Curtains

It's amazing what you can do with a pair of old curtains from the charity shop!

I think I might use this polka dot to line it, what do you think?

Can't decide on buttons either or maybe a big ribbon bow at the front.  

Decisions, decisions ...

Happy Tuesday everyone x

Boot sale finds

Nothing like a browse around a boot fair on a Sunday morning :o) 

Alas we don't have as much choice in Ireland as in London. 

I remember meeting my aunt for coffee on a Saturday and we would discuss which one we'd go to the following morning, I think we sometimes managed to get two or three in !    Here though, I have no choice, I only know of one that's near to me, and that is nearly a 50 minute drive away. 

However, it's worth it. 

Especially when I come home with these lovelies. 

Mickey & Minnie Mouse were a steal at 1 euro -

and that was for the pair, not each :O)

Then there's this ...

I've been looking for one of these machines for ages.  I wanted a manual one in particular as it's really good for sewing bags and at last I've got one.

I love this box that came with it too ... full of some rather strange contraptions but hopefully google will help me out :O)

However, it has been left in a shed so it needs a LOT of tlc and maybe even new parts.

I hope I get it working.

Oh well if not, it's just lovely to look at and nice to see it on the Singer table which was originally my Nan's who lived in the very cottage I am in now.

 Anyone else got any boot sale bargains from the weekend? 

I got a few more bits too but can't share just yet as they are being made into christmas prezzies :O)

One last thing ..... comments. 

Is anyone else having probs leaving comments on blogs?  I can't seem to leave any comments.  When I do I get a new window pop up asking for my login details and when I login it says I don't have access to leave a comment - this has happened on blogs I previously had no probs commenting on and new ones.  It's so frustrating?? 

Bargain!

I walked into the charity shop
and this little thing caught my eye
I knew at once I had to have it
so the shelf I did buy

I brought it home and looked at it
and wondered what to do
then saw my pile of rings nearby
and said I know what to do with you ....

Best of all - it only cost 2 euro!

Have a great weekend x 

In Progress

In case you haven't noticed I love quotes.  One of my many favourites is  ...

"Begin with the end in mind"

Like I've often said here, I have a real problem with going to car boots and charity shops as I see potential in everything!!  There's always something that can be 'done' to rejuvenate an old piece of furniture or clothing.  But before I buy something I always 'begin with the end in mind'.  I will know exactly what I'm going to do with it before I part with my money.

When I bought the chair below, originally shown here, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it and it's almost there.   Here's a few pics of my work in progress ...

I started by giving it a good wash and scrubbing it down with some disinfectant (you never know where these things have been stored!).  Then I removed the old fabric and seat pad with a stanley knife.

Then I ripped up a brown bag and used it to make a pattern for the seat.

I'm using the pattern to make a patchwork cushion for the seat pad

and finally I'm painting the chair.  White ... of course!

Finished pics to follow, hopefully over the weekend.

In the meantime ...

"Do not let what you cannot do

interfere with what you can do"

John Wooden

Bag makeover

Did you notice the bag on the door in yesterday's post?  Well there's a story behind it ...

I had it in a pile to take to the charity shop. It was a yellow tartan colour and there was a button missing.  I wasn't too keen on it but as I turned it inside out (to empty it) I decided I liked the grey lining so much better.  So voila it's now a lovely new(ish) bag that cost me nothing!  No wonder I don't get to leave much into the charity shops.  I always end up pulling things out thinking I can do this that and the other with them.  At least this time I actually did it though!

The bag was obviously meant to be as it is also the perfect place for my new knitted corsage.  I saw this picture in a magazine and loved the corsages.  I thought 'i want one of those'.

I went online and they were on sale. I thought 'yipee' ... went through the process of ordering the lovley mossy green one only to be told then that it was out of stock. Not one to be defeated I thought 'i'm sure I have some wool similar in colour' and of course, I did. So, I spent a couple of evenings working out patterns from about 3 different books and voila ... here's my version -

The moral of this story .... double check, in fact treble check your charity shop bag before you leave it in.  You never know what you'll end up with.

Just realised this is also a perfect example of my "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose" mantra for 2010 :o)

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend.  Got to go now as I have my sale in Gleesons today at 2pm.

Friday Finds

I popped into the charity shop on the way home from college on Friday and just look what was waiting for me :o)

I assure you there is method in my madness with regard to all these odd tea cups I've been buying. Some are going to be used for Christmas presents (only 83 days to go) and some I am collecting for a display I want to do/make.

How gorgeous are these lemon cups and saucers! Unfortunately the photo doesn't do them justice.

lovely things

On the way home from college I popped into the charity shop and instantly fell in love with this gorgeous little tea cup.

I would have been happy with just that and the lovely cushion cover (in the wash, pic to come later) but then I stumbled across these two ...

Harmsworth's Household Encyclopedia, Vol's 4 & 5.

"A practical guide to all home crafts written by the leading experts of the day and containing upwards of 15,000 illustrations"

These books have everything - detailed instructions on how to fit a sash window, build a roof!, make a rocking horse, make a roll top desk. They even have patterns in them for everthing from a shower cap to a mans shirt. Can't wait to have a good read later.

All these for only 4 euro. Don't you just love charity shops!