Monday 30 August 2010

James Corbett Car Part Sculptor ... an amazing Aussie.


 
The Australian artist James Corbett, 46-year-old creates these sculptures using salvaged old car parts.

A ram covered in used spark plugs sold for $23,000
Gorgeous owl
Amazing pooch ...
Who's on the lead ...

See all about James and his amazing work HERE

Sunday 29 August 2010

Flea Market Finds ... gorgeous cross stitch, crochet & sticks of inches ...

Hoover cushions aren't they gorgeous ?
I'd pay money to know where she scored the fabric ...
some things people just don't tell ... 
fabulous imagination at work with an old beach umbrella frame ...
hanging tiny pot plants and looking so cute ...
treasures abound ...
hessian never looked so good ...
My finds =
A stunning linen, cross stitched, supper cloth ...
that will become something beautiful but for now I'll contemplate ...
AND ...
four carpenter's rulers ...
the kind that my dearly departed chippie used to call "sticks of inches" ...
to add to my collection ... 
made for a very happy, sunny Sunday!

Saturday 28 August 2010

Gluten Free Pizza from Crust = garlic prawns = deeelish

Gluten free crust = thin and crunchy ...
Pumpkin sauce base = divine for us non tomato'ers ...
Topping = garlic prawns, spanish onion, artichokes, extra anchovies ...
Delivered piping hot served with a sprinkling of fresh herbs & lemon wedge ...
Heaven!

ART of CROCHET Magazine Advert on TV = $946.00 = Beware read the fine print ...

Have you seen the adverts on TV for this NEW magazine?

Make sure you read the fine print before subscribing ...

The total cost for these how to crochet magazines equals almost $950 ...

Sounds a bit rich to me ...

You could go ask your your Mum, your Nan, a girlfriend ...

or Google 'how to crochet' that'll lead you to FREE online tutorials ...

better still ...

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Junk love Wednesday ...


My Junk Love was a spectacular find at the market on Sunday.
First the sweetest little box of vintage buttons for $5...
Then this TDF Coral and brass necklace for $20 ...
I couldn't resist ...
Hope your finds were just as special.

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Fashion-Less-Waste 2010 ... International Year of Biodiversity ... Student Fashion from recycled materials

Student entrants in the Australian Museum competition Fashion Less Waste 2010: Biodiverse designed and created an outfit mostly made from materials originally bought and used for a non-clothing purpose.

To celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity, students used Australian animals as their inspiration. Judges involved in the fashion industry chose the winners and runners-up ... more here
Materials :: Covers and pages of hard-cover books, netball skirt, string, plack paint, staples and safety pins ...


Materials :: Crocheted plastic bags

Materials:: Plastic bags, flyscreen, lolly wrappers, packing tape, boning, polystyrene packaging, table cloth, button and zipper

Take a peek at the rest of the finalists on the Australian Museum site here ...
the work of young Australian students is breathtaking!

Monday 23 August 2010

My Place & Yours = what's in your handbag?


Dani asks ~ This week for My Place & Yours I'd really love to re-play an old favourite of mine {if you all don't mind} I know this gets done time and time again online but it's so much fun! I hope you'll play along too and show me what's in your handbag...
Contents of mine are always the same ...
from left of pic to right ...
tissues
sunnie's
notebook & pen,
keys,
purse pack tissues,
hair brush,
red wallet,
phone,
and the best invention ever, a clear plastic zippered purse holding ...
business cards, tea bags, lipstick, medications, bandaids and anything else I might need or find on that day ...
these are my handbag staples that move from bag to bag ...

Sunday 22 August 2010

Anyone know exact results of vote counting ... certainly not National TV channels ...

3 TV channels reporting vote count of Australian election each showing different results from the same and ONLY source, the AEC ...
highlights the lack of media cred ...

Ch 7 showed  ALP 72 : NLP 71

Ch 9 showed  ALP 69 : NLP 71

ABC showed  ALP 70 : NLP 72

is it any wonder the press have such a bad name?
OK so the people of Australia have spoken ...
but how will we know who to believe when vote counting is complete?
 
