#15 - Vintage décor.

Hello lovelies! Thought I'd do a quick post this afternoon. How many of you LOVE your bedroom? I know I do, my Dad and I decorated my bedroom back in 2008 before he passed away. He was always amazing at decorating and painting as he worked with his Dad in that industry when he was a youngster. If I'd brought home paint or any little bits and bobs to add to my room, he'd be up and ready right away, he loved it and he was so determined to always finish it that same day.

Well, in the end I ended up with the plain magnolia room I was after. With the damask patterned curtains to make it a little bit more edgy. As time went by and a year past, my Dad was no longer around to help me finish it off. So I decided to make him proud and add a few bits myself that I would have never had the guts to do before just in case I messed it up.

I've always, always loved vintage décor, from big framed beds, to chandeliers, to vintage style wardrobes and fairy lights. I love it all. And the more I got interested in it, the more I decided to add the theme to my room. And so I have done. Below are some pictures of what I've now added over the past year.

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This is now my main wall. At Christmas time I put fairy lights up around the quote, they're a bit too hefty to have up al year round. I did this with a little help from my best friend, Catherine. She traced all the words from www.urbanfonts.com (where I found the perfect font) and around the inside of the words with a pen knife (if you're going to attempt to do this, please be careful, as at one point she almost sliced her finger off) so then the paper acted like a stencil, ready for me to paint over, and on to my wall. I then stuck all the words on my wall with blue tack, and began to paint! And when they were dry after about 2 hours, I removed the stencil from the wall and it left this antique style font on my wall. However, if you don't have the time to trace, pen knife and paint over stencils, you can actually buy ready made stencils to paint over.

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My beloved chandelier. One of the favourite things in my room. I love it, and have loved it ever since I first saw it. It looks quite small in this picture but the dimensions are quite large. You can actually get alot of vintage style lamp shades or chandeliers in charity shops or vintage markets if you find them in the right places, and if you look carefully, you really will be getting it at a bargain price. Unfortunately at the time for me, B&Q was my only option, and at around £70, I purchased this beauty. Having now expanded my search criteria's over the past few years, I now know Ebay have a fair few and they are absolutely beautiful, and they're no way near the same price as this one.

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The largest wall in my room. Now I've always wanted bunting. And I asked for some for my room for Christmas. It's so cute, and very shabby chic. I must admit, I go onto Ebay daily and type in 'shabby chic' in to the search box, and thousands and thousands of items come up, and they are THE cutest things. I've bought so many gifts for people from that search, like little plaques with quotes on, little jewellery boxes that I've added things to, loads. They are the perfect gift idea, and some of them you can even make yourself.

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A little snippet of my curtains. And my cute little birdcage, that on Boxing Day I only then realised came with a candle holder. I love it, I love bird cages. You can add the most beautiful ideas into bird cages. Fairy lights, rose petals, flowers, anything. Alot of people use them at weddings to add a more vintage vibe to the day, and they really do add that little extra 'va va voom' into vintage.

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My windowsill. Simple as pie. I love tea pots, especially this style. I also love tea sets, I have a fair few, but I can't add them into my room. It's only small and I actually have no shelves!? Madness. Alot of these items I got for Christmas last year so they've only recently been put in there.

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Again, two of my favourite things. I'm silly really, because I'll never use these, or remove the tea set from the packaging because I'm scared it'll get ruined. Or it may be the fact that when I had some friends round, one of my favourite cup and saucers, I kept on my windowsill, and as one of my friends opened my big window, all I could hear was "oops"......*smash* - then I knew what had happened. Unlucky really.

Anyways vintage lovers, that concludes my blog post for today, was only a quick one just to share with you all some more of my vintage and shabby chic favourites. Also, if any of you live in the Hertfordshire area and are interested in vintage markets and fairs, there are some going on in March and April. In my next blog post, I'll add the dates to the bottom just in case any of you are wanting to attend! (I'll most likely be there) so come and say hi!

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#14 - Party like it's 1969.

