A Legacy of Laughter and An addiction to Collecting - Thanks Nan

Well its been quite a week.  Flew to Sydney with my eldest son for my Nans funeral and it was a lovely service. The wonderful thing about my Nan was that she had a way of being able to connect with people on any level and make friends everywhere she went.  That was more than evident at her funeral which was a celebration of her life, her family and her friends.  She had a sharp wit and a fantastic sense of humour and was the life of any party. The day brought together (probably for the first time in many many years) all of her children, grand children and even her eldest great grand children and back at my fathers house we laughed. shed a few tears and told stories and toasted her well into the wee small hours of the morning.  Thank you Doreen Grace even though you have passed your legacy is as bright and vibrant as you always were.  Love you Nan! 


When I think about my Nan when I was a child I am sure it was  her that started my love of boxes and containers as every time I visited her she always had a box of goodies for me....sometimes lollies and little toys but most of the time things of hers like old costume jewellery or make up samples anything pretty and girly (I was the first grandchild and after three boys I think she had a ball finding girly bits for me).  I still have that love of boxes and containers.  Thought I would take a few shots of the pretty old  boxes I have collected over the years....so here they are, hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoy the boxes hehe.  

A great way to store your fabrics!!

Craft stuff fills these pretties!!

More craft goodies over flowing from this one

Mmmm I love these..they hold my old crystals and buttons

Two French boxes and a lovely italian florentine one....love the colours

My tiniest box, an enameled and gilt pill box mmm love the roses

More French boxes...I am soooo addicted hehe

Weekend Market and Garage Sale Finds!!

Howdy girls!!  After a pretty icky week I was determined to get out and about this weekend and do lots of garage sales on Saturday and hit the market early today.  And I did!!!  Sadly there wasn't the massive treasure trove I had hoped there would be but I did manage to find some sweet pieces.  Below part of my haul...I really love the part dinner set, its backstamped Czechoslovakia and I think its just very elegant and really quite French in style.  Check out the photos of the rest of my haul. I did get some really nice new in their packets linen which I haven't photographed yet.  Some of the linen will be put aside for the spare room so I will show you that later.   As I said not a huge haul but enough to be pleased that I got up early!!  Hope you are all having a great treasure hunting weekend and please let me know your latest and greatest finds!!  

Love the part dinner set...especially the tureen and the gravy boat!!

Mmm so elegant.....love white and gold!!

Lovely old religious tin backed prints....mmm roses!!

Ooh Cath Kidston Make up bags and gorgeous vintage valentine cards

Love the beautiful embroidered doiley and the old roses print.  Duvet set is really pretty too

 Oooh I bought a great double bed on ebay for the spare room.   Its not the antique bed I really wanted but its scrolly and will do once I have put my stamp on it. Hubby and I picked it up yesterday....only $50!!!   Will pick up a mattress and take some photos soon.  Project spare room is coming on ....more photos soon. 

It might be next weekend by the time I blog again.  So sadly my Nan passed away on Thursday...it was a merciful release but even though I knew it was coming it was still a shock!!!  I have had a sad few days hence the reason why I had to get out and treasure hunt as that always helps lift my spirits. I will be traveling to Sydney for the funeral next week so please understand if I disappear for a few days.  

  Hugs  Sam

Catalyst For an Unplanned Makeover!!!

The plan this weekend was to remove the icky desk from the spare room and work on clearing it out etc.  But its funny how life works.  Saturday morning with coffee in hand I wondered into my study to check my emails and found our eldest cat mid PEE on the icky carpet that I hate anyway. After much screaching by me and humiliated skulking away by said cat I had had ENOUGH....I pulled up the carpet in the corner of the room and peaked underneath...OH YEAH BABY....floor boards!!  Right!!  well I would rather have unpolished floor boards than cat pee carpet so.  Another few screaches, this time of joy and my MM came down from the spare room to find me carrying boxes of crap out of the study and muttering BLOODY CAT.  One whiff of cat pee and the look on my face (its his cat) and he kindly suggested he help me....hehehe.  Somewhere in the midst of clearing the room...MM suggested that if we were taking everything out it might be a good time to paint (he had the paint out to patch where the desk was in the spare room)...Silly Silly man.....  Long story short...one weekend and a few arguments later and voila....a totally pee free and LOVELY room.  We will get the floorboards polished eventually but for now...I would rather clean unpolished paint splattered boards than cat pee apricot ICKY carpet. It also forced me to clear clutter and organise myself better. Still got some pictures to put up and curtains to make but hey...the whole thing only cost me $50 for new rollers and brushes...we had enough paint left over from previous rooms and now I have a pile of stuff to ebay that will well and truly cover the cost.  Down side is now MM knows just how much STUFF I have collected heheh.  Below is the transformation....what do you think??

OOps finally thought to take a pic....icky carpet,  and apricot walls YUK

Ugly pine panel wall ...oh I am itching to paint

Walls painted carpet gone.....mmm good bones

Oh so not perfect yet but better than cat pee carpet

It looks so much bigger and brighter!!

