Flea Market Finds

This week it was all about green.

An owly money box for a daughter, a non-functioning clock for wall art and some green glass dishes - well, just because I could! Pop over to Sophie's to see the results of everyone's op-shop adventures.

Flea Market Finds

For a little while now, friends have been expressing concern over the increasing number of kitsch woodland critters that keep popping up in my home/ car / studio. Fearing an intervention, I have been quite steadfast in my resolve to leave these little critters in the op-shop for some other obsessive collector. However, this week, my resolve was sorely tested and I succumbed to the lure of  2 saccharin-sweet animals - I am saying this to you with my head bent in shame. Just look at them though ...

Such a sweet little sleeping fox - he reminds me of the way our cat tucks herself in to sleep away the cold Winter days.

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The epitome of Australiana kitsch - a kangaroo salt shaker! The only thing better would have been to find the matching pepper shaker which I bet was in the shape of a little joey that nestled in Mamas "pouch"!

It would have been un-Australian to leave this baby behind - so it was in the spirit of patriotic fervor that I handed over my 50 cents!
 There you have it  - my resistance is shot - enroll me in the 10 step programme, bring on the intervention and send me as many quizzical 'have you lost your mind' looks as you like dear friends ( you know who you are).  I just cannot apologise for these, my most recent acquisitions. I know I am not going mad - my little critters tell me I am quite sane everyday.
Join in more collecting madness and mayhem over at Sophie's.

Flea Market Finds

Earlier this week my eldest daughter and I had a little oppie outing. She picked up these boots for just four bucks!

They are quite nice and looked like they hadn't been worn. When we got them home, it became apparent that my girl had some plans for them ...

Hhmmm - out came the studs and hammer - she enlisted her Dad for help with making holes and before we knew it - voila! Much punkier but I am afraid she still wasn't satisfied ...

We made some leather tassels to dangle from the back of the ankle and added half a zip around the top edge to complete the look.

And there you have it - a complete restyling and a much edgier look. She wore them on Friday night for her birthday dinner and combined with her leopard print stockings and LBD, looked a million bucks. See, a little imagination (and access to tools and stuff) goes a long way! Head over to Sophie's to see what treasures others have unearthed at the oppies this week.

Flea Market Finds

Once again Sunday has rolled around and it is time to play along with Sophie and friends to show off our thrifting treasures. I am a complete sucker for cup and saucer sets and my collection has grown too big for the space I inhabit so I have been under a self-imposed embargo on further purchases. Until now. A unique shape and design with no hallmarking of any kind and only $2 ... well, what would you have done? Of course I had to buy it!

The outside of the cup is completely plain but inside is a sweet surprise ...

The gold decoration looks like text to me and is a great example of clever pattern making. I am planning to test this set out with a leisurely cup of Lady Grey this arvo. I have been having trouble keeping my journals straight for Uni, I often end up grabbing the wrong one as I am racing out the door. I decided I needed to differentiate them and train my brain to associate a certain pattern with a certain subject. I am pretty sure this has kinda been done with lab rats so I reckon I have a reasonable chance of success. To that end, I hunted up some fabric in the oppie and made re-usable covers for a couple of my journals.

Even if the brain-training doesn't work they are a big improvement on the boring black covers!

I have been all inspired by Don over at Urbandon who has been delving into the world of Japanese pattern making. Not that I am planning anything quite so complex! I purchased a top (new!) and I love it but hate that I paid real money for it so I figure if I make a few like it fron stuff from the op-shop then really I can divide the price by however many I make. Seems logical right? So pleased that Dollar Day/Week at the thrift store has coincided with my desire to sew. Here is a little stash of knit-fabric garments that I plan to repurpose.

I will fill you in later on the details and hopefully the finished product. Hope you are having a creative, fun filled week-end or really whatever kind of week-end you like best.

Flea Market Finds

Last week I op-shopped with purpose. I wanted to make a housewarming present for a friend and a "it-has- been-too-long-since-we-have-seen-each-other" gift for another friend. So I set off on a mission to collect some glassware with coloured glass at the top of my list. Here is a sampling of what I unearthed ...

Once the layers of dust have been washed away they are really very pretty - gotta love shiny! And here is what they became ...

