Flea Market Finds

My cat actually woke me up on the day of the flea  market.

It was 6 am...........oops I slept in !

Yes it is always a very early start but believe it or not 6am wake up is heartbreaking because all of the antique dealers have been through the flea market by this time. They have been there since 4:30am with their torches looking for goodies for their stores.

Hats off to them, because no amount of cool finds will ever get me out of bed in the middle of Winter at 4am.......brrrr

I arrived at 7am and everything was completely picked over and their were spaces everywhere on tables where treasures had once been.........sigh !

The pickings were very slim but I did manage to find some bargains for my Florist store.

Vases and jugs were on top of my list and yes I found some ! YAY

I also found an old vintage baby basket for $5, perfect for carrying my flowers around to markets and very strong and durable.

An old metal bucket completed my haul and off I trotted home to clean and display my new found goodies.

Here are my items found.

 Rusty old tins, Victorian era pottery, Carlton ware biscuit jar, vintage gloves, lace tablecloths and old bottles for my flowers.

 This old Victorian era jardiniere (below left) is my favourite purchase.

 and this dear little bath salt bottle is an original. It's original labels are peeling off the back but the pretty floral label on the front is still intact. The lid has long gone but that won't matter a bit once I get my flowers displayed in it !

                                        How lovely the babies basket is !
 Can you believe that babies were allowed to travel in these baskets in cars until the late 1970's. No seat belts or harness. It is so scary to think about it. I remember sitting next to my baby brother on a very hot vinyl seat in mid Summer in one of these baskets. How fortunate that safety regulations have improved over the years.

 I am always on the look out for old vintage metal buckets for my flowers. The price for these buckets can be ridiculous at times but this one was $7 so I was happy to pay that price.  These buckets have been around 'since the arc' and almost never die like more modern buckets.  

I also picked up 2 pairs of vintage gloves. 1 lace and 1 plain with little rosettes over it (oops I forgot to get closeups)

 These goodies of mine are now all washed up and ready to sell in my florist studio full of flowers.  All one off pieces and totally gorgeous. The thrill of the chase looking for antiques is half the fun but recycling these wonderful pieces into amazing arrangements will be even more fun. The real test will be parting with these treasures !
I hope your weekend was filled with lots of sunshine and fun !

Mabel Gets A New Dress and 3 HATS !

It all began in a dark little second hand store.

'CLOSING DOWN' said the sign

'For Sale, everything must go'.

Who could resist ?

There were racks of clothes, stacks of doilies, old (smelly) shoes and a tub of old vintage purses and scarves.

and when I walked into the back of the store I saw them !!!!!

A quaint old fireplace stood inside a cavity of a wall and a row of the prettiest vintage hats stood there in all of their glory looking at me !

I swear they were smiling when they saw me (yes the hats !)

It was one of those moments where lightening strikes, cymbals clang and your heart races with excitement.

They may as well have had my name flashing above them.

and of course my dearest 'Mabel' came to my mind.

(Mabel is my old rusty dress form)

I pictured her at home in my studio wearing an old shabby pink vintage tulle skirt with a little tear in it.

I knew that this these new hats would be perfect for her (even though she doesn't have a head !!!!!!  frown )

Next thing I saw an old vintage white tulle skirt on a cheap rack for a couple of dollars.

It was perfect Mabel attire on a shoestring budget.

So out I walked with 3 new hats and a new skirt for her !

When I showed Mabel, her new things she almost squealed with excitement (well she would have if she were a real vintage person !)

PINK, WHITE AND BLUE HATS for her to wear on her.............aaahhhhhhhh..........Uuuuuum   Waist ?......Collar ?

Pretend head ?

Oh well, Mabel and I will have to sort that little problem out for ourselves........

Do you like her parasol ?

It's from the 60's

It does well to protect her rusty old bones from the sun

The more I looked at her dressed up the more something appeared to be missing. She needed just a bit of ooomph !

So out came the pink feather boa

and then Mabel really kicked up her (invisible)feet.

Anyone would think that she was hitting the town she was sooo excited !

                 A pair of dainty pink gloves completed her look

                   As pretty as a picture is my sweet girl Mabel

So that is my story about Mabel and her new dress and three hats.
I hope that you liked it.
Maybe you even giggled.
Maybe you might think I am a little crazy
But I definitely keep myself entertained in my little make believe world.  

