A few boot fair finds

The boot fair season is almost over, what am I going to do over the winter??? I guess I'll snuggle down with crocheting and crafting and thinking back fondly to the summer vide greniers and the boot fairs here in the UK.

I have only been to a couple of boot fairs here in the UK since returning from France, so I haven't got a huge haul to show you. These days I seem to buy mostly fiction books to read, there hasn't been much else. But hey, as long as I don't come home with a completely empty trolley, I am ok, after all, a womble in the fresh air on a Sunday morning has got to be good for ya, right?

You all know by now that I love paper stuff, ephemera, books, especially old ones with nice illustrations, so I'll start by showing you some paper goodies. These plates are Gorgeous with a capital G! I can't scan them in unfortunately, because they are too big for my scanner, so I had to photograph them. But just look at all the fabulous details! Can I show you all the plates I bought? I love them so much, I can't pick just a couple to show you. Do scroll past if its too much for you -


I could look at them for hours! Ahem, there are just a few more.......


A few postcards, some lovely ones of Paris, dated between 1906 and 1915 -


And this wildlife book. The illustrations really grabbed me, they are so colourful -


A few bits of music, very tatty, so I won't mind taking them apart and using them for tags and collages etc -

And last but not least, this sweet little Alice in Wonderland book. The illustrations look quite chunky, woodcuts perhaps -

One of the things I would love to find is a hat with lovely old millinery flowers. Sigh, hasn't happened yet, and probably never will either, they seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth. But what I did find, and just couldn't resist because it is such a fun shape, is this pink concoction. Oh my, did I look a sight when I tried it on ( fortunately by myself, at home, with no witnesses, lol ). But you gotta admit, its a great shade of pink, it such a great shape, and it is in pristine condition, I love it! -



Aren't buttons getting scarce? I thought myself very lucky to find a small tin of buttons on Sunday, doesn't happen very often anymore. Most of the buttons really were very vintage indeed, some lovely mother-of-pearl buttons, some 1920/30s art deco buttons, and some tiny tiny Victorian silk buttons and boot buttons. AND a couple of really beautiful Victorian jet buttons, so precious. There were a couple of other things, like wooden cotton reels, in the shoe box the tin was in, so I ended up with that as well, arrgghh, some of those things I really really didn't want, lol. But the two little glass shells are quite pretty -


I found this little box on Sunday, but haven't cleaned it yet. I hope you can see how pretty is under all that dirt. The top is silverplate, I think, such a lovely floral design, and the glass itself has such a sweet little pattern as well -


Anything with roses is just irresistible, and the design on this bowl is so pretty -

Ah, errm, yes, I also have a thing for gloves, so I couldn't leave these behind -

Milk glass is beautiful, don't you think?

I may have mentioned once or twice that I love wood, especially old tools etc, because the handles are so tactile. This isn't exactly an old tool, but an old butter mould. Tactile it is, though. See how it is waisted so that you can hold it comfortably? Love it! -

This beautiful thing is damaged unfortunately. One of the handles had been broken and has been glued together again, but what a botch job, grrr. Still, that green is so delicious and the flowers so pretty, I can overlook the botched handle -

Now unless you are into mixed media/fabric collages or any kind of crafting, you'd think me totally bonkers when you see this -

yep, a huge roll of hessian/burlap, meant for use in upholstery, but gosh, so many possibilities for crafting with.

Almost at the end now, are you still with me, lol?

Just a sweet little shaker with a silverplate top, and POILS, goils! These are in fantastic condition, they are heavy and have the most amazing shimmer. I wore them yesterday and it felt really good -

Oops, almost overlooked this last item, although how anybody could overlook a 7lb !!! tin is beyond me, lol. 7 lbs of sweeties.... long gone now, sadly -

I have no idea whether there will be another boot fair on the weekend, or even this year. Somehow I am almost hoping there won't be, lol, so that I can get on with other things, hmm.....
We'll see.

Toodlepip for now, xxx

Last Few of the Vide Greniers Finds........ I think

Can I tease you a little to start with? Just a little, lol? Have a look at this pic, do you recognise the symbol/trade mark?

No? Perhaps it is easier to see on the side of the little box?

Alright, tease over, it is Swarovski Crystal of course. Probably the best crystal you can get. My mother used to collect the little Swarovski figures for many years and has a lovely collection. This gorgeous treasure is staying with me though, not gonna give it away, no way. I love it. Not the box, of course but whats in it!

Six absolutely gorgeous, sparkly little candleholders. You got to see them in real life to really appreciate their fabulous sparkle.

They are going to look so lovely at Christmas time, on the dinner table, can you picture it?

Of course I also brought home a few more very vintage button cards. They are becoming quite difficult to find as well, darn, these French are getting wise to what we like. I especially love the cards with the really big buttons on, they are so perfect for button closures on handmade bags and totes

After I had taken this pic, I found some more cards in the bag, oops -

The tiny little silk thread covered buttons are the cutest little things, so perfect for period dolls clothes.

And talking of tiny, I found a little bunch of tiny keys as well. Geez, these tiny ones cost a whole lot more than the big ones! So not fair, lol -

Oh, and little bit more sparkle! Just some odd drops, but they are so pretty -

I was really pleased to find this antique velvet cross as well, because it is in uncommonly good condition. Usually the velvet is terribly worn, but this one doesn't show any signs of wear. Somebody looked after it extremely well, it obviously meant a lot to them -

I also came across these two religious plaques,


Did you see the beautiful old glitter in the first plaque?

And how about these? Three little boxes of gorgeous Perl Cotton embroidery thread-


Now these things had me somewhat confuzzled. They are knife rests, but not like any I have seen or used before. They have these dinky little bowls at either end, and the only thing I can think of is that they were meant for individual salt and pepper portions. Which is quite sensible, then you don't have to pass the normal salt and pepper cellar round the table. I love using knife rests, btw and I have a few French glass salt and pepper cellars as well. I like taking a pinch of pepper or salt out of the cellars.


I remember taking a little milk urn like this one to the shop to get the milk when I was a little girl and I can still in my mind see the lady behind the counter pulling this enormous handle on the tank and the milk spurting out into my little milk urn -

And we are almost down the very last items now. These are a bit OOH LA LA. I do love vintage clothing and lingerie etc is part of that as well. I am always delighted when I find these 40s/50s undergarments-




Yep a gorgeous old corset and the cutest little garter belt, all absolutely unused and still with labels!

And last but most definitely not least, a really precious find, a beautiful small Art Nouveau ( end of the 19th C ) pewter tray, probably made as an ashtray, but far too gorgeous for that. Isn't it the prettiest little thing for a dressing table? -

Well I think thats it, if I find I have missed out anything else, then thats just too bad, lol. I haven't even photographed the things I have bought at the couple of bootfairs I recently went to. So thats next on my to-do list.

Have a lovely day, toodlepip xxx