Malvern Flea – Nanny Tat

As promised last week …… my considered purchases (Nanny Tat) from the May Bank Holiday Malvern Flea and Antiques Fair.  Please excuse some of their less than pristine cleanliness, as they hadn’t been washed at this stage, due to my rush to get them photographed for this scheduled post, because, in real life, as you read this, I am lying on a sunbed on a beach in Greece!  Happy days.

These miniature, possibly bohemian, Czech painted jugs were £2 for the pair. I collect this sort of thing to decorate my shower room shelves.  It’s getting harder to find larger pieces in charity shops and the prices are creeping up, but although these are pretty nibbled around the tops they will be perfect for putting between larger pieces to help bring the displays together.

And ……. this little man was thrown in for free, he’s tiny! He’s going in a frame. I am thinking an enamelled MDF tree, an apple and a snake for a Garden of Eden diorama?

This little ballerina was £2, I got her because she matched something very similar I bought in a flea market in New York, only the American, one, when I got home, is considerably smaller. She was very much an impulse buy, but that’s just part of the excitement of the day.

Now, for three brooches each bought for a pound and all, I think, destined to be put in small shadowbox frames.

The bird is exquisite, there’s fair amount of chipping to the flowers, but in now way does it detract from it’s beauty.

The ballerina brooch will be framed for Iris as a memento to celebrate a dance show she’s taking part in, in a few weeks time.

Now, for the bits that need a little more research and if that proves fruitful, they may end up on eBay to help towards my 2024 USA Fund. These guardian angel figurines are possibly Victorian, no makers mark, just the numbers 1379 embossed on the back.

They’re not glazed and differ everso slightly.  To be honest, I find them rather creepy.  I have found similar ones online, but these seem to be a little cruder. They only cost £4.50 for a pair, but I think, once I know a bit more about them they’ll be separately on eBay.

This German made, 1920’s (?),  lustre ware, sentiment cup was 50p in a mixed basket of tat.  I think it may originally have had a saucer, but others I have found online are generally sold on their own.  I was thinking of putting a cactus in it, but I think at 50p it might be worth a punt …….

…… as perhaps this other tiny cup, again 50p from the same basket.

….. and if they don’t sell, they already look very at home amongst all the other bits of nanny tat already on my shelves …….. we shall see.

It was a brilliant day out for just £5 entrance fee, whether we’ll be able to fit another one in this year I’m not sure, our next six months are pretty much planned, but with the prices of some of the things I look for better than most charity shops, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Malvern Antiques and Flea – May 2023

It’s only been a month, but Lu and I were back at Malvern Antiques and Flea at the Three Counties Showground over the May Bank Holiday. While the Easter one was a pretty small affair due to the weather and boggy fields, this one was mahooooosive, taking Lu and I a good five hours plus to get round ………

…… so, despite our sensible shoes, we still wouldn’t have minded a cheeky sit down in these chairs by the end.

As you know we both always ooooo and ahhhh over a huge dresser and this was no exception, I didn’t see a price on it sorry, but generally they aren't that expensive, probably down to their weight and size.   

No price on this tiny, apprentice piece, desk either, but a perfect size for three little monkeys I know!

This gawd awful, but very me lamp was £10, Lu even offered to buy it for me, but even though I desperately went through each of the rooms in my flat in my mind’s eye to see where it “could” go, in the end, despite giving it several loving strokes, it was left for someone else to love and cherish.

This retro table was over £200, but where would you find another?  I have a spooky feeling I may have photographed it before at the flea last year, but if I did, at least I am consistent with my lust for some objects!

And, if I’d had a spare wall in my bijoux flat, without a flipping radiator in the way, I would have been sorely tempted by this set of drawers.  It was not more than about 16cms deep, if that, perfect and so beautiful for all my crafty bits and pieces, but how I’d ever remember what was in each drawer, goodness only knows.

There was more religious (kitsch) than we have ever seen before, it must be becoming a bit of a thing now, these were far too expensive for me and since I have sooooooo much now, especially after picking up a Lourdes mug in a charity shop in Worcester a couple of weeks ago, I really do have to reign it in!

Lu and I both pointed this dressing table out at the same time, but at £85 it was in such a state when we got closer, to be honest it was only really fit, in our opinion to scrap!

As for this illuminated cocktail mirror/shelf ……… OMG, if we’d both been in the market for one, there’d have been an unseemly fight, with hair pulling!

