Busy with Brooches...

After a year of mucking around with different designs, I am finally happy with some brooches I have made to sell in my Felt shop here...

13.5 cm diameter

vintage wool in orange / red / fawn on a grey felt backing

turquoise blanket stitch with crochet cotton

9 x 9.5 cm

black felt (double thickness)

mixture of vintage and new buttons

blanket stitch in turquoise crochet cotton

16 cm diameter

vintage cotton fabrics pink / black / white

blanket stitch and french knots in mustard yellow embroidery cotton and turquoise crochet cotton

13.5 cm diameter

re-purposed cotton fabric

felt backing

blanket stitch edges in embroidery cotton

13.5 cm diameter

vintage wool / re-purposed cotton fabric

felt back

blanket stitched edges in embroidery cotton

13.5 cm diameter

vintage wool / re-purposed cotton / leather

felt backing

blanket stitched edges in embroidery cotton

13.5 cm diameter

mustard yellow felt / re-purposed cotton fabric

blanket stitched edges in turquoise crochet cotton

9 x 9.5 cm

grey felt (double thickness)

mixture of vintage and new buttons

running stitch edges in orange embroidery thread

I have sold quite a few to friends as well, which is certainly a boost to the ego! Next in the pipeline are scarves... Watch this space.

Visit more creative peeps here at 'Our Creative Spaces'

Life gets in the way...

It's been soooooo long since my last post! Let's just say that life got in the way... My grandmother passed away last October and then, four weeks later, my grandfather followed. Neither of them had a will so things needed to be sorted. It certainly made me think about how quickly things can change.

I have many happy childhood memories of my grandparents, spending weekends with them, eating fantastic food from their garden, listening and dancing to old records, watching musicals on the telly, rummaging through their garage... The list is endless.

I knew very little about my Grandmother's past and she preferred it that way. I was always curious about her life before 'us'. When I was searching for a nice photo for her funeral, I found this...

Nanny would have been about 18 then. What a lady :-)

But this is how I remember her...

On the back of the photo is written 'a housewife's work is never done'.

Ha! It seems we had a lot in common.

Rest in peace Nanny and Pop and thank you for the delicious food, the crispy cotton sheets, the do-it-yourself / make-it-yourself gene pool, the hidden treasures, the humour, the security and the care. I didn't realise until now, just how much you taught me xx

Blankets, blossoms, buttons, birds and boobs...

I have had a much better week than the last and there is less leakage from my head. I couldn't believe my luck when I ended up with the entire weekend off... Excellent!


Here are my latest treasures...



Tea Tin complete with Tui and other native New Zealand birds (found in the 'free' bin)



Woollen blankets - all made in New Zealand. I had some projects in mind for these but I can't bring myself to cut them. I'm sure a few of you can relate :-)

More Duraware... Collected piece by piece... I love this stuff!

Another beautiful old tin, perfect for...

Buttons :-)



A 'Poole' cup and saucer... I love the colour (I'm a sucker for anything with turquoise), the shape and the weight.

My favourite piece! I think this is a saki cup because it is so small. I was peering through the crockery at my local oppy and she jumped out at me... Isn't she gorgeous!?

The weather has been devine and I have been soaking up the glorious surroundings that spring has provided...

This is the beautiful tree outside my dining room window... Soon it will be almost entirely white.

Thank you for all your lovely comments, I really appreciate them. I am having trouble replying and most times, when I try to leave a comment on your posts it fails ??? I would appreciate your help with this as I would love to participate more. I have filled out my 'google account' but perhaps I'm missing something.

I hope you all have a fabulous week, with full bellies, excellent health and smiles on your dials :-)

Check out more treasures here at Her Library Adventures



The world's worst patient...

I awoke last Wednesday feeling a little down and still tired. I shrugged it off as I thought I probably still wasn’t used to waking at 5am yet and of course it was also the middle of the week. By two in the afternoon my nose was leaking, the eyes were weeping and I had a dry hack of a cough. The dust was thick at work due to all the building going on and I assumed that that was the cause of my head woes. By 3pm I couldn’t go on any longer. I left work, got home, changed into my pjs and hit the couch…

After four nights all I can remember, (apart from all the snot) is… being too afraid to cough or swallow… a pulsating head and thinking that all of my teeth were falling out. I do remember some interesting dreams and shamefully demanding that hubby bring me all the drugs in the universe, (these would be the drugs that I usually tell him are good for nothing, money spinning poisons). I now understand why people insist on using tissues instead of loo paper and putting some sort of lubricant around their nostrils. I am sporting two gross sandpaper scabs under my nose.

