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| From Drop Box |
You can usually pick up the ingredients for this at all car boot sales for pence so have a go next time you're out and about.
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Frankenpolish!
Become your own mixologist and mix a frankenpolish using eyeshadow and clear nail varnish. There are lots of YouTube videos showing how to do it, and it is so easy.
Coat with a top coat and it's a depth of colour you don't usually achieve with normal polishes. I use Seche Vite as a top coat as it's fast drying and very shiny!
You can usually pick up the ingredients for this at all car boot sales for pence so have a go next time you're out and about.
You can usually pick up the ingredients for this at all car boot sales for pence so have a go next time you're out and about.
Friday, 9 March 2012
BRrrr - it's cold out there
Not many posts of late as it's been too cold for hunting treasures at the car boot sales. Anyhoo, I'm now going to show you something I made from a few scraps of material I found. I just made up the pattern as I went along and was pretty pleased with the result which is a gift for a friend I'm meeting tomorrow. Just a 'thanks for being a great friend' present which are nice to receive.
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Tuesday, 15 November 2011
All in the name of charity
Last week I spotted a stall in aid of Parkinson's disease. I always take a closer look with these type of stalls as it combines a love of car booting with a donation to charity and so is a double win in my mind.
Two nice ladies were manning the stall and it was well organised with lots of interesting stuff. Nothing was priced up so I had a little look through the boxes on the floor and found a bit of stationery and some white labels. There were decorated pads of paper and some Basildon Bond amongst the stationery, a red letter folder with some postcards in and an old box with a draw below with more Basildon within.
I asked for a price and they asked for £2. Which was a bargain as there was a lot of stationery there. It was all perfect for my comping (entering competitions) hobby so I gave them a fiver and told them to keep the change.
When I got home and went through it properly there was a swimming certificate in the red letter folder amongst a couple of letters from 1980!
The Basildon Bond paper is beautiful quality, some white, some cream and some a light shade of green called 'Azure'. There's a lot there to get through!
I know not everyone gets so excited about stationery but I love it so when I find postcards and envelopes, cards and papers at the car boot I get palpitations and have to steady myself to get that essential nonchalent facial expression that says "I don't really want this but if you were selling and I was buying what would you want for it?"
When I bought this little lot the ladies said between themselves "We wondered who would buy these, they are useful but no one seems to write proper letters any more." So I told them what I'd be doing with it which led to the usual conversation about 'What's the best thing you have ever won?' It's hard to answer that question as I've been comping for 16 years now and have won some wonderful things.
Edited highlights:
So to round off this post, thank you to all those people out there who raise money for charity. Getting up at the crack of dawn is never fun so to do it for someone else and remaining cheerful and chatty- you know who you are and you deserve a big pat on the back whoever the fundraising is for.
Two nice ladies were manning the stall and it was well organised with lots of interesting stuff. Nothing was priced up so I had a little look through the boxes on the floor and found a bit of stationery and some white labels. There were decorated pads of paper and some Basildon Bond amongst the stationery, a red letter folder with some postcards in and an old box with a draw below with more Basildon within.
I asked for a price and they asked for £2. Which was a bargain as there was a lot of stationery there. It was all perfect for my comping (entering competitions) hobby so I gave them a fiver and told them to keep the change.
When I got home and went through it properly there was a swimming certificate in the red letter folder amongst a couple of letters from 1980!
The Basildon Bond paper is beautiful quality, some white, some cream and some a light shade of green called 'Azure'. There's a lot there to get through!
I know not everyone gets so excited about stationery but I love it so when I find postcards and envelopes, cards and papers at the car boot I get palpitations and have to steady myself to get that essential nonchalent facial expression that says "I don't really want this but if you were selling and I was buying what would you want for it?"
When I bought this little lot the ladies said between themselves "We wondered who would buy these, they are useful but no one seems to write proper letters any more." So I told them what I'd be doing with it which led to the usual conversation about 'What's the best thing you have ever won?' It's hard to answer that question as I've been comping for 16 years now and have won some wonderful things.
Edited highlights:
- trip to Rome
- Year's supply of lager
- Year's supply of condoms
- Silentnight king size bed
- £750 cash prize
- DVD player
- My husband's suit hire at our wedding
- Various hampers from Christmas to Vegetables
- Games console
- Posh cutlery set
- Weekend(s) away
- Celebrity meet and greet - Dan Fairbrass (he used to be on Eastenders)
- Two pairs of Jeans
- £200 to spend in La Redoute catalogue
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Enough gold ribbon to sink a ship
Hello my lovelies how are you?