This candlestick will be going to a beachside abode so I wanted to use bright, summery colours to fit the location.

The next one will be going to a friend with a very eclectic sense of style - she loves colour - so I wanted to use a good variety of shapes and colours in this candlestick.

It ended up a little crooked because the lovely blue thingy at the bottom was not level - a fact that escaped me until it was too late!

Never mind, I am going with the idea that being slightly lopsided just adds to its' quirky charm! To join in with Flea market Finds or to have a squizz at the goodies everyone has hunted up this wee, head over to Sophies. Pssst - Sophie is having a give-away just leave a comment on her blog for a chance to win!

Flea Market Finds

It has been an age since I have joined in with Sophie's fun and games - I have been treasure hunting but pre-Christmas many of my finds were destined to be gifts so I didn't want to spoil the surprise by sharing them here. This week however, all these treasures are for me me me!

Glorious grey shell buttons - the biggest of these are a whopping 3.5 cms across! It was love at first sight and I would have paid much more for them but they were bundled up into $2 packets so I didn't have to.

I picked these up whilst we were away at the seaside. They are definitely some kind of seed pod but I have no idea what kind - I will keep hunting around for an answer. They are quite black and bulbous. I will be deconstructing the necklace and using them for something yummy.

This tiny little ceramic mouse reminded me of my son when he was little and did something he probably shouldn't have. He is way cuter in real life - my son is too!

And why shouldn't buck-toothed squirrels play dress-ups I ask you?

Kinda weird, possibly a little creepy and definitely not very politically correct - they fit right in at my place!

This pretty china will be smashed and worked into earrings I think. I love it when I find odd bits of crockery with a small all over pattern. Speaking of jewellery, if you are in the mood for a little retail therapy please drop by my madeit shop - all the jewellery is now $20 and the proceeds of sales through January will be donated to the flood relief appeal - free shipping in Oz too!

Treasure

 I knocked off two assignments for Uni this week (yay!), so op-shopping was a bit thin on the ground. My daughter was visiting and found some pretty teacups ...

She has turned them into 'tea-lights' for an upcoming market. I found this fairly grubby looking, taped up  bag of beads and since it was only 50 cents I threw caution to the wind and made the purchase!

As it turns out, it was full of these ...

They are seed beads called Job's Tears. They come from an native Asian grass and are in fact the mature grains of the grass - the lovely pearly exterior houses the grains. They range in colour from light brown right through to charcoal black but these lovely grey coloured ones are my favourite. Apparently, Mother Theresa's favourite rosary was made of Job's Tears and she was buried with it. So, it turned out to be a lucky find. If you had a chance to go treasure hunting this week, I hope the Thrift Goddess was smiling upon you!

Flea Market Find Of The Year.

Blogtoberfest (Day24)

Oh my, who would have thought choosing a favourite find would be so hard? There have been so many! I feel a bit like a Mother choosing one child as favourite over the other. I have been churning this over in my mind becoming evermore angst ridden. I decided that I was over-thinking the whole thing - duh. My choice came down to this ...

A lovely old chandelier that was in fact given to me by the lovely op-shop man so pleased were they to be rid of the space hogging object!

I pulled it apart and cleaned every little piece. And why is it my favourite find I hear you ask? Well, I have chosen this treasure above all others because I have used so many bits of it as components in my jewellery making this year. Like this ...

and these ...

This piece too ...

And another favourite ...

Something for an exhibition ...

 A really big piece ...

And something fairly recent ...

There have been other pieces too, some vintagy and pearly and some more modern and fresh. It has been a joy to re-use these components and know that I have revitalised that poor old chandelier, giving it a second life and sharing little bits of it with the new owners of the jewellery I have created. That is why it gets my vote for Flea Market Find Of The Year. Perhaps it could be our little secret. Best not tell the others - don't want all my other fabulous finds  getting jealous now do we?
To see more, pop over to Sophie's

Flea Market Finds

An odd assortment to share with you and all those joining in with Sophie's meme. First up some really cute stacking mugs that my daughter spotted . They are made of the same stuff as baking dishes. Perfect for a picnics methinks.

