Palissy Sierra pin dish

I'm not supposed to be buying anything at all at the moment, because most of our stuff is in storage until we can move into our new house.

But I really couldn't resist buying this Palissy Sierra pin dish when I spotted it for £2.50 in a charity shop in Stourbridge. The colours are lovely and autumnal. It is about 5"/13cm across, so won't take up much space.

I'm linking up with Magpie Monday at Me and My Shadow, mostly because I want to see what pre-loved treasures my fellow magpies have found recently. Also linking up with the Op-Shop Show-Off at Blackbird has Spoken.

How to find good gifts in charity shops

This vintage camera was a birthday present for my husband. It was made the same year that he was born. I bought the camera from the local Oxfam shop. 

Some people think it is a bit weird to buy secondhand presents, but I love finding gifts for people in charity shops, for the following reasons:

• you can choose something really special, rather than a standard present
• no wasteful packaging
• your money goes further
• a contribution to the charity

The trick is to buy presents when you spot them, and then stash them away until the next birthday or Christmas. 

I have even managed to find gifts for the 'hard to shop for' men in my life. The chess books shown above were for Dad. He was delighted with them.

The casserole dish shown below was a housewarming present for my youngest sister Hannah (who has recently started an excellent blog called Hannah and Her Thriftiness).

I also enjoy receiving gifts from charity shops. When I was about to go to university for the first time, my mum gathered up various pre-loved kitchenware items to get me started. The Pyrex dish shown below is still going strong 24 years later!

If you enjoyed reading this, you might also like how to find good stuff in charity shops.

Linking up with this week's Magpie Monday at Me and My Shadow, The Op-Shop Show-Off at Blackbird Has Spoken and The Nifty Thrifty at A Living Space.

Magpie Monday - Heals fabric

I was delighted to find this lovely retro Heals 'Summer Glory' cotton barkcloth fabric on eBay.

The piece I bought is 45" wide and 30" long (though there is weaving knot at 24" which was explained by the seller before I bought it). My current plan is to make a dust cover for my sewing machine with this fabric, and then use whatever is left for a pencil case and other small items.

Linking up with Magpie Monday at Me and My Shadow.