Two years and two days.....and a giveaway :o)

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well :o)

I realised when I came to do this post my blog is two years and two days old!  I have selected four giveaway gifts to celebrate, but more of that later.

As promised I have finally now taken photos of some of my December and January finds that I haven't shown you yet.  Here goes, sit down with a cuppa and relax - this is a long post!

This naive cottage garden oil on canvas painting 14" x 12" signed 'W.B. 1976'.

I took one look and fell in love!  And all for £6.  It was VERY grubby when I got I home, but I gently tried cleaning it with fresh white breadcrumbs which did remove SOME of the grime.  I then gave it a gentle rub with a microfibre sponge and water - it worked well,  however I wouldn't recommend  cleaning an important work like that! 

I had it hung in the kitchen, but after hanging it in the dining room to take this photo I may leave it here.

I also found this pale golden table runner before Christmas.

Found in a Charity shop for £2.50

The same day I found this cute little cherub tea light holder for £1.

A 3" bunny to be tucked away until Easter time 50p

Shells fascinate me.  This bagfull was also 50p, the largest approx. 3".

A 6" Portmeirion Botanic dish for 50p!  I LOVE the butterfly in the centre.

and

Two Peter Fagan cats 2" tall for 20p each.

A huge 16" wooden charger - just £2.75!

Six place settings of new ivory handled cutlery £6

To save time a photo of the three jugs I purchased on different days.

As you can see the milk jug is Spode Byron £4.50.

The other two, which are not named were large 10" £2.75 and the 8" was £2.50. 

You KNOW I cannot resist blue and white!

And the final 'find'.....

A beautiful beaded table runner for £2.50.

And now folks, the giveaway.

It is open to all my followers.  To enter just leave a comment on this post, please state which prize you would prefer.  You have until midnight next Sunday 29th January when the entries will close, I will then draw the four lucky winners.  I will post a list of the winners on Monday 30th January 2012.  Once I receive the winners name and address I will post of the prizes.  Please note that due to the high cost of postage abroad any winners outside the UK prizes will be posted SURFACE MAIL.

Prize #1

A book containing 20 Victorian Children post cards

Prize #2

A pretty vintage painted tole ware hook, ready to hang with a hidden loop 

Approx size 11.5" x 6"  

Prize #3

Another book of 20 postcards from the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.

Prize #4

A handy pink handled 'Clippy' shopping bag with nine pockets for you to personalise.

Hope you like the prizes. Don't forget closing date is Sunday 29th January 2012.

Have a great week!

Best wishes

A few bits 'n bobs.

Hi all,

First things first - Welcome to my new follower :o)

Vicky has asked me to pass on her sincere thanks for all your lovely comments on her garden and jewellery, she has been knocked out by them :o)

Up date on the home Made Vanilla Extract I started on the 26th July.  This is what it looks like now, two weeks on.

It's darkening up nicely and smells divine! 

I have found a few things from the charity shop for those of you who were worried I'd lost the plot ;o)

I found this 9" high egg and birds for 70p - thought it'd come in useful around Easter time.

Now, I think I must have suffered a blow to the head with this jug - £14 from an antique centre, but still cheap.  It stands approx. 10" tall and I love the shape of it.   Made by Burleigh, and the design is Arden.  Not surprisingly, I do have other pieces in the same design.

This beaded cotton jug cover is modern, but I love them as they harp back to Victorian days - it was only £1

Works a treat keeping out dust and flies with the beads to weight it down.

Then of course I found this little wooden box containing the brown pottery do-dah - can you guess what it is?

Have you guessed yet?

A biscuit stamp - how great is that? It was only 75p :o)

Then there was this (1 of a pair) of Gothic wrought iron candle sconces - £1 each

They will be winging their way to Nottingham on my next visit!

I already had the large crystal ball, but it was on a very dull stand - so when I found this one for £3 I thought it was 'just the ticket'  (The cobalt glass liner is also my own.)

Well that's the lot for now folks!  I'd just like to thank my dear friend Jan who is George the Lad's

Mom for lending me her rather splendid Panasonic Lumix camera with which these photos were taken....

 ...Now I know just what I'd like for my birthday :o)  !!!

Hope you all have a good week, bye for now and best wishes

Just a touch of Easter

Thank you for all you sweet comments, you really are a lovely bunch!

I'm supposed to be in the garden today - motivation is severely lacking I'm afraid, so I thought I'd find a little distraction..

Just a little Easter vingnette in the conservatory.

The tulips were my Aunts, very old and delicate as they're made from glass.

I know they were very special to her, and I love them too :o)

Do you like them?  I've never seen any others, but I'd love to add to them. 

 Mom told me they were in their childhood home. 

The bunnies have been collected over the last couple of years - many of them shown on my blog as I found them.

I've loved egg shapes for years, here's just a little of my collection displayed in a basket.

I've also added my silk blossoms hanging with Easter decorations to the hearth,

though after looking at it I'm going to move the Staffordshire dogs - it's just too cluttered!

Hope everyone has a great weekend....I'm finally off into the garden - I should have planted the potatoes a couple of weeks ago (but my back put paid to that).

Best wishes