flea market finds

For the first time in weeks I actually had a couple of good oppy finds. A little teak bust and a cool 1970's plastic globe that will replace the one the kids destroyed last week. Wooden sculpture, mid century primitive art and globes are some of my favourite things to hunt for when I'm scouring op shops or markets. I admit that the demand for globes adds to the excitement. Their scarcity and desirability adds to the appeal, you feel a bit like you've struck vintage gold when you snag a good one.

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

Raining on the Festival of Lights

Image from here

Image from here

Image from here

Image from here

 Image from here
 

We were meant to head into Federation Square with some friends of Mr Curbside to join in on the Diwali festivities today. Food, music, dancing and lots of childrens entertainment had us all pumped for a really exciting family day out, but alas the rain came down and with it our chance to celebrate the Hindu new year with some Indian friends. So, in lieu of all the fabulous photos I'm sure I would have taken to share with you today, here are a bunch of Diwali pic's from Flickr. 

animation friday....

I'm running a bit late today, thankfully I had some coloured card stock and paper doily's on hand or I would have been without subject matter or indeed a blog post.

For more animation Friday fun and a quick and easy tutorial, pop on over the the My Poppet blog.

Le vagabond

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, author of The Vagabond

I'm on a bit of a book bender this week. Our order of books has arrived from the Book Depository and I'm sinking my teeth into The Vagabond by Colette. Celebrating it's hundredth year, this classic novel is so rich in period detail it's like jumping in a time machine and finding yourself in Paris with a glass of absinthe in one hand and a Gitane (Frenchy cigarette) in the other, smack bang in the middle of les Années Folles or 'The Crazy Years'. Loosely based on the experiences of the author, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette.The Vagabond tells the story of 33 year old Renee Nere - a once renowned author who divorces her wealthy, philandering husband and makes her own way as a vaudeville performer in the Dance Halls of Paris circa 1910.

"Beneath the greenish gas, my street at this hour is a creamy mess of burnt almond, mocha brown, and caramel yellow, a desert that has caved in and melted, with the nougat of the building stones floating on top."

yummy.........

Now imagine what her apartment might have looked like? 

I came across this story a couple of months ago. A Paris apartment lays untouched for more than 70 years. Originally owned by actress Marthe de Florian and later lived in by her granddaughter, the apartment is closed up just before the start of the second world war when the owner moved to the south of France. The apartment remained unopened until her death in June this year. When the estate auctioneers were brought in to catalog the place, this is what they found.

Louis Chairs, oriental rugs, gilt mirrors, hand screened wallpapers.....gasp

Look at all those paintings and the tableware

Micky Mouse, Embroidered Silk and a taxidermy Ostrich, brilliant!

and the painting of Marthe de Florian by Giovani Boldini that originally caused all the fuss. This painting recently sold for $2.9 million.

I hope that they don't sell this apartment or doing anything to it. I would love to be able to go and see it for myself. I wonder if the French have a National Trust? For now though, I will have to let Colette guide my imagination.

Sing it Sister......

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Didn't It Rain

five books I wish I had never read and five books I wish I had read instead.

image from here

Sometimes spring cleaning forces you to have a good hard look at yourself, or in this case, my reading material. In preparation for a wave of new books due to arrive from The Book Depository in the UK (Mr Curbside has been on a bit of a bender) we've been cleaning out the bookshelves and doing a bit of 'library editing'. Deciding what stays and what goes is usually quite difficult, but this time the job was made much simpler because some truly awful crap had made it's way into my personal collection. Now I must point out that not all of these books were purchased by me and that not all were read in their entirety, this is important because I don't want their inclusion to be considered a reflection of my personal taste, ehem.......

so here goes, the FIVE worst books I have read or almost read and five books I wish I had read instead.

