Peg folk packs ~*Give Away*~

Wow, seems many moons ago that I posted a blog. Well, with this catch up I have the help of sweet peg folk helping me along the way to create a give away. One pack is up for grabs for 3 lovely winners, all you have to do is pop a comment on our blog, facebook or twitter, more the merrier for a chance to win. Please state if you would like a boy or girl pack. Packs may vary from contents shown. Open for UK entrants.
Perfect stocking fillers, or for crafty fans, I love to create the packs and equally love to create peg folk, hope you will to :D.
Give away ends Saturday 10th of December - winners will be announced on Sunday 11th.


Good luck x 

{Inspired - Christmas} New blog post

For the past few months I have been moon lighting as an elf, burning the midnight oil creating Christmas decorations for the shop and leaving trails of glitter and painty finger prints - oops ;). 
Theirs nothing we love more then vintage & kitschy Christmas decorations and graphics, notably a big influence upon our Christmas range. I really do hope you will love it, I'm still undecided about a batch of felt birds I have created, very kitschy - maybe I can post and you can tell me what you think?. 
Rustled up the above montage, proving hard not to get carried away with so many wonderfully influencing, inspirational and generally adored vintage and kitschy ideas whirling around. 


Which is your favourite inspiration for Christmas? Shabby chic, vintage, kitsch, retro, traditional or contemporary? 


I was hoping to introduce our Christmas goodies this week, but realistically it will be next week pinkies crossed - shall keep you posted.


H
x

The Evolution Of Women’s Hair, In Under 4 Minutes {new blog post}

An interesting video I wanted to share, we love a bit of period design - we know you do to ;).  Although the video has already come under some flack for not featuring short hair, I think it's like most history, It's to give a representation of the period/decade, surely couldn't be possible to feature every detail. Not to mention how painstakingly long this must have taken to create. 

Although I do agree that at the 70's section it seems to jump to the 1960's and then to the 80's.

But see if you can see the model nearly laugh at 0.36 mins-ish.

We seem quite tame now don't we? unless your lady GaGa of course.

What do you think of the video?

Keeping memories is as easy as abc... ~*New blog post*~

One Summer I went to stay with family in the Lake District. That summer I crammed every single detail onto the pages of an excerizie book, the fun, mischief and experiences. I still have that excerizie book to this day, a book full of treasured memories. So when I spotted the alphabet excersize books I couldn't help but think of that summer holiday, and just had to add them to the list of goodies we would love for the shop. Not only a retro vibe, but if you love colour, typography and stationery, I'm sure you will love them to.

Three books in total, two lined and one plain paged. I use mine for sketching, notes and memories. Set £3.95.

Perfect to start the new school term in style, cast aside those dowdy excersize books.


What would you use them for?

H

x

Under the sea... ~*New blog post*~

Today's post is inspired by fishy tails - mermaids to be exact.

One of my favourite paintings is by John William Waterhouse: A Mermaid - 1901.

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)

Born in Rome, moved to England with his parents in the late 1850's.

Although often classified as a Pre-Raphaelite for his style and themes, Waterhouse is truly a Neo-Classic painter.

(Image source)

I think out of any profession, an object or being - I always wanted to be a mermaid as a kid, a fascination with these finned females, the possibilities of Selkies/Silikies - in the form of a seal that can shed it's skin to transform into a human. But, in reality, would you really want to smell like the ocean, have ratty hair, tortured by pollution, destined to only swim?. Like it would happen, I know...

Back to fantasy...

Christmas 2010, I was inspired to create a nautical themed Christmas window - Now, the challenge how to make a mermaid?. The poor gal ended up with a short-ish tail, but all in all I was happy with how she turned out, a real learning curve on how to construct such a large model. What I really loved, adding the finishing touches, strands of pearls, her crown of shells and jewels, a real crafting treat after the late nights of creation.

She keeps watch from the top of one of our display units in the shop now, accompanied by Sammy the seal, for now the ocean is all but a dream... For a peek at how the Christmas window was created - Link And sorry for mentioning Christmas in July ;) - oops said it again.

Moving along swimmingly...

This is the little lady that probably contributed to a love of Mermaids - Ariel/The Little Mermaid - Hans Christen Anderson. 

I loved the fact that Disney had added the extra characteristics that Ariel was a collector.

I still have my Ladybird book from my childhood, the real Hans Christen Anderson tale. Beautifully illustrated, for such a sad tale. (Image source)

Love this vintage mermaid postcard

(Image source)

Are their any fellow mermaid fans out there?

Thinking outside of the box - comic book project ~*New blog post*~

Just recently Jamboree had an arrival of fab Pop Art inspired goodies. A chest of drawers, mugs and a new addition of a Marilyn notebook - perfect for a Pop art fix.

Joining Twitter, we have made some great pals along our tweeting adventures, shared inspirations and been inspired by fellow crafters, collectors to. So it was lovely to be able to share our love of Pop Art goodies with fellow arty folk. 

