I went shopping!

So we've been doing some shopping lately.  And luck has been on our side.  Leading up to getting married almost two years ago, I started gathering.  I managed to fill our entire house with furniture which cost me a total of $50.  Sure everything was mismatched but we had everything we needed.  About a year ago we lashed out and bought a LCD TV and TV unit.  But up until recently, we persevered with our hand-me-down furniture.  

Then about two weeks ago we bought a dining suite.  It is second hand, but in really top condition.

 

(Excuse the fact that it's stuffed up in the corner cause we're storing other crap in our dining room ATM)

And then a few days later, our Landlord installed AC!  Upstairs in our bedroom and in the living area downstairs.

And while the Landlord was at it, he put in a brand new cooktop/oven!!

And then we were went to The Good Guys (whitegoods appliance store) and we were taking a look at new fridges.  We were given one for free when we got married and it is VERY old.  It was very much on the way out and needed replacing.  And we were probably spending a fortune running it.  2 hours later we accidentally bought a fridge...

And I of course have already adorned it in our 'stuff'.

You would think we would be satisfied with what we had so far.  But no.  We went shopping again.  A few days later I found something we'd been looking out for, for a few months now.  A shelf for all our DVD's!

The thing I love about it most is the fact it's leaning....

 And then that night, we were doing the groceries at Aldi, and they happened to have deep freezers as one of their specialty items.  So we bought one.  We had made plans to buy a deep freezer in the upcoming months, but couldn't pass this one by!

And then when you thought I was done.  A few days ago husby and I were sitting in his study chatting.  He was fiddling a little on his computer and then all of a sudden he had this freak out moment and couldn't speak and grabbed for his phone and I was confused and asking what was going on.  He muttered something along the lines of "can't talk must text free piano".  He had spotted a FREE antique piano online.  He texted as fast as his little fingers would go that we wanted it!  I hadn't even seen a picture of it until after the text was sent.  We didn't hear back from the lady that night so assumed we were too late and went to bed sad that we'd missed out on such a beauty. 

Then the next morning husby was downstairs in the kitchen making our lunches for work while I was still upstairs finishing getting ready.  Then I hear this man scream "WE GOT IT".  The lady texted back and the piano was OURS!!  Husby phoned around to piano removalists and managed to find one that was available that very same day!! (piano delivery day was the same day as my flood clean up day in Fairfield).  Luckily my dad needed to leave right after lunch so I had an hour or so to re-arrange all of the furniture in my whole downstairs!  It only cost a small fortune for the removalists, but it's OK because the piano was FREE!!

 

As you can see, it's an Emerson.  I hadn't heard of Emerson before, but husby had.  (might have something to do with the fact that he's American and Emerson's originate from the USA).  The delivery guy took an interest in my new piano.  He had never seen one before, and he was an a piano enthusiast (fancy that).  He said it would be worth my while to look into where it came from and when it was made.  We have done a little bit of research and my little free piano is known as "the sweet toned Emerson" and is potentially worth a small fortune.  I don't think that lovely old lady knew exactly what she was just giving away.

She's all settled in and looking pretty.

And then you thought I was finished again.  But I'm not.

Husby found a washing machine online too.  9.5kg Simpson.  Only used 30 times.  

So he went and got it after work :)

And now I'm done.  

Well for now.  Landlord is having tradies come in and give quotes for a paint job inside and new carpet upstairs.  Oh how I look forward to the rent increases that will result in all these improvements!!!

I'm feeling super dooper lucky!!  Loving all our new treasures. 

And just a little something extra.  I took this while cooking dinner tonight.  Thought I'd experiment with some of my macro settings :)

Have a good weekend everyone.  I'll be spending mine making people's hair beautiful for a wedding, going to the reception, doing more cleaning out in the flood affected areas and going to church.  While I am out cleaning tomorrow, I will be trying to make contact with families who have children who have lost everything.  Hopefully these families and children will become the new owners of all the beautiful Softies that are being made for my Softies for Smiles appeal.  It's not too late to join in! 

I'm also still looking for 5 lucky people to Pay It Forward too!

See ya later!!

Big day!

