Garage Sale Goodness

Recently I have resumed my all-time favourite activity for a Saturday morning. I grab a girlfriend, get up early, dress warmly, leave the children with Liam and go Garage Sale-ing. The garage sales in this little town are true-blue, genuine Kiwi ones;often there is a plate of home baking sitting on a table, or sausages sizzling on a little barbecue, a heater running to keep customers warm, old ladies who press a box of sewing bits into your hand, or kind gentlemen who give you a ladder for free because they couldn't possibly take money for a ladder that shouldn't really be climbed on...
But I think it looks lovely in Kyans' room, holding blankets, shoes and other bits and pieces.

This little wooden desk started life in a local rural primary school. It brought back so many memories for Liam and I. Do you remember the desks like that? With the little groove for your pencil so that it wouldn't roll away? (And maybe some contraband hidden inside?)

Hand painted wooden tray. I'm a bit of a sucker for Pansies.

I'm hoping this tray will be carrying a special breakfast for Mothers' day tomorrow...

And these two enormous curtains. I adore the print, and for practical purposes they will be wonderful at blocking out light, and are thermal backed for warmth.

All in all, a wonderful start to my Garage Sale-ing season.

Thanks Nana xx

A while ago, I shared some beautiful embroidery, stitched by my Grandmother-in-Law. She was absolutely amazing at crochet, knitting, sewing, embroidery... in fact I think she probably gave every type of handcraft a try in her 80 odd years. She liked that I am a bit crafty myself, and gave me boxes and boxes of craft books, embroidery silks, wools and fabrics. She died in October 2008, just 11 days after her husband. My house holds many treasures given and created by her. This book is my favourite.
I love the owl on the front and the back covers...

Wise and true words!

Every fathomable creature is covered, from insects...

All manner of birds...

Farm animals... I LOVE this goat illustration.

Fish...

And I know it's not "P.C", but I had to give the Gollywog a look in as well...

More insects. Seriously, I just want to frame the illustrations and put them on the wall!

"ladies, some vermillion felt and American cloth for this one..."

Well, I'm off to make a stag beetle now. Or maybe a goat. A kingfisher?

The end.

As safe as a lettuce leaf?

Our house is old. And I love it. It has all these quirky little charms about it. Like the original "chippie" woodchip burner by the back door.

The original Art Deco doorhandles. No keys though, although why you would need to lock every door in the house is a mystery to me...

Original bakelite power points. Notice the lack of a switch. Yeah, old.

And bits and pieces that I sometimes find. Treasures like this old fuse wire that I discovered on top of the fuse box. There was actually another one, with a price tag of one ha'penny, but Isla decided to wash it (sigh).

But today, I really struck gold. I was cleaning out the laundry cupboard, attempting to locate enough sheets, pillowcases, towels etc for the Christmas visitors, when this treasure dropped down from a tiny space in between the back of the cupboard and the shelf, where it has been stuck for a couple of decades at least I expect.

The directions read; "Lapol Full Strength Deoderant Tablets. 20 sugar coated chlorophyll tablets for sweetness and freshness of body and breath. The new prescription for eliminating body and breath odours. Taken internally.

There are two kinds of personal odours and both can be quickly removed with Lapol Chlorophyll Tablets.

Breath odours are associated with faulty metabolism, achohol or eating highly flavoured foods such as garlic or onions. These can be removed in ten minutes by disolving one or more Lapol Tablet in the mouth.

Systematic body odours are of various types- Perspiration odours of the underarm and foot-Odours associated with menstruation and General Body Odours. ALl the above can be quickly and easily removed by swallowing one or more Lapol Tablet, preferably after breakfast or before retiring at night.

It is as safe as a lettuce too. Always insist on Lapol Full Strength Chlorophyll Tablets

Try this little personal test. Next time you are about to engage in strenuous exercize or sport, take one Lapol Table half an hour beforehand and notice the distinct lack of perspiration odour."

Whatever next? Well, that certainly provided some humour for the afternoon. And I know they're clearly well past their use by date, but I still find it ironic that they smell awful.

For more photos of the house, check out my flickr.

Retro Eskimo??

This little retro dude belonged to my Brother-in-law, circa 1981. Isn't he adorable with his little freckles and almond shaped eyes? Is he an eskimo? That's what Isla and I reckon...




Here is my version, take one...



And again (simplify, simplify, I'm always telling myself that, but rarely listening!)

See? Blue.

Three Thrifty Treasures

Today is a fabulous day for thrifty treasures. Treasure #Tahi: This little dress, which fits Isla beautifully. I can't tell you how tempted I am to add a blue satin sash, because whenever I look at it, this song comes to mind!

Treasure #Rua: This little purple vase which changes colour. Yes that's right. At first I thought that my husband was playing a trick on me, until I concurred it was very unlikely that he could have found an identical little vase in blue to swap around when I wasn't looking. I consider myself to be educated, relatively intelligent and somewhat worldly, but I have never known an object like this to change colour. Ok, I sense a collective narrowing of eyes in disbelief. I will post another photo when it changes colour again. I am quite spooked by the whole business to be honest!

Treasure #Toru: I've saved the best till last. This piece of fabric is HUGE! It's fantastically retro, and depicts scenes from several classic nursery rhymes. It's in great condition, with no fading. And I'm in love with it. However, there's far too much here for me to use all by myself-so if you'd like a piece, let me know. Perhaps I could send you a brown paper package, tied up with string?

Here's Little Jack Horner...

Humpty Dumpty...

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker...

A fabulous day for thrifty treasures.

A Special Heirloom

I wanted to share this beautiful embroidery, given to me recently by my Mother-in-Law. It is a tray cover and set of four doilies, stitched by my Grandmother-in-Law. To me, things like this are precious because they come from the hand of a family member, and have the rare quality of being irreplaceable. I have put two of the doilies on my dressing table and two on my Islas'. I hope that in time she will treasure them the same way that I do.

I am so inspired by this type of handcrafted item, and have read from cover to cover Thrift to Fantasy by Rosemary Mcleod. Ms Mcleod is a woman after my own heart, paying homage to the handcrafts of the 1930s-50s and acknowledging them as the art form they are.

So many times I have been in an op shop or at a garage sale and seen pieces of exquisite embroidery cheaply priced and crumpled in a dusty corner at the back. I pick these things up and often marvel at the work and skill that has gone into them. I try to rescue them all! However, one does not have much need for a tray cloth these days, and these items are often damaged/stained with age. this is why the work of tiny happy also inspires me so much. by taking these items and upcycling them into practical things that put their beauty on display instead of at the back of a dark cupboard... another woman after my own heart!