Clare, a graduate of fine art, fellow jewellery maker, crafter to, was lovely enough to share her project with us. After being inspired by our Pop Art chest depicting Roy Lichtenstein's "Kiss" Clare decorated stackable boxes with Judge Dread comic stripes, with oodles of PVA glue. I still love PVA!

Here's a sneak peek at the finished result - be sure to check out Claires blog - Butterfly Pie for pics and info to.

Which comic would you be inspired to use for your project? or maybe influenced by your favourite artist?

Pop Art love ~:New blog post:~

Pop art is taking over Jamboree, and we are loving it!

New goodies arrived at the end of last week - funky Pop art mugs £3.95. 

Who would you choose:- Audrey, Elvis or Marilyn?

More goodies check out our website to Jamboree

Deliciously Art Deco, Smurftastic & totally groovy! - belated Friday finds ~{Collecting}~

A belated Friday's find today.

Thanks to Johanna for sharing her fantastic discovery of a lovely pair of Art Deco prints from Whetherby Antiques fair.

Not jealous, honest! ;)
Any contributions to help build a time machine would be most gratefully accepted to travel back to the twenties - who's with me??. Utterly gorgeous images.
This has reminded me of a new figurine in Jamboree - Jazz age dancing couple. Go on, give us a twirl!

And just added to the shop today - Erté illustrated large postcards. Perfect for framing or adding to journals, or surprise a fashion/art loving friend with a snail mail postcard.

From wikipedia:Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, the French pronunciation of his initials, R.T. He was a diversely-talented 20th century artist and designer who flourished in an array of fields, includingfashion, jewellery, graphic arts, costume and set design for film, theatre, and opera, and interior decor.

We <3 polka dots.
The best bargain for a recent discovery has to go to Vicky, creator of kitsch jewellery - Stars & Scars. I was lucky enough to win a necklace via Vicky's twitter RT giveaway - be sure to take a peek if you love doodles!
How much do you think Vicky's 1970's dress cost? 

Still guessing???

what do you think??

£20?
£10 maybe?
Drum roll.....


£1 - bargain!!! 
A girl after our own hearts. Fantastic find.

I spotted this lil fella in the charity shop window, feet pushed up against the glass, and that cheeky face.

Needing to open up Jamboree, the plan was to nip out and buy him, but the day rolled on and thankfully he was still in the window the next day. I couldn't resist him, as I am in the habit of calling my Dad - Poppa Smurf :) 

His label mentions 1979 - and he's in really good condition. And before he knew it he was given a squish. Adore blue and red as a combination - he's a winner!

Poppa Smurf is catching up on some reading, in the form of a mini children's classic nursery rhyme book, which probably today are not regarded the most popular of nursery rhymes, but classics in their own right. Wonderfully illustrated with vintage illustrations which I need to investigate, the style reminds me of Katie Greenaway.

He is currently residing on the back of the sofa.

Thanks again to Johanna and Vicky - be sure to check them out on Twitter.


Join in Friday finds - pops us a tweet or an email. Share your passion for collecting.

This one goes out to the ones I love :new blog post:

I surrender me hearties! 
How many pirates hoping for a kiss this Monday, do you think are lurking in Whitley Bay?
        If their was ever to be an occasion for cute illustrated greetings cards it has to be Valentines Day don't you think?. I love checking old old greetings cards on ebay and etsy, always in the hope of framing images - maybe to use in the shop above the fireplace, or for inspiration. I think my favourite period is the kitsch 40s - 50's cards, cute twist on the wording - you can't have valentines day without a hint of cheese now can you?


A favourite site for vintage images is Vintage holiday crafts. A host of images dating from 1890's to approx 1950's - fantastic images for a vintage project or a special valentines maybe?

(source)

Other images I spotted online

(source)

(source)

Love these crafty chipboard buttons by Jenni Bowlin

And by Heart warming vintage pretty stickers

A couple of books I have on my amazon wish list are these fabulous Valentines books.

Top of the list is Vintage Valentines (Press Out Book) by Golden Books. Cute individual cards to pop out and display, but Unfortunately going for crazy money on amazon at the moment though.

 also Dover's, who have an extensive vintage back catalogue.

Vintage Valentines (Electronic Clip Art)- copyright free images (Dover Electronic Clip Art) 

You might remember a book from Christmas I mentioned in another vintage post - Christmas Vintage holiday graphics by Taschen. They also have a book especially for cupid's day of mischief. I haven't seen which cards are featured, but the Christmas book is fantastic if you love vintage illustrations.

Valentines: Vintage Holiday Graphics (Icons)

Any other crafty vintage fans out there? pop us a tweet or email and share your creations - would love to see your projects.

Jamboree

x

Friday Finds ~:New blog post:~ Good egg

Last Friday, I set myself a mini mission to take stock of years of collecting, rummaging, and some might say hoarding, in an attempt to get organized and give my collection the justice it needs, but also a way to share what inspires us, our love of collecting and inspiration to, hence Friday find.

If your a collector, you know that the word hoarding is practically a sin, one person's tat, is another's treasure. I'm often interested in the history of an object, if only it could speak, or a book could tell it's own story.