What a day!  I went out to Fairfield with my dad today.  It was one of the suburbs that was hit the worst.  They were told they would not flood.  But they DID flood, up to their ceilings.  I think they started evacuating as they watched the water come for them.  So they didn't have much time.  Most people lost everything, accept what they could stuff in their cars as the waters rose up their ankles.  My dad was lucky and yesterday he was able to help people empty their houses and get started on the big jobs.  Today was more of a follow up on that.  I was ready to get dirty!!  But I didn't get very dirty :)

I only took a couple of photos.  I felt guilty, like I was there to be a tourist, and not a volunteer.  So I snuck one photo while still in the car, and two inside a house when I was the only person in there.

When we arrived on the street we were working on, there were army personnel everywhere. 

They just helped wherever they could.  Ripping things out, taking away rubbish.  They were pretty awesome!

My dad showed me some of the houses he worked on yesterday.  One particular house, was emptied by dad and a few others yesterday.  The tenants are away in Sydney, and were there when the floods came in last week.  What a horrible thing to come back to.  A mud sludge house, and all of your belongings have either floated away or been destroyed and thrown out.  Her dad was there today to check it out.  He didn't want to go inside and see the damage, it was too hard for him to see. 

These photos were from inside this house.

It was just heartbreaking to see such a beautiful house destroyed. 

The water went all the way up to the moulding on the ceiling. 

After seeing this house we went across the road to help a lovely widow that dad spoke to yesterday.  He promised her he would high pressure hose all the mud off her house for her.  So he did!  I went inside and cleaned up all of the furniture she was able to get up high enough that it didn't get damaged.  She had beautiful antique furniture and doors, so I did my best to restore them back to their previous condition.  There were sparkies re-wiring the house while I was there too.  Poor guys had to crawl under the house in the sludge.

Luckily there were nurses roaming the streets offering free tetanus shots! 

We took a lunch break and found that a group of volunteers were putting on a BBQ on the street corner!  So we had delicious sausages on bread for lunch and some biccies that I had packed. 

Luckily the weather eased off a little today so it wasn't too uncomfortable. 

Well I think that's everything.  I really didn't do much.  I just sat in a house washing down furniture!  But when the lady came home after lunch and found out I'd just cleaned her furniture for her, I could see the expression on her face change.  It was so nice to see how much of a difference that made for her. 

****

Now for a few housekeeping things!!

Thank you everyone who has volunteered to make a Softie for my Softie for Smiles Appeal!! You are amazing.  It's not too late to join in!  Just pop over here to find out the details and let me know if you want to participate!!  (If you have already signed up and I have missed your name on the participants list in my sidebar, please let me know!! I think I have everyone... but is also likely that I don't :P)

Also on that note, I have been speaking with a few people and may have a place for all of your beautiful softies to go soon!  I don't want to tell you just yet, until I know for sure so I'll keep you posted.

My auctions are picking up!!  Yay!!  I'm so glad that my goodies will be going to new homes next week!  Don't forget to check them out here, here and here!  It's all for a good cause!!

Also on the topic of auctions, if you have a moment, pop over to Dianne's Little Corner.  She is a friend of mine who spent a good couple of days making lots of cute kiddies clothes to auction off and as yet, has not had much traffic to her blog for the auctions.  I'd love to see all her goodies go to new homes too!!  

Ok I'm still going.. sorry!

Don't forget to pop over to my shop!  Lots of goodies still available!

And last but not least... I have signed up to do a Pay It Forward this year.  Pop over here to learn more! 

PHEW!  Got through it all for now.  I have a list of all the things I need to blog about!  Getting a little behind :)  Life will be back to normal next week so I'll get a blogging again.  But to keep me accountable I'm going to tell you what I need to blog about.

- brother's wedding
- all our new furniture/appliances
- the piano (yes we got the piano and it's A-mazing)
- my flea market finds
- softies update
- summer photos

Just a few to keep me on my feet.

Hope you all enjoyed your day!

Special.

Wow.  You women amaze me.  Today started out not so fun.  It is ending quite differently.  I feel so so very special and blessed.  You answered all of my questions and more, and in the meantime made me feel like I had a purpose.  I did my best to thank each of you individually for your kind words - unfortunately some of you did not have a return address, so THANK YOU for your advice, your encouragement and your time! 

To top off an amazing end of the day, husby just found a FREE VINTAGE PIANO online.  He texted the person immediately and we are both desperately waiting to hear back from them.  I hope we get it.  I miss playing the piano.  It is so soothing and relaxing. 

