Mabel Gets A New Dress and 3 HATS !

It all began in a dark little second hand store.

'CLOSING DOWN' said the sign

'For Sale, everything must go'.

Who could resist ?

There were racks of clothes, stacks of doilies, old (smelly) shoes and a tub of old vintage purses and scarves.

and when I walked into the back of the store I saw them !!!!!

A quaint old fireplace stood inside a cavity of a wall and a row of the prettiest vintage hats stood there in all of their glory looking at me !

I swear they were smiling when they saw me (yes the hats !)

It was one of those moments where lightening strikes, cymbals clang and your heart races with excitement.

They may as well have had my name flashing above them.

and of course my dearest 'Mabel' came to my mind.

(Mabel is my old rusty dress form)

I pictured her at home in my studio wearing an old shabby pink vintage tulle skirt with a little tear in it.

I knew that this these new hats would be perfect for her (even though she doesn't have a head !!!!!!  frown )

Next thing I saw an old vintage white tulle skirt on a cheap rack for a couple of dollars.

It was perfect Mabel attire on a shoestring budget.

So out I walked with 3 new hats and a new skirt for her !

When I showed Mabel, her new things she almost squealed with excitement (well she would have if she were a real vintage person !)

PINK, WHITE AND BLUE HATS for her to wear on her.............aaahhhhhhhh..........Uuuuuum   Waist ?......Collar ?

Pretend head ?

Oh well, Mabel and I will have to sort that little problem out for ourselves........

Do you like her parasol ?

It's from the 60's

It does well to protect her rusty old bones from the sun

The more I looked at her dressed up the more something appeared to be missing. She needed just a bit of ooomph !

So out came the pink feather boa

and then Mabel really kicked up her (invisible)feet.

Anyone would think that she was hitting the town she was sooo excited !

                 A pair of dainty pink gloves completed her look

                   As pretty as a picture is my sweet girl Mabel

So that is my story about Mabel and her new dress and three hats.
I hope that you liked it.
Maybe you even giggled.
Maybe you might think I am a little crazy
But I definitely keep myself entertained in my little make believe world.  

I was going to introduce you to Mabel's new friend Ettie tonight but I am honestly tired and ready for bed so she will have to wait until another day.  I can assure you that she will be just as out there and zany as Mabel though..........but one little secret about Ettie.
SHE LOOOOOVES the colour blue.
and you can imagine that I am going to make her as pretty as a picture too !

             HAVE A GLORIOUS FUN FILLED WEEKEND !

From The Dressing Table Of Mayflowers Vintage Florist

'Yes.......a dressing table in a florist store !'

Well you already know that I never quite fit the conventional 'anything' really.......

and you know that I have started this business of mine on a shoe string. I have literally used anything that I had lying around to deck out my new digs ! lol

and THAT means that anything at all goes !

Storage is the number one issue in anyone's office.

We all need a junk draw to hide away ugly looking office supplies to tidy things up and we all need display areas to show off our goods for sale.

Well, I think that my old dressing table fit the bill quite nicely.

My wires, boxes and scrappy ends of ribbon are all hiding in these draws and on the top of the dressing table you'll find the display items.

It was a perfect for for my vintage theme and solved a whole host of storage issues, it was cheap as I didn't have to outlay money for a new cupboard and I think it looks delightful :-)

                          Here are a few pics of what I have on display !

 

Do you love the old vintage umbrella that I found on my flea marketing travels !

Yes I know that some of you will flip out at the umbrella being up inside, but I am not really all that superticious so it doesn't really bother me.  I would rather see it open and looking pretty rather then  having it closed up and unseen.

My favourite thing about the dressing table is that I have somewhere to hang my antique greeting cards that I adore so much.  I have them strung up on lace tied from each corner of the mirror and now I can enjoy them as I work. 

 and my new friend 'Mabel' looks perfect in the setting too !
(you can read about Mabel in the post above this one so simply scroll up !)

 You honestly didn't think that I would show you the mess inside the drawers did you ! lol
                                              NO WAY !...........cheeky smile

 So the moral to this story is to simply step outside the square when it comes to decorating either a room inside your home, or office.
There must be items around you that can be re purposed into something useful rather then going out and buying 'more stuff' to clog up the world with.

Old furniture and wares were built to last where as new things today are not built to last at all.  Use your creativity and at the same time you will leave a softer footprint on this world of ours and keep it cleaner for our children to use long after we are gone.
 

Meet My New Friend Mabel.......She Is A Dress Form !

Meet the newest member of the

 MAYFLOWERS VINTAGE FLORIST team.

Her name is 'Mabel' and she is a rusty old dress form from an old country town dress store.

Mabel's job description is to stand there and look pretty.

She must work long hours, not complain and to model any new designs that I create.

She can be hired out for weddings or other function as required. I think she would look fab standing at the doorway to an event welcoming the guests.

She is a little rusty but aged to perfection. 

She is around the age of 70 so is ageing quite gracefully really. She has a friend by the name of 'Ettie' who will be joining her soon as these sisters are (and were) quite close and should never be parted. Ettie seems to have lost her legs (OOps I meant stand) but I am sure that a table will do suffice for her for the moment.

Why the names ?

.......Mabel and Ettie were my Aunty and Grandmother who left this world a little while ago but had a lot to do with my love of flowers. It seems only right that these 2 special girls of mine should be represented in this only fitting way.

They will be dressed up and covered in flowers and will always look lovely as my 2 old girls always did.

My Aunty May had quite the love of sewing lace on all of her dresses and my Grandmother never left the house without powder on her nose or a dab of perfume behind her ear.

These 2 wire dress forms 'Mabel and Ettie' certainly have big shoes to fill...........high heeled ones to be exact !

I am sure that much fun will be had with these new 'toys' of mine. (Ettie will join her sister very soon)

This vintage peach coloured tulle petticoat has been in my cupboard for years waiting for the right 'thing' to use it on. 

Now it will cover Mabel's wire frame.

 A lovely old piece of Victorian lace serves as a scarf to keep her neck warm in this cold weather.

 A happy snap of some of my roses in stock at the moment :-)

 I have BIG plans for these dress forms and I can barely wait to get started on them.