I was going to introduce you to Mabel's new friend Ettie tonight but I am honestly tired and ready for bed so she will have to wait until another day.  I can assure you that she will be just as out there and zany as Mabel though..........but one little secret about Ettie.
SHE LOOOOOVES the colour blue.
and you can imagine that I am going to make her as pretty as a picture too !

             HAVE A GLORIOUS FUN FILLED WEEKEND !

THURSDAY FLOWERS A Sweet Wrist Corsage

This week on Thursday Flowers 

I bring you a really pretty little wrist corsage.

I am loving class at the moment because we are doing lots of really pretty wedding work and I am soaking up all the information like a sponge.

I look forward to class each week but am feeling sad at the thought that in a few months I will be finished. Our beautiful teacher and my fun filled classmates make each week so fun and interesting and we all have plenty of giggles.

These last few months will be filled with funeral work and exams......frown :-(

BUT this week we continued on with more wedding work.

Unfortunately I left my camera at home so I can't show you more photo's.

1 day after making my little wrist corsage I took a few happy snaps to show you. I kept my corsage in the fridge overnight in a sealed container to keep it fresh.

Flowers and foliage of choice this week

SINGAPORE ORCHIDS

ASTERS

IVY LEAVES

ROLLED LEAVES 

 My daughter was kind enough to lend her pretty hands to model my work. Try to ignore the fact that she didn't have a pretty dress on to make it a lot nicer.

(sneek peek at Mabel below)

My dainty little corsage looks lovely on my daughters pretty hands

 Corsages need not be restricted to the wrist or shoulder. Why not dress up your evening purse with a little bag spray.
For those who have a Christening or morning wedding to attend, this would also be sweet.

 I had planned to make an all white corsage but the purple Asters caught my eye and I couldn't resist their bright little faces.

          It has been so nice to be blogging with you all tonight.
              I have a glorious blog post for you all tomorrow.
                                Do you remember Mabel ?
                          Well, MABEL GOT A NEW DRESS !
                               and she looks soooo pretty !
          and even more exciting, she has found herself a friend !

          If you don't know who Mabel is, then you can find out all              about her HERE or see one of her other pretty dresses HERE

       So be sure to pop back in tomorrow to see what all of the fuss                               is about............smile and wink :-) ;-)

Beautiful Old Cross Stitch Samplers

Good morning friends :-)

After not blogging regularly for weeks due to my new business I have such a backlog of things to show you all.

I thought that I would begin with this little pile of French cross stitch samplers.

They are a work of art all by themselves but I have a friend who absolutely loves these samplers and I have been slowly collecting them for her to send her. I don't want to tell you who she is or it will spoil the surprise but I am sure she knows who I am talking about anyway......smile

I am sure that she will love cross stitching these samplers and I think that it's a wonderful thing that they will be brought to life once again.

I used to cross stitch many years ago but with my brood of children it is highly unlikely that I will find time to do one. If the truth be known, I began a cross stitch for my son 14 years ago and it still hasn't been finished and he is now 13 !   I had given myself a year to make it before he came along but apparently this project may end up being his own child's one day......oops !

Well you can't rush these things can you ? 

SO 

I will instead wait to see what my friend will create with these patterns and then I can show you.

A little bit of rosy red brightens up the blue

I particularly love this one. Imagine the rose in a pendant hanging around your neck. GORGEOUS !!

or maybe in a cushion or trim to a pretty dress.

Maybe I could try the rose before I send it off to my friend ?

or maybe not ........

 It is sooooo chilly here in Australia right now. Winter is upon us and school break has begun.
Every week another member of my family celebrates a birthday and almost every weekend the whole family embarks on our home for yet another birthday cake. It is so funny :-)
Each week we discuss what cake we will be having the following week.
Next week it is my turn to blow out the birthday candles so I am thinking of what type of cake I will have.  Any ideas ?
We have had a cheesecake, a sponge, ice cream cake and yesterday we had a chocolate cake for my son.
We are seriously all caked out !  lol

I would love to hear any particularly yummy cakes that you can suggest that I might try. I know that there are many great cooks out there amongst you all.