Never a Thread Lost or Wasted

Thread, string, cotton, twine, yarn, ribbon, cord...

I am a bowerbird in many ways, especially when it comes to string. A piece of twine from a label, a length of string from a gift, even the funny little bits of ribbon they insist on sewing into the shoulders of clothing... in my home it has no chance of ending up in the rubbish, I horde it all in jars, remnants from Christmas and birthdays, bows tied with love, beautifully presented purchases, some wrapped around wooden pegs and pinned neatly, ready for the next adventure!

Sorry I've been absent lately. Things became super busy out of nowhere and the posts I left half done quickly became irrelevant as time slipped by. But I have plenty of things to share and talk about, stashed away like ribbons in a jar waiting patiently to be used!

Refreshed Office!

I've been meaning to show you this for a while... the photos weren't coming out amazing (it's a small room) but hey, I'm fairly pleased with how it's all come out so here it is anyway!

Unfortunately I wasn't very good at taking before photos, so just imagine boxes of junk surrounding a tall roll top timber desk with random things blu-tacked to the wall... and that's about it. 

I sold the roll top desk and for the same price bought this white desk from a friend. I love that it has lots of storage and the rustic paintjob means I don't have to worry about the surface if I'm painting or cutting!

Did you know it's really cheap to make your own shelves? I purchased the brackets on sale at a local hardware store for $5, and the timber cost about $4 - so under $10 for a shelf exactly the size I want! I painted the shelf with left over paint from my window frames (a warm white gloss). I really liked the industrial type look of the brackets.

The floor lamp means I don't have to use bench space for a lamp, and it's adjustable for projects that need a little more light. The frame is actually from our engagement party decorations and the poem is:

"The sun brings forth beginnings,
The moon holds in darkness,
As above, so below,
For there is no greater magic in all the world
Than that of people joined together in love"

Cute huh?

On the wall, the wire organiser I found on ebay, and the J is also from our engagement party decorations which I bought from Typo! In the frames I have a cute little postcard made by a local artist to Bruny Island, which I picked up when I was over there about a year ago. If you have never been to Bruny, I highly recommend it. Beautiful beaches, great places to eat and so much inspiration! We camped for a week along a river right near the sea and it was lovely, I didn't want to come home... "Linger" is handwritten by me as a reminder to take time to be in the moment, relax and just enjoy the right now. I'm not very good at this, always looking into the future, the next step, and thinking about the ways I can make things better... but sometimes the truth is that life is pretty perfect right now, there is nothing wrong with the here and now so it's my little reminder of that. The third frame is actually a piece of wrapping paper! Its embossed metallic copper which I just love, it wrapped a gift for our engagement from my mum so not only do I love the paper but its a reminder of all the things that my mum has given me, and how even though I might not see her as much as I would like she loves and cares for me always. The little compass I have had for years, I love compasses, they remind us that no direction is the wrong direction!

I realised when doing this post that I haven't done a very good job of taking a photo of the shelf but as you can see I have my lovely print block purchased from A Creative Lifestyle and my timber pencils from Trees 4 the Wood. Also the brass scales from the market are up there too!

It's not finished yet, I want to get a board to clip up inspiration things (the frame won't be staying) and some more items for the shelf... I want to stick with the grey/black/white theme my house has but I'm feeling like its missing something. What do you think? Do I need colour, or a plant, or just some more things? 

Market Find: Brass Scales

Wasn't the weather on the weekend just magic? I love the hot, muggy feel in the air before a storm, and it was so much fun watching the clouds roll in across the river. 

I decided to kick the year off with a visit to the Sorell Market on Sunday, and met a lovely lady with a great collection of vintage and antique items for sale. I almost didn't ask how much this lovely piece was, but when she mentioned the rock bottom price of $5!!!! I couldn't say no!

When I asked her where the scales come from, she said they lived in her dad's shed for many years. A lot of the items for sale were from her grandparents and dad's years of hording, and although its hard to let good items go, a person just doesn't have the room and after all you always have your memories! I'm glad she told me the story, I couldn't help but think of my own dad and all his collections, and how my sister and I are still wondering where to keep them all...

I couldn't wait to get the scales home for a polish, and posted a sneaky picture on Instagram to try and make everyone guess what my find was! The guesses were great (vase, hookah, candle holder, door knob, barometer!) but no-one guessed correctly!

And here they are all polished up! I love the little enamel flowers, and I think it looks so much better all shiny.

I can't wait to give them a home in my office revamp!

Market Find: Tea Cup

Are you a crazy market lover like me? Going to markets has long been a love affair in my family and now I can't resist stopping in for a look at any country market that comes my way.  Since living in Hobart I've become a semi-regular at the Sorell Market (don't you just love their hand written calendar?!), and especially on their long weekend markets which seem to attract far more stalls than the good amount that go on a regular Sunday.  All the usual things are there like crafts, bric-a-brac, veggies and plants, stalls selling food and old tools and books. Part of the market is indoors at the Hall, the rest spreading outside the front and back of the hall, the rear carpark and the paddock area next to the Hall. 

I don't always buy things at the market but this time I found the cutest teacup I just couldn't resist. Pale green with a ivy design, its fine bone china from England and says its from the Romany collection underneath. I love the little leaves, different to the flowers that are usually found on teacups, and what better way to enjoy a herbal tea on a Sunday afternoon!

Perhaps this is the start of something new to collect?!