Cleared out clutter and now just ebay stuff and my faves!!

Spare Room Transformation Starting Point

Right embarassment aside here is the before photos of the spare room.  Its not a big room but will make a lovely spare room for guests.  Where to start..well usually my decoratings is treasure driven. By that I mean I usually start with an inspriation piece which helps me chose the colours and style.  For the spare room I have chosen three pieces.  I picked up two beautiful old prints from one of my favourite antique shops and scored a lovely crystal and brass ornate lamp from the market. So they will be my base for colour and style.  I am going to pick out the soft pinks and blues that are in both pictures and go for (hmm how to describe it....hmmm) a sort of English country house look..little more formal than a cottage but not as grand as a stately home (like I could afford a stately home look lol).  I have a very limited budget so every penny will count.  During the transformation I will update you on the budget, how much I spend on each piece and what my favourite money saving decorating tricks are. 

Yes the walls are white but the junk is everywhere!!

Old chairs, old beds..first thing is to clear the junk!!!

 

 

 

The Inspiration Pieces!!!

Ok, The big picture cost me $45 and the smaller lovely one I bought unframed and popped it in a frame from my stash.  It cost me $25 all up.  I will be using the large lamp from my previous post...cost $20.  And the Lloyd Loom wicker cupboard also in previous post...cost $20. Luckily the walls have been painted Antique White USA with left over paint from my living room.  So spend so far....$90 and I haven't bought any major pieces.  I need a bed, light fitting, curtains, bed linen and a chest of drawers...and I really have a tiny budget of around $700. So lets see how I go!!  Any tips or ideas??  Love to hear from you!!

Spring has Sprung & The Markets Liven Up!!!

Well spring is definitely here in Melbourne, not only are the birds and bees buzzin but so is the market..YAY.  I set out early this morning and had a fantastic time treasure hunting and socialising with my other treasure hunting mates.  It was a bit of a bonanza morning for me with some darling finds!!  I get so excited when I find a treasure and its nice when you meet up with like minded girls we enjoy oohing and ahhing over each others treasures.  I have been after a crystal light dome for sooo long and they always sail past my budget on ebay so I was doing a happy dance when I picked up one today for only $20!!!  Its certainly a keeper!!  I also found a darling little wicker cupboard perfect for the spareroom project!!  See the tall lamp..its quite French in style and I think I nearly snapped the ladies arm off when she told me I could have it for same measley $20 price tag YEEEHAAAA!!  The fabbo red and crome clock is a French Japy one...and hmm what else ohhh the divine pair of old photo frames...I have already popped two of my favourite postcard in them...mmmmm...anyways  scroll down and have a look at my haul!!  Don't you just adore warm spring market days!!!

Some of this weeks haul..LOOOVE the cupboard!!!

See my lovely dome and gorgeous frames!!

Fabbo French Vintage Japy Alarm clock...came in its original box too..happy dance!!!

All in all it was a fantastic morning!!  Now I have not forgotten the spare room project and have a few ICKY before photos to post this week!!  Its a mess right now..but at least its been painted in Antique White USA...have to get hubby to remove the hideous grey melamine desk attached to one wall though....ooohhhh honeeeeyy ....damn it Bathurst is on today.....he is glued to the tv....maybe tomorrow night hehehe.

 

Treasures Found and Exciting News

Well hello bloggers, I have been so slack and not posted for awhile but I have been taking photos and have lots to show and tell.  I will start off with some treasures I have found recently trawling the charity shops and markets.  Don't you just LOVE it when you spy a treasure in amongst the trash?  I know I do...its my adrenaline rush and I have to admit to being quite addicted to it.  It would be fantastic to own a HUGE house in which I could keep all my treasures but you know how it is..you just cannot keep everything so of course things end up on ebay just to help keep clutter at bay and allow me to keep treasure hunting hehe.  Right  here we go.  Market on Sunday turned up some lovely pieces.  A gorgeous floaty flowery dress, a beautiful old loving cup trophy from 1935, the prettiest pink and green roses skirt and THE most divine set of old scales (I think theses HAVE to stay even though I am not sure where to put them heheh).  A few days later I did an op shop and antique store run and voila more treasures.  I ADORE the pretty old tea towels don't you??  The lamp base reminds me of the nordic style and I think I am going to decorate my spare room in thats style so I may not part with it (more on Project spare room to come).  I had a bit of a glass day with the MOST lovely candle sticks...crystal salt and pepper shakers and lovely cake stand. 

 I will post again very shortly.  I have had some exciting news.  My lovely Aunty from England (who is my soul sister and took me to France last year) is coming for a visit...SO I am in panic stations because my spare room is empty and I need to make it into a gorgeous, gorgeous room for her...she will be here at the end of November  YIKES  so I have heaps to do ...I will be posting every step of the decorating and asking for feedback along the way so check in regularly to see how I go....arrrggh the pressure....her house in England is lovely and I hope I measure up ..not that she would mind at all but you know how it is girls hehehe