Beau Flutterby Giveaway!!!

Hey everyone,

As you may know I make and sell hair accessories & jewellery. As I am feeling festive, I have decided to launch a Giveaway of one of my items.

This is a pretty White & Ivory Beaded Pearl and Rhinestone vintage~style headband that would be perfect for a 1920's themed night. It measures 20 inches in circumference and has a small elasticated section at the back for a comfortable fit. The 'flower' decoration measures 3.25 inches in diameter.

For your chance to win this headband, simply follow these three easy steps:

1. 'Like' the Beau Flutterby page on Facebook
2. 'Share' the page/competition amongst your friends
3. and finally, 'Tag' yourself in the competition photo

The competition ends midnight on Sunday 9th December and the winner will be drawn at random.

You can easily find my competition page by clicking on the following link: http://www.facebook.com/BeauFlutterby?ref=hl#!/photo.php?fbid=378926212194074&set=a.378926085527420.92137.188009367952427&type=1&theater

Good Luck!!

Claire

xXx

Birthday Treats!!!

I have recently celebrated my 30th Birthday - Happy Birthday me!! - and to be honest, turning thirty wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. This bout of good feeling and positive thinking about actually getting 'old' was surely aided by the fantastic gifts that I received.

My husband whisked me away for the week to this little log cabin in Dorset, and we were joined there by our little girl, my parents, my sister and her boyfriend. Our scruffy Jack Russell's also came along, and they are pictured in the giant dog cage to the left of the house in the top photo :-). It was a week of rest and relaxation - waking up every morning by the side of a lake that is home to ducks and rabbits, and the view from the cabin is lush green fields for miles around. Amazing - I highly recommend a stay here!!

I have always thought that once I hit 30 I would finally be classed as 'old', and to reflect this I asked for some gifts that had a little bit of age and history about them. The first gift that I received was from my parents. It is a beautiful re-worked vintage perfume bottle with embroidered floral detail and faux pearls on a gold snake chain. It is fully functioning, so you can fill the little bottle with any perfume of your choice, and even comes with a little dabber stick attached to the screw-top lid. Sooo cute.

I also had a pretty little brooch pin from my parents. I chose this more as a keepsake than something I would use, but I just love the print on the cameo and the girly bow. Items like these always make me wonder what sort of a life they had before: Who owned them? And how old are they?

Both the brooch and vintage perfume bottle were purchased at the Happy Days Artisan Market in Cowbridge, South Wales - if you're ever in the area you really need to head there as they are based in a little warehouse just off the main high street and house the most amazing collection of vintage furniture, clothing, and jewellery, as well as re-worked items and vintage-style modern pieces. It is a haven for those with a love of the good old days!!

My sister bought me a genuine 1930s dressing table set, also from the Artisan Market. It is a really beautiful 5-piece set in the most subtle shade of pale blue glass. It has pretty scalloped edging, and is in pristine condition considering how old it is. I just need a new dressing table to display it on now...

One gift that was not so much of a surprise was the Urban Decay Naked 2 eyeshadow palette as I was with my sister when she purchased this. The winning eyeshadow shade in this palette for me is verve. I also love that there are not as many dark shades in this palette as the Naked one, as I have quite deep set eyes and shy away from any dark eyeshadow's that can tend to make me look too goth-like.

And the piece de resistance.....

Four Laura Mercier Creme Brulee bath and body products - I actually squealed on opening these. Don't I just have the bestest little sister EVER!!!! I had been eyeing up this range back in January when we went on a late night spree to John  Lewis. One product would have been amazing, but to have all four is more than any girl could ask. And they smell DEVINE, literally good enough to eat. They are pure indulgence, and I absolutely cant wait to use them.... I'm just waiting for a special occasion!!

Catwel Vintage Fair ~ New House Hotel, Cardiff

The flyer advertising the Fair

Hey everyone! Today I went along to the Catwel Vintage Fair which was held at the New House Hotel in Cardiff. There were many stalls selling a wide variety of items, from authentic vintage furniture, tea sets, clothing and jewellery, to the kind of items that are of a vintage~style with a modern twist like bunting and cushions made from re-worked fabric. There was even the opportunity to have a vintage style make over, which unfortunately I didn't feel brave enough to partake in :-( But if this is something that you would be interested in, the book that the make-up artist was using as a reference was Style Me Vintage: Make Up: Easy Step-by-step Techniques for Creating Classic Looks by Katie Reynolds

I had my eye on a little vintage camera, but sadly I missed out. It was in my hands, and because I took too long to decide if I really needed it, it got snapped up by someone else the moment I placed it (albeit temporarily) back in its spot on the shelf. So, I have sorely learnt my lesson today, and my advice to anyone attending a fair like this in the future would be to buy the item that catches your eye while you have the chance!

I did pick up a little bargain, but it is not that exciting really. I purchased a vintage fabric bundle consisting of a large piece of white floral fabric, and two medium sized lace tablecloths for the bargain price of £5.00. These will form the basic covering of my craft stall in the upcoming weeks.

The only criticism I have about the fair was the sheer lack of space. A larger room was really needed as the stalls were quite close together and the room was absolutely packed with people, but maybe this is something that they will consider in the future as a result of how many people showed up today. And, normally I'm not one to be an absolute stickler for the rules, but Health & Safety would have had a field day with the amount of people struggling to balance their cups of boiling hot tea whilst battling through the crowd to the seating area outside. Point to note: The refreshment stand would have been better placed by the door!!!

But that aside,  all in all it was a really good Sunday afternoon out, made that much better because the sun has finally started to shine! :-)