My vintage shop update

My little dream shop is going great so far. I am having so much fun finding amazing treasures, there is so much good stuff out there waiting to be discovered and appreciated and given a new life.

My only problem so far has been wanting to keep things once I get them home! Oh dear! They always look so much better when they are bought out of the context of the opp shop chaos and given the chance to shine! They steal my heart I tell you!

 

 

I'm getting the hang of wrapping valuable treasures in a million layers of packaging, fortunately I happen to have a giant roll of bubble wrap that should last me a while.

Below are the items that have been shipped off to new owners so far - I hope they have found their way safely and are being appreciated like they deserve.

There are still plenty more beautiful items for sale in my shop and more waiting to be photographed and listed. If you want to have a look you can view my shop here.

Jewellery now selling at Craftykin!

I need to introduce you to my mum, my wonderfully talented mum Dallas Madsen, and her beautiful jewellery she is now making - and selling in our Craftykin shop!

Our shop had closed down for a bit as both my sister and I were not finding much time for our creative endeavours of late. But I'm so excited that my mum is now using our shop to sell her wares!

Please go and have a look (and buy something!). It is beautifully made and very unique, she is always making something different and each time I check the shop she has added something new. Um, she may be slightly obsessed with polymer clay ;). Just saying. But that is a good thing, a very good thing!

Also - don't forget my other sister Adde also sells her jewellery too, I did a little write up on her here. You can find the button to her Sweet Gems jewellery shop in my side bar to your right.

 

Sweet Gems Jewellery

I've been meaning to do this for a while - introduce you to my sister Adde's beautiful gemstone jewellery.
The love that she has always had for gemstones has led her to start creating these gorgeous delicate and colourful pieces. She makes necklaces, earrings and bracelets. I have two of her necklaces so far and a sweet pearl bracelet. I've never had my ears pierced, but I'm seriously considering getting them done now so I can wear some of her beautiful earrings!
Go on over to her website and have a look. www.sweetgemsjewellery.co.nz

Last time I visited I took some photos of her workspace, what a lovely spot to sit and imagine and create, don't you think. Look at all those beautiful gems!

Matching necklaces

While we're on the subject of necklaces purchased from the wonderful world of Etsy...
You might remember the pretty necklace I bought a while back from nz green buttons.



Well I also bought one for my sister Adde, for Christmas last year, and meant to show you and didn't get around to it, and then my other sister Frith has just recently purchased one also. So now all three sisters have matching necklaces.



Adde's is the top one (they come in pretty little bags too!) and Frith's is the bottom one.

I highly reccommend you go and visit nz green button's etsy shop, as she has some other lovely things for sale. I especially have my eye on that crochet floor rug!


Blue hooked bowl.

Vintage Orchid upcycled cards.

Pair of little zip purses.

Treat for the feet.

Spring-time floral cards.

My new necklace

I love it! It's from Urban Legend, one of my favourite Etsy shops. My sweet older sister Adde, looked in my Etsy favourites list to find my birthday present, sneaky good thinking from her aye! (My birthday was in June before you go wishing me happy birthday by the way - just a belated present:)

Isla loves it too. And loves looking at herself in the mirror.

The hunt for fabric - with a strange twist

Ok, so I mentioned in the last post that I've been searching for some fabric to make myself a bedcover. I have something quite specific in mind really, and so of course, I just can't find anything I like, I always do this!
So I thought I'd put it out there, just in case any of you have seen something similar somewhere, and so can help me in my quest :)

Ok, so this is the fabric that is playing on my mind, the fabric on this couch, I just love it so much. I saw this image here on Pinterest (which is a wonderful discovery by the way, I'm warning you, if you visit, it can be quite a time waster, but just full of inspiration). It doesn't have to be exactly like this, but just something similar, big bold green flora of some sort (could be kind of like this).



So I've been thinking about this fabric as I've been searching for something for my bedspread and then, I remembered, I'd seen something similar years ago, it was a chair, covered in a very similar style of fabric. I'd cut the picture out and put it in my scrapbook, this was years ago, like well before Liam was born, so maybe seven years ago. But I remembered it very well and knew exactly where the scrapbook was, so I pulled it out just now, thinking I'll take a picture of it also and put it on here to give you more of an idea of what I'm after, and then
WEIRD! Super strange amazing!
You wouldn't believe it. It's the same fabric. exactly. the. same.
Freaky.



I'm sorry, but that's just really weird. There must be something about me and this fabric. I wonder if I'll ever be able to find it.

Volkswagen Nationals

My dad is just slightly obsessed with volkswagens :) and it's kind of rubbed off on everyone else in the family a bit. So when we found out the Volkswagen Nationals were to be held locally this year we just had to go of course.









This is the one I would like.


Aaron prefers these.


I wouldn't say no to this one.


Liam's favourite :)


And Isla's favourite thing at the show :)

2010 Calendar

Firstly, thank you for all your kitchen love. I never expected such adoring comments on my tiny wee kitchen. It's such a funny pokey little space that really has not had a lot of practical or aesthetic thought put into it. We always had intentions of adding on and rennovating this house when we bought it, so the kitchen has always been a make-do-with-what-we-have-in-the-mean-time sort of thing. It has very little storage space, or bench space, or even space to move really - it's certainly a one person kitchen. The shelf with all the jars on it was stolen from Liam's room when we first moved in, how the previous owners managed without it I don't know! And the one with all the cups etc on it was rescued from the side of the road, we balanced it home on top of the pushchair!
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So things are all sort of squished and squeezed in and every bit of room is utilised - it helps you think creatively :) I suppose it is kind of cozy, and in a way it's quite practical, you can bake a batch of biscuits or cook up dinner almost without moving your feet, he he. But really it would be nice to have a slightly larger space one day, especially when you have two little pairs of hands that want to help with everything.

Letterpress calendar by 1 Canoe 2

Anyway, on to what this post is really about. I finally bought us a calendar for this year, yes I know I'm a bit slow huh, I won't even get to look at the first month by time it arrives. But isn't it cool! And it's multifunctional, because I'm going to cut the pictures off at the end of the year and frame them.

If you are as slow as me and haven't bought yourself a calendar yet, or feel the need to buy another, you can get one here, if there is any left, or how about one of these below from my shortlist.

Canvas calendar by Two Brunettes

Seasonal food calendar by Claudia Pearson

Desk calendar by Ilee (Unfortunately sold out)

Eco desk calendar by Catseto

Wall calendar by Michelle Brusegaard

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And next year, I think I'll be getting a Nikki McClure one. I think her artwork is wonderful. I was far too slow this year, they were well and truly sold out by time I got myself organised.