There were also an awful lot of dolls houses, something I do want, but it has to be small, no bigger that 40cms square and that’s pushing it!  There’s one in the antique/secondhand shop in town that I’ve been “stroking” over the past couple of months, but not actually measured. I’ve all but decided that if it’s still there and will fit next time I go in, then I’ll make a cheeky offer on it, but if its gone …….. I can also live without to start looking again.

Now, the flea is so big, that if you see something you like and then leave it, the chances of ever finding the stall again, if you wander too far away are nil …… this (below) is my “the one that got away” ………

…… not to everyone’s taste, I know, but appealed to my sense of kitsch and when I asked, it was £3 from a box of tat under the table. I picked it up and put it back a couple of times, and then decided to walk up the field and down the row and if it was still there, it would be mine ……. it was filthy and round the top of the candle holder broken, who else would want it?  I returned within 5 minutes to find it only just sold, oh well.

But, did we actually buy anything? Well, Lu bought a very 60’s/70’s tea towel for her kitchen, I bought mostly for 50p and £1, with the most expensive pair of items at £4.50, however what I thought was “complete nanny tat” seems to be worth doing a little research on. I’m saving these bits for next week, so that I can keep the weekly posts going ……..

The £2 witch plaque I got last time sold, almost straight away, for £15 on eBay, if it hadn’t sold I would have been equally happy to keep it …………

…….. however, as Lu and I would really like to visit the US again next year, I am not being too precious about some of my treasure if I can make a little profit towards our trip ……… we shall see.

The Works – Very Simple Birthday Card

This very simple, layered card measures 5ins x 5ins and uses a pre-scored card blank from, I think, The Works, some time ago.

Now, I don’t buy paper pads very often, as I don’t make an awful lot of cards these days, however when I saw the designs in this 12ins x 12ins “Lovely Flowers” pad from The Works for just £4, I just had to have it.

The pad consists of 24 sheets with 2 x 24 designs, double-sided printed in 250gsm.

All the designs are just too delicious for words.

I used my favourite pattern to cover the whole front of the card blank.

Then I took an ancient Craftworks, gold foiled birthday sentiment and layered in several times on scraps of gold mirror card and some more of the print.

In the top right hand and bottom left hand corners I put a metal, filigree corner, which was originally silver, but to match the card, I quickly sprayed them gold. 

Very simple I know, however, it still has to be said that my mojo really has  upped and gone. 

To blog or not to blog, that is the question …….with no mojo whatsoever I’ve been seriously thinking that after 13 years and just over 3,000 posts, I’ve done my bit, I ought to just simply take the pressure off myself, worrying about when the scheduled posts run out and simply call it quit ….. but I don’t think I am quite ready yet. After all these years of blogging, considered a bit old fashioned now, with so many crafters moving into vlogging, it’s a hard habit/compulsion to break and I know my old enthusiasm will return when I start to seriously think about Halloween and Christmas later on in the year ………… so for now I am going to continue with the once a week post, but if I miss the odd week, like a couple of weeks ago) please bear with me.

Guest Crafter–Iris Roo Is At It Again ……. Decopatch Coaster Set

……. And still my lack of crafting enthusiasm to continues, so thank goodness for Iris Roo and her set of Decopatch coasters bought as a blank from the The Works about a year ago.  It was a joint effort in the end as I offered  to do all the varnishing for her.

I am not sure if this set is still available at The Works, but I have seen similar on other websites, including Hobbycraft.  The stand and six coasters cost just £3 so I bought it for just such an occassion.

Iris wanted to try Decopatch something because she thought she might like a Decopatch party for her birthday at the local craft studio in Evesham.

While Iris Decopatched using some bits that I already had cut, I gave the base several coats of clear, glossy, quick dry varnish as the finish on it was a little rough. We decided not to Decopatch the stand itself just in case the extra layer of paper made the coasters sit a little too tight within the rods,  making it difficult to get them in and out, however, we decided a sparkly, flat back gem glued on the top off each rod wouldn’t hurt.

We used slightly watered down PVA glue to stick the paper down.  Iris, bless her, did the edges first, folding the paper over and onto the back before filling in the middle and then once that side was dry the next day, she filled the back in and then again waited for it to dry, until I stepped in to varnish, applying at least six coats per side, to guarantee that they were really watertight.

The girl “dun gud” …….. and is pretty sure a Decopatch party with a couple of her best friends from school would be a most excellent idea. Happy, happy days!