Satisfying upcycling
My old/new picnic kit
Look inside
We’ve just returned from a lovely long weekend in the Hunter Valley, spent wine-tasting with a bunch of favourite people.
Shauna, who’s an auctioneer at Lawson’s Auction House (for her insider tips on bidding, click here) brought this picnic basket away with us, which she won in a job lot last Friday. When I commented on it she insisted I keep it, generous lady that she is.
My old/new basket’s missing its original glasses, plates and cutlery, but came with matching napkins and a tablecloth. I’ve added my own hardy plastic cups, but will be on the lookout for the right bits and pieces to store inside when on my travels.
Olive in her thrifty skirt
Another recycled find is this $2 skirt from a flea market – Olive loves to twirl in it, and had a bit of a dance to the bands put on by the vineyards on Sunday.
Old oil panting
As is this oil painting, which I bought for $5 at a charity store and liberated from its ugly frame. It now lives in our teeny tiny bathroom, simply attached to the wall by a 3M hook. Staring at a peaceful scene like this from the bathtub is definitely the way to start a day off on the right foot.
Simple idea #5: cute & inventive storage
Old boxes, new tricks
I have a thing for collecting lovely old boxes and tins for re-purposing. It’s clearly in my genes – when I was young, we had to clear out my great-grandparents’ farm after they died, and found decades’ worth of odd vessels hoarded in the outbuildings. From those once used to store gramophone needles or ointment, to liquor and denture cream(!).
Give me a sweet tin from Provence to store random bits of jewellery in any day, I say. Or a wooden camembert box for my rickrack. Here’s some ideas for recycling like Grandma used to.
Brightly coloured bias binding
Monsieur camembert loves to rickrack
Are they sweets?
Not quite, but almost good enough to eat
A cigar tray of Japanese insect brooches
Once Voluspa candle box, now a box full of string
Sugared almonds in a cut crystal sugar jar - as was intended
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A couple of simple ideas
Sort-of Union Jack cushion
It’s a bit rainy and miserable outside today, which puts me in mind of ‘ol blighty. I pulled a bunch of linen scraps out from the crafts cabinet earlier and created this cushion – they’re sewn to the front of an old velvet cushion I’d grown tired of. I don’t mind the fraying edges at all, which should only improve in the wash.
And above, a pleasant oil painting found in a charity store and pulled out of its ugly frame sits behind Olive’s heirloom; a porcelain ballerina music box passed down from her doting grandmama. It’s a day for soft, smudged blues.
Revival of the friendship bracelet
Remember braided friendship bands from high school? I’ve been noticing a lot of playful new jewellery lately, which reminds me of times before I sought more precious pieces in silver and gold.
I’ve had this crescent moon charm hanging about in my jewellery box for years now, but never wore it. Here I’ve braided it into some bright red tapestry thread and created a strap which adjusts – I’m happy it’s found a new home, where it can finally see the light of day.
Make your own book
I’m not usually fond of self-published books, no matter how worthy the subject – there’s something quite special about having a team of people working together on a book project to come up with the very best of all visions. Throughout the process of producing The Crafty Minx, my clever publisher Kay Scarlett, editor Sophia Oravecz or designer Vivien Valk would suggest something that changed my direction or influenced the book here and there. It always made an improvement – more heads are better than one.
That said, I read about this service on Daily Addict and felt it was too good not to mention: Blurb.com provides software you can download to make your own books, and inexpensive printing and postage. I’m thinking of making a book of our family life, just for us (and for Olive to see when she’s big) and maybe an additional copy for my lovely in-laws. This is a great idea for publishing images of your own photography, design or craft projects, don’t you think?
Simple idea #4
Driftwood: designed by nature
I’ve always had a thing for collecting shells, pebbles, feathers and dried leaves – particularly when I’m on holiday. Just one or two at a time, but now we have quite a few dotted all over the house in ceramic bowls and mini-middens, reminding me of the places we’ve been. It’s also a way of bringing the outside in to our urban home.
A few weeks ago I found this beautiful piece of driftwood on the beach after an early morning swim, currently residing on our living room sideboard. Forget expensive ceramics or sculptures if you’ve no budget to speak of – just keep your eyes open for the very best decoration nature has to offer.
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Gnarly
Crafty brides love DIY
Vintage wedding frock
My lovely friend Colette is getting married next year and we had a chat recently about clever DIY solutions to expensive wedding fripperies. This is a huge subject so here’s a few ideas to get you started if you’re planning a wedding…
Firstly, The Dress: I’m all about sourcing an excellent vintage or second-hand number. There’s so many out there, and if you’re on a budget you can lop a large sum off your total spend right here. Not long ago we had a weekend away in the Blue Mountains and I spied, hands down, the most beautiful wedding dress I’d ever seen at Victory Theatre Antiques. The slim sheath was circa 1940s, made of silk-satin and French lace in a gorgeous pale tea colour with long sleeves, high neck and divine covered buttons up the back and arms. The price? A mere $400. But the St Vincent de Paul on Alexander Street, Crows Nest always has a huge selection for $80 each (as do most charity stores, which you’ll find similarly priced – often with a tatty veil thrown in you might want to re-donate). You’re looking at 1980s rather than 1940s, but give it a go. The fabric alone is usually worth a fortune and can be re-purposed.
I find op shops a far more fun environs to try on dresses than stuffy wedding boutiques anyway, but maybe that’s just me. Take a friend. BYO champers.
Other top spots to source good second-hand frocks are ebay and flea markets such as Rozelle Markets, where I found a beautifully beaded, silk taffeta wedding dress from the 1950s for a paltry sum. I’m going to dye it emerald green for an upcoming party. Remember, you can always have it altered professionally, or ask a crafty friend to do it for you if you’re none too agile with needle and thread.
More on flowers and invitations later, but check out Once Wed (thanks for the heads up, Anna!) for more inspiration on all things wedding-related.
Simple idea #3
Window poetry
Wet weekends are the perfect time for feeling introspective and curling up indoors.
Seeing the Sea Angels site made me think about poetry, and reminded me how lovely a few words penned on a window with Posca look (a graffiti pen, available from most newsagents or stationery supplies stores).
Give it a try, or borrow someone else’s prose for inspiration if you’d rather not use your own.
If you’re very brave, you could even write it on a bare wall with some texta or waxy black crayon.
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Buttons maketh the outfit
Winter coat with vintage horn buttons
It’s incredible how different an item of clothing can look if you change its buttons. I am forever swapping fastenings on favourite coats and cardigans to update or transform them into something new. Buttons in bright, contrasting colours will draw attention and can make boring high street clothes look far more expensive than they really are. Get rid of chipped or tarnished metallic buttons and replace dull plastic with vintage pearl, bone, shell or horn as I’ve done here.
Some of my favourite places for new buttons: All Buttons Great & Small, Bird Textiles and Ici et La. For cheap-as-chips tins of miscellaneous buttons, try your local charity store or flea market. And don’t despair if you can’t find a full set: who says they have to match?
Found: cute buttons
Covered buttons from Bird Textiles
Clever solution or one OCD step too far?
My OCD colour coding
For years friends and colleagues have teased me mercilessly about colour coding book spines. I saw it in a design magazine once and have been quite obsessive about it since. It’s true the books in that feature were coffee table-type tomes (not weighty, worthy classics) but I think the concept holds true: not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but if you’re at all a visual person, it’s a great way to organise your books (or anything else facing spine out ie DVDs, CDs… pesky, ugly things to display and far better left in a closed box or cupboard, if you ask me).
Simply think of the book cover and you can usually locate it within minutes.
Bedroom bookshelf
Pretty
Very bright book collection
