The theme over at the Our Beautiful World blog this week is TIME. My shabby old French clock face on the mantlepiece was kind of staring at me from behind the candlesticks and other assorted bits, so I had to give it the starring role and photograph it :-).
This is what the mantlepiece usually looks like -
but clock face wasn't happy, it wasn't centre stage! So I removed the candlesticks and flowers -
but I could still hear grumblings about alabaster urns trying to pinch the limelight and those two were fighting about who should be closest to clock face, so I made the decision for them and ruthlessly removed one -
That worked! At least for me, lol.
I also got to spend some time in the craftavan. I had to make a bunch of customer freebie tags as well as the Tag Tuesday tag for this week.
The Tag Tuesday theme this week is STATUES, and I immediately thought of the beautiful angel statues I have often admired on the internet. This is what I ended up with -
I found so many beautiful images when I was searching, I just had to make some more angel statue tags. Like this one, for example -
Thats all for today. I am listening to test match cricket on the computer while I am doing some more Etsy stuff.
As always, thank you for stopping by. I wish you all a very happy day,
Toodlepip xxx
If you saw yesterday's post about my brocante finds, you'll remember that I mentioned a big folder. And that it was an absolute must-have even though it cost a fortune, lol. And I did promise to show you today what it was that got me so excited.
Well, I won't tease you any longer. What I found stashed away in a number of smaller folders were...............
THE most wonderful fashion magazines from the 1870s and 1880s!!!
They are so rare, so very hard to find. Very occasionally you come across one or two at a dealer's stall, so you can imagine how delighted I was to find a whole bunch of them. The stall was manned by an elderly couple, and we got chatting and they told me that his grandmother had been a dress designer and had collected all these publications. I wish I had had more time to talk with them and find out what else they had stashed away, but it was such a very busy brocante, I couldn't keep them away from other customers for too long.
I took a few photographs for you, of course -
I also got these almost pristine 1870s embroidery and dress patterns, on the most delicate lilac coloured tissue paper -
I suppose I should list at least some of them in my Etsy shop, but oh, that will be hard, they are all so very beautiful.
Wishing all a very happy Sunday, and a great new week. Toodlepip xxx
There are not many brocantes on a Saturday in our area of Burgundy, but today there was a pretty big one in a town about 45 mins from us. It was great! A really good mixture of professionals and private sellers, a lot of whom were actually sitting outside their homes. It was a really good atmosphere and I might just have gotten a little bit carried away, lol, I spent way more than I had intended to. But all so worth it. Have a look at what I came home with -
Errmm, the huge white courgetty things in the background are from our garden, lol, not the brocante!
Here are a few close ups -
Some gorgeous old lace from one seller ( more from others later ), a rather beautiful rosary with beads made from bone or ivory, not sure yet, and these really pretty picture hook covers -
Mother of pearl rosary, a rosary with deep blue beads and rather unusual spacers between the decades, a rosary made with very exotic looking seeds, and a little unopened packet of lace with original label -
Huge Monk's/Nun/s wooden rosary and some delightful porcelain blue and white door knobs -
Great set of copper kitchen utensils, wooden wine casket spigots/taps, 2 envelopes, one which held postcards and one which still holds old photo paper, couldn't resist the gorgeous labels -
The sweetest little vintage child's basket, a graniteware cake baking tin, madeleine baking trays, a vintage glass pipette in its cylinder and a glass and wicker perfume bottle
A great set of heavy quality copper pans, and some fabulous chocolate boxes as well as a sweet little Baptism gift box -
Sweet little baby tops with the most delicate lace trims and some lovely old lace bobbins -
A Sacred Heart church candle base and a pair of awesome big antique curtain tie backs -
A small box of lace from one seller -
Some red striped torchons -
and a bag of lace from a third seller! -
First time in absolute ages that I have found a decent amount of lace!
A set of gorgeous faux pearl and filigree work buttons, so gorgeous -
This next one is a superb example of hand painted porcelain, incredibly fine work and such a very beautiful image -
And last but not least, these two beautiful knotted lace work bed covers -
You may have noticed a big folder on the table under some of the stuff. That is my most treasured find and I spent a fortune on it, but when I'll show you what it is, you'll understand. I haven't photographed any of the content yet, I am hoping to do that tomorrow.
My legs and feet are still aching, it was a very tiring but also very happy trip.
Bedtime for me now. As always, thanks for stopping by. Toodlepip xxx
I spent a little time in my craftavan the other day and finally caught up with three weeks' worth of Tag Tuesday tags. Feels good, yeah!
JAPAN was the theme two weeks ago. I used two different Japanese papers for the background and an image of a young Geisha girl with a Japanese Art Doll for the focal point. Cut out Japanese cherry blossom, a little tag with Japanese writing and two tiny origami birds, all in lovely cherry blossom pinks -
Last week, the theme was BUGS. I quite enjoy watching the many varieties of bugs we get in the garden here at the cottage in France. I especially love one particular beetle, no idea what it is called, but it is the most beautiful iridescent shimmering metallic green, almost like an oil slick.
The bugs on my tag aren't quite so pretty. They are illustrations from a 19th Century French scientific dictionary, which I had picked up at a brocante a while ago. For the background I used a piece from a 1910 magazine in a lovely shade of light green and three different washi tapes ( middle and edges ). A little bit of greenery and a tiny flying bug charm and the tag was complete -
And finally, this week's theme is SUMMER HOLIDAYS. I spent some fabulous working holidays on a German island when I was a teenager, and I have such lovely memories of beach parties, swimming in the sea etc, so that every time I hear the world holidays, I automatically think of seaside. So it had to be a vintage seaside tag for me this week ;-) -
I used four different blue inks to create the sky and the sea, used typewriter key images for the words, and cut out a few shells to go onto the image of the sand. Lovely young bathing beauty from the 1920s or thereabouts ( who just caught a fish, lol ), a couple of silver and white clouds and seagulls in the sky and a blue seambinding ribbon to finish it off.
The Thursday evening brocantes have started again ( July and August in our area ), and yesterday started off with such a beautiful cloud free blue sky that we were sure the brocante in St. Didier wouldn't get rained off again like in previous years. And then shortly after lunch, within minutes it seemed, huge black clouds came up out of nowhere and the heavens opened. Thunder, lightning, torrential downpour, but it was all over within half hour or so. Hah, we thought, this year the thunderstorm has come early, and the brocante will be just fine! So at 4.30 we set off for St. Didier in blazing hot sunshine. Some stall holders were already set up and doing brisk business, others were still driving in. I wombled about for 10 mins or so, and then, to my horror, heard distant thunder. Looked up ( usually I am looking down at stalls, lol ), and omg, there were enormous black clouds rushing towards us. And yes, you guessed it, once again, third year running, the weather god decided to spoil our fun. Within seconds, I was drenched, and the stall holders were frantically trying to cover up their wares or grabbing them and returning them to their vehicles. I felt so sorry for them and the village, three years in a row, thats just not funny. All the wonderful evening activities which go with the evening brocantes, all rained off. I did manage to find a couple of little things within those few minutes of sunshine though, including a gorgeous big old Eau de Cologne bottle with a beautiful old label. More about that later.
Thank you for visiting again. Toodlepip xxx
