For the love of Enamelware!!

I admit it...I have an addiction, in fact I have many when it comes to vintage but old floral enamelware is one of my top one!!   I recently purchased a drop dead gorgeous set of French canisters and I just have to show them off!!   Ta da!!  

This range is called rose garland and I have seen it in the blue and pink colourway before but never the red.  I have to say I adore red accents at the moment so red suits me just fine!!  Now I have to find just the right place for them in this little cottage of ours.   Who else loves enamelware...and what are you favourite pieces....would love to know!!   Though I am still and always will be a shabby girl at heart I am slowly allowing more strident colours into my world..red being one.  

The exciting thing on my horizon at the moment is the conversion of the double freestanding garage on our block into my very own studio!!!  The garage needs LOTS of work to get it anywhere near a studio but its defintely going to happen!!  I will post a couple of inspiration photos later this week and see what you think......I could go in so many directions....oh its sooo exciting!!  Have a lovely day!!   Hugs  Sam

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

Oh what a lovely Morning- Spring Market finds!!

So Sunday was the 2nd day of spring here in Australia and the first weekend in weeks where rain wasn't forecast and I was hyped up and ready to treasure hunt.  Had to drag my poor hubby with me as I am just recovering from surgery and unable to drive myself.  

Well......I thought it was going to be a no show on treasures at the market I headed to when out of the blue one stall....just the one ..started to unload some beauties!!    SCORE!   Two divine dome chandeliers...one tiny petite one and one mother of a HUGE on.  Needless to say I snapped them both up.

 

I bought quite a few other pieces including a gorgeous old wooden crate with fantastic graphics.  All in all I had a beautiful morning all topped off with a big slap up cooked breaky for my other half made by the kids and ready to dig into when we got home.

Oh had to show you this gorgeous bottle stand with lovely big water bottles in it.  Fantastic for your summer table!!

 

Whoa where did that year go?

 Its hard to believe its been a year since I blogged.  And what a year its been.  It was super busy with kids and work and home and then in January this year I had a wake up call.  A very nasty car accident that could have been fatal.  Since then I have been in recovery mode and hopefully I am having my last operation on Thursday of this week.  As soon as I am able after the op I plan on getting my life back into full swing!!  This includes my blog!!  I have had a lot of time to think about life and I have had time to potter and treasure hunt so have made a few changes to the house see pics below.  We are tarting up our house at the moment in hopes of putting it on the market in a couple of months and making a big move up to sunny Queensland.  My family are all up there and after the accident I realised how much I want and need to be closer to them.  Also the warmer weather is kinder on the parts of my body affected by the accident. So ....here are some pictures of little vignettes round my house that I love.  I will be posting more market finds, some before and afters and lots of pics of things I love ...and if you are very lucky I will get some pictures of some of my friends beautiful homes as well.   Oh and excitingly in a few weeks I am going to have a fantastic give away too!! 

Spring is almost here!!   Love love love the red gingham shades I bought from France

I am so in love with the dresser..its an early Australian piece but it looks very Scandinavian to me

I love bling....so the vintage venitian mirror with rhinestone purses makes me smile every time

I have a thing about antique books and frames....can you tell?

Another of my additions...antique French caskets..the ones like these with button back tops ...arrggghhhh

More frames of course!!  Oh and a few clocks...oh yes I do love me some rhinestone clocks!!

 Ok are just a few of my treasures...so much more to come!!

Magic Market Morning.....Great Finds!!

