Road Trip

 

Last week l packed up and headed to Adelaide to help my girl unpack and set up her new place...

There was oodles of furniture to be painted and l mostly did this, while she unpacked and put things away.

 l DID take my laptop with the best of intentions to post while l was there, however we had net issues so l just couldn't make that happen.....it was a lovely sunny morning here at home yesterday so l took some pics to share. 

  

 

l totally LOVED going to the massive Adelaide Ikea store.... It even has it's own restaurant. Naturally we had to have a cuppa and a VERY naughty cake..tsk tsk:-))

 

My daughter found this gorgeous doona cover there a couple of weeks ago....only $30.00 (with FOUR matching pillowcases) and l couldn't resist buying the same one.....hubby said nothing when he saw it last night.....wise man...no doubt he rolled his eyes but hey, l didn't look.. haha!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This dining setting was one of the pieces of furniture l tackled last week. Originally the entire thing was black, including the chair seats.....it was completely transformed with a couple of coats of white paint and nuetral upholstery. Daughter painted the dresser and covered the door inserts with the pretty fabric print before she moved. We prob'ly should have ironed that tablecloth for the pic but... meh:-))

 

l really enjoyed finding a new purpose for the lady figurines l found at the opshop ages ago. The skirt halves were broken off so a piece of dowel could be glued into the hollow....the dowel was cut long enough to also fit into the bottle to form the stopper. They were then decorated with scraps of lace, velvet, beads and flowers. The "Marie Antoinette" stopper was topped with a large piece of (dolls) hair... plaited and shaped into an impossible "Madge Simpson" style bun:-))

As you can see the skirt halves were roughly broken away to make way for the dowel. The top one broke further up than l'd hoped but l worked around the problem by making a cape to hide the break.

 

Found the beaded wrist cuff, ribbon necklace and lace diamante collar at the Adelaide Sunday market...we went EARLY at 7.00 am so l could get away early to drive back home.....and there were already so many people you could hardly move.

 

Awesome painted bedhead and matching cushion....zsazsabellagio.

The black lace curtain and quilt seem to add a bit of drama to this otherwise pale bedroom and isn't  the mismatched wallpaper fantastic...vintagerosebrocante via my daughter's pinterest page.



Well the holidays are almost over again and l guess the kids will be heading back to school any day now.....wishing you all lovely days...thanks so much for stopping by...til next time.

Bron.

 

Splattered - Drippy Fun.

 

l've been wildly splashing the paint around this last week or so..... as the pressure's on, it's almost time to have entries in for our towns' annual artshow. Since it's local it's a cinch to be involved and the money raised is for a good cause with a quarter of the sale price of any painting sold going to charity. For a number of years my canvases have mainly been native plants  (see one here) but they were so painstakingly SLOW to paint that it almost sucked all the fun out of picking up a brush.

 

l have the beautiful romantic works of Laurence Amelie to thank for inspiring me to make a change. l've always been big on painting flowers, so that bit hasn't changed....but over the last 12 months or so l'm more focussing on colour, and a fresher, less fussy finished piece. l hardly use brushes at all now, preferring instead to paint with my fingers.... lt's pretty messy though, which means covering everything within flinging distance with plastic to avert certain disaster:-))

I'm always surprised when odd little things happen out of the blue.... l was chatting with daughter when she was here about the sheepskin rugs we used to have in our old house (moons ago) and saying how l'd love a couple of white ones for the couch in the lounge room and about 2 days later this is what turned up at the opshop.....only one, but still kinda weird.. huh !!

These delicate lace panels were found at the Sunday market...Apparently Georgian era (1714 - 1830) anyway VERY old and fragile, they'd look lovely framed and l guess that might also help conserve them.... Also plastic 50's era necklace which was broken when l bought it, but was easy to fix. The segments remind me of snowflakes.



Also found this pretty florentine tray, totally shabby and in a pretty shade of blue....also one Japanese candlestick which was covered in grime and candlewax which prob'ly explains the one dollar price....believe it or not l enjoyed getting it all clean...

Six vintage postcards....The one on the left has a swastika emblem inside an upside down horseshoe...Something l didn't know (til l googled it yesterday:-)) was that pre war days (early 1900's) the swastika was used as a good luck symbol.
If you'd like to read some more. here

 

One of Laurence Amelie's awesome artworks.

This  pretty vintage room is from Australian Country Style magazine...via pinterest.

Oxygenart. via pinterest...well worth a look, so many gorgeous pics.


Have a fantastic week everyone.....
Many thanks for popping in, my daughter loved the fuss made about her handmade flowers..l didn't get to see her face but l bet it looked as happy as a seagull with a chip:-)).

Til next time,

Bron.

 



Summer Holidays.

The last few weeks have been busy and interesting with daughter around...mind you we've done plenty of lazing about, eating and sipping tea....(ok maybe a couple of wines as
 well:-)) but yesterday she headed to Adelaide which will now be her home. It'll be wonderful having  her so close, though when l say CLOSE it's all relative isn't it, as some would say 600 ks is a long way away, but previous to this move she was more than a thousand ks (and a capital city) away....so now it seems like an itsy cruise up the road....l hope to visit soon and help with some painting in her new digs.

  



 

 l was thinking about making a liner for this old wooden box but instead decided to pop a pillow case in there....that way l can change it easily if l needs it to be another colour. 

