Spring is in the Air

I love that spring is in the air: the daffodils appearing, my youngest daughter busily digging her garden, as well as ours bless her!  The thought of seaside foraging trips, picnics on balmy summer days, baskets filled with vintage melamine, sandwiches and cake, and of course nights spent under the stars in our beautiful bell tent, seem not so far away now.

I was hugely inspired by the Vintage Bazaar at Devizes Corn Exchange on Saturday 2nd March.  Well done Liz and Claire!  As ever they had brought together a wonderful and eclectic mix of sellers. Everywhere I looked there were beautiful bundles of vintage fabric, vintage aprons and hats, quirky French knitting boxes, retro cupboards in bright, cheerful colours.  I was tempted by many things and came home with some pretty embroidery threads for my new sewing project, a stunning French vintage Easter card, two fabulous glass pictures of bo-peep women, as well as some vintage cards.  Having sat by my cosy fire in a rare relaxing moment and tucked into a copy of "Pretty Nostalgic" magazine, it made me aware of how beautiful items can be recycled and used in different ways so that they can be seen and appreciated.  I was reading about a couple who decorated their home using secondhand and found items and reinvented them in an incredibly imaginative way.  For example using vintage suitcases as wall cupboards and finding retro kitchen units on the street.  Not to mention the quirky flying glasses hanging from a peg.

I loved Delightfully Vintage and all her treasures.  I could fill my house with her quirky vintage items, and make cakes from 1950s baking books, with new ideas for decoration.  Not to mention vintage materials with fabulous patterns to make cushions etc.  I hope Lynsey will be joining us for the Brocantes.

This pretty French wire mirror reminds me of a French wedding mirror I found in an antique shop in Lily Road, London, and so evocative of Brocantes in pretty French villages.

My favourite item was this stunning circa C19 velvet corset with exquisite lace edging, from the Rue Faubourg St Honore in Paris. 

I found the prettiest Easter card from Sarah Dinsmore who was selling vintage and antique textiles and haberdashery.  I'm always so heartened by the sheer amount of detail and unusual colours used in vintage cards, and the amount of care that must have been put into them.  Definitely gives me food for thought to create my own and to try and inspire my children to.  I also bought some pretty embroidery threads to make some more embroidered cushions.  My good friend Issy inspired me to make embroidered pictures on material, by tracing a picture onto material and embroidering the outline.  I was quite pleased by one I made for my father of a fashionable couple in Paris, which I was as a mosaic in the Carnovali Museum in Paris.

Just to mention that this year's Brocantes in Alice Park, Bath will be on the 11th May, 15th June and 13th July 2013.  If there are any Brocantes dealers who would like to come and join this ever evolving and French style vintage and antique market surrounding the fabulous Alice Park Cafe, please contact me for more details.