Any ideas how to get a direct line to the Australian Electoral Commision???

Friday 20 August 2010

Martha Stewart Show = ridiculous Australian broadcast times + Knit Kit ...

                                                                         
Check out this must have, travellers knitter or crocheters gem ...
The 2010 model come in turquoise with two new added features ...

We're getting the exact same show here as broadcast in the US ...
only thing is it's on 7.35 am or 12.40 am ...
recording for later viewing is OK ...
but what's with programmers on the The How To channel ...
with the massive shortage of craft style programs available?
Frustrated!

Thursday 19 August 2010

My Creative Space :: Cuff by Kirsty = to embellish or not is the question?

Kirsty posted about her Contortionist Crocheting of these gorgeous cuffs HERE and generously included a tutorial too!

When she offerend them for sale I swooped ...
mine arrived just a few moments ago ...
Taaaaa Daaaaa I Adore it, feels soft, fits perfectly ...
now the question is ::

To embellish or not???

Only with Mill Hill Delica Beads ...
pearls or gold ...
sorry girls I only wear gold and Opi Lincoln Park After Dark nails ...
black beads wouldn't look out of place either!

Would so appreciate what you think ...
nothing garish just a few delicate beads???

A Thousand Thanks Kirsty - Love, Luv, Lurrve your work ♥♥♥

Out Tuesday = Flaked Wednesday ... what have you been up to ?

Tuesday I shopped, mooched, lunched and laughed with my girls ...
guess who was home alone ...
today was Blossom's turn ...
she lapped up the lovin' ...
together we flaked ...
Bless!
So what have you been up to over the last couple of days?

Monday 16 August 2010

My Place and Yours :: the last thing you bought = tall, silver, cool ...

                                                                                  
          What's the last thing your brought for yourself?                  
Taaaa Daaaaa
Standing tall, peering straight ahead last Thursday ...
was like a dream come true ...
after spending my entire life hunched, squirming like a
contortionist to find stuff at the back of the fridge ...
Tall sleek, silver, no more hunching ...
I smile each time I look ...
I was like an expectant mother waiting for her arrival ...
the delivery guys laughed when I kissed her ...
Bliss!
Please understand she means more to me ...
than the Flea Market Finds ...
that were actually the last thing I bought ...
it's rare something new arrives at my place, how about at yours?

Flea Market Finds = a small haul on an ace day ...

Early morning clouds put off some regular sellers ...
more sparce but still gorgeous ...
Oh drat I forgot to buy that mirror ...
no nothing here ...
gorgeous but expensive ...
A Ha at the stall where little people shopped my purse was opened ...
next door was a new shipment of treasures from the UK ...
an amazing selection ...
the drill, the drill ...why did I drool for that drill ???
Restrained and happy with this lot ...
2 leopard velvety cushions - $2 each ... 
sea shell - $1 ...
the purse bought only for frame and chain - $2 ...
5 pair Patons T'shell knitting needles - $2 a pair ...
Taaa Daaaa flea market finds par excellence ... Yay!!!

Friday 13 August 2010

Blaming Cath Kidston ... here comes the sun over at CLM ...

Aren't these beautiful ... don't they scream spring or summer?

Make a T Shirt into a Skirt courtesy designer John Patrick ...

Place your T-shirt on a flat surface.
Mark off the desired length of your skirt from the shirt’s hem up to the underarms.
Chop off the top of the T-shirt (including sleeves) with scissors so that you’re left with a rectangular tube of fabric

At the end of the tube that is not hemmed, grasp one layer of the fabric and cut a small slit about 12 cms down one side of the fabric.
Only cut one layer. 
Leave the layer that will be the back of the skirt intact.
Grasp the two ends of the fabric and tie them together.
Tie them as tightly or as loosely as you like till you get the perfect fit
You could take old silk scarves or printed fabrics.
Go really wild and use ribbons, trim, and scraps.
Isn't this fabulous, so easy!
                                                 

Thursday 12 August 2010

Three Beautiful Sisters = 275 years young ...

