Vintage in the Shires Easter Fair

On Saturday 19th April I took Make Me Pretty Shop for a short trip (round the corner) to a Vintage in the Shires fair at the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa.

Event Poster

It was quite a dreary and cold morning and it was the Saturday before Easter, but having secured my pitch thanks to a cancellation and with virtually no travelling required, I was optimistic.

Royal Pump Rooms, Leamington Spa

I hadn't yet done a Vintage in the Shires event, but heard they were popular. Trevor was very pleasant to deal with and pitch price reasonable and the venue is one of my favourites in town.

Upon arrival I was thrilled to find I had the first front facing table in the Assembly Rooms - not going to miss me there!

I quickly began setting up my stall, and although I had plenty of time I still buzzed around like a blue arsed fly trying to get everything ready and introduce myself to the other traders.

Craft display shelving

I was excited to try out some new shelving I purchased only the day before from another Blighty Bazaar trader - Pam Thomas from Oopsadaisy Retro.

Paper flower statement necklaces

I didn't have time to upcycle them fully, but I did add some lovely lace edging. With it being Easter and all I used the shelving to display my latest handmade paper flower statement collars.

It was a bit of a Blighty affair as us girls had the centre aisle. My stall was next to Angela from Miss Angel's Vintage Emporium and she was next to Amy from Blighty.

The morning started off slow footfall wise and the hall was rather cold, so I spent most of my time eyeing up Angela's cosy coat! 

It was a bit of a gamble doing a fair before Easter to be honest, with many people away for the holidays or nursing hangovers from Good Friday.

Luckily Nat and Chris from the Lindy Diner at kept our spirits up with some improptu dancing.


Come lunchtime I'm pleased to say the good people of Leamington soon appeared and the hall quickly filled up with those looking for a bargain.

Amy from Blighty Bazaar

A 'Chap' of Distinction

For me at least, it turned out to be a good day for handmade jewellery sales as opposed to vintage, but the fab couple at Chaps of Distinction appeared to be doing well with gentlemen's attire.

Once again my tea set inspired jewellery went down a storm, as did my hair accessories and kooky rings.

I was happy to sell a gorgeous rockabilly-inspired red faux pearl and charm necklace to a lovely local lady, who also commissioned me to make a matching bracelet, which I did this morning.

Rockabilly-inspired charm bracelet

All-in-all the event turned out to be a success and I am very glad to have taken a punt on it.

With some spare cash in my pocket I've invested in some lovely new pieces to craft and sell.

Don't worry if you couldn't make it on the day though as I sell my items in Blighty Bazaar on Kenilworth Street for those of you who are local, or on Etsy for those that are not.

And, please remember I do accept requests for custom pieces of jewellery so don't be afraid to ask should you need something different for a special occasion or gift.



 Catch Make Me Pretty Shop at my next fair - Judy's Affordable Vintage at The Custard Factory in Birmingham on Saturday the 24th May.

Lisa xXx

A Delightful Tea Party & Vintage Fayre

On April the 12^th Make Me Pretty Shop hit sleepy Earlsdon in Coventry for what turned out to be a rather lively and truly delightful tea party and vintage fayre.

Organised and curated by Ria Hatt from Vintage Dream Days – a talented wedding and event planner and florist – the event was held in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Vintage Dream Days event invite

Ria Hatt, Vintage Dream Days

I was asked by Ria to book a stall after she visited my stand at Judy’s Vintage Fair in Leamington Spa earlier in the year.

I love doing local events and this one was for a great cause, so I snapped up a very reasonably priced pitch and donated one of my Alice in Wonderland cameo necklaces as a raffle prize.

Held at St Barbara’s Church, I was expecting a pleasant but sedated affair, but boy was I wrong.

Yummy homemade cakes

Ria and her family and friends did a fantastic job in promoting the event, so much so guests were queuing to hand over their £1 entrance fee.

The event promised to be ‘big’ and it didn’t disappoint, with things planned for every age group not to mention tonnes of tea and cake all served in vintage china.

Betsy Harmony

Betsy Harmony – a fabulous vintage singer - performed on the day (@BetsyVintage) serenading shoppers as they browsed stalls and tried their luck on the raffle.

Miss Ellie's Homemade

There was a small but perfectly formed selection of vintage clothing stalls, handmade jewellery, alternative wedding bouquets and other crafts, chutneys and preserves and a tombola.

Those who wanted to look the part could got their hair did – vintage style of course – and a makeover for just £5! Needless to say, the stylists were booked back-to-back all day.

Vintage hair

Fresh flowers in cute vintage styled jam jars and old rustic tea tins donned the crisp white linen laid tables, frequented by all who sampled the great bakes and lashings of tea on offer.