Number 1, The Bride Striped Bare by 'Anonymous', I'll admit to getting caught up in the hype of this book. Described as "telling shocking truths about love and sex" and being "so deeply private" that "I did not want my name attached to it". This book was supposed to be a very personal account of a relationship, but turned out to be a brilliantly marketed, poorly written, gratuitous 'diary' of a very sad woman with poor impulse control. Not worth the $24.95 I paid for it and definitely not worth the time spent reading it.
Book I should have read instead, Perfume, The Story of a Murder by Patrick Suskind

Number 2, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. This book started off well enough, I'll even admit to enjoying it and getting caught up in the whole conspiracy theory thing but somewhere in the middle it just degenerated into an Indiana Jones type farce and I lost interest. Disappointing because it started off so well and thus the let down was all the greater.
Book I should have read instead, The Road by Cormac McCarthy


Number 3, The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, I'm Including all four books as one entry because they are barley distinguishable and frankly would have taken up 4 of the five entries because I truly regret reading them all. I could probably write a very long winded thesis about the many ways that this series of books corrodes the very fabric of society. A series that parades itself as a big, juicy, forbidden love apple is actually a reeking pile of submissiveness, self destruction and apathy. Never have I met a central character I have loathed more than the insipid 'Bella'. Also any author who calls a character 'Renesmee' should have their pen license removed.
Book I should have read instead, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel by Susanna Clark

Number 4, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, (I did not buy this, it was a gift and I have not read it all).  I am an atheist so I was never going open this book with an un-biased mind. I was however incredibly curious about the philosophy this book was selling. The power of positive thought is a nice and harmless idea, but the idea that you can have everything you want just by thinking positively is dangerous, idiotic and un-true. Rhonda Byrne would have more credibility if she sold snake oil as a cure for cancer in-front of a children's hospital.
Book I should have read instead, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Number 5, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. This one just didn't do it for me. I got about half way through, put it down and couldn't spare the energy to pick it up again.
Book I should have read instead, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

What do you think of my 'list o' regret'? Do you have any books you really wish you had never picked up?

and the winner is............

comment number 33!

Congratulations Bek of Beards Foxes Fires I hope you enjoy your new blanket, bag and bees wax candle. Bek if you can email me with your address I will shoot your parcel off asap. 

Thanks to everyone who entered, it was lovely to get such a great response, I'm really enjoying all the new comments on the blog.

flea market finds of the year!

Ghetto Blaster

Beach Umbrella

Wicker Saucer Chair

Woolly Blankets

Crocodile Suitcase and Bally Shoes 

Vintage Linen 

Sophie from Her Library Adventures is hosting Flea Market Finds of THE YEAR! today, whoohoo! I love an opportunity to brag and since I'm nursing a mean Szechuan hangover from a night out full of good folks, good food and some awesome live music, I thought I would just show you a bunch of photos of my favourites so far.

The first half of the year provided a bumper flea market harvest but recent  weeks are proving less than satisfying. I haven't had a truly brilliant score for a while and I'm suffering what might be described as 'crap withdrawals'. I took Ada out for lunch today and we hit two different markets and I didn't see a single thing that I wanted. This melancholic behaviour is not like me at all, could it be that I am becoming more....dare I say it......'discerning'? Probably not.

Don't forget to enter my BLOGTOBER GIVEAWAY, last chance as I will be drawing that sucker tomorrow!

Animation Friday - how did I forget about you?

I found this old library card file at a garage sale about 5 years ago and that's about how long it's been sitting in my shed full of redundant CD's. I hadn't given it a second thought until I came across this before and after over at Design Sponge. My little file is not so large nor so glamorous, but it is really cute and it does deserve better than being hidden away in an old shed stuffed with 80's power ballads and more 90's 'grunge' than any self respecting individual should own up to.

For more animation Friday and a quick and easy tutorial pop on over to My Poppet.

Huh, what happend?

Im not sure what happened yesterday, but it appears I missed a blog post....whoops!

I spent day with Cintia making knitting needle bangles ( it was like cooking rainbow spaghetti) and eating coconut bundt cake. Cintia has a new 50mm camera lens and wandered around the house snapping little vignettes like a vintage paparazzo, which is good because otherwise I would have absolutely nothing to show you today!

I can only get a couple of the pictures to load for some reason so you'll just have to be happy with some rosemaling folk art plates and a ball of string, don't say I never give you anything!

Speaking of giving stuff away, don't forget to enter my Blogertoberfest giveaway! I'm going to draw it on Monday the 25th of October to you have 4 days left to get yourself some goodies.