Three beautiful sisters whose combined ages equal 275 years young!
Left to right they're 101 ~ 83 ~ 91 ...
imagine the stories they could tell ...
they all still live in their respective homes ...
they're the Mum and Aunts of my BFF.
When I grow up I want to be just like them! 
Aren't they gorgeous ladies?

Wednesday 11 August 2010

My Place and Yours + Childhood Memories = Timber box and Chenille Bedspreads .



Memories abound around me. 
There's oodles of melancholy, inherited, gifted and loved stuff with truck loads of memories of other times and places in every nook and cranny. 

I've chosen to go way, way back ...to when times were sad.

In 1957 I'd been sent to live with my Grandma. The story is one that movies are made of. For three years I yearned to be allowed to go home. From 12 years old I'd get a tram to Central Railway, then the train for an hour, all alone, with a 20 minute walk from the station to Mum and Dad's house. I'd spend the weekend, which was really only Saturday afternoon till Sunday afternoon, then I'd do that twenty minute walk to the station, catch the train and tram to be back at Grandma's before dark. 

For either my 12th or 13th birthday, my parents did up up my room. I can't begin to describe the impact that must have had on me. That reaction was blanked out years ago! 
My parents had absolutely no idea of what they were doing to me.
Absolutely no idea, their parenting skills were zilch!

Dad had made me a timber sewing box, Mum had lined it with pink silky material, with the lid padded and embellished with purple ric rac braid.
Dad had also made a kidney shaped dressing table top. There was a gathered curtain round the front. On the dressing table in a flat dish they'd made a small succulent garden, with white pebbles and two teeny ornaments perched amongst the little plants. 
Mum had made curtains to match the dressing table skirt and on my bed was
the most gorgeous white, striped, chenille bedspread.
I don't remember but I'd say I must have cried harder than usual walking to the station that Sunday.    
This is the box.
Inside, in the two little bits of the lid was a small thimble and scissors.
It measures 20 x 15 x 11 cms. 
These are the two china ornaments I've lugged round since officially leaving home at 18, well ... it wasn't actually official ... Dad always described it as "when you shot through"! 
My parents did the best they could with what they knew. There was never a skerrick of love.

Writing for this weeks theme has prompted me to ponder if this where my love of timber boxes and chenille bedspreads stemmed from?
For more memories pop over to Dani's.


P.S. Mum would have been 89 today August 11  ... synchronicity at it's best here! 
That's a pic of Mum up above in my blog header, left side with a fringe. That was 1935. Mum was 14, her Dad had been killed that year after being thrown from a Bondi tram. The tram had lurched, he was hurled into the path of an on coming tram Mum had been a real Daddy's girl ... her face says it all ... she never got over it!

♥♥♥P.P.S: Since posting this last night I've received some extremely touching emails and comments. 
Please be assured my life is perfect, I'm extremely happy and very blessed!
For my first fifty years life was a roller coaster, then at fifty I grew up, I quit  
the blaming and loathing!
In 2003 I completed a sociology degree. I learnt the art of being objective, of research, of asking questions, at last life began to make sense!
Thank You Blogging Darlings for being so kind. ♥♥♥

Monday 9 August 2010

Flea Market Finds ... OooWaaa ... a splurge by any other name = bliss ...

This had my name on it with a special price too ...
despite a missing drawer ...
it was mine for $25 ...
especially happy ...
look at the insides of the drawers ...
 why I lusted for this has me flummoxed ...
look at the inside, do you blame me for $25?
it will be over my arm next time you see me ...
These darlings were in tins ... minus tins = $10 ...
Do you get my quandry?
But yikes I was so darn happy!!!
The good sort lashed out on a Tornado Potato ...
the treats were a plenty
"The Value in a Suit Depends Upon"
so hard to pass on this gorgeous ode treasure ...
Jen looked like she'd stepped out of "Little House on the Prairie"  ...
old hessian, more wooden boxes, a beautiful sconce, even a Provence sign ...
Kitsch Aussie cushions, goodies galore, each week the market grows and grows ... not unlike my haul!
                    Now if the girls with market stalls hadn't gotten to know me ...
    how much easier it would be ...
      but would I prefer that?

      How about a peek at your flea market finds please?
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