Not hibernating - decorating

I have been very busy lately but there is always time for opping.  

Now winter is upon us the house is looking a bit gloomy so I have been looking for some inexpensive items to brighten things up.  Some cushions for the couch from Salvos Chelsea Heights and Vinnies Tyabb Road, Mornington and a tall lamp from Vinnies Oakleigh look great in our lounge.

 The guest room still needs painting but I have added cushions from a market stall and Salvos to the bed.

 Cushions like this one with the leaf pattern only cost a few dollars and make such a difference.

 This picture was a "must have" purchases some weeks ago. It is beautiful with a lovely from.    It was $120 from Vinnies in Mornington (one of my favourite stores).

As I say not cheap but worth it.  The orginal price on the back was $350!

The little pictures came from a garage sale.  $4.00 each.

 I love everything about Paris and there are a lot of items with a French theme in the shops at present.  This little clutch purse sits on my new dressing table.

 The guest room has a new dressing table, from Vinnies in Tyabb Road.  Brand new and just $120.  Perfect for the room.

The wall hanging is a picture of a bird enclosed in a wire cage. 

Again this was a bit more than I would normally have paid for something at the op shop but it suits the room beautifully.  I paid $10 at the Salvos for this and the price label on the back is $39.95 so it was well worth the price.

 I am not sure where I bought the clock but it was an op shop some months ago.

So you can see I have been doing my usual shopping.  It makes updating a room so easy.  You just have to shop carefully and take time.

Are you all hibernating??

Surely not!  Opshoppers do their thing all year round, don't they?   Maybe others have been like me lately - due to lack of time or other reasons,  guilty of not posting their finds on here :-(
Well, here are some of my latest finds.  Unfortunately my camera isn't doing too well with colours lately, so you will have to believe my written descriptions instead of your eyes, lol!

Child's patchwork quilt - $4.  Much nicer than in this photo, beautifully made and in excellent condition. For those of you who know that I don't have any kids, I bought this to give to my husband's cousin, who works in Papua New Guinea with native people who have been displaced by mining companies.  They are forced to move to colder areas and have no way of keeping their babies and children warm, so I'm donating cot quilts to cousin to take over over there for 'her babies'.

This jacket is nylon with brushed cotton lining - $3.50.  I wanted something that will be wind and shower proof to replace two of my jackets that are neither, and don't fit me any more.  This fits well, and is longer than the others too, which will be warmer.

 I get really cold in winter and usually wear spencers under my sweaters and blouses.   Underwear is mostly black or white, but this one (2.50) is light blue (not grey!).

Hard cover book $8.

 Fabulous piece of woven fabric with a Chinese design.  Very hard to photograph, the colour is more teal than this blue, and you can't see the design clearly.  It is the size of a single bedspread or a large tablecloth.  I don't know what I'll use it for yet, but I love it!  Even Tiger approves, sniffing around at the bottom of it!

Gold Coast

Last week I took a quick trip to the Gold Coast for a few days and managed to fit in quite a bit of op shopping.


These pics are of a Lifeline shop in Ashmore (I think) Qld
 
It is a huge warehouse with a huge range of goods at very reasonable prices.

Clean and good quality stock is well presented.

 I didn't buy much (weight restrictions) but it was good to see what they had.

Linen collection

People in Melbourne's northern suburbs might be interested in an upcoming event at Mill Park Library,
394 Plenty Road, Mill Park Thursday June 13.

My Amazing collection:  - vintage, hand-embroidered linens with Australian motives - including how to manage and maintain such a collection.

Details at
http://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/facilities-and-recreation/things-to-see-and-do/events-calendar/my-amazing-collection

Book online at:   http://buff.ly/11glq9g

Weekend Haul!

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I have been busy studying and refashioning some of my op shop purchases!

Here are some goodies I picked up yesterday and today.

Friday, Vinnies Altona North: Blue Tag Sale!

 I saw this Witchery skirt a few weeks ago and liked its interesting detail, but not enough to put in the work required to make it fit me; but when I saw it on the $1 rack I didn't hesitate.

 

These wool and wool-blend men's trousers were also on the $1 rack, which was great as I am collecting woolen trouser fabric for a thrifty project. And these $1 jeans will look great cut off as shorts once summer comes around again!

 Then at lunchtime we whipped over to Missionpoint on Somerville Road, where I picked up a couple of tops for $4.50 total. With a couple of alterations these are going to become pyjama tops ;-)

Also at Somerville Rd I grabbed this cute little milk jug which will have a new life as a much-needed loose change jar.

Finally we swung over to the Bargain Centre in Yarraville where I found some more wool pants on the half-price rack. Yay! But I won't bore you with yet more pictures of my wool trouser collection :-)

Then, Saturday morning my housemate convinced me to accompany him to Vinnies in Newport. The half-price rack there yielded this lovely Peter Alexander brushed cotton maxi-dress (or possibly a nightie?) with a sweet little winter scene print - half price, it was $3.50.

The coathangers were $1 each (considering my ability to buy clothes, I'm always running out of coathangers!) I also found a beautiful multicolored silk scarf for $2, and two packets of knicker elastic were $2 each. (for my adventures in knicker-making!)

If you know anyone who does lingerie sewing, there were several lots of very lovely stretchy lingerie lace there also, the  kind that's about 15cm wide - looked like some unsold stock from a fabric shop. Sorry I forgot to take a pic of those, but I think they were about $4 per reel (there would have been a few metres on each reel).

Happy shopping everyone! Hope you have a good weekend!