katy'sClutter

De-cluttering

As you may have guessed I love a second hand bargain and a little light retail therapy from time to time, some might say a boarder line obsessive secondhand "junkie", I might say that would be a little harsh. But as time moves on and more goodies enter the Clutter Palace, a perfectly formed, if not small residence, one has to take stock, literally, and de-clutter (shudder). So with a heavy heart and soul I've sent books and clothes to charity and some of my beloved toys to Ebay, did I mention I collect 70's and 80's toys?  Well I do, the ones I really loved or remembered I wanted and funds at the time didn't allow.

So it's bye bye to my pre -1990 My Little Pony Collection and hello some much wanted space!

Lets hope they find a good home x

First car boot sale of the year

It was time to dig out my trusty bag, check I had enough small denominations of coins and hit the car boot fair which can be found every sunday (weather permitting) until Autumn. I love a car boot you never know what you may find, granted you have to pick your way around whats available but that's the beauty of it, one mans junk is another mans treasure. I tend to stay away from all new stuff and anything electrical! I'll try for a barter but only when it's valid.

 So what did I buy? Lets see...

 This little case is a real cutie and will tidy away my vintage doll clothes

All my goodies at a glance!

How fantastic is this, guided tours from London Transport, how times change!

I love the style and design of this, I'm a graphic designer and appreciate its simplistic

style all for a two colour print

Some FREE books, I kid you not, he wanted to go home in an empty car

A knit measure with handy knitting needle gauge

these two young ladies, a vintage Midge and Barbie (60's-70's)

a close up

This sweet little milk pan

and last but not least my retro bike light and bracket to go on my late 70's Bike!

A good mornings work and a walk round a field in this lovely weather. Happy Sunday:)

Remember Me

Back in the day when going to school and having fun was the sum total of my being and after school TV was actually quite good, who could forget Grange Hill, Willow the Wisp and He-man.

Well I've been clearing the loft and found him…do you remember He-man battle cat, a softy one minute and a fighting machine the next? Well he's off to Ebay to see if anyone else remembers him too, lets hope so! 

 

Retail Therapy

I've just completed my first week back at work after recovering from a cold, antibiotics and a week in bed, how much day time telly can you watch before you go mad?

To help with my recovery I decided at little retail therapy and a coffee with my friend was in order, so Saturday was spent buying a birthday gift for a joint friend, a Cath Kidston Bag, from us both, we're meeting her for coffee in the week which should be fun. Hope she likes it!

Sunday was a day for Junk, my favourite type of Shopping. The Rain didn't put Bob and myself off having a good rummage and all I purchased was a Ladybird book "How to Read Maps" a really good condition copy, even better we had tea and toast in a cafe (proper greasy spoon cafe) for £5 now that's got to be bargain of the day!

I was rather taken with the stool and the red and white Kitchen table, wouldn't that make a fantastic desk? Unfortunately we have no room left, I wish we did :(

 

It's been a long time...

I say it every year and I mean it when I say it, but I never quite manage to keep my blog up to date.

Instead of loads of apologies and meaningless words I'll just add some pictures to fill you in from my last post then start a fresh, agreed?

 

Sorry about the landscape view!

Elbow Grease

 
I have a love of Raleigh Cycles, and I've spent ages looking for a large wheeled bike that fits my leg length (short)! I wanted a retro 70/80's style and had a few options in my head, it was just a case of finding one. I searched gumtree, local ads and finally came up trumps, or Bob (man of the house) searching ebay did. Purchased for £25, we drove to a recycle centre to retrieve my Raleigh Honey! To be honest, we where slightly worried to just how bad a condition it was in...

After lots of elbow grease, rubbing down, washing and polishing and a few retail items, I have fallen in love!

The basket is my second option, I bought a proper bike basket from a car boot sale and it was too big, this is a cheap waste paper basket attached to a basket support and to the handle bars wth repro straps! The pump is not Raleigh but ONS from an online store. White pumps are really hard to find at this size (12 inches) and with car valve attachment.

This bike is an 18 inch frame with 24 inch wheels so it's a little smaller than an adult bike, I did have a Raleigh Nova (Shopper)

but with small wheels so was hard to keep up with Bob on his Mountain bike!

Have you got a vintage bike? Would love to see pic's if you have!

* ONS Old New Stock

Baking...

My friend Binnies Dad sent me some plums and apples from the tree's in his orchard. A few plums got a bit bashed and bruised in transit because they're so ripe! So it's off with the bad bits and into the pot to make a yummy plum pie...

The rest will become Jam and a few jars will go back to Binnies Dad, this is our second year of trading and long may it last!

Water proof Pom-Poms how To...

I've recently been aware of the new trend for paper pom-pom flowers, they appear everywhere and I have to say I'm rather glad they do! I love the odd pom-pom or jam jars alight with candles, strings of fairy lights and anything that has the ability to turn a grey concrete slab or a less then tidy garden (cough) into a magical wonderland. My only fear of the paper pom-pom is the great British weather and its tendency to bucket down at a moments notice, with this in mind i've been playing.

I've collected a random selection of carrier bags, this took ages as I always use my own bags when shopping!

peg them altogether to create a neatish pile

trim the sides, this should also loosen the bag gussets

pull away the bag gussets, leave the pegs attached to one side and concertina, as if your where making a paper fan

find the middle and tie the centre together with plastic sandwich ties are good, string too, or just some left over carrier bag. Snip ends to your own style and liking

Pull out the concertina into a pleasing ball shape, add cotton or plastic cotton and Ta-dah you have a weather proof Pom-pom, marvellous enough to bring cheer to any garden. 

If you can, collect bags of the same colour, Sainsburys do and nice orange and M&S clothing do a good quality green one as do John Lewis.

I believe it's about to rain!

 

Sunny...

What a difference the sunshine makes to a weekend...

Even my messy bedroom looks better in the sunshine!

Enjoy it while it lasts :)

It's been a long time...

The last few months have been a mixed bag for me and  my family. We've lost a much loved and much missed member of our family unit, nan. At ninety years young, time finally caught up with her and she slipped away in her sleep after a few bouts of hospitalisation. We'd had a really special afternoon with her 3 weeks before she passed. We sat round drinking  tea, eating cake and biscuits and just chatted about her life, what she'd done at school, work and during the war, about her mother and how she coped as a single parent. She passed the eve of the Royal Wedding, she would have loved to watch that. She loved the pomp and circumstance. I saw my nan at least once a week for my entire life unless I was on holiday, she had a collection of dire souvenirs as memories from such trips! She also had a head strong will that could not be shifted once she had made a discussion, good or bad. I've stop bursting into tears at anything and everything and life has started to move on.

Mum has moved into a lovely new flat for the over 55's (how did we get there!) I'm a little jealous as it has a lovely balcony, so no grass to cut or slugs and snails to cope with!

I've been to a lovely wedding in London, the reception was held at the RIBA (Royal institute of British Architects) building in Portland Square in central London, a beautiful day to celebrate a lovely couple uniting together.

I've also started crafted again, so things are getting better.

                   The Happy Moments - the newly weds 


                   The crafting - Tea Jacket