Following on from last Fridays find, a sailor moneybox - link. Marion, creator of gorgeous doll outfits, featured a sailor eggcup in her Etsy listing, my eyes lit up on seeing the image, as at home I have a matching sailor in a form of a moneybox. Marion has been kind enough to send images of her eggcups, similar instyle to our sailor.

The design of the egg cups brought back fond memories of having breakfast at my Grandma's house, dipping soldiers into an egg, a Noddy or Big Ears eggcup.

(Source)

How cute are those egg cups?

Did you have similar egg cups as a child? we'd love to hear about your collection, memories - drop us a line email or pop us a comment.

{Anything goes}

Anything kitsch, quirky, vintage/retro or cute, is always very welcome in my collection, trying to squish in that latest find is part of the fun to, right? lol.
The above image is a mini collection I see very morning. Collected over a number of years, even a Jamboree goodie of the blue Russian doll money box, we recently found one hiding, and is current our last, you can find her on our sales table for £3.50, I hope she isn't lonely for to long.
As you can see I like pigs, all though I only occasionally add a piggy product to the collection now, I really couldn't say how my love of pigs started, I love them all, pigs great and small. I think my favourite is the pig hybrid, with pretty opaque butterfly wings, which I discovered at Camden market years ago.

And on that note, this little piggy needs to go wee wee wee all the way home.
Have a great weekend.

Jamboree x

I'll never forget the Christmas.... :New Blog post: #fb

I'll never forget the Christmas I went flying with James, and The Snowman....


Ok, so maybe I dreamed it ?, or maybe just got incredibly hot jumping on and off the sofa, trying to imitate flight lol. 
Some books and films stay with you for the rest of your life, and undoubtedly the perfect time of year to snuggle up with family to watch a movie or read a classic story is Christmas.
I always find it hard to narrow down thoughts for a list:- so here goes, in know particular order.

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Where is it always winter, turkish delight it's always so delightful, and if your lucky you will get to meet a host of fine creatures, and the jolly man himself - Father Chrisatmas. When C.S Lewis wrote Father Christmas into the book, he did come under some critisim when he shared this information with his reading group, by a certain J. R. R. Tolkien. I loved the BBC TV Series as a kid, and think it's a misfortune that the BBC has not continued the the tradition of a Christmas mini series on the build up to Christmas. Did you watch the series to? I love the film adaptation, although the TV series has a homely, quaint approach, not just from lack of major block buster effects, but it contributes a more realistic ambience of 1940's England. I will be snuggled up on Christmas Eve to watch the film, followed by Prince Caspian on Boxing day. Hopefully see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader soon. And if I'm honest I'd be off to Narnia in a flash.

Does anyone remember another Christmas mini series by the BBC, not Christmas themed I don't think, but the story involved two sisters, the oldest being rebellious, whilst under the guardianship of a sinister uncle I think it was, in an old spooky house?. Probably late 80's.

The Snowman: One Christmas James, a small boy builds a snowman, but he's not your regular pile of snow. The film reflects the lives of both characters in this beautiful, timeless tale. Published in 1978, and later developed into the classic animation in 1982, which was broad casted on Channel four. I'd love to have seen it that very first broad cast. I know I'll be watching this Christmas Eve, hopefully make it home in time. I've often wondered what if James made another snowman, or maybe he was just satisfied with such an incredible adventure. I've loved playing the story and score in the shop, and who can forget "I'm walking in the Air" song, who's ready for a sing song? 123....I'm walking in the air.....

It's a Wonderful Life: I bought this for my Grandma one Christmas, and I'm sad to say it's one of those films you turn over the TV and it's half way through, you know you have missed a great film. Filmed in 1946, the film depicts the life of George Bailey, played by James Stewart, who contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve, but it intervened by an guardian angel named Clarence, who shows George of all the lives he has touched, and his accomplishments with the community. From what I've seen you can't beat classics, I think it was in Asda they were selling the DVD - now with colour tint, is that sacrilege? Still love a good ole black and white film. I'll be watching it this Christmas. This film also popped into my head, and we have some lovely motto table sitter decorations, and one just happens to be - It's a wonderful life - £5-95 each.

• Santa Claus the Movie: I remember one Christmas this wasn't shown, and to be honest, I was gutted. Oozing 80's and a smidgen of cheese, but that's why I love it. And to be fair, if you admit it, I will, that we'd love Santa to create our very own Elf Portrait. Staring Dudley Moore as Patch, Santa's head elf, things go drastically wrong as the modern world sets to influence the traditions of a classic Christmas.

• Elf: Will Ferrell must of had the time of his life playing Buddy. Released in 2003, and to be honest it wasn't until last year that I actually saw this. I bought the dvd, maybe it's just me, but it's not the same as watching films from the Christmas TV schedule? random I know ;) It's hard to choose a favourite part, though the chewing gum scene sticks in my mind for the wrong reasons - you have to watch it, or best maybe not. Curious? you should be ;)

Which are your favourite Christmas tales or movies?