I wasn't disappointed at this week's car boot. I found some great bargains which I can't wait to tell you about. First of all, the gold ribbon... it's on 250 yard reels so the stall holder said. He had a sort of market stall for clothes but these two reels were sat on a side table and at £1 each I snapped them up. Christmas is sorted for gold ribbon now (and for the next 10 years!!). If anyone has any idas for what I can do with all this ribbon feel free to shout up.
Another lady was a clothes party planner and she had all brands like Per Una and Ann Harvey. All her clothes were brand new. I bought a coat made of soft fleece (but with a strucured shape) for£5 and whilst it's not lined, it's going to be lovely and warm for Chrismas. I also got a pink Per Una jumper for £3 and a leopard print Ann Harvey top for £3. They are all perfect condition too.
For the baby I found a box of clothes in the right size all 20p each. I cherry picked the good stuff, including a fab warm jumper by Next and a cute velvet dress and some tinkerbell disney leggings - all for 20p - you can't go wrong can you. I always chuck everything straight in the wash just in case, you never know where or how clothes have been stored and it freshens them up and once ironed they really feel like they are 'yours'.
...she wouldn't stay still for this pic but there are cute bears on the front!
I have a few more items to catch up with that were bought at the car boot that I'm sure you'll like so please come back and visit me. If you enjoyed reading, feel free to click the sponsored links as every penny helps towards next week's bargains!
Happy hunting fellow bargain-seekers. Take care of yourselves. xox
PS. Found a use for the gold ribbon ~ I think this is quite Gucci-esque!
I wasn't disappointed at this week's car boot. I found some great bargains which I can't wait to tell you about. First of all, the gold ribbon... it's on 250 yard reels so the stall holder said. He had a sort of market stall for clothes but these two reels were sat on a side table and at £1 each I snapped them up. Christmas is sorted for gold ribbon now (and for the next 10 years!!). If anyone has any idas for what I can do with all this ribbon feel free to shout up.
Another lady was a clothes party planner and she had all brands like Per Una and Ann Harvey. All her clothes were brand new. I bought a coat made of soft fleece (but with a strucured shape) for£5 and whilst it's not lined, it's going to be lovely and warm for Chrismas. I also got a pink Per Una jumper for £3 and a leopard print Ann Harvey top for £3. They are all perfect condition too.
For the baby I found a box of clothes in the right size all 20p each. I cherry picked the good stuff, including a fab warm jumper by Next and a cute velvet dress and some tinkerbell disney leggings - all for 20p - you can't go wrong can you. I always chuck everything straight in the wash just in case, you never know where or how clothes have been stored and it freshens them up and once ironed they really feel like they are 'yours'.
I have a few more items to catch up with that were bought at the car boot that I'm sure you'll like so please come back and visit me. If you enjoyed reading, feel free to click the sponsored links as every penny helps towards next week's bargains!
Happy hunting fellow bargain-seekers. Take care of yourselves. xox
PS. Found a use for the gold ribbon ~ I think this is quite Gucci-esque!
Friday, 28 October 2011
Fabric from Laura Ashley (and what I did with it)
I just love finding nice fabrics at the car boot. Sometimes it's in the form of clothing and sometimes it's curtains. Sometimes it's just a fabric find like this time. I just loved the dotty fabric and as I bought it (for £3, no haggling) the stall holder informed me it was Laura Ashley.
There is yards and yards of both patterns. Although I'm not wild about the mushroom print I love the spotty print. I don't know what the original plan was for the material although it came with bias binding in green and some lining material too.
I have had this fabric for a few weeks now and used it in parts for various projects. The peg basket pictured is a present for a friend who has lime green as a kitchen accent so I'm going to try and source some lime pegs to put in it. I invented the pattern and design myself using scaps of fabric, ribbon, a few colour coordinating sequins, lime green thread and the dotty LA stuff. I went with squares as they are easiest to get right! (it's the same patchwork on the back too). I also used a padded coat hanger that came with my wedding knickers on inside, as it gives better shape and support.
My next project with more of this fabric is to back a green patchwork quilt and use some as squares within it. I already did a pink two sided quilt that used many fabrics found at the car boot and some of my daughter's clothes she has grown out of so it is a sort of memory quilt. I am currently on the look out for 100% cotton green items to include in this next project. This is the pink quilt (folded). I just love wrapping up in it as it has a fleece layer inside so gets quite cosy.
Back to the LA mushrooms, I'm not sure what to do with it. Any ideas? I might even put it on ebay as it's a large piece of material and great quality as you'd expect.
Speaking of fabric finds, I recently bought a pair of curtains in a lovely red print for £1 (this included a bag of curtain hooks too!) - I didn't need them as curtains, I just liked the material. I covered two old heart shaped cushions with them and have lots of the material left for other projects. I might do some bunting with them for valentine's day or something cute like that.
