Vintage Packaging

If you love vintage packaging and original advertising from years gone by, I do hope you will enjoy this little selection of cardboard boxes.

Lella Loves... Vintage Packaging

I collect anything (be quiet, Mr Lella!) which has had a life and yet is still lovely to look at. Cadbury's Chocolate Cremes were the original contents of this box but the packaging is so lovely that the previous owner retained the box and used it to store dressmaking pins.

Lella Loves... Vintage Packaging

This egg box is in amazing condition. I bought it off a dealer who had found a stash of them in a house clearance. Some were water damaged as they were stored in a crate and then, long-forgotten, up in a loft but there were a few perfect examples.

Discovering an egg box or...

Lella Loves... Vintage Packaging

a vintage dispensing box from a French chemist is all part of the pleasure of finding things and having a good rummage at a flea market.

Lella Loves... Vintage Packaging

Beautiful packaging can be strong and reliable. Likewise, hardy and well-made can be beautiful. This is an old laundry box c1930 - 1940. I love the reinforced corners and the effort put in to the front label.

To demonstrate the size of my biggest vintage box, I took the photo with a tiny lamp bulb and a penny.

Lella Loves... Vintage Packaging

Bringing lovely buys home and displaying them gives endless joy to thousands of collectors. This is a delightful little Fairy Dye box with all the instructions on the packaging.

Lella Loves... Vintage Packaging

The Milwards box is very well made and is still filled with crochet hooks.

Lella Loves... Vintage Packaging

First Aid items are usually in great condition if found unused as they have had the benefit of being stored in a box which is then kept in a cupboard. This finger burn dressing is immaculate.

It amazes me how some things have survived but I am always super excited to find them in a box at a car boot or at a flea.

If you go food shopping, enjoy looking at the creativity and design on the boxes of everyday foodstuffs like custard and herbs.

Have a great day.

Lella  xx

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com

Old Spode Tea Pot

This beautiful tea pot is older than most things in my life and I squealed with joy when I found it at a local table-top sale for a few pounds.

Lella Loves... Old Tea Pots 

It is a two cup tea pot made by Spode and it's the Tower pattern.

I have done a little research and it might have been made between 1895 - 1910 as there are similar patterned plates from that period on the internet.

Lella Loves... Old Tea Pots

The repair to the handle is called a staple and it shows that this was a precious object back in its day. It is wonderful to see such care taken over something so fragile.

Lella Loves... Old Tea Pots

This lid had been dropped much later in the tea pot's life as it has been glued. The repair tells me that it must have been around the 1960s simply because of the new developments in adhesives. It was pieced back together by someone who didn't want to discard it.

Lella Loves... Old Tea Pots

The rust inside shows that as this tea pot was handed down through the family and the last person who owned it - before me - thought enough of it to use it as a knick-knack pot, possibly on a kitchen windowsill.

The rusty marks are from odd screws, safety pins and a metal button.

Lella Loves... Old Tea Pots

Factory back-stamps help us to learn about the piece.

I love the fact that this little tea pot - short and stout - has had such a long life and, even though it is damaged and chipped, there are many people who loved this old tea pot too much to throw it away.

I ask myself the rhetorical question: if most folk dropped a tea pot today, would they get it repaired or would they simply purchase a new one?

Lella Loves... Old Tea Pots

If the tea pot could talk, I wonder what it heard: what was spoken about in the Victorian conversations at high tea?

I hope you enjoyed seeing my little Spode tea pot and it goes to show that intrinsic beauty is there even with all its damage.

Have a lovely day.

Lella  xx

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com

China and Glass (Trays)

Hello there. :)  Rain or no rain, everyone loves a day off.

It is a Bank Holiday weekend and I hope you will find yourself in a big field browsing through other peoples' tat at some point over the next 3 days. The reason being is that one man's trash is another man's treasure. 

With a little bit of imagination, you can make good use of an item which was made for another room in the house and use it in your kitchen. I am referring to a ceramic tray which I bought at a table-top sale a few weeks ago.

It is a Limoges tray, most probably part of a beautiful (and very expensive dressing table set). 

Lella Loves... China and Glass

I expect it would have originally had two matching candlesticks, a ring holder, a lidded pot and another tiny tray, all of which sat on this bigger tray.

There are no chips, no cracks and I just had to have it! 

Lella Loves... China and Glass

Clear factory back-stamps are always a good sign of quality. 

Remember to gently ping the edge with your fingernail and listen for the 'ting'. All ceramics and glassware should have a lovely ringing sound to them if there are no cracks. If you hear a dull thud, the item is cracked, the ring cannot go around the item and it cannot ring 'true'.

Lella Loves... China and Glass

Lovely gilded edge with pink roses. I couldn't believe that something so pretty was still sitting on the lady's stall at 11am. After a little bit of negotiating, and along with some other items, the lady charged me £4 for this tray. 

Lella Loves... China and Glass

I am always thinking outside of the ordinary and here is a saucer from a doll's tea set which makes a handy rest for the small butter knives. I bought 6 saucers for 10p each.

