a flea market find

Ada is into Super Heroes. I'm not sure how this came about because it's not something Andrew or I talk about and she's never watched commercial television (we like to avoid ads). But, somewhere in her short little life she has developed a fondness for Batman and Superman. I was particularly tickled to find this 1960's Batman poster from the market on the weekend for a very tiny sum. It's quite large (110cm x 90cm) and a bit banged up and has been pinned on a wall for the last 40+ years but it has loads of character, is beautifully screen printed and has a real pop art vibe with all the shading made up of lots of tiny dots. Iv'e had to undertake a bit of minor restoration and will probably need to get it linen backed if I want it to last but I think it's a worthy cause. the only problem now is that I want it in the living room and Ada wants it in her bedroom.....hmmm

For more adventures in thrifting pop over to Her Library Adventures.

my creative space

I don't have a lot of available mental space for writing this week. Freddy is cutting four teeth at once, bringing the sum total to TWELVE (that's a lot of teeth for a one year old) and sleep is being taken in short hour and a half bursts (torture).  Beside catching up on a mountain of folding (worst job in the world) I have managed to sit down and start making some Christmas gifts. These are miniature rag rugs in the making. I'm thinking they will make fabulous coasters, but they also might look good as a crafty tree decoration, no? They really are quick and simple to make and they use up lot's of sewing room scraps so they're a bit of a favourite in my house at the moment.

When I get my mojo back I'll write up a quick tutorial........this would be good, yes?

For more creative spaces pop over to Kootoyoo for a squiz.

flea market finds

My grandparents had chairs like these when I was a kid. They sat in my grandfathers wood turning shed covered in sawdust and then every Christmas they would be hauled out and dusted off, ready for a hoard of bums to plant themselves and gorge on the once a year feast. I remember they smelt strongly of timber and wood putty and you always ended up with little bits of sawdust sticking to the backs of your legs or getting caught in your spaghetti sandals.

For more flea market finds pop over to visit Sophie at Her Library Adventures.

On a slightly different note, Freddy's party was a smashing success (if you can judge the success of a kids party by the amount of chocolate crackles squished into the carpet). Thanks for all your your well wishes! 

My Darling Boy

It's Freddy's first birthday tomorrow and we're throwing him a big party with lots of friends and family to celebrate. I'm a bit flat out today, I have to make a big cake (and the toilet still needs cleaning) but I think I might actually be organised for a change. I've been preparing all week and we've had lots of fun making the decorations, the hard part will be bringing it all together tomorrow morning......

for more Animation Friday fun pop over to My Poppet.

I finally got around to posting a picture of the bolster cushion I made for our bed on the weekend. Bad light in the bedroom made it impossible to photograph on the actual bed so here it is on the couch. It looks much spiffier nestled amongst a pile of pillows with yellow, white and brown, vintage pillow cases but those are the breaks. 

I've been flat out the last couple of days preparing for Freddy's first birthday party this weekend. Party bags, games, cakes, food and decorations require quite a bit of work when your trying to do it on the cheap and your not sure how many people are actually coming. Numbers for first birthday party's are not usually a big deal, except when you married the youngest of 14, then it's a HUGE problem.

Unknown quantities aside, I'm really looking forward to celebrating my little guy's first year. 

how very velvet

almost done...............

Just a few more things to do and my big fat olive green cushion will be complete. Its nice to finish things, it happens so rarely in my house. Hopefully, if the light is good tomorrow I can take a reasonable picture. I might even get a couple of flea market finds photographed, I had some good scores this week and I'm itching for a bit of 'show and tell'.

oh so long......

I finally bought myself an overlocker a couple of weeks ago. A nice vintage Janomelock I found on ebay, in excellent condition except for a missing power cable and foot peddle. After a bit of ringing around I found a repair man who thought he might have one 'in a box somewhere'. After a couple of days searching (and a couple of days in the post) the cables finally arrived yesterday and, with the help of Cintia and her sewing machine know how, I've been over-locking myself silly ever since.

First off the rank were a couple of sewing machine covers, then I tackled a dress alteration for Ada and I'm currently in the middle of some new cushions for the couch, olive green velvet with hot pick buttons...tre sexy, yes? 

There really is nothing quite like having a new toy.

my creative space

I thought I would drag out the water colours and indulge in a little video game fun. Tetris is not exactly fine art, but it has given me an idea for a quilt for Freddy's room..........not that I have time to quilt.

for more more creative spaces pop over to kootoyoo

the toy apocalypse

I'm doing battle against an invading army of toys at the moment. blocks, trains, dolls and dress up's have successfully found their way into every room in the house and I can't take a step without tripping over a toy pram or treading on a wooden block. I feel overwhelmed already but with Freddy's first birthday just a couple of weeks away I fear this toy army may just swell ranks enough to make a successful takeover bid. 

In a desperate attempt to survive the coming toy apocalypse I have begun pre-emptive strikes, throwing anything currently not being played with, nor likely to be played with into plastic bags and sending them down to the local Op shop. I've also taken the opportunity to address the toy storage issue and sorted all the kids toys into old suitcases, they look cute, are super easy to lug around and keep everything well and truly contained. I'm thinking of adding a few picture labels to the suitcase handles to help the kids with putting away their own toys. Imagine that, kids that picked up after themselves, they might even teach their Dad.

Video: Warpaint, "Elephants"

Hey Look! we've got a new 'do'!

Stella from The Golden Adventures of.....a very dark horse has gone and put her exceptionally talented pen to paper and illustrated the new curbside style blog header. I've always wanted the blog header to be more artistic and indicative of the blog and I think Stella's illustration really captures the spirit of curbside style.  Stella's beautiful illustrations can be found adorning lot's of lovely stationary over at Frank & Dean's  illustationary shop, the cottage industry she runs with her sister Rosa-May. I'm especially fond of the A Message to April postcard set and the Birthday Calendar, but you should also check out both ladies awesome custom (that's right 'custom) illustrations. These girls create absolutely beautiful illustrations and they are so reasonably priced it would make a fabulous gift idea.

a message to April postcard

pages from the Frank & Dean birthday calendar

All images belong to Stella Rutherford and Rosa-May Rutherford.

All works can be purchased through Frank & Dean.