Looking forward to the weekend and hoping for some good weather for Sunday. I never made it last week as I was in hospital with my 10 month old daughter who had a bad eye infection. Glad to be home and mending now!
Thanks for reading.
There is yards and yards of both patterns. Although I'm not wild about the mushroom print I love the spotty print. I don't know what the original plan was for the material although it came with bias binding in green and some lining material too.
I have had this fabric for a few weeks now and used it in parts for various projects. The peg basket pictured is a present for a friend who has lime green as a kitchen accent so I'm going to try and source some lime pegs to put in it. I invented the pattern and design myself using scaps of fabric, ribbon, a few colour coordinating sequins, lime green thread and the dotty LA stuff. I went with squares as they are easiest to get right! (it's the same patchwork on the back too). I also used a padded coat hanger that came with my wedding knickers on inside, as it gives better shape and support.
My next project with more of this fabric is to back a green patchwork quilt and use some as squares within it. I already did a pink two sided quilt that used many fabrics found at the car boot and some of my daughter's clothes she has grown out of so it is a sort of memory quilt. I am currently on the look out for 100% cotton green items to include in this next project. This is the pink quilt (folded). I just love wrapping up in it as it has a fleece layer inside so gets quite cosy.
Back to the LA mushrooms, I'm not sure what to do with it. Any ideas? I might even put it on ebay as it's a large piece of material and great quality as you'd expect.
Speaking of fabric finds, I recently bought a pair of curtains in a lovely red print for £1 (this included a bag of curtain hooks too!) - I didn't need them as curtains, I just liked the material. I covered two old heart shaped cushions with them and have lots of the material left for other projects. I might do some bunting with them for valentine's day or something cute like that.
Looking forward to the weekend and hoping for some good weather for Sunday. I never made it last week as I was in hospital with my 10 month old daughter who had a bad eye infection. Glad to be home and mending now!
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
All dressed up and nowhere to go
Hello and welcome to my car boot sale tales.
This week I found some fantastic Monsoon dresses in a cardboard box. Amazingly they were in the first stall I visited (which I would usually expect to be picked over). I only saw them because another lady was looking at them but she wasn't willing to pay the £4 asking price. I snapped them up knowing how much they would have cost in the shops.
The first one is called 'Gracie' and is a ballerina style net over a lovely bustier dress. Chocolate brown and just beautiful it was in mint condition.
The second one is possibly more pretty than the first. I don't know the name of the dress but one of my friends saw it hanging up and immediately asked 'How much do you want for it?' thinking I had it on ebay. I just said 'it isn't for sale' (so back off lady!!). The dress is a mink satin with applique flowers on it - I don't think the pic below does it justice but it is lovely. I am going to send it to be dry cleaned as there are a couple of really minor marks on it.
Why don't the sellers hang up things like this? They would get a better price for them if they are on show.
Later on in the day I found a couple more lovely clothes items. A black and red Nicholas Millington dress for £1.50. I know these retail in the Littlewoods Catalogue at over £100 and so this was a great bargain. Isn't it pretty? The centre of the flowers are silver sequins and the rest is embroidered. Just see what I got next to go with it!
This red jacket was from the same lady and for £1 you couldn't go wrong. It is a Matalan label but in unworn condition. I actually bought this for my auntie as she is a huge fan of this style and really suits red. I do like to look out for items for my family and friends when I can.
Just to prove it wasn't a totally me day, I also got a lovely toy phone and drum for the baby both for £2 and (after a thorough clean) she loves playing with them.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading and happy hunting out there!
This week I found some fantastic Monsoon dresses in a cardboard box. Amazingly they were in the first stall I visited (which I would usually expect to be picked over). I only saw them because another lady was looking at them but she wasn't willing to pay the £4 asking price. I snapped them up knowing how much they would have cost in the shops.
The first one is called 'Gracie' and is a ballerina style net over a lovely bustier dress. Chocolate brown and just beautiful it was in mint condition.
Why don't the sellers hang up things like this? They would get a better price for them if they are on show.
Later on in the day I found a couple more lovely clothes items. A black and red Nicholas Millington dress for £1.50. I know these retail in the Littlewoods Catalogue at over £100 and so this was a great bargain. Isn't it pretty? The centre of the flowers are silver sequins and the rest is embroidered. Just see what I got next to go with it!
So, the theme of this blog is really turning out to be clothing isn't it! I will finish on a fun item that will probably amuse you. Yes, a cheerleading outfit... it was brand new with tags and was retailing on the tag for £29 but I got it for 3 pounds, complete with pom poms and matching pants. I think you'll agree that I got a bargain. It's an ann summers fancy dress outfit and I can assure you it won't look like that (below) on me but I love pink and it will probably eventually go on ebay!
