Two Stratton compacts...and the start of another collection.

Well, if you thought my mum was an old doll at 90, my brother-in-law's mum can beat that at the grand old age of 94. Her birthday was the day after my mum's 90th.  My mum and his mum now live in the same care home. Last year we had to clear my mum's flat to sell and this year he's been doing the same with his mum's house. It's not much fun.
So when I was over in England recently my sister and brother-in-law gave me two vintage Stratton compacts that had belonged to his mum and I think they are lovely.

My mum's generation would have used a powder compact whereas now we prefer to use foundation.
In those days it was Max Factor Creme Puff.  I saw my mum powdering her face on her 90th birthday, although she doesn't bother much with make-up nowadays.
I remember her rouge as it fascinated me when I was young. It was Bourjois, in a little round cardboard box and I think it had blue and white fancy writing.  You can still buy Bourjois but the packaging is nowhere near as nice.
Her lipstick was always bright red!
I cleaned up my Stratton compacts and I've put them on the pine chest in the spare bedroom.
I call it 'the old fashioned room' because that's how it looks.

 I seem to be making a vase collection. The green glass vase belonged to my mother-in-law.

The vase with the pansies was my Grandmother's.

The glass vase in the background is hand-painted with orange rose buds and was a birthday gift from one of my son's. 

It came from Past Times. I used to love everything in that shop, no longer there, on Belfast's Fountain Lane.

                                   This cheeky papier mache bird was a present from my mum.

Inside are two painted eggs.

                               Here's another glass vase and I love it. It was also my Grandmother's.

There's a box of old family postcards that I've been collecting for years. 

I can't bear to part with any of them.

           Reflected in the compact mirror you can just make out a shelf that houses another collection.

  This shelf came from one of my Auntie's, it's from the 70's I'd say. 

On it I've got a collection of birds, they're mostly Hummel, and there are a few Wade animals. 

              Now I've inherited the Stratton compacts I can feel another collection coming on!