Tuesday 26 January 2016

Card index box makeover

I love this vintage card index box.  It came from an old office which was being modernised and it was no longer required.


Unfortunately I forgot to take a "before" photograph, I was so keen to transform!  But it was just an ordinary box - not even good wood.


I gave it an undercoat of a deep, rich red.  I also used this colour on the inside of the box and the drawers.



I then painted over, very lightly, with a lovely deep blue paint, then wiped some it off so that the red would show through.


It was finished off with a coat of satin varnish.


The original alphabetical index card were still with the box.  Not sure what to do with these.


Love the little drawer pulls.  As I thought I would use it for stationery, I printed out some labels and aged the paper using a tea bag.


Talking about tea ......

Love, Liz

Sunday 24 January 2016

Kill or cure?

I love old advertisements.  No health and safety issues with these three!


Poor lassie!  Love the non-poisonous in brackets!  Notice that there is mention of a poisonous powder dip.  Seemingly it contained arsenic.


Then there's this vintage advert for Concrete Football Boots!  Ouch, painful!


But best of all is this - Moarn's Magnetic Belt and Invigorator
Seems to be a cure-all for just about everything, including constipation and lumbago.  I love the fact that there are "Special Appliances for the Working Classes"!  Perhaps they didn't need as much invigorating!  Not sure I'd like to be standing next to someone wearing one of these!
Hope you are having a good weekend.

Love, Liz

Friday 22 January 2016

Vintage cups and saucers

Joining up with Five on Friday for the first time this week and I'll give you one guess as to what I'm sharing!  Five lovely vintage cups and saucers - most of which were bought in local charity shops.
The first is one of my all time favourites - a Royal Vale red and white spotted set.



The second is another Royal Vale set, this time it has a lovely delicate fern and flower pattern.



Next is a lovely floral set by Sutherland of Staffordshire, England.



My fourth is another favourite - this Imperial China green and gold beauty!



Finally this gorgeous set is a Roslyn China set with a lovely soft floral pattern.



It is really difficult for me to pick out particular favourites - I like them all - for slightly different reasons.  They are just a part of my collection.
Which one is your favourite?


Pop over and see what other five things folk are sharing today at Five on Friday.

Love, Liz

Tuesday 19 January 2016

Bonny wee brooch

I very rarely notice jewellery when I'm charity shopping, but I just had to buy this lovely little vintage Scottish luckenbooth brooch.


Very popular in 17th and 18th century Scotland, luckenbooth brooches are usually made in silver in variations of hearts and crowns.  


They were often given as love tokens and worn by brides on their wedding day to bring good luck and protect against the evil eye.  Sometimes known as witch-brooches, they were also worn on babies shawls to ward off evil spirits and ensure the mother’s milk supply.


They are sometimes associated with Mary Queen of Scots and William Shakespeare reputedly owned one.


The luckenbooths, dating from the reign of James III, were a huddle of buildings running parallel to St Giles Church (now Cathedral) on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.  Luckenbooth meant “lockable booth” and they were stalls which sold all sorts of trinkets and toys and jewellery.   

There was only a narrow footpath between them and the kirk.  They were pulled down in 1817 when the Royal Mile was widened.
Luckenbooth brooches were also exported as trade items and the Iroquois people in North America were also known to own some and make their own version.  


Hope you enjoyed this wee look at a bit of Scottish history and folklore.
Joining with Let's Talk Vintage.

Love, Liz

Monday 18 January 2016

Just a little addition

My crochet granny square scarf had been hiding in the cupboard for a while till I "rediscovered" it last week.



I made it a couple of years ago to go with my black winter jacket.  Unfortunately because it was trimmed in dark grey, it didn't really show up against my jacket.


"That needs trimmed in white wool to stand out." I thought to myself ... and forgot about it.  So at the weekend I got to work crocheting another round in white.


Stands out much better now.  Perhaps I'll actually wear it.  It is lovely and cosy.


Hope you are staying snug and warm.

Love, Liz

Sunday 17 January 2016

Home made comfort food - just what we need!

Comfort food - home made meatballs in tomato sauce - yum!  That's what Hubby and I had for our tea (what us Scots call dinner) on Friday evening.


You don't need a lot to make this dish. I used up half a pack of minced pork that I had in the freezer.  (To be honest, I much prefer my meatballs made with pork sausagemeat.).  In a big bowl I mixed it with finely chopped onion, grated carrot and some breadcrumbs (also from the freezer).  



Also added an egg to bind them together and some salt and pepper.  I rolled the mixture into balls, shoogled them in a bit of flower and put them on a baking sheet in a pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes.


While they were cooking I made the tomato sauce.  I cut some lean smoked bacon in to small pieces and fried them in olive oil - this adds a lovely smoky flavour to your sauce.  To the pot I then added finely chopped onion, carrot and celery.  I let this cook for a wee while then added some flour, mixed well and allowed to cook.  


Then it was time for a  couple of glugs of red wine - used this to get all the lovely sediment at the bottom of the pot.  Once this was done I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, a chopped red pepper, crushed garlic, a dod of tomato puree, chopped basil and a teaspoon of sugar.  


Stirred well, seasoned and simmered for half an hour or so, this sauce is so easy and tastes delicious. It is also much better if you cook it either the day before or earlier in the day you wish to have it. Once cooked I took out half to freeze.


Cooking done well before lunch time, all I had to do when Hubby got home was to cook some pasta, reheat the sauce and meatballs, grate some Parmesan cheese and pour the wine.


We had this lovely meal with a side salad and some garlic bread.  Delicious!  Best of all I've got the other half in the freezer to have another night!

Love, Liz 

Friday 15 January 2016

Unfinished business

Full of good intentions I ventured into the cupboard where I keep my cross stitch supplies to look for a new project.  Right on top of the pile was this - an unfinished cross stitch from a good few years ago!



So, bit of indecision followed - do I ignore it again, or do I just get on with finishing it?


Decided to finish it off - not really that much more to do.



Then I had to hunt for the pattern, which of course was not beside it.  That meant the awful chore (ha ha) of going through all my Cross Country Stitching magazines to find the actual pattern.  Of course I found another (at least) ten projects I would love to start!


But, in the spirit of starting to finish what I start (does that make sense?) - I'm going to boldly soldier on and get this done!


Well, that's the plan .............. for the moment!

Love, Liz

Thursday 14 January 2016

Lacy lampshade made by me!

I made myself a new lampshade today.  I love lamps that cast interesting shadows.



I searched through my lace tin to find something that I thought would look good on this old frame.  I'm ashamed to say that I've had this for ages, in fact you can read my blog post about finding it along with a gorgeous vintage plate.



It took me a wee while to get sorted - I ended up using double sided sticky tape to keep the lace from slipping as I tried to sew it together.



It looked lovely earlier today when the sun was shining! (Yes, we do occasionally get some sunshine here in Greenock!)


Now that I've switched it on - it makes a lovely pattern on the wall.



I'm quite pleased with it and it is another project that I've been meaning to do for a long time scored off the list!


Love, Liz