Birthday surprise

It was my birthday the other week, and I got a little package in the post from V over at Flower Photography & The Clip Cafe.  Since I've been slack, I haven't shown you yet, so this is me still catching up...

Delicious fabric, embellishments, buttons, doily's & a bar of soap to make it all smell delicious!  I sure was delighted when I got it in the post.  Thanks V!  

Oh and where on earth do you get those delightful doily's from?  I want a lifetime supply of them!!!

Disasters, dye & doily's.

Well I'm back home again after the completion of the painting of our house.  When I returned home last Friday night I expected to be amazed.  Let's just say I am less then impressed at the quality of the paint job.  I could have done better, and I certainly wouldn't have gauged the wall each time I moved my ladder... but it's not my problem.  

So my craft room unpacking is getting there.  I decided to use the experience to re-do my room again.  I can't craft on a trussle table forever.  Here is what I came home to...

And after a few attempts to re-arrange, and then after a day today of focusing on finishing up as best as I can (because once again it's a temporary setup until we pick up the new table), this is what I've come up with.  

This is my husbands old study desk.  Husby and I had a great idea in our heads to use this and put the desk hutch on it, and get rid of the desk it used to be on.  The idea was better in our heads.  I have half the room, and hate it!  So luckily for me I remembered my Nan has this giant sturdy table she is trying to get rid of.  So we will be going to pick the table up soon.  Will probably keep the hutch on, but both desks I think will be going.  

This desk will go.  The table from nanna's will go along this wall like the trussle table used to.  Sigh.  Forever work in progress.  I borrowed the bedside table from mum and dad to store my patterned papers and cardboard in the meantime.  The paper will eventually go into a set of drawers that my husbands clothes are living in.  We are getting a new bedroom suite at some stage this year and will get the drawers then.  

Is everyone's craft room a work in progress and mess like mine is??  I have no idea how I want it.  Every time I get an idea, I end up not liking it!!!  Oh well.

Onto dye & doilies.

Over the past two days I have been soaking my doilies in Nappy-San and they look fantastic.  There were a few with rust stains, and i dabbed them with some bleach and all but one came up good.  I don't know what I'm going to do about the one with rust just yet.  While I was dabbing away and rinsing doily's I was thinking about playing around with dying them.  I also remembered that I had some black fabric dye under the laundry basin.  So I pulled it out and mixed up some dye in a bucket and had some fun.  

The one on the left I put in the dye for 2 mins, the middle one for 5 mins, and the small one on the right I just dipped it in for a few seconds.  I love how they all ended up being shades of purple.  I am definitely going to look into buying more fabric dyes and having more fun with dying doily's. 

Flea Market Finds - successes keep rolling in

I've had such good luck with my thrifting lately.  I've eased off on my visits which makes them more enjoyable.  I have been spending longer sorting through piles and digging through boxes.  I've also spent ALOT less money which is always a bonus.  I've been more particular about what I buy.  I refuse to pay more then it's worth and have learnt that there is no point in asking for a cheaper price - they will NEVER give it.  I read alot about other's thrifting adventures and am always ginormously jealous how HOW CHEAP your goodies are.  I have started to come to terms with the fact that all of the op shops in my area, are expensive.  I just have to hope that the day that the grandma dropped her doily supply off to the op shop, that the nice Salvo's lady decides to price them at a reasonable price - not at $3.50 each (go jump lady).  This week I found that exact stash of doily's that grandma dropped off and the nice Salvo's lady priced them at $1 each.  (that's the cheapest I've ever seen doily's go for around here).

So I bought a couple more...

... and I was talking to Wendy over at The Textured Leaf and she suggested a few ways to clean them and make them nice and bright and look new again.  They are currently hanging on the line drying.  I will do the same with all my existing doily's because they look 100% better!

Yes it's a mug stand, no I don't drink tea and coffee....  I heard this neat idea lately (my brain is a sift and I've ALREADY forgotten who's blog I saw it on.. SORRY!!) to use a mug holder to hang scissors, double sided tape... all those little bits and pieces you work with and lose easily, will now be found on my mug stand, which I intend on painting white or something more attractive.

I sifted through the patterns pile as i always do incase I find a cute vintage kids clothing pattern, this time I found this...

... I can't wait to have a play with these!  Adorable.

A couple of baby blankets - perfect for quilt backs maybe?

And then I found this mini cutting mat.  I have a decent sized one that I use on my craft desk and whenever I go somewhere else to sew or craft and need to take it, it's kind of awkward to transport.  So I found this smaller version to travel around with me.

And last but not least...

A queen quilt cover and pillowcase set.  Isn't it divine?  Will be perfect for my guest bedroom (if we ever have one haha).  Absolutely gorgeous and I'm almost certain it's never been used.  It has that lovely stiff new fabric feel to it.  SO pleased with this find.

Well that's it for this week.  Link in over at Sophie's!

Flea Market Finds... always finding!!!

I love finding new crafty treats.  Sometimes I don't know what I'm going to do with them.  Which is a problem in itself.  Last week I did a huge clean up and found some things I'd found a while back in an op shop.  This week I returned them to that same op shop.  I don't know WHY I bought it in the first place.  Obsession comes to mind.

So I have been making a great effort to only buy stuff that I KNOW what I can make out of it!!!  AND WILL make it into that.... one day :)

So here are my latest finds.

  

and...

and...

Not a bad effort I say!

Oh, and I realised after writing this post, that I infact bought other stuff but forgot to photograph it because they were already in the washing pile.  One disadvantage to thrifting any sort of fabric - the smell!! Maybe next week!

Go here if you want to join in!