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Topshop Electric Blue Strapless Top - Ebay, £2

Black Skull/Gothic Top - my Dad's (reworked)

Denim Fringed Waistcoat - Boohoo £12

Earrings - Topshop, Gift - RRP £16.50

#13 - More Vintage buys.

Evening fellow bloggers. I've been charity shop shopping again, on the hunt for some cute little vintage buys to add to my wardrobe. After my four hour shift at my new job, I then left and went towards my new favourite place, The Salvation Army shop. I was actually originally going for a friend, because she was looking for a plain white shirt, but something that didn't look too smart as we were going out that evening, and I found one for her (but I won't post a picture of that, as it's hers now) originally bought from Mark's and Spencer's, I got this shirt for £2.99. That's a bargain in my books.

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I was also originally going there to find a cute little vintage, oversized jumper to wear with a pair of jeans or leggings for a casual look. This happened to catch my eye as it's very granddad like, I also love the pattern. Very vintage. At a beautiful price of £2.99, I couldn't really say no as I loved it that much. I'm actually wearing it as we speak. It's so comfy and soft.

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This was actually the first one I saw as I walked in, I never usually wear blue, as I'm more into neutral colours like beige, white, cream, rose pinks etc. I loved the look of this, it's so thick and wooly, and even thought we're currently going into spring, this is still something you could wear with a pair of vintage studded reworked shorts and chunky heels. This one happened to be a little bit more expensive at £4.99 but I love it nevertheless.

I'd been taking a peek at some dates of Vintage Fairs and Market's in my area that I could attend and found a few at the end of March, beginning of April. I've added them to my diary! There's also a little Vintage Emporium in St Albans that I NEED to visit some time soon. When I do, I'll be sure to take my camera and capture some lovely little things to add to this blog for you all. I've seen some pictures of the Emporium already and it's absolutely massive, so many stalls that sell jewellery, clothing, antiques, etc. They also have THE most adorable cafe there too, it's called the 'Tea-for-Two Cafe' - if you're interested, take a peek at their website http://www.thefleetvillevintageemporium.co.uk/. They also have a little video (below) which shows you around the Emporium, and also at the little stalls they have there.

                                     

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#12 - Inked up!

So I just thought I'd do a quick blog post today. I did mention in my previous one that I was taking another trip to the charity shop after work on Saturday and I did! I picked up some goodies too, but I'll blog about them tomorrow. I'd been trying to decide on whether or not I wanted a tattoo for ages and on Thursday the 9th I decided to get one of two tattoo's I'd wanted for years.

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This one is in memory of my Dad as you can probably tell ♥

The symbol represents infinity, so the message behind his name incorporated into the symbol means that he will always be with me in my heart, and that I'll never ever forget him. I got this on the side of my forearm towards the wrist.

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A week after I got my first one, I got the second one I'd always wanted ever since my Dad passed away, because my Mum had always been my rock, and this one I got on my right shoulder. It's French for "I owe my Mum the world".

It's safe to say that it didn't actually hurt me at all, either of them. But I'm really proud to have got both of them done as I honestly thought I'd end up chickening out and running away with half a tattoo because I'd be too scared to let him carry on, but I was a brave gal! Anyway, that concludes my blog post for today, I'll be back tomorrow with more vintage buys and goodies for you all.

#11 - Vintage, cheap as chips.

Alot of people know I'm a vintage lover. I love a good bargain, and when there's so many vintage emporium's and charity shops around the UK, why should we not pop in and take a peek and see if we find anything that we could compare to something on the high street from somewhere like Topshop or Zara? Having previously working in Topshop for 3 years, I know that some of the items in there can be way above some people's price ranges, let alone NOT worth that amount of money.

So, I decided one day whilst I was in town to go and take a peek in The Salvation Army, a charity shop in my local town centre in Luton. All I could say was "I'm never shopping anywhere else!" - for a good few years I've been grabbing vintage bargains on good ol' Ebay, as well as the occasional item from Topshop and other high street stores. You will probably find that some of the things you lust for in some of the more expensive retail stores out there, you can find what may aswell be a replica of that exact item, but in a charity shop for £'s less than what you'd pay originally.

