The Early Bird Catches The Worm

Hi Everyone xx

It was a very early start for me yesterday as it was my fortnightly trip to Kempton Antiques Fair. I was up at 4.30am which wasn't to bad as it was so warm anyway, the birds were singing and it was too beautiful to be in bed.

I got to Kempton at 5.30am which was far to early as the traders cannot start trading until 6.30am. I knew I had to be there early though as I had some really special items to find.

I had a wander around all of the vans, which were all shut up so decided to go and get some breakfast. On the way I had a little sneeky peek inside one of the vans which to my amazement was crammed full of just what I was looking for.

I must have looked really strange hanging around the van for just under an hour but I knew that come 6.30 this one van would have a lot of people interested in it.

Because it was such a gorgeous morning a big queue was forming outside of the entrance (I must have been mistaken for a trader to have got in so early - whoops!!!!).

Once 6.30 came it was like something from the Harrods January Sale. Hundreds of people ran in from the entrance gate and made a bee line to exactly the same van I was interested in.

I knew I had to act quick - as soon as the van was unloaded I had to make a decision. And there they were............... a pair of chairs from France - just what I had been looking for!!

They are just so gorgeous and so much so that I would love to keep them. BUT, I am now setting up a business so my business head must take over. I am going to get them re-upholstered in some gorgeous fabric and sell them on my new website (once it gets up and running!!!). Their future will I am sure be fantastic!!!

After my amazing find, I had to calm down and get down to business and find yet more china. It can be difficult sourcing the right kind of china and teapots in particular can be really hard to find. I was in luck though and came across all of this - and all before 7am!!

The first photo is of a complete 1930's tea set - so pretty!!!

The second photo shows two teapots - of completely different designs but will look fab with all of my other mismatched china.

After these early finds, the heavens opened. I was outside and a good 10 minute walk back to the indoor stalls. I got absolutely soaked and when teamed with a white dress and sandals, I really was not a pretty sight!!! On my rush back through all of the puddles I came across this little chap. He was as wet as I was and it was this that made my heart melt!!

Isn't he adorable!!! He may be a little dirty and a little worn but I really like this about him - so much love over the years really does make him unique.

After a coffee and a little dry under the hand dryer in the ladies I felt a little better and so decided to continue my search for just one last item that I really wanted to find. Along the way I picked up these little treasures:

50p each - how could I refuse!!

I just love old Ladybird Books and the ones from the 50's and 60's are a passion of mine but one that I really must share!!

I was at the point of giving up and it still was only 8am. Matthew had taken the day off though so he could come and meet me after the school run so I knew that I had an hour to kill. Another coffee and possibly a cake was an option for me but with holidays just round the corner I had to think of my bikini!!

That obsession with my bikini was a blessing in disguise as I came across just what I had been looking for for months:

I just love this old factory bobbin holder and it is just perfect for what I have in store for it.

Well that was it, Matthew arrived and we had a leisurely stroll around the fair again without the mad dash that I had been doing all morning. I must admit though I did finally have that coffee and cake - oh well, there is always tomorrow!!!

Whilst posting, I would really like to say a big thank you to Hen of HenHouse for these beautiful postcards. It was lovely to get them in the post yesterday on my return from Kempton. I've just got to decide where to hang them now!!

Bye for Now

Kerry xxxx

A bit of a tidy up.

I haven't got much to post to be honest since last time as life here has been really hectic. Running backwards and forwards to sports days, concerts and parent evenings has left me with little time to be productive.

We had a surprise visit from my sister and her boyfriend though yesterday and so Matthew was put on BBQ duty. We had a lovely time sitting in the sun and had a long awaited chat amongst some of my newly planted flowers.

This morning was time for me to get organised. After all if I am to start my own business in the not so distant future I really should start now. I have been counting cups, saucers, tea plates, cake stands, teapots, coffee pots, etc etc and then put them all into a spreadsheet so I know where I am.