Hello my lovelies!!   Its been awhile since I last blogged.  Life has been way too hectic with end of finanical year stuff URGH!!   But now thats all over I can get back to MY life...treasure hunting and blogging and enjoying myself.    This morning after a few weeks of icky wet Melbourne Sundays today was predicted to be beautiful and it didn't let me down.  When dawn broke and the sun began to shine I was already ladden with treasures and still wandering round one of my favourite Sunday markets.  I got a bumper haul!!  I just love all my treasures but I got a couple of WAAAYYY cool and WAAYYY valuable buys.  Firstly the amazing funky 1960's Annodised desk fan...these are quite rare and this one is in complete working order....OMG!!   The other rare and beautiful piece was a Antonio Borsarto Italian Porcelain wall plaque.  Its signed and has its original stickers.  These Borsarto pieces are very, very collectible and comand HUGE prices.  Though I paid a bit for this one I just think its stunning.  The Madonna and Child....his work is so beautiful and there is something emotional about his pieces.  This one is heading to ebay soon if I can bare to part with it!!  Another gorgeous treasure is my amazing Italian Cherub vintage swing mirror.  I just love the little cherub and the soft pastel colours...the mirror has some foxing another feature I adore.   Hmm can I part with this ....maybe!!   The hat pins are gorgeous...the cards...divine.  The little tins..so cute and the other stunner is the drop dead GORGEOUS old floral and gilt frame...its just to die for.  Very high Victorian...not sure of its age but its definitely quite old.  Mmmmm.   Oooh and the little cruet set.....with its sweet sillohettes.  

I just kept finding treasure after treasure...the gods were certainly on my side this morning.  I found some packets  very handy and handsome upholstery pins and for $2 they were a steal!!   I musn't forget the gorgeous old Smiths Dark Room timer...very industrial and cool. The last little bits were the decanter tags...very sweet.  

You may notice all the treasures are sitting on a DROP DEAD GORGEOUS vintage leather..(yes real leather) case.  That was an op shop find earlier in the week.  Its just stunning..the patina is amazing and the interior is clean and lined in gorgeous fabric.  Its probably only about 30 years old but its in immaculate condition and I just love it.  Keep?  Ebay?   Keep?  Ebay?  ARRGGH I just don't know.    

Well thats my day..how was yours...love to hear from any other treasure hunters and their best finds this weekend......ciao for now....Sam

What a haul!!

Amazing Rare Retro Annodised Fan!!

More more more treasures!

And the girly bits!!

The Antonio Borsato - Madonna with Child ..sigh

Its nice to come home!

Ahh all clean and tidy....not for long ..kids will be home soon!!

On this sunny but chilly Melbourne day I walked into my house and had to smile at this view of my dinning area.  Is there a view in your home that makes you smile everytime you see it.  It might be a corner that works really well, or a cupboard full of your favourite china...or even the pleasure from making your bed with all the cushions and your favourite linen......tell me I would love to know!!

I FOUND MY HOLY GRAIL

I was reading a blog awhile ago, in fact  I think it was the lovely Alcia from Time Worn Style and she posed the question....What is your holy grail, you know, the piece you have been searching for and haven't found yet!!  Well for me it was a pair of antique enamel opera glasses.  I have bid on so many pairs on ebay and they always go sailing past my budget.  In fact some of the really pretty ones go for well over a thousand...way out of my league.  Then this morning my other half and I trekked out to Sandown Race course to go to a collectors fair.  I had a strict budget...I was not going to spend more than $200 for the day..money I had saved from the SVJX!!  Well after spending a little on lovely old books and a couple of lovely vintage Steiff toys...I saw them.  My breath caught in my throat and I made a bee line for the stall and the case they were displayed in.  I held my breath...omg they were GORGEOUS....there is no way on earth I can afford them I thought....maybe the lovely dealer would just let me hold them for awhile.  I asked...he got them out..the case was divine..the opera glasses were amazing.  I asked the price...OMG....Just a little more than the money I had left....could I find an ATM...could I rob a passerby.....I stood there clutching them....mentally working out what money  I had left....I was well short and that was after haggling for the best price too.  NOoooooooo I can't lose them...I couldn't bear it.  Then my lovely other half after looking at my face...and knowing how much I have been searching....pulled the extra $$$ from his wallet..  I have never been so in love with that man as I was at that moment!!  They are mine..and I love them....the glasses that is hehehe oh and him too heheh.   Below are some pics of my darling opera glasses and the other wonderful bits and pieces I had already bought.  I have promised said Other half that I will ebay the other pieces so I can keep the glasses.   And I will...well maybe not the little bunny ..heheheh

My babies...I adore the colour and the enamel is in good order

My holy grail....Im in heaven

I have seen many French pairs but these are marked Thomas Way Adelaide...YAY

If anyone is interested  everything but the opera glasses is heading to ebay!!