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This beautiful nude/stone long lined blouse with a pussy bow tie, I found hidden in amongst loads of cute little peter-pan collared blouses in the charity shop. With spare buttons still attached, this beauty cost me only £3.99. The material is so soft, it feels like suede. Perfect for casual day wear, even a night out. That's the beauty of charity shop buys, they're cheap as chips and you can dress them to fit any occasion you like!

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Aaah. The tweed blazer. Believe me, I lusted over a tweed blazer I saw in Zara about a year ago when I was walking past the store in Oxford Circus and I promised myself I'd get it when I had enough money. As you can probably guess, I broke this promise. However, I found this lovely think blazer in the same charity shop. Costing me £4.99, in a high street store such as Topshop, you're likely to pay no less than £60 - I'm currently in the process of customizing this, I've got various cuts and colours of leather to sew onto the elbows to make elbow patches (with some help from my lovely Granddad)

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This cute little cream embroidered thick aran cardigan has been a lovely little addition to my wardrobe. In fact, it's now a favourite of mine. You may recognise it from one of my previous posts as I wore it on my 18th birthday. They had quite a few of these in the charity shop, I must admit when I found this as well as the tweed blazer and the pussy-bow long lined blouse, I was really impressed! We all know that in Topshop you would pay around £50 for a cardigan this thick, and with this much detail. As I previously have purchased one of the aran cardigans from there for £55. This little one cost me £4.99.

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When I worked in Topshop, I remember when it was time for me to get my uniform. I was so desperate a cape EXACTLY like this but it was £95, and I wouldn't ever spend that much money on an item of clothing unless I had more £'s to back it up with. As they say "if you've got the money, why not?". However, this beauty caught my eye on one of the racks in the same charity shop, it's SO thick (even though it's a Size 20) it gives a beautiful baggy, oversized vintage look to any outfit. It looks so cute with black tights and a chunky pair of heels with a little vintage dress underneath. So pretty. And guess what? At £4.99 I have to say once again, SO IMPRESSED.

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Along with all of the clothes they have in there. They also have a little cabinet under the till meaning you can browse cute little items like jewellery, powder mirrors, household accessories as you're paying. And this happened to catch my eye just as I was buying my items. How cute it is? I'm a sucker for anything floral, shabby chic and vintage. This was just the cherry on top. It's an adorable little powder mirror made by 'Stratton' (made in England) - now me being me, I told my Nan and Granddad about this amazing buy and my Granddad happened to mention how his Mum had one but with a blue floral pattern on the front, except it was boxed and was given to my Nan when my Great Grandmother passed away. He couldn't find it in the end which was a shame. But we did spend time researching the brand name 'Stratton' and found that they still sell now, and the price they sell at is between £25 to £35. And I purchased this one for *drum roll please?* £3. Bargain right? It was the perfect little addition to my shopping trip!

The Salvation Army is now my new favourite place to find lots of vintage goodies and fashionable clothes at a perfect price. In fact, I'm popping in there after work tomorrow for a quick browse (that could be fatal, I'll probably end up leaving with bags full!) - however, if I pick up anything tomorrow that catches my eye, I'll be sure to let you all know and blog away!

Are you guys second hand shoppers?

What's been your BEST charity shop buy?

♥

#10 - Leighton Denny.

So for my 18th birthday, my Mum got me a collection of Leighton Denny's nail colours. I'd been umming and ahhing about purchasing a few colours from his website for a long time after watching him on QVC selling his products. I have to be honest, the colours are so great. I used to be a Models Own fanatic, mind boggled at how quickly their products dried and I'm still using them now. But Leighton Denny's colours beat them all. The actually application is really easy, you need no more than two coats with most of his colours and the shine you get after both applications is amazing!

