flea market finds

I've been finding quite a few goodies at my local market recently. This lovely little West German vase was hidden in a box of loose crockery and I took it home for one dollar, chanceux, oui? 

Most of the new things I have found have been destined for ebay (a nice way to earn some extra pocket money and to keep myself out of trouble) but this little specimen will have a permanent home with moi. I figure that as long as I earn more than I spend then I can keep up my weekly hunting ritual without impeding on the household budget and cluttering up the house with too much 'crap'. Flipping some of my finds has also helped me turn over a lot of stuff I was sick of or that didn't 'feel right' in the house any more, making way for some cool new beauties; like rugs and paintings and other bits and pieces. Once the weather cools down a bit later in the week and I can open up the house a bit and let some light in, I'll take a few photo's of my favourite finds.

For more flea market goodness, hop on over to Her Library Adventures and say hi to Sophie.

flea market finds

I ventured out to the Wantirna Trash & Treasure market on Sunday for a spot of bargain hunting. Not the nicest market I've ever been to I must say. With so many stalls selling cheap imported plastic crap I found the going pretty rough and the bargains pretty light. I did manage to score this vintage Slades soft drink crate for $10 and some nice vintage fabric, but a lot of effort for very little reward. Also, there was not a hot jam doughnut seller to be found, which I found bitterly disappointing. After all, why else would I bother getting up at 6am on a Sunday? 

For more Flea Market Finds  and a sweet little giveaway pop over and visit the lovely Sophie at Her Library Adventures.

old pegs are good....

 

...and amusing.

One dollar at Oakleigh Rotary market on Sunday, bloody brilliant I say. They don't make pegs like these anymore, no sir, no siree!

The last packet of pegs I purchased cost me a small fortune because they were supposedly 'green' pegs. They were indeed green, but I'm wondering if the manufacturer didn't just subscribe to the 'Capt'n freakin' obvious' school of advertising and was just referring to their colour and not their eco credentials. Mr Curbside has just pointed out to me that they were quite green as they disintegrated  almost immediately upon exposure to sunlight. While I agree that a plastic peg that brakes down eventually could be considered 'green', one that brakes down immediately upon mere exposure to sunlight is not so much 'green' as just plain vampiric.

Kokeshi doll softies

I've been playing around with a pattern for Kokeshi doll softies. These two girls are cute, but I think they need some friends of different shapes and sizes to hang out with. I'm going to work on a group of five and then post the patterns for you to download. They're nice and quick to sew and use up lots of fabric scraps too. I think they're a neat little project for occupying an afternoon.

hey Summer, what's up?

In case you've all forgotten, that bright shiny stuff is called sunlight, don't worry I had to have it explained to me too. Apparently it's what happens when all the grey, wet stuff goes away..I like it, so Iv'e invited it to stay, hope you don't mind.

I was hoping to take advantage of the bright, shiny stuff to take some photo's and show you what I've been up to recently but Ada wanted to go out people watching and to show off her new 'tattoo'. I have a few inky regrets left over from the 90's and Ada is fascinated by them, so when she pulled these off the shelf of a local $2 shop I couldn't resist the opportunity for a bit of bad parenting. I only wish peel and rub tattoos were this cool when I was a kid.

kill your television

Yesterday our TV died. "Accidentally drowned during routine toddler cleaning" is what I'm guessing the coroners report will say.

I have never contemplated motherhood without a TV before, an embarrassing admission I know, but the truth. For the last year,  particularly since Freddy was born, the television has been an almost constant source of background noise, distraction and entertainment. Without the TV on I wouldn't have been able to get a single thing done....or so I thought?

I'm halfway through day one and the house is clean (relatively), we've painted pictures, made fairy wands, built a house from duplo, smashed a house from duplo, had showers, gotten dressed, washed the breakfast dishes, made the beds, sewed a doll, read some books, cooked lunch, washed the lunch dishes and now both the kids are down for naps. Nothing too out of the ordinary productivity wise, but all without a single melt down and my sanity intact. Our first TV free day has, so far been pleasant and productive. I'm beginning to wonder if television really is the pixelated Mary Poppins I always thought her to be?

With an epic number of big expenses on the cards for the first half of 2011, it's going to be six months before we can afford a replacement. Six months without a television leaves me with the burning question, 'what would Mary Poppins do?'

Hello again friends, oh and a Crochet Doily Lamp Shade DIY as well.

Hey kids, whats news? Iv'e been laying low at rancho relaxo, just hanging out with the hubby and kids and making stuff, catching up with friends and taking a quick mini break to Tassie for NYE. I thought I would ease back into blogland and join in with Pip's Make it Monday shenanigans.

I first posted this Doily Lampshade DIY at the start of 2010, as one of my first blog posts and my first attempt at writting a DIY it was a bit rough, so I thought I would give it a bit of a makeover and a re-write before doilys become completely passe (if they're not already).

You will need:

- a plain white lampshade.
- a selection of old crochet doily's.
- some spray adhesive.
- newspaper.

Step 1, Clean your shade of any dust and lint.

Step 2, Lay your chosen doily's out on some newspaper and spray generously with spray adhesive, leave for around 10 minutes until the glue gets 'tacky'.

Step 3, Carefully place the doily's on to your shade (sticky side down), pressing them down firmly as you go. Leave to dry overnight and............

.......Viola, an easy peasy and super pretty doily lampshade!

For more fabulous DIY's pop over to see Pip at Meet Me at Mikes for Make It Monday!

x