I also tidied my sewing shelf and reorganised all of my magazines. Here is an example of what I have been up to:

I feel much better now I am not sitting amongst a pile of paper, fabric and other bits and bobs.
Right - I must be off now. Just over an hour to prepare the nibbles, make the Pimm's and settle down with my family to watch a very tense and nerve wracking football match - now I wonder who that might be??


COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!!

A Fabulous Giveaway from Vintage at the Corner House

I thought I would share with you all this fabulous giveaway from Vintage at the Corner House:

Vintage at the Corner House Giveaway

It really has some gorgeous loveliness in it  and is extra special because it celebrates 100 followers AND a Blogversary.

So go on and take a look.

Kerry xxxx

Lovely goodies and wonderful works of art

I have had a wonderful week filled with the most wonderful goodies, sports days and art exhibitions at school. I have felt a little poorly though over the past few days but I hope you all agree that the following have brightened my spirits a lot.

My first delivery of goodies included my first Giveaway win and was sent to me by the lovely Jo of Muddy Puddle Crafts. Her work is absolutely gorgeous and I have put it away for a very special occasion.

Within the same delivery was my gorgeous cushion and pin cushions made by the lovely Helen of Hen House. I was sooooo pleased with what I found wrapped up in the parcel. Your work Helen is absolutely divine and I cannot thank you enough for these beautiful creations.

My second delivery of the week included my lovely purchases from Wendy of Wendy House and my gorgeous selection of fabrics from Sal. 

The beautiful candles from Wendy have really brightened up my house and the little gorgeous extras that Wendy included are beautiful - Thank you.

All wrapped up ready for my surprise!!!!

And this is what they came in!!!! Thank you Wendy - I love it!!!!

My beautiful Cup Cake Candles!!! I cannot show my glass heart candle as I have kept it all wrapped up ready for a present - hopefully I can show you all this at a later date. Wendy also included some gorgeous little embroidered tray cloth's - I have put them in my dining room as they are too beautiful to be put away in my fabric cupboard.

My beautiful fabrics from Sal!!!!

Having thought that I had spent far to much already, I was mistaken as another (and final) delivery arrived - this time from the lovely Mary of Polka Dots and Posies. I absolutely love Mary's work and this parcel proved what I thought was absolutely right:

All so beautifully wrapped!!!

And all so beautifully made!!!

Thank you to all of you that have made and sent me such beautiful items to put in our home - my family and I will will treasure them forever!!!

My week came to a perfect end on Friday when I visited my eldest daughter's (who is 8) art exhibition at school. The work was beautiful and I must say I did have a little proud Mummy moment!!! Here are some examples of her own and her class work:

A beautiful patchwork made by all of the class. Molly's piece of patchwork is the blue one on the bottom - third one in on the right!!!

Molly's piece of Abstract work. I thought this was beautiful and would look perfect in an antique white frame above her bed at home.

I hope you have enjoyed my weeks surprises and fantastic moments and I will leave you with a beautiful photo of my four little poppets at Whitstable yesterday. We went to visit the lovely Acorn and Will Stall at Mainwaring's Brocante. My beautiful purchases there will follow in the week on another post.

Kerry xxxx

A Big Thankyou

This is just a small post this evening as I have not been feeling too well over the past couple of days. That combined with school sports days and concerts has left me with little time to post.

I would like to say a big thank you to the following people for all of my lovely purchases and giveaways:

Firstly I would like to say thank you to Muddy Puddle Crafts for the gorgeous card that you sent to me as a winner on your giveaway. It is absolutely gorgeous and I have put it away for a special occasion that is coming up!!!

Secondly a big thank you to Hen at Hen House for the gorgeous cushion and pin cushions that I purchased from you. They are absolutely beautiful and I have put them in very special places.

Thirdly - another thank you to Wendy at Wendy House for the candles and the extras that you put in my parcel. They are all absolutely beautiful and I have put them around the house along with all of my other buys this week.