Lella Loves... China and Glass

The tray is now my lovely new serving platter for bread and rolls. I think it looks so elegant and would encourage you to always think sideways when out and about bargain hunting. 

*******

Before I found the Limoges, I have been using this delightful glass example for my bread. This is a tray from an Edwardian dressing table set.

Lella Loves... China and Glass

This beautiful tray is an incredible 80 years old. It was most probably made around the 1930s and is very thick glass. The flowers and butterflies are etched on the underside of the tray.

I have always liked glass and I bought this tray with its original candlesticks and lidded pot - with a beautiful butterfly finial which I broke! - in about 1996. 15 years it has been with me and over those years I have used this tray for all sorts. It has cradled calligraphy pens, odd change, been used as a ring tray and also to stand plants on.

Next time you visit a table-top sale, please buy something you love to look at and if you can make the item work for you in your home then all the better for it.

I buy objects which have had a life, long before me, and they 'tell a story'. Their original use might not be so obvious if parts are missing but it doesn't matter.

All I need to do now is bake my own bread!   Mmm...      :)

Lella  xx

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com

Flea Markets

So, it is Sunday morning and you are wondering what to do today. If you asked me, I would say where else could you possibly go than to your local flea market or car boot?

Lella Loves... Flea Markets

Everybody loves a bargain and even though you might not be in need of anything in particular, I think it is good for the soul to be out and about, browsing the stalls and chatting to sellers about their items or the weather.

Falling in love with something you didn't even know existed when you woke up this morning: I love that! The joy of handing over £2 for a very special purchase. Fabulous!

Here is an old marmalade pot I bought last week for £1. It is a perfect pencil pot.

Lella Loves... Old Packaging

You can experience all the above if you go to a collectables market with an open mind.

Take lots of change, a bag of bags and if you meet a really lovely dealer who sells you a bargain, buy him a cup of tea.

*Tip: Sellers are there to make money! Most of them earn their living as traders. Be fair but please don't pay the first price they say. 

Example: You see a large pine trunk with a broken lock. The ticket swinging in the breeze says £22 and, as you let the ticket fall and you stand up to look, the stall holder says, "It's yours for £18."

This is where I say to you, take off another 10% or 20% and propose your counter offer with, "Would £15 buy it?"

A friendly approach and a reasonable counter offer will secure your item 9 out of 10 times when haggling with a true dealer because the pine box scenario happened to me last week.

After I offered him £15, he did the inward whistle suck and laughed. I quickly followed my offer up with, "Oh... Go on! You know I'm lovely!" This made him smile and he couldn't say no and I went home with a very lovely, solid pine trunk for £15.

One-off day traders will spend 2 days pricing everything and they will be horrified at the thought of discounting their wares. Either walk away or pay the lady if she has something you want.

Most of all, have fun. 

Lella Loves... Flea Markets

Lella Loves... Flea Markets

Lella Loves... Flea Markets

Please message me if you were inspired to go to a car boot and you found something amazing. Comments can be left at any time. 

Best wishes and happy hunting.

Lella  xx

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com

Pretty Tea Cups

Good morning and I hope you are having a lovely, lazy Sunday.

Today's blog post is to share with you some of my tea cups. 

Because I use them for various things, apart from actually drinking tea out of them, I buy very old or delicate sets which might well be chipped or have a hairline crack in the cup. Such damage doesn't bother me as I buy them for their beauty. 

Here are a few photos of cup and saucers sitting on my bookshelf. 

Lella Loves... Tea cups

Single cup and saucers are widely available and if you visited a collectables fair, your choice would be substantial. Set yourself a limit, say £4 per cup and saucer, then look for colours which inspire you. If you like flowers or tea cups with birds on, start a small collection with a similar theme.  

Lella Loves... Tea cups

By not being too fussy with condition but going more for pattern and beauty, I have bought Victorian trios for a few pounds. I have them in between the books, sitting on a pile here and there as I feel books need space and your eyes need space. 

Wall to wall books are all very well but turn a few on their backs to let your display 'breathe'.

Lella Loves... Tea cups

If you are off to a flea market or a car boot today, look out for pretty cups and buy colours to match your home. Have a great day and feel free to comment.

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com

Vintage Cases

Having been a fan of old cases and leather trunks for years, I can never walk past one without asking its price. They are lovely to have around the house.

There are many uses for cases in the home as we all like extra storage and the cost of two or three can be less than a coffee table.


Here is my latest find.

Lella Loves... Vintage Cases

I bought this very large, very heavy, navy blue case for £8 at a flea market a few weeks back.

It was in need of a good clean but apart from cobwebs and mud, it is fabulous. The metal banding is a bit bashed but I always try and buy a case which is sturdy and solid.

Lella Loves... Vintage Cases

It doesn't matter if I have no idea what I am going to put in it as I usually find a use for a case!

To find your own antique and vintage cases, visit local garage sales and house clearance stores as they can be a great source of inspiration.

Have fun hunting.

Lella  xx

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com