I look forward to what tomorrow brings.  I will be putting on my brand new gum boots (which came in the post today but my calves don't fit into them.. gonna have to trim them down a bit), putting on my oldest pair of jeans and a tshirt, armed with rags and a bucket and some chemicals, and I'm heading over to Fairfield with my dad to help clean houses that were inundated with water during the floods.  I'm looking forward to forgetting myself and lightening someone else's load.  I will have to be sure to take pictures to document what I anticipate to be an amazing day!! 

THANK YOU AGAIN!  I feel like a new person :)

Disappointment

Chin up, chin up
Everybody loves a happy face
Wear it, share it
It'll brighten up the darkest place
Twinkle, sparkle
Let a little sunshine in
You'll be on the right side
Looking at the bright side
Up with your chinny chin, chin up!

Ok so I've been feeling sorry for myself lately.  I think I have documented well my Market failures in the past here and here.  But even though I failed miserably after all the stress and hours upon hours of hard work, I decided I woud be fine and kept my 'chin up'.  I thought, well maybe Market's are just not for me?

I decided that perhaps doing some giveaways would help.  I noticed the followers on my blog slowly creeping up.  I was really excited to see it.  After the giveaways, I noticed them creeping back down again.  So some people were only in it for the freebies.  I tried to not let it get to me.  In the meantime, I parted with a good portion of my 'stock'.  But I told myself to keep my chin up and it's still early days.   

So next I tried selling things here on my blog with no success.    But I just kept that 'chin up'.  (I kinda knew that one wouldn't work).

Then I thought, well everyone seems to be highly successful in having an Etsy or Madeit store.  So I got myself organised and opened a Madeit store.  I'm 3 weeks into that now.  No sales, and not even an item listed as someone's favourite.  But I thought, don't let it get you down Christy.  These things take time.  This time round it was getting harder to convince myself.  My chin was starting to feel a little heavy.

So after all the flood devastation, I thought about what I could do to help, and blogged about it here.  I decided I could organise a Softie Appeal, and collect handmade Softies from whomever was willing and able to help and participate.  So I officially launched my idea on my blog here.  Although this hasn't been a big success, I am really grateful for the handful of people who have put their hands up to help.  I think I will send you a little something as a thankyou because you made my chin a little lighter. 

BUT.....

.... then I decided to continue in further efforts to help those affected by the floods.  There was ALOT of talk in the bloggy world to join in with the Auctions over at make it perfect.  So at the last minute I decided to put together three bundles of goodies to be auctioned off.  I was added to the master list and ready to rock and roll and excited at the prospect of auctioning off my goods for a really good cause.  Hopefully they would sell for more then they were worth.  I also figured the traffic to my blog would be awesome (which it has been) and would introduce new followers, and that people would become more interested in my merchandise from all the views.   

This is the part where my chin got real heavy again.  Real heavy.  Two days on and not a single bid. No new followers. 

I'm sure most of you know that people are paying up to $160 for a cushion, and $200 for a book.

And still no bids.  I've considering withdrawing them from the Auction to save myself from further disappointment. 

I sat on my bed and cried for a good half hour yesterday.  I want to put my chin back up high in the air but until I can figure out what I'm doing wrong, I don't think I'll be able to do it.  This isn't something I can talk myself out of.

So this is the part where I'm asking you to be honest.  What am I doing wrong?  What can I improve in?  I really want this to work.  If I don't find an outlet to sell my goods then I will have to stop creating because it just costs too much to buy the materials and get nothing back for them. 

******

Now that you've heard my sob story, can I ask a few favours?  It will really help. 

1.  Please leave a comment and honestly tell me what you think I can do to change/improve.  How can I get more traffic to my blog?  What do you look for in a blog?  What types of blogs do you enjoy?  How can I successfuly sell items in my Madeit store?  Please be honest (just don't be mean!!).

2.  Please take a moment to check out my auctions.  I honestly believe they are great products.  I made them with great care and love and would prefer to see them put to good use then to sit in a basket gathering dust in my craft room (which all of my merchandise is currently doing).

You can see them here, here and here.

3. Please check out my Softies for Smiles Appeal.  Whether you can make a toy, if you have a pattern, if you have fabric you can donate, please let me know.  However you can contribute will make my day.

4.  And lastly, if you have a spare minute, check out my Madeit store.

******

This hasn't been a very enlightening post has it?

I promise to share more exciting things after today.  I still need to show you pictures of my brother's wedding.  And I also was successful in finding some goodies at Op Shops yesterday, and husby and I are overhauling our house - we have bought a tonne of things to upgrade our little unit in the past month.