That's it for me today, I've got an hour before I need to pick Ada up from Crèche and there are three new magazines sitting on my bedside table that have yet to have there glossy pages soiled, hello Real Living, Frankie and Vogue Living. With the weather so deliciously warm and fuzzy I'm going to perch myself under the apple trees in the back yard with Freddy and a cup of tea and get my mag fix for the month.

peace out fellow clutter hounds. 

smartie pants

Ada and I re-discovered' this old Smarties ad in a 1951 copy of Woman's Day magazine today. We were cutting it up to make some paper bunting for a coming birthday when Ada spied the delightful ad for 'lovely lollies' as the young miss called it. I say 're-discovered' because I had glimpsed it a year ago while undertaking the exact same activity and then completely forgot about it. I love coming across  full page ads in vintage magazines.It's lovely to look at products from a time when a less cynical philosophy to advertising was used and when pen and ink ruled to the page. I know Madmen probably makes my comment about mid century advertising being 'less cynical' seem ridiculous but compared to the way mass advertising works now, they were amateurs and this stuff is therefore lovely and even mildly innocent.

not all Step Mothers are evil.........

some make you delicious passion fruit  sponges for your birthday, with pots of hot tea. They even take your kids for walks to feed the chooks, while you doze in front of the wood fire with your pants un-buttoned and a small dog licks cake crumbs from your cheek. Some Step Mothers are AWESOME!

flea market finds

The Op Shoppe game has been a bit patchy in my neck of the woods recently with little on the homewares front. However, I did manage to pick up this adorable Indian block print vest and pretty spotty skirt. I bought the same skirt for Ada in a size 1 when I first found out I was pregnant about 4 years ago from Cotton On. The sizing is quite large and she was able to wear it for a while. I was sad when she grew and it had to find a new home, But here it is again, just in time for summer. The vest is going to look great over a white t-shirt with some jeans and sandals. I'm lucky Ada still lets me dress her, I know it wont last so I'm taking every opportunity to play dress ups while I can. For more Flea Market Finds, pop over to Sophie at Her Library Adventures.

Sufjan Stevens ❝ Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing ❞

 

This is what I'm listening to today. The video clip is really beautiful.

Animation Friday - Cubby House fun

Since the weather has taken a decidedly Wintry turn today, we set up this table tent I made for the kids a few months ago as part of Stash Busting April. Full of cushions, blankets, torches and books, I haven't heard a peep all afternoon. For more Animation Friday fun and a quick and easy tutorial pop over and visit Ms Cinti.

makin' stuff

After having a go at this tutorial and realizing that a bow cuff gave the wrist equivalent of a cankle, I decided to play around and make some brooches and hair clips instead. I have quite a bit of leather stashed away and have been waiting for a project to come along that was quick and easy. The leather make a great bow and holds it's shape really well. I'm practising with a couple of different styles of bow and thickness of leather in the hope of making a really big foppish bow that looks all creased but holds its shape like a moulded leather. So far I've managed to make about 20.  Maybe I should hock them on etsy, or am I the only one who thinks they look cool ( it wouldn't be the first time).

Self Portrait Thursday.......Eeek!

if I look a little pensive it's because I'm staring at a mountain of washing so high there is snow at the summit...actually, that's where that bra got to!

lamps lamps everywhere, nor any light to switch!

I wanted to re-wire these lamp myself and was told that you could buy the kits from that insidious hell hole of a hardware chain, let's call it 'Cunnings'. After braving the 'Cunnings' car park, being reversed into by a trailer driven by an 'L' plater and beating the aisles for an eternity looking for a staff member to help me I was finally informed that 'Cunnings' no longer stock lamp re-wiring kits and they had 'just sold the last one actually', DAMN IT! Now I have to either find the kits somewhere else (so far no luck) or decide if I really need 5 pretty but non functioning lamp bases. Has anyone else re-wired their own lamp? Surely it can't be that hard? Mr 'No more crap in the house , thanks' want's me to send them to heaven, but I am not yet prepared to let go. 

p,s The big blue and brown lamp is by Australian pottery house Ellis and has a matching ashtray, AWESOME TOWN!