Fourthly - thank you to Mary ofPolka Dots and Posies. My cushions, lavender bag and PE bag are gorgeous. The PE bag has been put away for a very special boy's birthday.

Finally - a big thank you to Sal - my fabrics are beautiful and I am currently looking at projects that I can use them for. More to follow.........

My house is looking absolutely beautiful with all of your makes and giveaways and I cannot keep my eye away from all of them - they make me so happy.

I will be posting photos of them all over the weekend (once I am feeling better) for all of you to see.

Thank you.

Kerry xxxx

Car Boot Finds and a little extra.........

It was an early start for our household this morning as I dragged the children and my husband to our local car boot sale. I was in search for more china to add to my collection so that my little business venture can finally get under way. I didn't hold out much hope to find much as I only normally come away with one or two items. Luck can sometimes be on your side though and mixed with an early start magic can materialise.......

What better place than on my new kitchenette to display all of my morning's treasures. I just adore this piece of furniture and when my dreams finally do come true I have the perfect place for it!!! Just look at this that I found on the inside of one of the doors:

Everything else you can see inside is from the CB this morning.......and here it all is:

A set of six trios and a milk jug by Crown Staffordshire. It was only £4 and is in perfect condition and is perfect for my collection.

Two English Rose Dinner Plates by Royal Doulton - only £1 each. These are so pretty and will look beautiful mixed with some of my other china.

These two cake plates are adorable and have such beautiful patterns. Again they are by Royal Doulton. I have lots of cake plates but could not resist these two especially when I found out they were only 50p each!!

Everyone who knows me knows that I have a passion for Shelley China, so I couldn't believe it when I saw this sat among clothes and toys with a price tag of £2. It is an original Old Foley Shelley Cake Stand complete with handle - beautiful!!

Now a girl can never have to many Jelly Moulds - the more the merrier!!! I found these on the final stretch of the CB and couldn't help myself. I have ideas for them though so my purchase can at least be justified!!

Now I am not quite sure whether this piece of fabric is 'old' vintage or 'new' vintage but at 50 p for over 6 ft I surely couldn't go wrong. It has a little tiny floral print all over and is perfect for some crafty sessions.

Now I know I have mentioned that I have the most wonderful husband in the world but even I couldn't have expected this when it turned up on my doorstep along with my kitchenette:

It is a 1950's Medical Cabinet. Isn't it just gorgeous and comes complete with it's original key. It will be perfect to display some of my more precious china - all I have to do is decide which ones.........

I hope you have enjoyed my post and I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of my followers. I follow all of your blogs every single day and cannot imagine life without you all.

Such a lucky girl and such a wonderful husband

As a thank you for me being such a wonderful Mummy and Wife (his words not mine!!!!) my gorgeous husband has just sent me an email about his latest purchase:

It is a 1940's British Made kitchenette - just what I have been dreaming about for months!!!

He found it on the internet and it just happened to be in a vintage store near to where we live!!! I could squeal with excitement........ and have just the place for it.

It is being delivered on Friday evening so more photos then....

Kerry xxxx

A lovely day and some fantastic finds

Every other Tuesday always means an early start for me as I head on over to Kempton Park Antiques Fair.

The past few weeks has meant enjoying the early morning sun but alas this was not to be yesterday. The sky was grey and every now and again huge showers drenched all of the visitors and outdoor traders.

Luckily for me though it was not as busy as it would have been had the sun shone so I managed to have an incredibly amazing day of treasure hunting.

My first find of the day was at 6am and I am sure these would not have hung around much longer:

A gorgeous single eiderdown with my favourite - pink roses!!!

Another pretty pink single eiderdown - perfect for the little girlie girl in the family!!!

The only problem I have now though is deciding which of my existing eiderdowns have to be sold. I have far to many and no longer have the room for them. Mmmmmmmm - decisions decisions!!!

My next piece of vintage loveliness:

I couldn't believe it when I saw the price tag of this 1940's Sadler Teapot - £3!!!! I must have spent an age inspecting it for any cracks, mends or chips - but no, there were none. A perfect teapot to add to my china collection.