QLD Flood Auction - #3 Handmade Cards & Embellishments AUCTION CLOSED!!

Up for grabs we have an assorted bundle of cards & embellishments.  I will list the greetings specifically.

Regular size:
- x2 "Dear Dad"
- x1 "Happy Valentine's Day"
- x1 "Make a Wish"
- x1 "Thank You"
Smaller size:
- x1 "Get well wishes"
- x1 "Congratulations"
Card Packs:
- x2 packs of 4 cards (8 in total) mini "Thank You"
Embellishments:
- x3 packs of 2 paper flowers in assorted colours (6 in total) 

This is a pack of 21 goodies, worth a total of $35

How this auction works:

1.  Bidding will start at $25 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone.  Postage is FREE for Australian residents, International buyers will need to pay $10 to cover some postage costs.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.

6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send their proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your goodies to you.

8.  Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

(Don't forget to check out my Softie's for Smiles Appeal for children affected in the floods) 

I have two other auctions.  Check them out here and here.

QLD Flood Auction - #2 Baby Clothes & Accessories AUCTION CLOSED!!

Up for grabs we have 2 appliqued girls onesie jumpsuits (both size 1).  Both come with a matching flower clip.  I have also included an elastic headband for the hair clip to be attached to.  That is 5 items worth a total of $30.

How this auction works:

1.  Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone.  Postage is FREE for Australian residents, International buyers will need to pay $10 to cover some postage costs.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.

6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send their proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your goodies to you.

8.  Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

(Don't forget to check out my Softie's for Smiles Appeal for children affected in the floods) 

I have two other auctions.  Check them out here and here.

QLD Flood Auction - #1 Hair Accessories AUCTION CLOSED!!

Up for grabs we have 3 Fabric Flower Rosette Headbands, 4 Ribbon Flower Clips, 1 Fabric Rosette Clip & 4 Flower Clips.  That is 12 hair accessories worth a total of $45.  

  

How this auction works:

1.  Bidding will start at $25 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone.  Postage is FREE for Australian residents, International buyers will need to pay $10 to cover some postage costs.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.

6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send their proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your goodies to you.

8.  Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

(Don't forget to check out my Softie's for Smiles Appeal for children affected in the floods) 

I have two other auctions.  Check them out here and here.

Softies for Smiles - Flood Relief for Kids!

(If you are unaware of the current situation in Queensland, Australia, go here & here to find out.)


After witnessing so much loss, sorrow, heartache & utter chaos I have decided to put into action a plan to help some of the little people out there.    I guess as adults we can understand the concept of loss a little better.  We know that in the end everything will be OK, which brings a sense of relief.  I think this is a harder concept for a child to grasp.  To them, they have just lost their home.  Their bedroom.  Their precious possessions.  Their toys.  What horrible childhood memories this flood has created for them.  I hope to bring a little glimpse of joy back into their lives, and give them something to play with.  Something to give them comfort and bring back some normality!

This is why I have decided to focus my efforts on making Softies for children, in hopes that we can put a smile on their face!

Here's how it works.

• Make a Softie, doll, animal... anything you like.  There are plenty of free Softie patterns all over the internet.  But to make your life easier, you can look here, here, here, here or here for some ideas.  (These are a few I just found in Google now).  It can be big, small, colourful, made of fabric, knitted.... it doesn't matter!  As long as it's a toy!!  It doesn't matter if you have never made a Softie before.   Just keep it simple!  Use the internet to give you more ideas, and tips.  And if you're feeling brave why not draft your own Softie pattern (this is how I made the monster Softie above!)

• I ask that Softies be finished and sent to me by 31st March.  I am flexible with that, but I know how busy life is and I find it easier to have a date to work towards.  At this point in time I do not know exactly where the Softies will go but am working on that now and will let you know ASAP!  

• If you want to join in please let me know!!  I will put your in my sidebar as a participant so that everyone can see how wonderful you are!!  Also if you are participating, please grab the button at the top of my sidebar and put it on your blog so we can spread the word.   The more Softies, the more smiles on childrens faces!

• If you are able to make a Softie or two, I ask that you attach a small note/card to each toy that you send in for the recipient.   Just a nice extra touch to let them know that a complete stranger cares about them. 

• If you are unable to make a Softie, but have fabric/accessories you are willing to donate towards the cause please let me know.

