Ruby's Button Tin

Another bargain Saturday ...

There are definately stirrings of Spring around.  The days are still cold but lighter and brighter, and my thoughts are turning to planting seeds.  That might take up a good part of today, but back to yesterday.  I did the rounds of charity shops, and came up with more lovely finds. 

The Pyrex dish was the best of 'em, £1.49 for this pale yellow oblong dish with a cute snowflake pattern, while the funky soup dishes were 79p each and the gravy boat 99p.  Not that I have any need for a gravy boat, but it was pretty and cheap and ... oh, you know how it is!  The Pyrex dish is particularly nice and I can see why people collect it, as shown by all those groups on Flickr.  It's good looking but also durable, like the best kitchenware.

I picked up a copy of Jean Greenhowe's 'Jiffyknits' as well, a very funny pattern book for knitted cakes and sandwiches, knitted baked beans in cans (!!!) and knitted invisible men.  It's so sweet and kitsch, I'm kniting biscuits in between typing.  Pictures to follow ...  Finally, I keep trying to moderate comments on typepad, but I still seem to end up with messages about essay writing companies and buying car insurance.  Such a nuisiance.  Spam is one of the most infuriating things about the web, isn't it? 
  

Buying, not selling ... not sure that's the idea!

Hmm, not sure I've entirely got the hang of this ebay lark yet.  I seem to be buying more than I'm selling.  But on the plus side I've acquired a gorgeous black 1940s handbag, some diamante brooches, a fat quarter of Kaffe Fassett's mosaic fabric and three beautiful Emma Bridgewater mugs.  So overall I'm poor but happy!

Bargains galore

I've had some great luck lately with charity shop finds.  My most amazing buy today was something I haven't taken a photo of, a gorgeous fake fur coat (or should I be fashionable and say faux fur?).  It was a bargain at £9.00 and is good as new, looks never worn.  The coat's a size 8 so I thought it might be tight on my size 12 self, but it's so roomy, I love it!  The fur (I could never wear the real thing - too gory!) is dark chocolate brown and it's by Alexon, a very classy label.  So I'm a happy bunny.  There were other good finds too. 

This white handbag was a fiver, and apart from a few little scratches and a bit of glue needed on the handle it's in good condition for a vintage bag.  I think it's probably 1950s or '60s.  The tiny evening bag is vintage looking but actually is a modern purse from Next.  It's sparkly and pristine clean, just £2.50.   Propped up behind is a virtually new copy of A S Byatt's new novel 'The Children's Book' which I had on a two for the price of one offer, just £2.50 along with Agatha Christie's 'Five Little Pigs'.  As if that wasn't enough thrifty goodness, I also picked up a couple of unused tea towels for just 79 pence each.  

The one with the funky '70s style colour scheme features jars of herbs, while the other blue and white one has a map of the British Isles and emblazoned with Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fisherman around the outside.  Finally, I picked up a kitsch Queen's Silver Jubilee mug, £2.99 which is probably more than it cost new! But the money went to the PDSA so goes to help animals in need, a worthy cause. Second hand shopping is so much more fun than buying new, isn't it?

 

Too much china, too little shelf space

I bought yet more china the other day.  I know!  I really don't need another coffee set but this Johnson Bros china was too nice to ignore.  It was £6.00 in a charity shop - a slender coffee pot in a beautiful taupe colour, four cups and saucers, a little sugar bowl and milk jug.  Two of the cups have chips on the rims, but apart from that they're fine. 

As a lot of the stuff I've bought is tucked away in cupboards I've been trying to sort out some display space.  I can't afford to buy any shelves or cabinet at the moment, so I've been 'customizing' the kitchen.  The built-in cupboards I've got in the kitchen are incredibly old and not very interesting, so I've taken off the doors and got as far as painting one of the insides in off-white.  Add a few cup hooks and it's starting to take shape.  I wouldn't mind buying a roll of floral wallpaper and papering the back of the cupboard to give it further interest.  

At least this way I can see and appreciate what I've bought.  There's no point in hiding things away, is there? 

This picture shows the cupboard on the far right still waiting to be painted.  So, that's something to occupy me on a rainy afternoon. 
  

 

Veggie dish and hexagons

I found this fab veggie dish and lid in a charity (thrift) shop for the bargain price of £4.99.  There were 3 dishes the same, and I could happily have bought all 3 but I decided to leave the other 2 for fellow bargain-hunters. 
I do love kitchen dishes that are either decorated with fruits & veg or shaped like them.  It's the daft, kitschness of them (if that's how you spell it) that amuses me.  I think these marrows would make great needlepoint patterns or maybe could be used for embroidery.  On the crafty front - in between reading 'Wolf Hall' (wonderful) and Christmas shopping (not so wonderful) I've been at the patchwork again, patiently piecing together hexagons.  I think I'll have to make a New Year resolution not to buy any more fabric (unless it's something truly irresistable!) as I really ought to use up the stash I've got.  But then again, buying crafty supplies - gorgeous fabric, lush yarns - is one of life's small pleasures, isn't it?

Thrifty Saturday

Yesterday bought some good finds in charity (thrift) shops and another (slightly shamefaced) addition or two (or three) to my ridiculously large fabric stash.  My best buy was this 22 piece coffee set.  The sugar bowl has a slight chip as does one of the cups, but apart from that it's in very good condition.  I obviously don't need a 22 piece coffe set, but I loved the colours and funky pattern.  Anyway, at £7.50 it was an absolute bargain so I snapped it up.  Over at the fabric store I found two small floral prints which are dead ringers for Libery prints.  Really pretty and ideal for patchwork.  Plus an over the top, rather goofy colourful cotton which just looked so zingy I had to have a metre.  Two more mini splurges followed as I bought a £1.50 china beaker with a Silver Jubilee design.  The Silver Jubilee being that of Queen Mary and King George.  It doesn't look valuable, but it's a nice little thing.  I tried photographing it, but my camera's not good enough to take a decent non-blurry picture in close up. 

Finally, my purse nearly empty, I spent 99p on 16 fake chickens .... no, I don't know why either but I saw these Easter chicks and thought 'There must be a use for those!'   They look so silly I had to have 'em ...