Friday, September 24, 2010

French Tat & freebies & lights

 Multi posting tonight!
Today I popped into what is known here in France as a Depot Vente. Its what we would call a 'junk shop' in the UK, not sure what the term is for USA-ers??? Anyways, its all used items from pins up to furniture and farm machinery. People put their stuff in there to sell, and the owner of the Depot Vente takes a commission from the sale, or, he does house clearances. I love looking round them, as there are no charity shops in France :o(  Charity shops are the only things I really miss from the UK.
  Some of the stuff they sell is absolute trash, broken crockery, handles missing off things, rusty tools, beyond restoration etc etc. Often they want ridiculous money for things you and I would chuck in the bin.


But, for what I was looking for, tiny items for using craft wise.... dirt cheap. So I thought you might like to see what I picked up today for just 10 euros (£7.50 or $8.00) I have a project in mind that involves mixed media, and it is NOT going to be a card!  As well as what you'll see in the photos, there was also a big bag of beads and sequins. You've all seen beads and sequins before so, no point in photographing them. In any case, there was nothing out of the ordinary in them. 
I had a super time rummaging around in piles of stacked up tat poking around and investigating the contents of tiny dust clad vintage tins and little boxes,  getting grubby in the process!.


Before you look at what I bought, I just HAVE to tell you this first: Its unbelievable, but absolutely true:
There were some tiny vintage glass bottles, one of the things I was looking for. I didn't buy any because there were loads of them, I can buy them when I need them. BUT, I found this little vintage bottle: The label read: "Purified Mercury" , and inside the bottle???? yup, the mercury was still in there. No I did not buy it. I could hardly believe mes yeux!


Everything in the photos I bought including the 2 types of Hessian/ tapestry fabric that everything is laid out on. The burgundy fabric thingy top right is a hand made sewing kit holder made from felt. I only bought it because there were a good selection of sewing needles in it, I have broken some of mine recently.


The plastic shapes, lower left, horrible colours, IMO,  but I thought maybe I could paint them in gold, silver, copper or bronze. Just a 4 shown, there were quite a few of them.


 The eyelet 'hooks' ( I dont know what they are called) are huge, about 1 1/2 "  or 3.5cms long. I've never seen any this large before.



Next up Lights:
In my craft room there is only a small velux window behind where I work and my craft light.  I am terrible for dropping things on the floor,  I can never find whatever has dropped when its dark or in low light, more often than not they disappear under my work table. I picked up these halogen lights for 5 euros including 3 spare bulbs and today Bob kindly fitted them onto the beam so they will shine directly on the floor, where I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time! I cannot wait to try them out!


Last but not least:
Your freebie vintage Angels & Fairies images.
I hope my post has been a bit more interesting to read today. Perhaps I am getting the hang of blogging?


A demain
Jan
 x





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Please feel free to make any comments regarding my work, it would be very much appreciated. And many thanks for your visit.
Happy crafting!