If you know of any families or businesses that would benefit from the Softie for Smiles Appeal PLEASE tell me about them!!!  I would love to be able to help YOUR loved ones and friends.

There are tonnes of fabulous people out there doing similar things.  Pop over to Retromummy's blog where Corrie is hosting "Quilts for Queensland".  You can also go to Her Library Adventures, Sophie is donating money from her store sales towards the Premier's Flood Appeal.  And then there is also the Online Auctions of all things crafty.  Pop over to Toni's blog, Make it Perfect to see the master list of all the fantastic people auctioning off their goods for the Flood Appeal.

Thanks in advance!!

Pay it Forward

Can you tell that I'm using today as my Blog catchup day?  It's been crazy around here and it's nice to have a few hours to work on my blog.


Well I have this amazing blog friend over at The Clip Cafe who gives me fantastic ideas.  She is participating in a Pay it Forward.  And I want in!  Here is how it works.


1.  I promise to send something HANDMADE to the first FIVE people who leave a comment here.  


2.  To be eligible, YOU MUST ALSO POST THIS IN YOUR BLOG, offering the same thing to 5 other people. 


3.  Once you have blogged about it, let me know about your post.


So the rules are simple.  It must be handmade and it must be sent to your 5 people throughout 2011.

If you are playing along, it would probably be wise to you give yourself an approximate due date so the people that signed up don't get too impatient!!  

At this point in time I'm looking at having all of my PIF's out by June.  

Don't forget to let me know once your PIF post is up and remember to leave a comment if you want in!!!

Wedding preparations.

Well yesterday my brother got married!  Yay!  Now all of us are married!  I will do another post of wedding piccies and such, but for now I want to share some of things we made and did for the wedding.  There was minimal budget, and considering the wedding ended up being the week of the floods, everything got downsized and simplified....which added to the last minute stress of course.  

Last week, my sister Alicia, my SIL Bethany & I got together one day to make these....

Isn't that fabric just amazing?  It was originally for Bridesmaid's dresses.  But time was not on our side and the dress idea got scrapped, and we made these instead!  We used them to decorate the Reception Hall like this..

...and the Wishing Well like this....

And then there was the cake.  Whoa this was an interesting job.

In the fridge after finishing for the night.  The rest of the icing flower blob things & fresh flowers were added the day of the wedding

We tried to make fondant flowers last Sunday night.  The humidity we are experiencing here in Australia (because it's Summer) did not allow this to happen.  It made the fondant gooey, sticky & it just fell apart.  We didn't know what to do.  So Bethany & I decided to make up our own style of fondant.  I can't give up the recipe, but it pretty much was amazing.  We ended up with White Chocolate & Coconut Fondant.  We didn't make it too stiff.  We didn't need to roll it out and place it on the cake.  We just grabbed chunks of the fondant out of the bowl and patted it down on the cake and then shaped it.  We didn't want it perfect, we wanted it to have a slight 'rustic' look.  (I forgot the mention Bethany & her friend MADE the mudcakes themselves and they tasted aaaamazing).  

After we patted the fondant onto the cake, we used this amazing pattern sheet of plastic.  It was a roses pattern.  Then we coated it in a Pearl sheen spray.  Then the pearls around the bottom, and the icing flower blobs around each layer.  

Day of the wedding one of the ladies helping for the Reception is luckily a florist and she placed the roses on the cake for us.  She did an amazing job.

And then there is the hair piece.  I don't actually have a proper photo of this because I FORGOT TO TAKE ONE!! Doh!!  It was a combined effort from Bethany and I.  While I was sewing the clip onto the felt, she twisted the fabric into a perfect rose shape.  We were trying to match the fabric roses that came on her dress...

This is the best picture I could find on my camera of the flowers in her hair.  It was basically one small one and one big one, and the little one was clipped on top of the big one so it looked overlapped.  

Sorry they're not very good photos. 

Bethany and I also made thank you cards for all of the guests, but I forgot to take photos of those too.  

And I think that is everything that I had my hand in helping to make for the wedding....  

A touch of France.

Do you know how hard it is to get a 18 month old to stand still while you take pictures of her?  Some of you probably do. 

But because she's cute, and has food all over her face adding to her cuteness, I forgave her.

I got this adorable Beret pattern from Lil Blue Boo.  She offers free PDF patterns all the time.  I don't think this pattern is available anymore, but I'm pretty sure she has a different free pattern available instead!  Definitely worth checking out!