New Beginnings

Shoestring Splendour - onwards and upwards!!

Its been quite a long time between blogs.  So much has happened.  The worst of which was a very horrific car accident in which I and one of my closest friends were badly injured.  The accident happened on January 18, 2013 enroute to Fryers Town antiques fair.  I do not want to go into all the gory details but surfice to say its taken over 18 months for me to feel fully recovered and to have the energy free to get back into doing what I love.  Which is treasure hunting, repurposing, upcycling and restoring lovely old vintage and antique pieces.  I have been doing a heck of a lot of soul searching and thinking and have decided I want to take Shoestring Splendour to the next level and become a fully fledged, registered and full time vintage dealer.  Due to my injuries I can't really do my old day job to the standard I want to so scarily I have made the decision not to go back to work for an employer with a regular pay check.  

The other big change in my life is that we have moved states.  We now reside in the beautiful state of Queensland, about half way between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.  We are on acerage and I am as "happy as a pig in muck"!!   The climate is warmer and kinder on injured bodies!!  But having moved so far of course I have none of my normal stomping ground for finding treasures......I had to start all over again!!  Hoping against hope that I would actually be able to find treasures up here.  The good news is....theres PLENTY!!   Below is a picture of some nice bits I found on the weekend 

Now my other issue is that in order to have lots of lovely land...I had to compromise on the size and appeal of the house.  After our large five bedroom house in Melbourne I am down to a very small three bedroomed cottage.  The whole property needed TLC..it had been neglected for over ten years..it had termite damage and dampness (peeewhuuuu it smelt).  And it was Soooooo dirty.  But..the land was beautiful and I can see the potential in the cottage....also there was a large shed on the block that could become my very own studio.  Oh the excitement!!!   The are some gorgeous features in the house and I know I can make it beautiful.   I have always wanted a working open fireplace (the one in our old house was purely for show).   Heres how it looks on a cool QLD winters evening. 

We moved into the house in March but my partner had to stay in Melbourne till just two weeks ago.  My Dad & Step Mum (Suzie) have been fantastic in helping me cut down over grown vegetation and scrub and clean and scrub again.  Slowly we are bringing the life back into this house.   I will be showing you how I am going with the  renos (small budget big impact).  Next post I will show you pictures of the house and what we have done already.   If you love vintage scandinavian style....lots of white and lots of quirky pretty items and storage then you will LOVE seeing what I am going to do.  We have scoped out local reclamation yards, local tip shops and I have found MASSES of HUGE op shops to visit too. 

Come with me ..its going to be such a fun journey and along the way you will get the chance to purchase treasures I have found and be inspired by projects I am going to undertake.  Below is an inspiriational photo for today....source  pintrest.  I have a cathedral ceilings that are dark..this is what they will end up like..white as!!  Check back by the end of the week I promise another post with more photos of how my house looks in its before photos...
  

See you in a few days...xxx