After this, I really though my luck was running out and it was time to hit the road. A cup of tea and a bacon sandwich soon saw me heading back though for any last minute finds - and here they are:

One of my favourite patterns of china!!! A Royal Albert Enchantment Trio. The kind lady even threw in some gorgeous cake forks.

Now this really has to be my treasure of the day - A 1950's Housewife Magazine. Look at the lovely photography and words such as 'frock' really bring back such childhood memories to me. This is one very special find and all the more so because at the date of publication, my own Grandma would have been exactly the same age as me!!!

I had seen this earlier on in the morning but had put it to the back of my mind as it cost more than I thought my budget would allow. After searching for every last scrap of money in my purse this really became an option!!!! It is from a 1960's London Route Master bus and would have been on a roll that was on the front of the bus. For the price it was I really had my doubts as to whether it was genuine or not. After kindly asking the lady if I could open the back of the frame up I was amazed to see that it was genuine and even had the bus station stamp on the back.

After this and not a single penny left in my purse I had to make a move as I was also due at the Pulse Exhibition at Earls Court by 11am to source some 'new vintage' for my evolving business.

I found some good suppliers and made contact with many lovely people (if you join me on my blog - Hello!!!!).

I met with Matthew for lunch in the City - which was lovely and then headed back home in time to collect the children from school........

Sorry!!!!

Just to say a big sorry to all followers that have just commented on my last post (that has now been deleted) about the Giveaway.

I made things really confusing and this giveaway was not by me - mine is to come...........

It was by fellow blogger Vintage Junky - the link can now be found on my page.

Sorry for the confusion.

Kerry xxxx

The feline members of my family

I first of all would like to say a HUGE thankyou for everyone that has commented on my posts so far and to the 22 followers that have joined me on my journey over the past 48 hours. To say I am overwhelmed by your response is an understatement!!!

I thought I would post piccies of my beautiful cats. They are both Selkirk Rex cats that usually have curly fur but one of mine is a variant so has straight fur.

They really are gorgeous and so so affectionate.

Karayaka - the curly feline!!!

Prada - the not so curly one!!


I hope you all agree that they are beautiful and although not vintage (they are both still kittens!!!) they do keep me company when I am working on my projects.

I am having an early night tonight. It has been the last day of the half term break for my children so have been busy keeping them entertained. I am also off to Kempton Antiques Fair in the morning so must remember to set my alarm!!!

Kerry xxxx

Here are a few of my favourite things

Just so you can get to know me a little bit more:

I absolutely adore my garden and this was one of my finds at my children's school May Fair. It is a really well weathered terracotta planter - just how I like them to be!!! As a bonus it came with plants too.

Another one of my lucky finds - this time at Kempton Park Antiques Fair which is held twice a month and is only 10 minutes drive from where I live. I love the galvanised buckets and thought this hydrangea looks beautiful in it.

Now this beautiful lady has to be one of my most treasured possessions and was purchased by my husband as a surprise present for me - Thank you Matthew xxxx She is a late 19C Wasp Waisted Mannequin and comes complete on her original stand. I hope you all agree that she is absolutely adorable.

Isn't he just adorable!!! One of my ebay finds - how could I resist!!!

I have many tins dotted around the house but this one has to be my favourite. I just love the seaside scene on the lid and it is just perfect for my bathroom to store all of my children's shampoos.

And now for some of my favourite china:

This has to be my favourite pattern - Shelley Melody - as it reminds me so much of my Grandma who sadly passed away 7 years ago. She had a whole set of this given to her as a wedding present back in the 1940's and it all lives at my mums. I couldn't wait though until it gets passed down to me so I have collected some pieces of my own including this trio.

I am a big fan of chintz and this Royal Albert set is so unusual. I found it at Kempton Park along with another set so couldn't resist - then again who could!!!

I hope this gives a little glimpse into the things that I love and I will be posting much much more over the coming weeks.

Enjoy!!!