Oh so shabby

 Hey bloggers, well its been quite a sunny day here in Crawley and I thought what a perfect day to do some painting and upcycle those lovely vintage treasures. Its amazing what a coat of Annie Sloan paint can do and a bit of wax, creating the perfect shabby chic look. There is a bit of a story behind finding this Annie Sloan paint and I would suggest it to anyone who desires this shabby chic effect. When we were on holiday we found a beautiful shop in Falmouth called Sweetpea and Betty, full of shabby chic accessories for the home which they had upcycled and repainted. The colours they had used on the furniture were gorgeous and it wasn't long before we were in an in depth discussion about how to achieve the best effects from Annie Sloan paint which they sell in the shop. Well, I have to say I think this paint has changed my life, its a chalk paint and comes in very subtle colours, perfect for vintage decor.

As you can see we bought the tester pots and honestly it won't be long before we buy a tester pot of every colour. The bonus of these paints is that you don't need to prime or sand the items before you paint them because this paint will stick to most things including plastics, stone, brick, concrete and metal. And because it is a chalk paint it is so easy to sand off to create the shabby chic look you desire.
So what did I paint today? Well remember the old vintage letter rack I bought in St Ives (if not there is a picture underneath to show what it looked like before).

A bit of duck egg blue and some wax and hey presto, a total transformation................

 

 

I also painted an mirror frame that was in desperate need of a makeover, unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture but I'm sure you could imagine. Anyway here's the result.......

 

All I need to do now is add an old brass chain to the back to hang it up, just need to find the perfect chain, better start hunting.
Until next time......

Sue & Sarah

A Little Insight

So what do we make with all this vintage ephemera and fabric? Well I thought it was time that we gave you a little insight into the types of things that we make to give you a flavour of our style. Mum makes a lot of different items for the home using the vintage fabric, such as peg bags, door stops, shopper bags, cushions,  bunting and noticeboards. Whereas I tend to focus on a lot of handpainted items for the home, including trinket boxes, mirrors, photo pegs and also notebooks and journals. I like to give a romantic vintage style to my painted items, drawing inspiration from a romantic prairie style.
Here are a few examples of the different things we make, hope you enjoy!

 

 

I also like to try my hand at card making and below is an example of the type of cards I create.

I use stamps by Oxford Impressions and Tim Holtz in a lot of the cards I make and in a future post, you will get to learn how inspirational Tim Holtz is in our lives. He is the reason why I am craft mad and he really got me to think about things in a whole new light.

I have to say we do dabble in quite a few different materials and ideas because we love to learn new techniques and experiement with different textures, which is why our stock can change quite regularly depending on an idea we have or inspiration from something that we have found. Unfortunately we don't sell any of our products online yet, we just mainly stick to craft fairs and have a few coming up nearer the end of the year.

Well I hope some of these pictures have tickled your tastebuds for more of our vintage style and we will keep you posted when any of our craft fairs are coming up.

Until next time......

Sue & Sarah

Treasures from our travels

Hey bloggers, we have finally arrived back from Cornwall after a long drive home. However we didn't make it home without making another flea market stop at Honiton. This was for the Rag market at Mackarness Hall in the High Street. This was more up mum's street than mine because rifling through vintage linens amongst crowds of people is not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, what mum creates with these linens is truly gorgeous and I will make future posts entailing more of what we make at a later date. Anyway we found some good bits and pieces and met the washer woman , whose blog is amazing!!! Definitely worth checking out! All these inspiring women made us even more eager to put our foot down and zoom home to start creating. A picture below gives a brief insight to our rag market treasures.

Mum picked up a range of beautiful fabrics, as cheap as 50p I may add and also some lace and buttons as you can never have enough of those.

As promised from our previous post I said that I would share with you our treasures from our travels, so here we go.

1. Buttons

These are always worth picking up, especially if they come as cheap as £1.00 - £2.00 for one card. They are perfect for embellishing cushions, peg bags, even on cards and scrapbook journals. They add a little vintage touch and make the whole piece more enticing to the eye. Always worth checking all the little nooks and crannies of antique shops and charity shops as there is always a bowl of buttons somewhere.

2. Brooches

Wherever we go there is always a charity shop or junk shop selling brooches in a small glass cabinet, which mum tends to be drawn to like a moth to flame. But well worth while as they also make perfect embellishments to cushions or other fabric hangings and add a touch of vintage glitz. Get bargaining for them and you may be surprised at how much that bargain may be worth on ebay.

3. Books

These beautiful old books were found in an excellent charity shop in Falmouth. At £4 each they were definitely a bargain and even more of a bargain was the music book underneath them which we got for 20p, so good, we went back for more later in the week. They would be perfect for our upcoming workshop. We also have a few ideas using the covers of these books, so keep your eyes peeled.

4. Rusted old tin

I just can't help but stop in my tracks as soon as I see an old vintage tin. I find them irresistible and can always find something to store in them, such as old bits of jewellery, buttons or bits of lace.

And finally, my favourite treasure of the holiday.......

5. Vintage Letter Rack

I found this beauty in the vintage boutique at St. Ives as commented on in the previous post. At £25 it was well worth it and I have some ideas for this piece. I can't wait to show you.

So thats the summary of the vintage treasures from our Cornwall travels and I have to say we are so excited to get crafting and creating. 

Sue & Sarah

Welcome!

Finally, the day has come to start our blog (which we have been meaning to create for sometime now). Whilst on holiday in Cornwall seemed like the perfect time to start and after having an inspiring day at St. Ives we are now ready to share our vintage journey with all you bloggers out there. Well, all in all it has been quite an interesting holiday, finding little antique and junk stores to rummage through to salvage and upcycle for future projects. Most of our findings will be shared with you over the next couple of days. Since we are new at this blogging stuff, please be patient with us and expect changes to the blog as we experiment with new designs until we are fully satisfied with the result. Trust me, it took long enough to decide on a blog title! Before we leave you today, here are a few photo snaps of our glorious day at St. Ives. Until next time......
Sue & Sarah

Looking through the streets of St. Ives

Harbour seal that came close up to the harbour at St. ives

A yummy little vintage boutique on the corner of St. Andrews Street, St. Ives

St. Ives harbour