I haven’t been that sick in a very long time and apart from being so happy to be coming out the other end, I am eternally grateful to have someone in my life who is prepared to look after the world’s worst patient. Thank you Mr J xx

I have enjoyed the ability to do the little things today. The curtains are open, the ‘slow cooker’ is on, the dishes are done and the washing is folded. Here’s to appreciating good health… (clink)!

So… There was yet again no thrifting for me last week, but I still have plenty to show you from the recent past… Enjoy

Sexy Mid-Century Coffee Pot

Funky Fondue Forks

'Hostess' Salad Bowl and Servers

Mahogany Lamp Base

Red Art Glass

A Wee Pot from Denmark

'Toyobo' Fabric Made in Japan

Find more amazing 'Flea Market Finds' at Her Library Adventures

May this week bring you the most interesting and the much sort after treasure xx

Peg boards, prongs and op shop withdrawals...

I dreamt about peg boards and prongs this week. Grey metal consumed my thoughts each day until I got home, made a cuppa and checked all those lovely blogs with those gorgeous vintage finds.

Alas there has been no time for rummaging this week and I miss the familiar sights and smells of my local op shops. I miss the anticipation of my mapped out treasure hunt and I miss getting home unpacking and cleaning my loot so I can find the perfect spot for it all.

If it wasn't for all you magpies out there who take the time to share your beautiful finds on Blogland I would truly be in despair! So thank you :-)

But... I still have many pics of past vintage finds to show off so I am not completey void of contributions this week...

milk glass jar - made in Belgium



hand painted, gold rimmed plate

New Zealand made woollen blanket

Crown Lynn - 'Colour Glaze' tea cups

floating duck toy with internal bell

I did have time to bake some banana loaves for our lunch this week and I cant wait to devour a piece or two. Have an excellent week and happy hunting xx

Find more 'Flea Market Finds' at Her Library Adventures



Brooches, Dentists and More Vintage Goodies...

Where did the week go? Lately I have been busy making brooches to sell at a local craft market and have been lost in my own little craft world, (I hope to put some pics up soon when I am more organised).

The house is a bomb site and I don't think I have cooked a decent meal in days. I have painted 2 large frames to display the brooches, organised the packaging, settled on some reasonable price points and sewed until my vision became blurry... I have put so much effort into the wee things that I was sooooo excited about presenting them to the world...

...That was until I was offered a job merchandising for 8 weeks. I have recently acquired a large dentist bill and this job will help me clear it quickly. It will mean that I miss the local craft markets for a while as I will only have Sundays off. On the brighter side I will now have more time to build up my stock and think of new ideas. I will also be free of that niggling dentist bill. Isn't it great that I was offered the merchandising job just when I needed it though :-)

I did manage to get out for a bit of hunting and gathering to satisfy my craving of things vintage. I have been slack with getting the evidence on camera... But... As this is only my second blog I have plenty of pics to show you from the archives. Here are some of my favourites...

  Duraware... Collected piece by piece. I love this and use it often.

Solid State Am Radio... I adore the simplicity

Crispy Cotton Vintage Sheets... What can I say... I love stripes!

Handmade Giraffe... Cuteness with bonus stripes!

Retro fab! Everybody needs a red bag

Where is the 'enter' button?

I could not figure out how to reply directly to the comments made on my first blog... Thank you to all who commented, I felt very welcomed. I enjoy your blogs and welcome any handy hints.

Have an excellent week and (if you could see my dentist bill) ... remember to floss regularly :-)

Also... Here is my first attempt at adding a linky thingy... For more 'Flea Market Finds' check out Sophies page here ... Phew!

My first blog

Greetings my pretties! I'm not too sure how to operate the gadgety thingies yet so bare with me while I find my way. I may as well start with some pics of my favourite vintage finds (as soon as I figure out how hmmmmm)...

1- Toy Abacus
2- Robert Welch Teapot
3- Aluminium Travel Cups
4- New Zealand Royal Tour Plate
5- Arnott's Biscuit Tin
6- 'Athens' Crown Lynn Spice Jars

Well that took a while. I think I should read up a bit more before my next post. Have a fab week!