  

 

 

Although many of the opshops have been (and still are) closed over Christmas we managed to find a couple that were open, and l came across these lovely pointe slippers....pretty.... but really NOT very practical are they?? They must be so painful to dance in with those wooden blocks in the toes.

 

 

l'm not a big doll collector (unless you count vintage Barbies:-)) but this fairy was found in an antique shop about 20 years ago and l've never been able to part with her.   

 

When we were kids we lived in an old Victorian house which had central steps leading up to the front door and either side of the steps were huge (mature) hydrangea bushes.....l loved their bountiful blooms every Summer and they've been on my TO PLANT wish list forever, but we never had the right spot to plant them in...Then when hubby built an arbour out the back a few years ago l was hopeful that the end wall might provide the perfect micro climate for a couple of plants and FINALLY....these (first ever) blooms are the result...l know they look a little wilted but they were probly in need of some water by this stage:-)) 

 

 

 

 

My Sister gave me the awesome lace bag for Christmas....l love it... thanks Sis. 

 

 

 

The romantic country (mag) arrived the day before Christmas, which made me ALMOST do the happy dance (l prob'ly would have if l knew how that went:-))....Shown with part of my vintage plastic bangle collection. 

 

 

While my daughter was visiting l didn't make or do a single crafty thing......just as well she was on the job, she found lots of fabrics she liked in the spare wardrobe and whipped up these lovely blooms....l found the vintage check tablecloth for her, l was thinking it was a little "Granny Chic" and something she might like ??  

 

 ....she made a LOT of flowers.

l stuffed this 1940's tin with cottons, buttons (the tablecloth) and crochet needles as part of daughters' Christmas present....turns out it was a little bit useful:-))

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your kind and caring comments....and for those of you here in Oz, l very much hope you and your families (and homes) are able to stay safe and unharmed from the many fires that are blazing around our country. Thinking of you...

Til next time,

 

Bron.  

 

 By the way l've added my email address to my side bar just in case you'd like to contact me.

A New Year and The Year That Was.

HOORAY...It's a New Year!!

 

Isn't it GREAT to be starting afresh. This past year's been pretty challenging in many ways....so a new year seems like a whole new beginning with all new possibilities and opportunities....or at least that's what l keep telling myself...hehe!!

 

 

New Years resolutions are NOT my thing...l never keep them anyway:-)) but l guess it IS a  time for reflecting on the year that's been and trying to at least see where things might be improved in the one to come. 

 

 

 ...and talking about reflecting l've been going through posts from the past year to select my fave pics for this review, and while doing that l was surprised to see the changes in my blog over this time...lt just goes to show things can evolve so subtly....we might not ever even notice?

  

 

This pic was taken last Summer under the tree that my Sister gave me as teeny thing in a pot, it's huge and beautifully shady now....though we have no idea what type of tree it is. 

 

 Over the last year l've enjoyed the creativity of putting vignettes together....mostly using vintage finds (and lots of roses) as inspiration. 

 

 

This pic was taken in the lead up to the London olympics....bit of a British theme happening. Tiara, coat of arms spoons and drinking glass.  

 

Pearls, shells and sea glass....all things beachy.  

 

Sparklies....love 'em...

 

 

There were lots of changes around the house....having had coloured walls all my life, l've really enjoyed my newly painted white(ish) ones. 

 

 

 

Freshly painted walls called for a whole new look.... pale, washy canvases were painted. 

  

 

and new /old furniture added....new cushions were sewn. 

 

 

White Spring blossoms and  linens....the dresser was painted white.

  

 

My favourite (new) buy of the year was this Moroccan style screen...which also got a coat (or six) of white paint.  

 

Flowers....always and forever inspiration. 

 

 

 

 

Pretty, romantic feather pens....Like many of you....l've usually had a few projects on the go and a couple in the back of my mind...  

 

 

My favourite project of the year was this bedhead...l loved it not only 'cos it was such an improvement on how it arrived, but also because l HAD to learn new skills along the way.

 

You can see what it used to look like here. 

 

 

 A few more paintings were completed...new paints and styles were trialled.

  

 

Ruffles were added to vintage sheets and given new purpose.... 

 

 

 

......as well as old doylies  reshaped and dyed to become a new bag. 

  

 

There was a trip in April to the Melbourne flower and garden show....where spectacular creativity was showcased. 

 

 

l walked down memory lane....reliving the experience of painting this (ceiling) mural many years ago.... Here.

  

 

The changing seasons were acknowledged....Spring, full of beauty especially when  "pierre de ronsard"covers  the arbour in our front garden....sadly soon after, the garden was ravaged by hailstorm.

 

Moodboards were created...helping to gel ideas, colour palettes and projects. 

 

 

It was often a struggle in the gloomy, grey days of Winter to take pics that weren't blurry so hubby considerately rigged up a stand to attach my camera too which helped a lot.

 

Having a blog is a great way to journal our journey through life isn't it....we're able to remember the past, the happy and NOT so happy times....but as you know blogging requires attention and energy to bring it to life..... l find it encourages me to consider and create WAY more than l would if l didn't blog, it's certainly a learning curve...l hope by sharing these creations and ideas l can inspire YOU in the same way that all you creative, talented and funny bloggy gals inspire ME!!



Wishing you all a blessed year ahead, thanks lots for stopping by and also for your kind comments...hope you're all enjoying a well deserved break :-))

Til next time.

Bron.