Falling Garden by Gerda Steiner and Jorg Lenzlinger

I found this AMAZING installation by Gerda Steiner and Jorg Lenzlinger via Pinterest, clicked on the link and it took me to The Jealous Curator and fantastic contemporary art blog. A double whammy of awesomeness.

Sundays are for Lovin', not blogin'

so here are three crafty links Iv'e been trying, should keep those idle hands busy.

Leather Bow cuffs tutorial from 100 Layer Cake

Friendship Necklace tutorial from Honestly WTF 

Fabric Pumpkin tutorial from Thompson Family Life

x

High Tea and Champagne

Today is my birthday and I spent the afternoon celebrating with group of girlfriends. High tea and champagne at a fancy hotel is a very nice way to while away a sunny spring afternoon. Petit fours, macaroons, club sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, cakes, creme brulee, waffles, chocolate dipped strawberries, sorbet, biscuits.....I could go on.

 I came home with armfuls of flowers, a ticket to see these guys, a sugar high and a very fuzzy head from all the champagne. Mr 'do we really need more crap in the house' was very obliging and after looking after the kids all day even managed to cook me a very lovely dinner. Tomorrow I will hit a couple of markets in search of a pair of teak and ceramic table lamps but for now, I'm off to bed.

If your new to my blog then a big hello! The Junkettes have swelled ranks considerably over the last week, it's a bit exciting to share finds with so many like minded individuals! I'll try to get around and visit all of your blogs and say hi over the next week or so.

Enjoy your Sunday, Where ever you are.

x

Best Coast "When I'm With You"

 

This is my first lazy arsed post, I can't seem to get it together tonight so enjoy a bit of Best Coast, definitely the album to listen to this summer. 

On another unrelated but mildly amusing note my 3 year old has learnt to draw boobs, my boobs apparently, bless. Not sure exactly how I'm going to explain that one at kinder next week but.....

Dear Mrs Sibbert

There's not a lot going on upstairs today due to a serious case of sleep deprivation so I thought I would just show you a very lovely letter a kid named Thomas wrote to a lady called Mrs Sibbert. From a time when a boy could call his friends 'boy friends' and kids still played 'Cowboys and Indians'. Found in a big box of inherited Golden Books by Ada, she has made me read it to her a dozen times already.

I wonder what fires Thomas was talking about, Ash Wednesday perhaps?

Back tomorrow, hopefully with a tail of adventure (of the vintage fabric variety). Ms Cinti might be taking me to vistit her vintage fabric 'dealer', bless her :)

Keep on truckin', if your that way inclined.

x

Castle & Things

See that sexy yellow velvet pillowcase, I just got me a pair for my birthday! Thanks Ma and Pa for asking me what I wanted this year and being ever so obliging :)

Castle bed linen is my new obsession. I'm am head over heals with Rachel Castle's paired back style, sumptuous fabrics and bright shots of colour. I figure I can add bit by bit and the sheets and velvet pillows will mix and match nicely with my vintage linen. I can't wait for my new pillowcases to arrive so I can start throwing them around the room to see where they look best. Maybe I should get the grey ones too, and maybe a confetti garland. 

Tea Cup Candle Tutorial

Here's the tea cup candle tutorial I promised.

You will need

lump of Bees wax (the melted volume can be difficult to gauge as wax is usually sold by weight but it should 'look' like it would fill your required number of tea cups)

wicks (pre primed and with aluminium bases can be purchased from ebay for $3.00 for 25) You can also purchase 'un-primed' wicking* from craft stores). As a rule, the thicker the wick, the better it will burn with Bees wax. 

tea cups

wick holders ( icecream sticks with small holes drilled in them, also purchased from ebay $2.00 for 20)

double boiler (I used one BIG saucepan for my water bath and two smaller ones for my wax)

metal tea strainer

candy thermometer

baking tray

Before you get started:

Make sure you have everything you will need laid out (once you get started pouring you have to move quickly)

Have your oven pre warmed and set at 50 degrees.

Ensure your tea cups are clean and without dust. Place your cups on the baking tray. If you are using pre primed wicks and wick holders place the primed wick end through the hole in the wick holder. Place the wick  into the tea cup so that the metal base sits flat on the bottom of the cup and the wick holder sits across the rim of the cup. The wick should stand up straight and without slack.

