Budget Buys: Vintage nails on a budget, nail stickers review

You know how house magazines often have a double page spread where they find some cheaper versions of otherwise expensive stuff? Well, I thought I'd try a few 'Budget Buys' of my own to help you in your wise stewarding of financial resource! So when I stumbled upon these cutesy nail stickers in Primark the other day, I knew they would have to be post number one!

Nail Stickers- Primark £1

 At a mere £1 for 20 stickers; 10 fingers, 10 toes, I just had to give them a try. They came on a long strip and were really very easy to pull off. If anything, the stickers are a bit too long at quite a bit of the kitsch floral pattern got missed off my nails! I found that if I was very careful I could use my other thumb to score down the edge between the sticker and my cuticle which gave them a better shape. The remainder could then be bent over my nail and the excess sticker easily pulled off.

 I don't usually paint or decorate my finger nails and so thought these might make an interesting budget buy instead of forking out for a proper nail artist. But, you get what you pay for and although they look good from a distance I didn't rate them all that highly as they did tear quite easily but they stayed stuck down very well though and were a bit of a pain to remove in the end!

 You can't argue with a £1 for a bit of fun though. Overall, I would rate them 7/10. What do you think?!
Have a happy Monday folks, what did you get up to this weekend?
                                    x

Mirror Mirror on the wall.... or floor. Vintage Finds

Just take a look at this gorgeous 1950s mirror I found at my local tip!!! She's a beauty. I'm thinking she really ought to go up in my hallway for that final outfit check. What do you think?

Shoes: Miss L Fire Cherry Bomb; Pencil Skirt: Kelly Brook for New Look

Oh I do love it that other peoples rubbish is long forgotten treasure! Can't help wondering who elses reflections she has revealed across the years?!
(Just need to ask Mr.Redressing very nicely to get the drill out now.....)

Have you been vintage hunting over the weekend too?
                                x

Vintage Finds!

I just couldn't resist showing you my latest vintage acquisitions courtesy of one of my local charity shops.. TaDa!

Aren't they simply beautiful? I couldn't believe it when I spotted them lurking on the bottom shelf of a rather crowded charity shop late last Saturday afternoon for the bargainous price of £5! Yes, you heard me! £5 for the jug and all 6 glasses.

All much of my house includes pink, red and blue, I just knew they would be the perfect addition to the vintage glassware cupboard- and they are!

You certainly don't need to spend a lot to get a lot- I guess it's just knowing where to look and appreciating that what goes around comes around!
Have a great Wednesday folks!
                  x

1950s Kitchen Kitsch

I'm in love with retro kitchenalia! 1950s kitsch for the kitchen is totally my bag this month. I've spent far too long browsing (not buying I hasten to add!) and have found these chic treats!

Kitsch Tablecloth £24.95 Dotcomgiftshop

1950s Lap Tray $25 Annie69 Etsy

Metallic Oxo tin £8.95 Vanishederas.com

Storage Jars £28 Cath Kidston

1950s kitchen utensil set £21 Myvintagestudio Etsy

Bird Glasses set $32 Rubylane.com

1950s Twinings Tea Caddy £4 kellypowelldesigns Etsy

Half Apron £18 Cath Kidston

Glass & plastic retro jug $30 Mysweetiepiepie Etsy

Might have to keep a close eye on some of this retro lushness! Have a great weekend everybody! X
              

Vintage Mirror Makeover!

After the success of the Cath Kidston covered jam jars I'm feeling the PVA love so have set to on another decoupage project. This time an old, unloved Ikea mirror that's been moving around house to house with us for the last 10 years!

It needed a face-lift and I didn't want to buy a new mirror so the Vintage Mirror Makeover began last Saturday on a wet afternoon. One quick trip to Hobbycraft, a pair of uber sharp scissors, a stack of old Cath Kidston and Vintage Life Magazines and hey presto....

Mirror Mirror on the wall....

Magazine cut outs

We started with our collection of magazines.... cut out some images and attacked that glue pot!

More cutting out required

We began sticking down large images in all four corners and then worked our way in. A mixture of black & white photographs and images along with retro adverts, WW11 posters, favourite Cath Kidston goodies and plenty of Audrey Hepburn.

It begins to take shape

We then enjoyed filling the gaps and layering up the images until we had completely filled the frame.

We were pretty pleased with the final result!

......who's the most Retro of them all?

Not bad for a rainy afternoon's work.

What did you get up to in the rain?
                            x

Getting Crafty!

I'm not really one to sit still so I've been channelling some of my energies into a few creative and crafty outlets and encouraging my girls into these things too. (There is so much more to life than what's on TV!)

Even though the results are not always perfection, I love the fact that using a little imagination, a sewing machine, glue or a staple gun, things can be totally transformed and relationships are built in the act of creating together.

A little bit of make-do-and-mend, re-use and re-cycle and there is once again new life.

This is the latest mini-project: Tea Light holders from Jam Jars.

Jam Jar tea light holders

 As my daughters absolutely love Cath Kidston they've been using paper fabric samples from the CK magazines to decoupage cover the jam jars, don't they look good?!

Cath Kidston decoupage

Add a bit of CK patterned tape, a wire hanger, some beads and old money and you have a gorgeous creation to sit around in the dying light of a Summers evening.

Beaded holders

Resources!

Possible decoupage materials

They've also been decorating their jars as money boxes so they can allocate funds to save. I'm a firm believer in accurate stewardship of everything, especially money so I love it that they chose to use the jars to this end.

Kitsch homes for savings

Far more glam than a piggy bank!

I've found in these mini-projects that the final result is only a small part of the process; we've loved learning, trying and collaborating just as much.

What make-do-and-mend projects are you into?
                           x