Flea Market Finds

I've a had such fantastic week of fabulous finds this week. 

The suitcase pictured above was give to me on Mothers Day upon Adam's return from the Sunday Market. It also came with friends, a beautiful red one and a very old brown number.  The beautiful wool coat I got this morning from the Daylesford Market. I've been searching for so long for a plaid wool coat such as this, but they are always too big and heavy. This one is perfecto so I was very happy!

But not as happy as Adam was when he purchased this awesome 1930's light box for an absolute steal! It was difficult to photograph, but it's for eye testing and is set in the most beautiful dark wood box. It has an amazing adjustable aperture on the bottom right, with a light behind it. We are going to build it into our house plans somehow! 

During the week we went on a driving adventure and hit some great country oppies. We bought way too much to photograph, but I got this sweet shelf and all it's lovely contents. A selection of tins for the wedding, two lovely jugs and some french jars.

I am obsessed with this duck egg blue colour , especially when it's combined with red and I adore the circus vibe of this tin.

Duck egg blue again! I love the shape of the Bessemer jug and the pattern on the little Japanese jug is so lovely. At $1 and $1.50, who could say no?

Some great vintage kids books, which will be used for cards and tags and bunting.

 

My personal favourite is 'Honey without money' which has the most adorable illustrations. So sweet.

And this set of vintage memory cards, which I almost passed up, but I'm SO glad I didn't! I have all sorts of ideas of these little guys.

I also got an unused Polaroid camera, with a flash and film for just $15-! I'm so thrilled with this because I really want to be able to take some Polaroids at the wedding. All in all it's been a fantastic week of thrifting!! I hope yours was too ;)

You can check out more Flea Market Finds here....

Flea Market Finds

I found this little beauty this morning at the Dayleford Sunday Market.

A sweet 1960's folding dolls highchair, in near perfect condition. I've not seen one of these before, and it was a mere $10-! It will make a great display for my dolls at the market and I'm sure Charlie will enjoy it in the interim.

I also found a few tins and doilies to add to the wedding collection. I'm going to use the tins as flower receptacles on the tables. The outback tin was free and the other two were $2-. I then walked on and saw the bird tin in a different colour at another stall for $35-! I love it when that happens!

You check out more flea market finds here :)

My new bike...

Oh how I have longed and pined and wished for a beautiful vintage bike for what seems like eons. I have been following this gorgeous Californian vintage bike blog, Riding Pretty and it certainly did nothing to diminish this desperate longing. I harped on endlessly about how I didn't have a bike... I needed a bike!

So a while back Adam found this one...


in a clients back yard and was going to restore it for me. Months later however I looked around at the many and varied unfinished or yet to be begun restoration projects and came to the sad conclusion that it would probably never happen.

So took the matter into my own hands and consulted the great purchasing oracle that is Ebay. There I found my beautiful new bike at an absolute bargain price... here she is...


I'm so in love. She is from The Indian Bicycle Shop in St Kilda and was only ridden a handful of times by her previous owner. She is so comfortable and cruisy.... a total state of mind, just like my car, the Volkwagen Caravelle Van (the modern woman's Kombi)!


I would love to get her some of these gorgeous panniers from London's CycleChic, but I will have to put a kiddie seat on the back for wee Charlie. So I will stick with a standard wicker front basket.

All that's left then is to give her a name and bring on spring baby wee are off and cruisin' in the sunshine.... yeeeha!

A vintage button treasure trove!

I've been a busy little bee sorting and cleaning and organising buttons. I'm almost finished one box, just another 31 to go! God am I crazy?

Here are few of my favourites so far. They are all colours of the rainbow and remind me of looking through the glass of the dairy lollie counter as a kid, trying to decide how best to spend my 50c pocket money.

They are bright and yummy and they make feel really happy! I'm so excited thinking about all the fantastic things they are going to be made into. Rescued from a backyard in Frankston and given a new life! Oh yay!

From Despair to Euphoria: Tale of (30) thousand buttons.

I've had no laptop for over a week!!! Oh my god I felt like I was missing a limb, a really important constantly used limb. I can't describe the feeling of despair I encountered when the spotty girl at the mac service center told me it would take a week to order a new part for my power cable. Yes that's right, power cable. It took a week, to fix a power cable! Why not just replace it?? Honestly how ridiculous!

Anyway that feeling of utter devastation was soon replaced with euphoric joyousness (is that even a word?) as I filled my van up with 32 boxes full of vintage buttons I had just purchased. I have 32 of these babies!!! Oh my god they are AMAZING! I've since spent hours going through them all....wow look at these ones, oh god look at those ones!

They are all still in the original tubes from the shop and there are so many I had to take over the next door neighbours shed. People who don't know me that well might be thinking I'm mad! So I plan to spread the love and sell some of them once I have sorted through them all so stay tuned for market details!

Words and Pictures :: Souvenirs

My cheesy Queensland souvenir. Not from Queensland as you might think, but an op shop in Lilydale (dodgy outer Melbourne suburb).

words and pictures is hosted by Pip

Pinnys, rompers, playsuits and jerkins

I recently aquired these amazing Enid Gilchrist pattern books from the 60's (or maybe late 50's?). I've been poring over them... I love it!! The language for example 'Tiny girls can look just as smart as big sister in a gay set of matadors', the cute kids and the nostalgia of it all. Bonnets and babies wearing rompers with nothing but a pair of gumboots!
I think I will start with the 'one piece pinny' and move on to the pleated sunfrock.
I've sticky-noted about 30 patterns for Adam to draw out for me on CAD and according to Enid I can make Charlie's entire wardrobe!
SO excited!!!!