Vintage table setting cute jam jars and old tea tins

I’m thrilled to say Make Me Pretty Shop did really well too.

While I was anticipated a good day networking, handing out flyers and a few possible sales, the event turned out to be one of my best yet – Earlsdon you clearly respect style, respect vintage!

Make Me Pretty vintage dress

My first sale was to a very stylish young lady working the door, who snapped up a great nautical dress before the event started – got to get in early with vintage! Later on the lucky lady’s boyfriend returned to buy a number of jewellery items for her.

With the sunshine out and spring in the air, people kept rolling in and so too did the sales. It was great to see lots of my vintage beauties lovingly rehomed.

Me on my stall

My jewellery also went down a storm, which was a particular buzz as I spend hours designing and handcrafting my creations so it’s reassuring to know others value them too.

I invested in a few seasonal decorations given Easter is round the corner, which I think made for a rather attractive stall – bunting, a colourful basket of freebie sweet treats for little ones and some cute fluffy chicks.

Make Me Pretty vinatge and handmade items

With different price points to suit all pockets – from £4 tea rose studs and retro bobby pins in pretty pastel colours to owl and tea cup pendants at £10, paper and fabric flower statement necklaces between £14 and £22 and of course plenty of vintage frocks ranging from £10-45, Earlesdon your were spoilt for choice.

Make Me Pretty jewellery

The raffle, which included a whole host of fabulous prizes, was a huge success and rather entertaining, especially for me who decided it would be the opportune moment to nip to the loo, only to be called back twice to pick prizes in quick succession!

Joking aside, the most important part of the day was money raised. Proceeds from entrance fees, pitch money, tea and cake sales and raffle tickets means a total of £1,244.68 will be winging its way to Marie Curie Cancer Care in the next day or so.

Tea drinkers enjoying the spoils

All-in-all the event thoroughly rewarding, but mainly because it was one of the most pleasant and charming ‘good feel’ events I’ve had the pleasure to attend.

The day had a real sense of ‘community’ with whole generations of families attending. It reminded me of the so called ‘good old days’ and for that Ria Hutt you should be truly proud.

So, if you’re looking for someone to deliver you a fantastically authentic themed vintage wedding or event, please do check out Vintage Dream Days they rock!

And, if any of you would like to check out my stock pop into Blighty Bazaar in Leamington, check me out on Etsy or catch me at the next Judy’s Vintage Fair at the Custard Factory.

Lisa x



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TUTORIAL: How to make a no sew fabric hair bow

Hair bows are a quick way to make your hair pretty or keep it out of the way. Making these sew rock-a-bow-billy hair bows is simple, just follow these 15 steps.

Don’t have the patience? Enter my competition at the end to win a readymade Make Me Pretty Shop hair bow for free!


Shopping list:

• Fabric (1 FQ)
• An iron
• Pair of scissors
• Ruler
• Pipe cleaner
• Glue gun and sticks
• Alligator grip

 
STEPS 1-5

• Gather your equipment and clear a surface
• Lay out your chosen fabric
• Measure and cut a strip approx. 55(L) x 11(W) cm
• Fold 1cm of the fabric each side and iron flat
• Fold the ends in and in again, leave an overlap

  

STEPS 6-10

• Take another piece of fabric (contrasting pattern is good)
• Measure and cut a strip approx. 38(L) x 6(W) cm
• Fold 1cm of the fabric each side and iron flat
• Fold ends in and in again, no need for overlap
• Lay the smaller piece on top of the larger piece

 

STEPS 11-15

• Hold the fabric and pleat, secure with pipe cleaner
• Cut a small piece of fabric for the centrepiece
• Turn the bow over and glue at the back
• Wrap centre fabric around the middle and glue
• Glue the grip to the back and leave to dry

 

Voila! One beautiful no sew hair bow!

 

Why not experiment with different fabrics and using different size strips of material to make smaller or larger bows?

Try adding an embellishment to the centre or use a fabric covered button as a centrepiece.

And why stop there? Fabric bows can be used for a variety of purposes - check out my alternative bow tie necklace!

I hope you found this tutorial useful and it inspires you to make your own no sew fabric hair bows. If you do please post a picture of your finished crafts on my Facebook page.

However, if you don’t want to invest in the tools or you simply don’t have the patience, you can always buy one of my bows and tell everyone you made it!


COMPETITION TIME!

To win one of my rockabilly hair bows just follow the instructions below. The winner will be picked at random on the evening of Friday 4th April.

1. Re-tweet or share my tutorial blog post on Facebook
2. Comment underneath my blog post with ‘pick me!’

Enjoy and good luck!

Lisa xXx