#Paperhaul April!

#Paperhaul has now been dropping through my letter box for 4 months and I absolutely love it! This months theme is balloons and it has totally outdone any previous favourites- I love this box!

Below are images of the unique stationery I received in this months #Paperhaul Box, 

You get 2 papers with a print on each side. This month the prints are hard to chose from!

Paperhaul January!

First things first, this month I have no idea what the theme is so im going to go with random. To me it's a totally random box of papery goodness and I adore it! There seems to be more this month which pleases me and I know it'll please other subscribers who felt the first box could've been full of a few more goodies.

First of all I will show you this lovely polka dot washi tape. I love the colour and can't wait to tape my happy mail envelopes up with it. I know lots of my pen pals will love it and it's very me!

Some more great postcards this month (more than last month!)

New scrap papers which are perfect for the new scrap book I purchased recently. My favourite sides are the ones in my first photo!

Some more cards ideal for popping into the post for those occasions but even better for those 'thinking of you' kind of moments that make people smile when they grab the post from the doormat.

Printed tags that are great for present labels, popping into cards with little messages on, sending as gifts with your happy mail or even using for scrap booking. These aren't my favourite items in the box but I know they'll be used.

You can't have a stationery box without stickers!

I'm looking forward to Februarys Paperhaul box even more now! I really do think these boxes will get better and better. If I missed a really obvious theme please let me know! As with the last review, I must point out I do pay for these boxes myself but I do get a reduction in the price as a Paperhaul Blogger. Let me know what you think of this months box in the comments below (or tweet me!)

Cupcake Mumma

A Bargain of a Day!

I visited Truro a couple of days ago with my sister. I went primarily to get a few bits for the Halloween party I'm really looking forward to treating my 2 and their cousins to. I hope they like my bunting and tinsel! All of the above was from Poundland so no where too exciting but for once I was with someone who didn't mind doing a bit of good old charity shop 'scavenger hunting.'
I'd like to show you some really pleasing finds.

First of all I bought this fab mug which my sister spotted. This was in the Cancer Research shop and although it wasn't second hand the money still goes to a good cause right? This was £6 and is a totally cool mug. It's made like those Starbucks coffee cups. The top is silicon and has a plastic covering. I had my first hot chocolate in this last night and it retains heat so well I'm going to need a knitted mug warmer so I don't burn my hands! I love it though, very CupcakeMumma!

My second find was from a box containing a few fabric scraps and old dolls clothes from a lady in the market. I found this very cute little handmade cushion. I'm not usually one for nautical themes and to be honest, I'm not sure where it'll fit in but because I love it I know I'll find a home for it.

A beauty one here. Poking about Superdrug waiting for my sister to decide between two different types of stick on eyelashes (she bought both in the end in case you're interested) I found a little box of polishes and trashed make up. I don't wear make up and the varnish colours where fairly ugly. However, amongst the brown varnishes I found this top coat polish which we all know can be very handy. As it was 99p I thought I'd better not miss out on it!

 How cool is this cupcake? The perfect finishing touch to my kitchen decorations I thought. I've placed it on my windowsill and as you can see it's also a handy little box. I don't think ill use it for anything but maybe a few stray 5p's will find their way in? 

I love bunting. No. I adore bunting! And this is roughly 2 metres for £2.50 from the same lovely old lady at the local market. I love the colour and already have a place in mind. It does have some letters sewn on so I'll unpick them and give it a good iron before pinning it up on my desired spot.

Finally, a couple of very retro and very cool postcards for my collection. I've decided to get some of my favourites (these included) out of my tin and put them in photo frames to display around the house. Watch this space!

I had a great day and am up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to jump in a rather cramped and full to the brim car with my sister and our parents for a 6 hour trip to Keele University. I'm hoping we'll be doing a bit of walking about before coming back to good old Cornwall, I don't escape very often after all! I've packed lunch and baked some cupcakes for the journey so all that's left is to hope the roads and the weather are kind (and I don't get too travel sick sat in the back!)

Have a great weekend what ever you get up to.
CupcakeMumma

Adding to Collections:

As many of you know I collect postcards and have been for about a year now. I have a little tin under my bed where I keep them all safe. Some of them are picked up when I visit a new place, some are bought from the same shop as I got one before but the occasion is different and some are really, really old. 1930's old, which is amazing. Most of these are dated and have lovely small written notes to friends or loved ones on. I'm a bit of a history lover and I adore the thought of holding something that was in somebody else's hand so many years ago.

Last weekend I went off around the market and I went to my favourite stall hoping to find some good postcards from years ago. Sadly there were only 2 proper postcards. I have been known to pick up very old photos from this stall too as the old fashion, traditional photography just pulls me in along with the fashion of say a young woman or child.
Anyway, I picked up a couple of postcards costing 75p each. As you can see i'm not the hard core collector just yet. To spend nearly a fiver on a postcard it would have to be pretty special to me!

Another collection I enjoy adding to is my stamp collection. A few months ago my Mum brought over a memory box I made when I was 12/13. Inside was a little pocket of stamps I had started collecting and never carried on. Well, going around the market I came across a new stall full of postcards, medals and yes, stamps. At 25p each I thought i'd treat myself!
I'm drawn to stamps for their artwork and fine detail. This is another reason I using Postcrossing as I love seeing the stamps on the back of my newly delivered postcards from all over the world.

These are just wonderful! My favourites by far!

 On leaving the market I came across a lady selling bags of stamps. Most of the stamps have been 'stamped' during mailing which is a shame but i got rid of very little and mostly duplicates to be honest. I can still see a lot if not most of the detail on these stamps.

And what do I do with all these old stamps? Put them in a tin of course! I found the perfect one. A vintage quality street tin bearing Major Quality and Miss Sweetly. This tin doesn't have the Quality Street logo which has puzzled me a bit but I think it's wonderful nonetheless! I gave it a clean up and now it's all ready to be loved again.

Major Quality and Miss Sweetly all cleaned up

Lovely designs of the setting 

'Mackintosh's Quality Street'

 What do you collect? I'd love to know!

CupcakeMumma