My thrifty finds + The chandelier, the silver tray & the hunt for the floral mohair.

Well it's been a while since I posted some thrifty finds - but don't let this fool you into thinking I haven't been a thrifty bee. Once bitten by the 'vintage thrift spotting' bug it's in your blood and cannot be denied! I'm not the only one - Mrs Miggins next door loves to blow her bingo winnings on thrifty finds ... at least it keeps her out of the betting shops ;-) So what's new in thrifty podie town?

Silver ceramic trays - I find these little trays so handy. Not just for obvious uses like serving tea, but they're also ideal for keeping things together, or creating little focal points. I found this little round ceramic one recently which I now use on my dressing table (well - it's actually a dressing 'shelf'). It makes a lovely focal point and helps keep things together / tidy. I also use one at Christmas to house Christmas goodies such as sherry, little glasses and nuts ... looks very festive and pretty. 

                                                       

                                                                                                                            

Little oil paintings - The picture above is from a set of two. I see pictures like this all the time in antique shops and charity shops. I love old frames and I love floral-anything so it was love at first sight. I put one above my bedside table and one above hubby's ...  I like have meaningful pictures / photos by my bedside  - a couple of the ones below were given to me by loved ones no longer with me, it's nice to have them close by.           

                 

The ornate chandelier - I spotted this chandelier recently, going for a whooping £15. I wasn't sure at first. In the shop it looked dated and tacky, but my gut instinct told me that in the right setting this would look gorgeous, and to buy something similar new would cost a small fortune. I admit I have nowhere to put it as yet, it needs re-wiring (possibly re-painting) and it's too big for this little cottage BUT it was too lovely to pass up and I'm hoping we will live in a slightly larger house at some point so I bought it for our future house ... ahem ... that doesn't exist yet (?)

The hunt for the mohair jumper -  I saw Meredith from One sheepish girl (a fab crafty blog) wearing this jumper in a video once and I fell in love (with Jumper, not Meridith ... lovely as she is). So I did my research. It was from H&M (simple enough) but from a few years ago (not quite so simple). So I set up a search on ebay and asked it to alert me when anything floral from H&M passed through it's doors.  Lo and behold a few months later my jumper showed up  *cue fanfare* and in my size! It arrived COVERED in dark bobbles (naughty ebayer) but thanks to my de-bobble comb an hour later it was as good as new and we've been madly in love ever since :-)

Pretty pottery sugar bowl - This is my latest find, a gorgeous little china sugar bowl by Lancaster Pottery LTD. I do already have a sugar bowl ... in fact I have several so this purchase was completely unnecessary, but I don't regret it for a minute. You can never have too many bowls ... in fact I can now see how 'collections' get started ... mmmm now that's a clever excuse for shopping!

So go forth a forage good people. Do come and share your thrifty finds with me on facebook or twitter, I'd love to see them and take comfort knowing I'm not the only naughty magpie on the block :-)

JM x