If you are using un-primed wicking,  you will need to prime it by dipping the wick in you melted wax and hanging it over a chop stick to harden. You can then cut your wick to length (about 3cm longer than the depth of the cup) and stick one end to your wick holder leaving the other end to hang in the centre of the tea cup.

you're now ready to get pouring!

The trick to making your own bees wax candles is to get the temperature of your wax correct before pouring. Ideally you should get your wax to around 77 degrees before you pour your candle. This is why we use a double boiler and a thermometer, it is a gentle way to heat your wax and reduces the risk of your wax over heating and subsequently cracking after it has been poured. Bees wax contracts quite a bit as is cools, the slower your candle cools, the less likely it is to crack!

If your using un-  refined bees wax like I did you will need to melt your wax block in the double boiler and strain the wax before you start to remove any debris. Get your wax up to 80 degrees before you strain it. I used a couple of old saucepans from the Oppy to do this, straining the wax from one directly to the other and then straight back on to the water bath.

Once your wax has been filtered and has cooled slightly to 77 degrees you can begin to pour your candle. I used a milk saucepan to pour my candles as it has a pouring lip and allows for greater control. Carefully pour you wax into the tea cup pouring close to the wick and stopping about 1cm from the lip of your cup. When you have finished pouring all of your candles, carefully transfer them to the oven and then turn the oven off. Shut the door and leave the candles overnight to set. 

Enjoy!

*Note, the pictures above are just a rough guide (taken shamelessly after the fact)! I'll update the tutorial with new step by step pic's when I get some wax and pour a new batch. :)

Blogtoberfest Bonanza!

To celebrate Blogtoberfest and my birthday I'm going to give away this cute little Curbside Style package to one lucky follower! Included is a gorgeous rainbow crochet blanket, knitted by one of the very lovely volunteers at my local oppy (I don't crochet, but love those who do), a Mexican Oilcloth tote and one of my recent endeavours a hand pored bees wax tea cup candle!

To enter, simply follow my blog and leave a comment (if you don't have a blog please include your email in the comments). I will draw a winner on Monday the 25th of October using one of those random number picker thingy's so that gives you three weeks to enter. This comp is open to everyone near and far so follow away!

x

bizzy as a bee

Made it! Phew, I thought I might not get a post in today (that would be a poor start to Blogtober wouldn't it). Iv'e been running around all day between markets, fancy shmancy dress shopping, lunch dates, dog walks and kid wrangling so many things to do and so little time to do it in. Actually, the reason I'm posting at 9.30 at night is because I bought a big lump of bees wax at the market today and I've been having a go at making some pretty tea cup candles. Super easy and lot's of fun, they appear to have turned out quite well and the house smell sooooooo good. I have amassed quite a large collection of tea cups and saucers over the years and thought this might be a way to use the ones that are chipped or without saucers etc.  I'll take some photo's tomorrow when the light is good and run a quick tutorial. Hope you've all had juicy sweet weekends too.

x

making the most of a beautiful day.

I love Spring, and not just because its my birthday. Spring makes me want to get stuff done, like cleaning the windows or clearing out the shed. Today was one of those industrious Spring days. Perfect weather gave me the chance to tick a bunch of weather dependant jobs off a very long list and it feels good. Kids playing in the yard, dog slurping the marrow from a very large bone, husband mowing the lawn and me knee deep in sheep manure and mulch. like I said, perfect!

I also managed to photograph a bunch of furniture and 'stuff' to list on Ebay. Hopefully, by this time next week there will be a LOT more room in the shed so I can finally set up the screen printing carriage I purchased from Oakleigh market six months ago (so many ideas that need realising). I'm itching to get started on some new projects,  with the warmer weather and extra daylight in these parts(hurrah for daylight saving) I may actually get some of them done!

Animation Friday and day 1 of Blogtober!

While rescuing the cat from the affections of kid two, kid one decided to help herself to a post breakfast snack of banana and ice magic, brilliant! Set against a mountain of unfolded washing and with un-brushed hair this weeks animation pretty much sums up my life at the moment. For more animation Friday fun pop over to My Poppet and check out what Ms Cinti has been up too.