I would have needed to do this, but hey ho.  I wished I’d also got a few more of the orange pre-tied bows, but out of my big box I just had one!

I put an adhesive foam pad on the bottom of each cup and then stuck them in the middle of each scalloped circle, followed by a flower on the top.

As this was just an experiment, I wasn’t too precious with my Sharpie pen dots round the brim, if I were to repeat the idea again I would be more careful and precise with the dots or might even replace them with a few flat backed gems or tiny Fimo nail art flowers on something extra special.

However, in the long run, I think they work

Now ……..  if I continue to look and find any said elusive plain, foil wrapped chocolates on my travels, I could perhaps turn them into sunhats for end of summer term fairing gifts for the staff at Iris and Bertie’s school ……. all eyes peeled then!

The Works – Decorated Wooden House ……. A Work In Progress

I have to admit I’m not all that keen on this decorated, wooden house, it’s just a bit too much and twee, something ain’t right!

The house (which I varnished before I did anything to it) came from The Works last autumn when they were selling off all their wooden craft bits for half price, so this house was reduced from £2 to £1. Needless to say, I stocked up with a few, but have since been stuck with ideas on how to use them, originally, I was thinking more of a wintery gingerbread house than spring cottage.

However, after colouring the roof red, I decided to marry one house up with some spring themed, wooden embellishments, also from The Works (£1 for a pack of 6), which I also varnished beforehand to prevent any ink bleeding into the wood from the various coloured Sharpie pens I planned to use.

There was a butterfly in amongst the flowers that I didn’t like, so I found some small, wooden butterflies which I coloured and then glued over the original one, which added a little extra dimension.  I also put tiny nail art flowers in the middle of the flowers too.

I quite liked the house at this stage …… and perhaps should have left it at that, but of course I had to fiddle fart with it some more.

Now, while putting this post together and looking at it with fresh eyes through the pictures, I can see that it’s the bird and branches that are out of proportion and throwing everything else out of kilter. I should have simply just put two, possibly three (?) of the yellow butterflies, above the window and on the back instead, doh!

Unfortunately, as they have been glued on with E-7000, it might not work, but I think I am going to try to remove them in an effort to correct the scale and see how the butterflies work ……. fingers crossed!

Small, Wooden Christmas Tree Decorations

I think you might be seeing quite a few variations of these Christmas tree decorations over the coming months ………..

……. because I got a little carried away when these wooden blanks were in The Works Christmas sale………..

I’d seen them in my local shop when a pack of 16 (small and large) was £2, but I’d ermed and ahhed, but when they were reduced to £1 a bag, what’s a crafter to do? I think in the end I bought 4 or five packs?!.  It was their 6mm thickness that really swayed me, as they can easily stand alone, making them simple to glue upright and then incorporate into scenes etc., this gives them an awful lot of potential, if only I could put my mind to it.

However, I am easing myself into Christmas (aghhhhhh) slowly, there are no great shakes with this idea.  I took ten of the larger trees, which stand 6cms tall by 4.5cms at their widest and tried to put a tiny screw eye hook in the top, I managed it, perhaps more to the side than in the middle, but the wood proved really hard to screw into.

I then coloured the trees on both sides with  green and brown Sharpie pens, followed by a couple of coats of quick dry, clear, gloss varnish to seal in the colour to prevent any rubbing off if/when stored in the future.

All that was left to do then was decorate the trees (again on both sides) with small snowflake confetti with a tiny, gold, flat dome in the middle and clusters of three dots here and there to help fill in the gaps, using a white nail pen.

All that was left to do after that was add a silver hanging thread, as I said, nothing to them at all.

I am thinking that with having so many of the trees, in time, in all their different guises, that they will probably make up the bulk of the RAK Christmas fairings it has become traditional for Iris and Bertie to leave along the school run in December ……. I just need the inspiration…….. happy days!