Maya Angelou Quote

Loving this quote by Maya Angelou so going to keep testing it out!!

It is time to put up the Christmas tree?

4 weeks till Christmas and its almost time to put up the tree

Loving this Tin Wallpaper

Via

I just love this wallpaper - and the chair - and the bottles - and the silver knitted basket - which came of course from Abigail Ahern's Blog - my style/design idol who I was lucky enough to meet when I attended one of her Masterclass here in Melbourne...

love it when you meet someone you have admired for a long time and they live up to your expectations!!!

Seedlings

Copyright Karen Hinde Photography

There is nothing quite like freshly grown herbs and tomatoes in a salad and here in Melbourne its the perfect time to get those seedlings into the ground - or in my case the pot on the balcony. I don't like the ugly black pots seedlings are raised in, and with a limited budget you can make them look really good... Recycled takeaway coffee mugs, old tomato tins and baskets all work really well and also make quite nice gifts....

Crop - looking forward to this one!!!

Romsey Swap Meet

 Yesterday I went on an excursion to the Romsey Swap meet in Country Victoria and had a fantastic day - my friend and got some wonderful bargains and on the way home noticed the door to the Romsey Op Shop was open - strange behaviour for a Sunday - so we stopped!!! Mavis was in doing some re arranging and was more than happy for us to have a look around... I got quite excited when she offered to open up the container around the side of the shop - It felt like an American Pickers moment especially when I came across a pair of fabulous retro chairs which went straight into the car......

Now we are looking forward to our next excursion to a swap meet ..... To check out upcoming swap meets they are all listed on the very useful  Australian Swap Meets website....See you there!!!

More How and Why Wonder Books

I've just added these two fabulous How and Why Wonder Books to my collection which seems to be  growing by the minute!!! - with about 60 books in the series I have along way to go but who knows I could walk into an Op Shop and find a pile of Wonder Books next week..... 

The series looks fantastic sitting on my book shelf near my desk and I'm not going to be able to part with them .. they are also still quite useful even though they were published in the 60's....

Black Board Walls

Just as I was about turn the back of the door beside my desk into a blackboard to write To Do Lists and Inspiring Quotes I came across these great images on Vosgesparis (a fabulous blog I've started following). Now I'm completely re thinking the idea and might paint the large wall behind my desk instead...The back of the door was always going to be a safe option because its hardly visible - but the wall on the other hand would be much braver!!!!

via Vosgesparis

via Vosgesparis

via Vosgesparis

Via Vosgesparis from UK Elle Decoration

Mary & Jesus Needle Points

I've been working on some Christmas cross stitch projects over the past few weeks but these two needle points came from an Op Shop on Sydney Road in Melbourne and are quite beautifully done!!! ....... I'm not sure how old they are but apart from some yellow discolouration down the side of Mary they are in pretty good condition....

Need a Hat for the Races

Today its Melbourne Cup day which means a public holiday for the good people of Melbourne 

 and why not have a public holiday for a horse race!!!!!!

Via

Whether you participate by attending the races, going to a BBQ or simply stopping to watch the race (the race that stops a nation) for some finding the right hat is serious business.... So if you wake up to find you don't have the right hat you could always turn to patterns of yesteryear and whip up a cute creation in the fabric of your choice.....

The best is yet to come.....

via

Old Scissors & Shears

 

I'm currently collecting old scissors for quite a large event Ten Green Balloons is providing props for - which is all rather exciting!! -  and with a little help from my Vintage friends am building up quite a collection...

Over the past few weeks I've been to a number of Op Shops around Melbourne, and buying old scissors has become harder than I imagined - unfortunately a lot of Op Shops don't put scissors or knives out any more because they are potential weapons!!!! Some Op Shops are even going as far as throwing them out which is such a shame because they have so much character and look amazing... Thankfully a few Op Shops have seen reason and keep them out the back (or still just put them out) - and may produce them if you ask nicely - one Op Shop produced 3pairs for me which was lovely and another is kindly holding a pair for me... I think if people are taking the time to donate these beautiful old scissors they shouldn't be thrown in the bin!!!