That's all for now. Thanks for reading and happy hunting out there!
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Hello Sailor!
My second post and just getting started... the pictures of the baby clothes were taken on my brand new bedroom carpet (fitted today) which has sparkly bits in it. I can't tell you how exciting it is for me to have a bedroom carpet with sparkly bits in it. No, my hubby didn't want it but I talked him round!
Wow what a lovely day it was last Sunday. The weather was lovely and perfect for going car booting. I am so thrilled with some of my finds!
I've been looking for a 'sailor suit' outfit for my little girl since she's been born (almost a year ago now). This was the weekend I found it! She has had other new items from Debenhams with a nautical theme but this was just 50p and feels really vintage (mixed opinion on this one - I think it's old and Mum doesn't...). The label says hand wash but I put it in the machine as I do with all car boot sale clothes when I get them home and gave it a good wash. There is no label to say the material but I think it's what used to be called 'garberdine' as it feels quite thick and almost waterproof. It certainly wahsed well and the white stayed white thank goodness. The sticker on the outfit that the seller handwrote said 1-2 years so here's hoping we get a full year's wear out of it!
The buttons have 'entente cordiale' printed on them, which is a 1904 series of agreements between the UK and French Republic.
Moving on from baby clothing, I had a real find for my comping hobby, it's not something most people will find exciting but I do. I got 1000 c3 envelopes for £3.
Wow what a lovely day it was last Sunday. The weather was lovely and perfect for going car booting. I am so thrilled with some of my finds!
I've been looking for a 'sailor suit' outfit for my little girl since she's been born (almost a year ago now). This was the weekend I found it! She has had other new items from Debenhams with a nautical theme but this was just 50p and feels really vintage (mixed opinion on this one - I think it's old and Mum doesn't...). The label says hand wash but I put it in the machine as I do with all car boot sale clothes when I get them home and gave it a good wash. There is no label to say the material but I think it's what used to be called 'garberdine' as it feels quite thick and almost waterproof. It certainly wahsed well and the white stayed white thank goodness. The sticker on the outfit that the seller handwrote said 1-2 years so here's hoping we get a full year's wear out of it!
The buttons have 'entente cordiale' printed on them, which is a 1904 series of agreements between the UK and French Republic.
Isn't it a beauty? I can't believe it was only 50p and no I didn't haggle for that, I thought it was well worth it. I plan to team it with some white tights and will have to look out for a hat to go with it! If I get a nice photo of the little miss in it I will post in a future blog. So what do you think? Is this a vintage label?!
So from something old to something new, I just loved this next item. Although this top is a George (ASDA) special, I loved it's puffball hem and practical long sleeves for winter. The applique flowers are really pretty and something I would like to try and do 'hand made' on some clothes for baby girl. My favourite bit though is the little bird that you can see dangling from the empire line.
It's a little bit padded and just adds a little bit extra to the top I think. I need to get some vanish on one of the sleeves as it's got a small stain but I'm sure it's nothing I can't shift. Price paid: 20p ~ bargain!
They are a bit plain white and boring for me so I like to customise them with stickers - I picked up some fab 'the little princess' stickers from Home Bargains for 99p which help me to jazz them up for some winning competition entries (hopefully) I will let you know if these happen to be lucky envelopes.
You can't go wrong for 0.3 pence each though. I do feel a bit iffy about some stationery you can buy at car boots in case someone's just raiding the stationery cupboard at work. But these had a 'staff sales' sticker on so I know they have been bought at this cheap factory shop in Barnsley. Probably for less than three quid but hey ho!
My other purchases included four ex M&S bras for £10. Big bras are hard to find so when you see them you have to snap them up. I am pleased to report they are wearing well and very comfy. Some of the bras on the stall had matching pants but nothing suitable in the sizes I was buying and some of them looked a bit uncomfy if you know what I mean. No pics as they don't photograph well!!
I will reflect on a few good recent past buys from the car boot in future posts. One such buy was a cheerleader outfit, all brand new with tags from Ann Summers for just £4 it was bright pink and came with matching pants - well it was pretty short - and pom poms. The price tag said it retailled at £28 pounds usually. It was also a large size (UK 14) which is better if you did want to sell it online. My thinking behind this is that skinny people can pick up bargains all the time but larger people (not that a size 14 is enormous) have to look a bit harder. Same with the bra theory really!
Well that's all from me for now. More car boot tales next week all being well! Thanks for reading, listening, commenting, hope you are all well and enjoying life.
xxx
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