These are the colours I received for my birthday. They come with the stand (that you're supposed to keep as a nail stand so that when you're painting your nails you have somewhere to keep the bottle) and they came like that in a stunning black, patent Leighton Denny bag in this gorgeous box. The colours, from left to right are: Porcelain Doll, Healthy Glow, Rose Beige, Rich Coco and Rebel. The clear bottle on the end is a Corrector Liquid which means you have a tidy polish. Rebel happens to be my Mum's favourite and she wears it all the time, in fact, she wears purple all the time because she's absolutely obsessed with the colour. I actually think she'd dye my dog's coat purple given half the chance! Anyway, back on track. I was over the moon when I saw the colours I'd been given as a gift, I love neutral coloured nail polishes, especially nudes and very light rose pinks and browns. I tend not to wear very bright colours.

Since I got these all I've wanted to do is wear all of them at the same time, luckily there is 5 of them, so I could quite easily wear each one on each nail. Although it probably wouldn't look right. Every single one I've used I've said is my favourite because I just can't decide! But I made my final decision when I painted my nails most recently, 'Healthy Glow' wins, hands down. Me being a nude lover (the colour, not sitting around naked) the colour is just perfect, and the shine is just lovely. The colours go with pretty much anything that you wear whether it be daytime or a casual night out. I have to say, I am quite scared to use too much of one bottle just in case I run out quicker than expected!

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Leighton Denny 'Porcelain Doll'

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Leighton Denny 'Healthy Glow' with 'Rich Coco' on my little finger nail.

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Leighton Denny 'Rose Beige'

For more information on Leighton Denny's nail range, for Twitter users, head over to his Twitter @Leighton_Denny or go to www.LeightonDenny.com to view the entire range, including his new 'Sun believable' tanning range!

Have any of you used Leighton Denny?

What do you guys think of it?

♥

#9 - I turned Eighteen!

Right, so I've been slacking on blog posts recently. I used to do like, 2 or 3 posts a day and now I seem to have cut back but I'm back with a bang! I turned Eighteen on February 7th! (wahey) - I had a really lovely week, I spent it with all my loved ones, had THE most beautiful vintage style cake made for me by my Uncle. All in all I really did have a wonderful day, and as much as I really wasn't expecting anything gift wise, I received some really lovely gifts too!

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I have to mention, some of you may not of heard of Leighton Denny, he's best known for selling his amazing products on QVC. He sells nail colours, and now has his own tanning range. And I have to admit, I used to be so obsessed with Models Own nail colours, I've not converted to the Denny! His colours are THE best I've ever used, they dry quickly, no scuffs or marks, long lasting, and the shine is amazing! My next blog post will be on this gift and I'll be showing you all a few of the colours that I've been using lately. If you have Twitter, go and follow him @Leighton_Denny for all the latest updates on his range of nail colours for Spring/Summer 2012.

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I have to explain this beautiful gift, my best friend from London came down for my 18th meal and night out and thought that this gift was a cringey one? I DISAGREE KATE. It's so cute, it's basically a jar (as you can see) full of little notes that she'd hand written so that whenever I feel down or upset, I can reach into the jar, pull out a note and it will say something that links me to her, or a little quote to make my day better. She claims she's not creative with gifts, however I would never have thought of this! I love it.

I was so grateful for all of these lovely little gifts. My Mum got a bit of an earbashing from me as I really didn't want her spending any money on me for my 18th, however, she said to me on the morning of my birthday "I didn't want you coming downstairs on your 18th with no presents to open." So thank you Mum! ♥ 

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Vintage Cream Embroidered Cardigan - Charity Shop, £4.99

Floral Spring Playsuit - River Island, Gift

Brown Tan Leather Belt - Primark, £1

Long Chained Blue Stone Necklace - New Look, £3

Earrings - Topshop, Gift - RRP £16.50

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This was the cake my Uncle made me, he designed the whole thing. It's truly beautiful, my Mum was so overwhelmed by how pretty it was that she actually cried. It was on a bed on fake cream rose petals (that I've kept to add to my shabby chic Bird Cage in my bedroom) - the inside had a bit of a lemon theme going on. Lemon buttercream, lemon curd, lemon cake. Nevertheless, it was stunning.

And that my friends, concludes my birthday blog post!

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