Do you know what this is ...?

 

 

If you said " Why Sue, I believe that is a ball of t-shirt yarn - in fact the very first ball of t-shirt yarn made by your fair hand", then you would be absolutely RIGHT! Well done you! This stuff is so easy peasy to make - a few snips of the scissors and it is good-bye 5o cent Yarra Trail T-shirt and hello scrummy ball of yarn! Naturally this also gives me another excuse to hit the op-shops to search out old t-shirts. Now, I do in actual fact plan to knit ( Melissa, Kath get UP off the floor immediately!) this stuff into something natty - something that just involves a square or rectangle 'cos I don't actually know how to knit. Any suggestions?! Well, I will be working up to that. In the meantime, this is what I made with the short bits cut from the sleeves.

Frankly, apart from the scrumptious colours I am not too sure about this piece. I wanted to use the yarn to make bracelets but clearly today was not a bracelet day 'cos everything I tried looked awful. I just had to make something though. Maybe it will grow on me - in its favour it makes a quite nice "tinking" sound when the glass rings bump into each other! Now I just need to hunt me up some off those pointy sticks and learn to knit - how hard can it be ...?

I went a-walking ...

Despite the heat yesterday I took my great-nephew for a stroll along a linear park in the city. The path is nice and shady , the pram has a big hood and I greased that little monkey up with so much sunscreen he practically slipped through my hands! We set forth and I was delighted with the soft southerly that was blowing along the riverbanks - made pushing the pram much easier. I spied some graffiti along the way and took a photo, thinking I might at some point use it as a background in a print. Now this got me to thinking ( please do not fall over, I do occasionally use my brain for pondering!), if I did use this as a background, would I be infringing copyright? Given the recent debacle that Men At Work have faced (read about it here) I guess I could be. Or, because it is public, does the artist give up any claim to it? Would it be morally wrong to use the image? Which brings me to another point, when is graffiti art and when is it vandalism? Tags do my head in a bit, they seem so frenetic and busy. I love political graffiti and paste ups and good images and I think the city would be worse off without them, they are part of the urban landscape. My goodness, all that deep thought whilst trundling along with a 12 month old who has just discovered raspberry blowing - the child is a virtuoso in that department! I didn't really draw any further conclusions 'cos the little bloke demanded a kiss and returned mine with a big, slobbery open mouth one of his own - after that nothing was as engaging or as interesting or as lovely as my dear little charge!

These are the images I liked the best.

In the case of the mushroom, the tags actually enhance the image and create an interesting backdrop.

Thrifted Allsortz

Sunday has rolled around with alarming speed and I find myself preparing  to once again join Sophie's meme, Flea Market Finds. When it comes to ferreting about in thrift stores, it is easy to overlook the things that there are always stacks of, like mugs and plastic lids for containers that are, in all probability, taking up space in a landfill, quietly not decomposing. This week however, I set off deliberately seeking out those forlorn and mis-matched bits of cut and pressed glass that seem to lurk in vast numbers in the corners of every op shop I have ever entered. Oh yes, I had a project in mind and I was on a mission! The op shop people were dead delighted when I gathered up a box full of those dust collectors and they sold the lot to me for ten bucks. Home I went with my loot and washed and scrubbed them until they were nice and shiny. It was when I began working with them that I realised just how lovely some of these pressed glass bits were. I started to recognise patterns with a distinct Art-Deco feel and delicate etched patterns. They were quite lovely - clearly I had under-appreciated this stuff in the past. Alas I have no pics of the project but it is underway and I am pleased with how it has developed. Hope to get some photos soon!

 

This is some of the glass bits I collected - this is post-washing so they are quite shiny. Mmmmm - like SHINY!

That front vase has a sweet and very delicately etched star and starbeams - gorgeous.

Ok, so glassware wasn't the sum total of my finds this week - I also found this cute cage. I don't have a plan for it - most certainly will NOT be keeping a bird in it but couldn't resist. It reminded me of The Jetsons for some reason?

 

Then of course there is Physco Bunny!

 

Oh yeah - be afraid - be very afraid ...

This odd bod is cradling his noggin in his paws - maybe the voices in his head are getting too loud - frankly I think he is channeling Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" - hope he isn't called Johnny ...!

The Universe Speaks and I Obey!

