Vintage Love: vintage Fisher Price mini bus toy

Fisher Price toys were such a huge part of my childhood. I think some of my earliest memories consist of me pulling the Chatter Telephone around the living room. This mini bus was also an early addition to the family toybox. I blogged a little while ago about my vintage Fisher Price Hospital, which is still going strong. My Mum has kept many pieces of my Fisher Price childhood collection. My daughter loves to play with them when she visits Grandma's house, some are nearly forty years old. Proof, if proof were needed, that good toys never go out of date.

We had a Fisher Price circus train, followed by this mini bus, the hospital mentioned above, an A-frame woodland retreat and finally the 'Main Street' toy. The mini bus is a favourite of mine, mainly because I love the way the people bobble up and down as you push the bus about. It was a rough ride across the kitchen floor, but the Little People never stopped smiling. I loved all the Fisher Price toys given to us by our parents, each new addition fired my childhood imagination and added to the world inhabited by the Little People.

I only noticed the other day that the label on the back reads "copyright 1969 Fisher Price Toys Division of the Quaker Oats Co". I had no idea Quaker Oats owned Fisher Price toys. After a bit of online searching I found this interesting page from Collectors Weekly detailing the history of Fisher Price Toys. The site explains in more detail:
"Up until 1969, Fisher-Price was owned by the four (original) founders and a handful of stockholders. From 1969 to 1991, the company was a subsidiary of Quaker Oats. Briefly, in the 1990s, the company became independent again, only to be swallowed in 1993 by Barbie-making toy behemoth Mattel, which still owns the brand today."


Fisher Price toys are still going strong and manufacture many of the best selling toys available to babies and preschoolers today. Our daughter has grown up playing with many of the modern Fisher Price toys alongside my 'vintage' versions. I hope they will become as big a part of her childhood memories as they are for me.

If you'd like to see more retro goodies, head on over to my "Vintage Finds" board over on Pinterest...

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Revamping a dresser with chalk paint and my collection of vintage ceramics

Back in May of last year I blogged about the bargain dresser we bought on ebay & my discovery of chalk paint. Giving the dresser a new lease of life was a real family affair with Magoo getting stuck in with this transformation project. Annie Sloan chalk paint is completely non-toxic, so I have no problems with letting my daughter lend a hand with a paintbrush. I wanted to share the finished project with you. My collection of vintage ceramics finally has a new home & I love the results.

The pieces featured in this collection are from Hornsea, Meakin and Taunton Vale. All of them have been thrifted by me over the years. I've always wanted a proper place to display them & I think this dresser fits the bill perfectly. By using chalk paint, we revamped a dresser made from dark, dull wood into something light & airy...and all for less than £100.



I'm linking up with the Vintage Inspiration Party over on knickoftime.net
I'm also linking up with Vintage Bliss Tuesdays on www.womaninreallife.com

If you'd like to see more retro goodies, head on over to my "Vintage Finds" board over on Pinterest...

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Vintage Love: Jobrey turquoise maxi skirt

Lou Lou's Vintage Fair rocked up at the Passenger Shed in Bristol over the weekend. Their fairs are always a red-letter day in my house. They are well-organised, chock-full of amazing stalls and there's plenty of tea and cake...what's not to love? Plus you get to people-watch and gaze in envy at other people's beautiful vintage outfits.

I went along with two friends. One was due to go to a wedding in the Summer and vintage fairs are the perfect place to pick up a unique piece of clothing. My friend eventually settled on a stunning silk 1950s gown. It fitted her like a glove. You know when you've picked up a vintage gem when everyone around you is paying compliments whilst giving you the 'darn it, wish I'd seen that first' look.

My other friend made a bee-line for the Frilly Chantilly stall. They make gorgeous reproduction dresses and their stand is always very popular at Lou Lou's.

I picked up this beautiful maxi skirt almost as soon as I walked through the door. It just leapt out at me. I love the colours, a mixture of turquoise, bottle green, cobalt blue and deeper shades of purple. Incredibly hard to capture just how amazing the colours are on this skirt. It was clearly made for someone who was about 8ft tall, so I'm going to shorten it for me. There's so much fabric that I will probably make a tunic top out of the rest. I wont waste any of it...

I really love the label "Jobrey: Fashioned for Loveliness". Well, that's certainly true. I can't find much out about Jobrey, so I will do a bit more digging on the internet.

If you ever get a chance to go to fair organised by Lour Lou's, then please go along. They hold them all over the country and you can see why they keep winning awards. Take a peek at their diary to see if there's one rolling into a town near you...

Washing vintage buttons

Some time ago I bought a jar of haberdashery pieces from a jumble sale, I blogged about it here



I finally got round to washing the vintage buttons in the jar.
There was a thin layer of dust on all the buttons so I washed them in mild, soapy water with a soft toothbrush!



There's no doubt that my favourite is this pearl-effect flower shape button, and it looks even better now its been cleaned!

If you'd like to see more retro goodies, head on over to my "Vintage Finds" board over on Pinterest...

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Vintage Love: jumble sale jar

I love my latest vintage find, a jar from a jumble sale full of sewing bits and bobs.

All for the bargain price of 40p!

I find this type of find so intriguing. I know that someone has collected these pieces of haberdashery over many years, dipping in to the jar when they needed a particular button or buckle.

I had no idea what was inside, but I was pleasantly surprised to see such a lovely mixture of vintage sewing pieces.

All it needs now is a bit of a clean and I can start using them!

If you'd like to see more retro goodies, head on over to my "Vintage Finds" board over on Pinterest...

Follow Pouch : blogging + craft's board My Vintage Finds on Pinterest.