The vintage leather buttons post

I'm just back from a mini crafting hiatus. I didn’t mean to have one, it was one of those things that just...happened... life I guess! Weirdly, my impromptu mini break was total: I didn’t lift a knitting needle, even glance at a piece of felt or have the faintest urge to put fingers to the keyboard....until all at once I had three orders in a week. Since then my mind has been all a buzz and my fingers have found their way to making, making and more making. But thats all for a later post.

For now I wanted to share a weird blogging quirk I came across...

As I haven’t been around for a couple of weeks I took a sneaky peak at my blogger stats (anyone else do that from time to time? It can be compulsive :-s ). I started off by looking at the past week, then the past month as a comparison, and then just for the heck of it (wild thing that I am) I took a look at the 'all time' stats. Something really interesting appeared... I have this one post which by far outstrips ANY other by about 75% in terms of views, its not even something I made (mores the pity)! Its about the B-E-A-Utiful vintage leather buttons I bought a few years back from a market in Greenwich.

Gorgeous aren't they! If you Google 'vintage leather buttons' and the post now comes up third (!?!).  Typically I have no photos of anything I made with them. Isn't that always the way! Never fear, they

So in celebration of this blogging anomaly I decided to link back to that post.

Vintage Glassware

Again this is a slightly belated post as I didn’t find these this weekend, but they are well worth sharing.

I have always wanted a set of shot glasses, and had had designs on some like the ones they drink out in Raiders of the Lost Ark (Indiana Jones). I always keep a look out on my thrifting/ junk store rummage days and have always been disappointed until I saw these…

Aren’t they beautiful?! Granted they are absolutely nothing like what I originally had in mind but they are infinitely better. Not only are they so much more me than anything Indiana Jones wise, they cost all of about £6! I have to admit I hardly ever use them, not being the hugest shot drinker, but I they are super pretty to I always have them out.

For more vintage/thrifty finds pop on over to Her Library Adventures 

and Apron Thift Girl

Post Dated Thrifting

I have been out wedding dress shopping with my sister this weekend so I haven’t had the to partake in my normal thrift shop/ market trawl. So instead of showing a new thifty find I’m going to share an old (and topical) thirfty find with you...actually its not even so much of a 'find' as a gift...so I guess I'm cheating slightly (eeek!) but I still count it as thirfty, so I'm going to share...

When I got married last year, I wanted thrift and make by hand as many things as I could. I had the most lovely surprise when my mum gifted the off cuts of her old wedding veil to me. It’s an old ribbon lace from the 60's.

Beautiful isn’t it! I was going to use on a garter or something, but in the end I just didn’t have time to make one. Instead I put a piece of it into her botton-hole, and pinned a piece of it to my jacket too.

It worked as my something old. When my sister gets married next year I hope to make her something out of it too.

For more Flea Market/Vintage or Thrifty finds pop on over to Her Library Adventures 
and Apron Thift Girl

Vintage Leather Buttons

Yesterday I spent some time in my favourite thirft/ vintage markets and junk stores. Typically I went looking for one thing and came away with something entirely different! I was especially pleased with my find though...

...these gorgeous, vintage leather buttons!
 

Arn't they great! With that gorgeous, glossy, chesnut colour they almost look like conkers!

I've got no idea how old they are, but they have a really worn, shiny look and feel to them.  I love that fact that they genuinely look like they have served a purpose in some previous life.

They are that old school that the fixings on the back are made from leather too!

Not sure what I'll use them for yet. I'm leaning towards coupling them with some chunky knitted thing, but I'll have to see.

For more Flea Market/Vintage or Thrifty finds pop on over to Her Library Adventures 
and Apron Thift Girl

Pops of Colour

Spring has well and truly sprung!

In the past week or so the trees seem to have POPPED like a firework, and all of a sudden there are lime green shoots of spring and blossom all over the place. It's so strange, one day there was nothing, the next there is colour everywhere!

Speaking of new colour (genius or tenuous link - you choose), how gorgeous is the colour of these threads!

I came across these vintage threads a while ago. Some of it is J & P Coats 6 cord thread which I think might be pre 1950's (they merged with another company after that), maybe even 1930's. The rest is Dewhursts Sylko Machine Twist. Dewhursts isnt quite as old, but all of the threads have been discontinued, so I buy as much of it as I can when I can find it. It has a strength and depth of colour to it that I haven’t found in any other threads. The names of the colours are just lush too, with names like'Pomegranete' and 'Blue Jade'. They are just perfect for bits of special bits of hand stitching or doing bits and pieces of decoration.