 This booklet had to come home with me just by virtue of its amazing cover! Good old plastic - how happy she looks to be setting out to fill up her home with handcrafted plastic goodies!

 This poor tin is pretty battered but is still charming.

This next little item will not be gracing my body - ever, at all, not in a pink fit - sadly my 47 year old bosoms rely on far more technology than is offered by this piece of nonsense!

 However, if you look closely you will see a rather nice sparkly jewellery component just waiting to be disconnected from this bit of frippery. Do I sound bitter - there was a time (oh distant youth!) when I would have considered this a great addition to my wardrobe. sigh.

If you have hit the thrift stores this week I hope you had heaps of fun and found lots of exciting treasures! I am summoning up my courage and joining in with Blogtoberfest ( see button on side for more info) even though it means using the "C" word - 'commitment' I mean! Today would be Day 3 so I am already a bit behind but I have really good intentions ....

Flea Market Finds

Early in the week, I ventured into an op-shop with my dear friend Kath PathWalker. We had a bit of a peripheral hunt, seeking cheap china that she could smash to make into beautiful frames. It quickly became evident that this was not the shop - $24 for a small china jug? I mean it was pretty but not that fantastic! However, I found a couple of paintings that had perfect frames for my daughters paper-cuts - she does like romance after all!

My daughter used an oval one like this for a piece she exhibited. She painted the frame red and it looked great. I am sure she will love these and hopefully the painter, Dawn ( great name!) would not be too offended!
This was unintentional op-shopping which I have found, often yields the most exciting finds. Sometimes if you set out with a particular mind-set the thrift stores have nothing to offer, but if you allow yourself to be guided by the Universe, the Great Thrifting Goddess smiles upon you. Certainly this was the case for me this week. Towards te end of the week, I found myself with half an hour to kill whilst waiting for an appointment. I decided to meander around a nearby op-shop and wandered about without much interest really. I was on my way out of the door - empty-handed (totally unheard of - I pretty much always buy something even if I just donate it back to another op-shop!) when I-spied-with-my-little-eye, something yellow, something pretty and made of shiny glass. Upon closer inspection it was a whole set of vintage glasses but even as my heart beat a tattoo in my chest I resolutely restrained my excitement because you see, they were in the good cabinet. You know, that cabinet that all the op-shops seem to have now where they put any bit of china that has a hall mark and odd bits of crystal because they are after all Orrefors or Krosno or some such! I always approach the good cabinet with a great deal of suspicion because lets face it, the bits and bobs in there are usually overpriced - well probably not if you are a collector but definitely are if you are a rummager. Ok, so long story short, there was a whole set of 6 glasses and they were priced at 50 cents each! Needless to say I had the op-shop lady whip them out of there as fast as her arthritic bones could manage. They made me think of alfresco dining in Summertime so how could I resist?

They are probably not as stylish as this French glassware spotted by Kath PathWalker and I...

... but I love 'em just the same! My final find came to me again as I was leaving an op-shop! I had been into the shop to see if they distributed food because we are in the process of cleaning out my Mother-in-laws house and her pantry was quite full. None of us really wanted to take the tins home but I was completely unwilling to simply toss it. Fortunately, one of our local charities do indeed make up food parcels so I was able to arrange for them to have the stuff. I was leaving with a spring in my step to have sorted out that problem when my sneaky eyes wandered about and settled on this tray.

Isn't it great?! It is also really big! I have put it behind my stove and when I am cooking I swear I see those deer move and little woodland critters scamper from tree to tree. Maybe I should lay off the cooking Sherry?

Don't you just want to take a wander up that river and see what is around the corner? If you want to see what everyone else has been gathering this week, head on over to Sophie's.

Flea Market Finds

Great to see Sophie back on deck! Head over there for a peek at all the treasures people have thrifted up this week! I found some odd bits and pieces. I fell in love with this old bowls case but it is in pretty bad shape and will take a bit of revamping I think!

I also found this odd looking bunny with a glint in his eye. I will give him a good scrub and possibly a repaint before handing him over to my daughter.

And just to prove that it was a week for critters, I found this pair of squirrel salt and pepper shakers! Love 'em! I believe they have shrine possibilities ...

Hope the thrifty vibe was with you all this week!