Crafty Photo Scavenger Hunt: January

Our host for this month is Sara over at Cinders & Rain, so please do pop over to her blog to find out who else is playing along.

Inspiration

Last month my inspiration was actually motivation, and that motivation was fuelled by the need to earn money.  Not very artistic, but truthful.  This month my inspiration is equally truthful and just as unglamorous!  I have mainly been making things based on the ‘what needs using up?’ principle…

Something I made

Well, one of the plus sides of attacking anything in my path this month has been the sheer variety of books I’ve made.  I was a bit spoilt for choice…

Resolutions

A little close up of my Mollie Makes calendar page for January says it all…

Retro

What could be more delightfully retro than some Enid Blyton?

Motifs: Sequins

This category gave me The Fear when I first saw it.  I own precisely one item of clothing with sequins on, and it’s a summer top that hasn’t seen the light of day for a good few years.  What to do?  I was slightly worried I’d have to go out and start looking for a pearly king to photograph!  My luck was in though, I received a travelling craft box (long story) in the post last week and inside it was the perfect thing… not traditional sequins, but I jumped on them nonetheless!

What’s happening next month with the Crafty Photo Scavenger Hunt?  Rachel over at The Awesome Lady is our host for February, so please pop along to her blog tomorrow and see what topics she’s chosen.

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VintageRetroKitsch

Retro and vintage wares are still enjoying a huge surge of popularity, so I thought I’d take a peek into the life of a seller who specialises in all things vintage, retro and kitsch…

Sarah, of VintageRetroKitsch, doesn’t just sell all things vintage, she lives them.  A visit to her house is enough to reveal not only a wonderful collection of furniture and curios, but that she has a keen eye for style.

I grew up in a victorian house and it is still my favorite style of property and I have always been used to being surrounded by older furniture, my parents had an antique shop when I was young and I have fond early memories of going to house clearances and being fascinated by all the things that people leave behind.

This has carried on throughout my life and although I have flirted with the likes of Ikea I have always come back to homewares with a past and now my home is a huge mismatch of curios and collectables but I love it.

Vintage suitcases and trunks look beautiful and also serve to hide the inevitable clutter of toys belonging to her young son.

Modern pieces and antiques are displayed side by side in perfect harmony

I started VRK really as I found myself coming across great unwanted things all the time and I was fast running out of space to bring them home and keep them! This coincided with a growing trend for vintage so I decided to try my hand at selling.

We started about 18 Months ago now and we are slowly building up a loyal fanbase. We try to do at least one fair a month and I have an Etsy shop although I am scaling that down as I am not sure its the right medium for vintage, I generate the most interest via my facebook page although I am thinking of sorting out my own website this year, just need a few more hours in my day!

Sarah’s love of vintage is so strongly evident throughout her home that it’s almost contagious.  I left her house wishing I had more room to stash beautiful things, and also with a very strong urge to plant things in teacups!  She has excellent taste and it’s wonderful to see someone who is living their passion.  Sarah trades on Facebook and, for the time being at least, on Etsy.  Sarah is based in Bolton and also takes her wares to various fairs in the midlands (for more details please visit her Facebook page) and if you’re in the area when she’s around I’d highly recommend a visit to her stall.

It is really the ultimate recycling as we are only really the caretakers of our lives . I love to look at some of my things and imagine the kind of lives they must have led, fascinating.

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