The Universe is a strange and wondrous place. I say this because recently I have had reason to notice just how freaky it is. It has been kinda "owly" in my world of late - birthday themes, diary designs and jewellery making etc. Lo and behold, I waltzed into the op-shop - purposefully I might add as I was after a zip - and what do I spy? An entire collection ( that would be a Parliment!) of owls of all kinds! Naturally, I expressed my amazement ("Holy C*#p that's a LOT of owls!") and the op-shop lady explained that they had come in that very morning and they had already sold a bunch. No wonder - they ranged in price from 20 cents to 50 cents with a couple of large ones around $2. You know when you buy a new to you car and suddenly the world is filled with that make and model of car? Well I felt this was kinda like that. Maybe the Universe was trying to tell me something or maybe I just have owls on the brain. Regardless, I took the sudden appearance of a plethora of owls at my local oppie as a sign - one to be ignored at my peril. So, I brought a few home with me and all things considered, I was pretty restrained. Check 'em out ...

 

This little Brown Owl is one of a family that ranges from Papa Owl to Baby Owl - Papa is just under 4cms tall.

 

This duo were so freaky looking they just had to come home with me - they will fit in nicely with the rest of the household! Just 4cms tall.

Personally, it would never occur to me to glue a teeny owl statue to a cowrie shell but hey - whatever floats your boat! These guys are tiny - about 2cms. Don't you just love the way they have different wing positions?

These are handpainted pottery and probably the most modern ones I brought home. 

This is my absolute favourite. His head comes off! Originally he held one and a half ounces of "Rapture" cream sachet - some kind of cream perfume I guess. Do you remember how Avon used to release perfumes in quirky bottles? I wonder if this was one of them?

  

And here is the whole family! What on earth am I doing to do with them?

 

Woh-hoh- oh - the busts are gettin' bigger ...

In number if not in size!
The saga of the busts has finally drawn to a close! Yep, they are all re-covered and I have added a couple of cones that fold down flat! Masses of thanks to dear friend Kath who helped me finish off a couple of the biggies and gave me the boost I needed to get on and do the rest! This has been a big upcycling  (or should that be recycling?) project but very cost effective. The fabric cost ten dollars ( gotta love those "Buy 1 metre get 1 metre free" sales), I used over a dozen gluesticks and half a pot of Tacky Glue. The backs are covered with wallpaper from the op-shop. The cones used $3.60 worth off cardboard and fabric from the cupboard which probably means it came from an oppie. All up if it cost me $25, I would be surprised. Colour me thrifty hey? Plus, I didn't have the hassle of finding new ones and I am  feeling the righteous joy of NOT contributing to the landfill.

I recovered 9 busts in all and made four of the cones. The best thing  about the cones is that they are "flat-pack" busts - which makes them heaps easy to cart about. I thought about calling them the "IKEABUSTS" but  not sure how that would go down with that well-known Swedish company!

 

This is how the cone looks undone - all flat - those wrinkles smooth out once it is buttoned into regulation cone position.

And the back - could probably have been a bit neater here but once they are done up and have jewellery on them hopefully no-one will be making judgments about the back of a cone!

Oh by the way, I hope the title of this post has you humming that Mental As Anything song all day! (hee hee) 

Colour, colour,colour!

Today I brought home a rainbow!

 

Isn't it gorgeous?!

Flea Market Finds

Well, it is Sunday so time to join in Sophie's meme and share this weeks Flea Market Finds.
On Friday I had some time up my sleeve and got to check out a few Oppies in the city. I was pretty underwhelmed by the stock and gob-smacked at the prices! Still, I did manage to ferret out a few pieces ...

This cloth has been handmade for sure. I am getting a few of these together and plan to dye them for my daughters' High Tea themed 21st Birthday Party.

Who could resist this lovely basket? Not me obviously! It is in excellent nick and only cost $1.95 - it had to come home with me at that price - I mean you can't blame a girl ...

 

This pretty bangle is enamelled and has already been claimed by the eldest daughter! It is actually a very pretty robins egg blue but some how that hasn't shown up well in the photo.

 

Now these will probably get all you knitters out there salivating - vintage pattern books. I don't knit and the instructions look very complex but I loved the glam girls pictured within the booklets.

 

 I mean just check out these two- totally glam and just a little bit saucy!

A knitted cap for fashion and practicality - flirty and fun!

And this stylish minx all ready for a spot of yodelling or knee-slapping!

Love them all!

When I come across images like these, I am immediately transported to a time that seems, to my 21st Century eyes, to be a bit quieter, a little less rushed - maybe a gentler time. I mean who has time these days to remember their matching hat and gloves as you are barreling out of the door trying to get kids to school and you to work on time? And as for having the fortitude to knit yourself an entire suit ... well it beggars belief! Hope you all had some fun and luck in the oppies this week!