DIY Vintage Buckle Pendants

Today I want to share this really straightforward DIY for making pendants from buckles!

You could incorporate these into a great gift for any vintage fan or family history nut--see below for how I used mine!

Refashioned Dress #2

Remember the far-too-costumey dress that I introduced as my 'next project'?

I finished it at the weekend. This is what it looks like now:

 And here's how I did it...

Vintage Measuring Tape Belt

Though I’ve been massively sidetracked by Doing A Thing, today I sat down and made this belt from a vintage measuring tape.

This is a project that’s been in my To Do pile for a long time, which is ridiculous considering how easy it was.

Read on for a how to. This project is simple and doesn’t take all that long: fifteen minutes at the most.

Retro Clothes by the Kilo

Went to a Kilo Sale at a Vintage clothes warehouse yesterday. Bought things! Wrote about it on Doing A Thing, including retro shopping tips! 

Read more

Second-hand Shopping

It always happens. Just as I decide to curb my spending a little, I get the overwhelming desire to hunt for bargains--and usually find something, too. It's also one of the perils of volunteering at a charity shop. There will always be something you want, right there, tempting you from the rail or shelf or display...

Nevertheless, I'm pretty pleased with my recent second-hand shopping haul!

Attic Treasure: Vintage Suitcases

Since I've been turning out my belongings and changing things in my room again, I've been having a think about my fabric storage.
At present, my fabrics live in two big plastic boxes, underneath the bed. The boxes match my room (purple) but the lids are broken (from cramming too much inside!) and...well, why use modern plastic boxes when I can use these charming vintage suitcases?

These have been in our attic, along with some others, for years. They came from the houses of various deceased relatives; one of them even has the tag on from when it was put into storage decades ago by its previous owner.

Being so old - and well-used - these cases are pretty battered and in a bit of a sorry state in places.

I'm torn between preserving the original interior and using drawer-liners to cover the bottom of the case, or gluing in some new fabric. The bottom of this case is the worst; the fabric has worn/rotted away! (Admittedly, some of it disintegrated when I wiped the case out...oops...)

All of these cases came out of the attic with things in, which I have since relocated to clean, secure plastic boxes. Old photographs, bibles, certificates--the amount of family history within these cases is amazing; I just wish I knew who all the people in the photographs were!

The three cases I liberated from the confines of the attic were mucky (not from our attic, I might add!)  and very worn around the edges, but that just adds to their charm.

I've wiped all of these out and they're currently sitting open in my room to air a bit. At the moment they have that musty attic smell to them, which I don't want getting onto my fabrics!

Despite their flaws, I think these cases are fabulous!

...well, they are British ;)

(Patriotic, moi?)

What would you do with the interior of these cases? Recover with new fabric? Leave as it is? Decoupage? Something else...?

Vintage Box

Believe it or not, we are still trying to sort out our attic! There is so much stuff in the loft space it betrays what terrible hoarders we all are. Stacks of books, toys, magazines and more lie in wait for us in the further reaches of the attic.

But over the course of sorting, I am finding some treasures!

Take this lovely box, for example, which either belonged to my Grandma or my great auntie:

Hmmm, I wonder what’s inside?

 Sewing tools! Perfect!

Plenty of needle books, including some handmade. 

 This perplexed me at first. Then I unscrewed the base…

More needles!

As for this gorgeous little box, well! What a cute way to store pins!

 Of course, with all those sharp objects, an assortment of thimbles are needed.

These are just a few--there are a bunch of plastic ones too.

And right in the bottom of the box?

Cottons galore!

Along with all the things above I found four pairs of scissors in varying sizes (fantastic since my sewing box is missing a smaller pair), elastic, pins, embroidery floss and carded threads for repairing clothes and hosiery!

In particular I was pleased to find the reels of cotton, it means I can make more of these:

I was inspired to make this vintage cotton reel necklace after seeing some on amy is the party and thinking 'I can do that!'

Amy actually just shared a tutorial for making them on OnePearl Button! It's really worth checking out!

Anyway, I made this necklace a couple of weeks back before I came into possession of the sewing box above. I was playing around with some beads I bought from Big Bead Boutique in Brighton (my favourite bead shop!) and some old ribbons and things my Nanny gave me (she also gave me the old reel of cotton).

It isn’t the colours I usually wear but I wanted a change--and now I have all those lovely vintage cottons I can make as many as I want!

We’re still clearing out the attic; who knows what other treasures I’ll find...