The vintage belles

Bodyform

2013-11-29T20:23:00.000-08:00

For some time now I've been admiring the mannequins and bodyforms that Carol at Polka Dot Closet has been creating.

Angela has given me a bodyform, which I'm in the process of altering. It was a grey, plastic shape and I wanted to change it to something a bit more feminine.

I gave the bodyform a quick coat of Annie Sloan chalk paint - I found a white lace tablecloth, which I've soaked in strong tea, rinsed and dried. Using my hotglue gun I've glued a section onto the bodyform.

I had some pink ribboning which I've added on to create a flower.

Here is a photo of the project at present.

I've got an idea to add an old plant pot onto the base to create a bit of height and I've taken part of an old dress to create a little skirt, which I will add on to the base.

Will post some more photos soon.

Festival of Thrift 2014

2013-11-25T23:23:00.000-08:00

Pleased to read that there is going to be another Festival of Thrift in 2014.

Angela and I had an amazing day and the atmosphere was brilliant. It emerged that over 25,000 visited the Festival over two days. I really don't think the organisers were sure if it was going to be a success - but it was.

Angela listening to a record being played for her by Charity Shop DJ (you had to wear the pink hat when you had a dedication played for you).

Cannot wait for next year's Festival!!!

We're a Winner!!

2013-09-29T22:08:00.001-07:00

Got a lovely surprise this week - found out that Vintage Belles have won a copy of the soon to be published book about Lingfield Point, which was the venue of the Festival of Thrift.

I cannot say how giddy I was to find out we'd won one of three copies up for grabs in a competition held by Lingfield Point.

Will post a photo when the book arrives (cannot wait!).

The Little Artivan

2013-09-29T22:04:00.001-07:00

We think the first outing of The Little Artivan at the Festival of Thrift was a huge success. The ladies of From the Heart and Bishopdale Bags had an amazing display of goodies on sale.

We fell in love with this little caravan. If you check out From the Heart's facebook page you will learn that this lovely little thing once stood in a field for 8 years! We admire anyone who re-use, re-cycle and upcycle!

We were like little girls in a sweet shop, lots and lots of goodies on view.

The Little Artivan was used to full advantage to display items on sale. Hope to meet you again, ladies.

Festival of Thrift

2013-09-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks we have both been looking forward to attending the Festival of Thrift. In fact we have both been 'giddy kippers' at the thought of travelling up to Darlington.

On the journey up we talked about what we hoped the event would be like - well we certainly weren't disappointed.

Lingfield Point turned out to be an amazing venue.

There was definitely lots to see and get involved in. Lots of wonderful stalls, workshops and lots of entertainment - all free!

Second Hand Rose from Worcester were there - with an amazing stall holding a Vintage Jumble Sale. Items ranged from 50p for vintage sunglasses to individually priced items. In addition you could buy a large plastic bag for £5 and fill it to the brim.

Angela was over the moon with her bag of goodies. Here she is with Clare Bridges, owner of Second Hand Rose.

We had booked to attend a free workshop on picnic rug making, run by Becky from Tabby Textiles.

This took place on a grassy area on Memphis Promenade. The ladies attending this workshop were so friendly and Becky and her friend were so helpful and patient and happy to share ideas with us.

Becky is holding up an amazing cushion she made in a 'cathedral window' style (it reminds you of stained glass within a cathedral window).

The festival was a very relaxed affair, everyone we met was very friendly. I think everyone was happy, knowing that the festival had been a huge success. Over 10,000 people had attended on the Saturday. No idea how many people made it on the second day (I am sure a lot more!).

OMG - The Festival of Thrift

2013-09-03T05:15:00.000-07:00

We are getting excited about the first National Festival of Thrift being held in Darlington on 21st and 22nd September 2013.

The Festival is the brainchild of John Orchard, Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway.

If you are into recycling, upcycling and crafting then, this event is going to be amazing - hopefully the first of many!

We've already put our names down for one of the workshops - watch this space for more details!

I do like to be beside the seaside!

2013-08-18T23:35:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely day out at the Seaside.

When we reached out destination we thought it was time for a nice cup of tea and a scone. Found a lovely little café perched on the cliff top. After a leisurely pot of tea and a scone we made our way down to the beach where we spent a couple of hours enjoying the sun and exploring the beach.

The tide was on its way out when we arrived at the beach, didn't stop up getting our feet wet a few times. We were like giggly schoolgirls trying to get out of the way of the waves.

This was the scene looking towards the sea an hour or two later. Some wonderful rock pools.

Saw some lovely shells and even found a couple of these!

Did a little bit of research (internet is a wonderful thing, isn't it!) and found out Lily Brickworks were based in Blaydon Burn and manufactured bricks from 1877 until 1957 - so this brick is older than me.

Vintage Books

2013-08-14T03:01:00.001-07:00

Recently saw a good way of using an old book. The book had folded pages to make a card file. Cannot remember where this was seen (when we do we will credit it here!)

Started with an old copy of a Jane Austen book and folded each of the pages in half. Have a number of old postcards which were just tucked away, placed a few of these into the pages of the book.

Not a great first attempt, but you get the idea. Um, Toby the cat thought it was him having his photo taken, you can just see a bit of him on the right hand side of photo. Didn't matter how many times we tried to take the photo, he wasn't going to be left out!

Craft Group

2013-07-18T04:27:00.001-07:00

Cannot believe it is over a year since we started the craft group in Adwick upon Dearne.

In addition to starting a blog about Vintage Belles we have set up another one here for Adwick upon Dearne Craft Group

Vintage Earrings

2013-07-10T03:00:00.003-07:00

Over the years many, many pretty pieces of costume jewellery have been discarded. Sometimes this is because fashion has changed and the pieces are considered old fashioned, sometimes its due to the pieces becoming worn and broken. We all have cherished pieces of jewellery which may not have cost a fortune, but remind us of happy times.

Having collected a lots of vintage beads we really wanted to do something to utilise these - so we have been doing a bit of upcycling and taken old beads and, using new findings, have created new individual pieces of jewellery.