Soapy soap

Recently gifted to me....

Avon Serentiy Soap from the 1970's;

Maja Soap from the 1980's;

Stop with the plates, already!

I. Can't. Stop.   I think I have a serious problem.  But how can stop when I find them at ridiculous prices?

50 cent glass grape plate, probably old because you don't see many of these around;

Lumpy design at the back;

Avon glass fan plate for $1.99;

Back in the 1970's when Avon sold these, they came with 5 pretty pink soaps which fit perfectly into the plate, just like this;

Teapot Time

I found this adorable teapot not too long ago, but I don't actually collect them.  Can you imagine the amount of space I'd need to collect these?  And the house is already bursting at the seams!

This elegant pot is simply 'Made in Japan' and could be from the 60's... but what would I know?   Not a crack, nor a chip found.  My $4 bargain;

Free Avon Bear & Friends

Who throws out toy bears?  And who throws out AVON bears?  Beats me... all I know is that I now own this little critter, amongst others.  :)

Breast Cancer Awareness Avon Bear....

 

More free bears in my possession;

Those are the iddy biddy-est eyes I've ever seen on a bear!

Ummm, funny looking bear but feels oh so velvety.  :)

Mini Plates

You know I adore them by now.  Miniature plates - I squeeeeeee every time I find one.  And I've always managed to get them for a tad less via haggling. 


 I paid $1 for this one so I didn't haggle for it, although getting it down to 50 cents would have been rather nice;

These extremely pretty ones were originally $4 each but I got them down to $3 each;

And this one was originally $6.  That's a steep price for a teeny plate!  But I just had to have it... the shop assistant was a little tough to break, but I did manage to get it for $5.

Now you may be wondering how I display my iddy biddy plates.

When I found a previous mini (  clicky, clicky here! ), it actually came with a little wire stand.  So I got to wondering how I could get these either cheaply (and believe me I've looked and inquired as to where to find them - but to no avail.. and honestly I'm not prepared to buy them from ebay if I know there are other ways of solving the problem.) or try and make my own.  Well the latter won and I did made my own but let me tell you, they ain't the easiest things to make.

I measured each point of the stand and went to work with wire and pliers and yes, I succeeded!  Here is my best attempt;

And of course, they work very well thank you very much!

More practical freebies

I love finding old bags because most of the time I can use the handles.  

This horrid thing had plastic tubing handles and it's great because I can cover them with crochet or I can try to knit around them.  Cool! 

I even cut out the magnetic clasps, which always come in handy in bag making.

Once in a while I find broken ones which is a little upsetting.

These must have been very cute when they were intact.  :(   Never mind.

More glass...

 I have way too much glass in certain rooms and I'm really surprised that I've only broken one favourite piece this year, because my hands can be a little on the clumsy side.  But while I have them around I will enjoy them all.  I really do need to back off buying glass though, I've got virtually no space left!

Found last year;

Italian Luigi Bormioli vase for $2

Bottle with a grape design on it and made in France for $2

And my favourites, 2 glasses with a strawberry design etched into them for 50 cents each- so pretty!  If I ever find more in perfect condition, I've be snapping them up for sure... don't care about not have any more space left in the house.  ;)

And more free clothes

I haven't bought an article of clothing since last year, and that would probably be early last year.

If you've been following my blog, then you'd know the reason why.  If you are new to my blog - the reason why is because I FIND THEM FOR FREE.  I don't know what excites me, but it feels darn good. 

These were found a few months back.  Great for summer, indeed-y yes!

Orange.  Up until the beginning of this year, this colour was not a favourite.  It's grown on me in an amazing way though.  Terrible photo, sorry.

Interesting floral design;

This top was passed on to my niece because she can 'fill it' better than I can.  

Yes, it was a little roomy for my upper body - wink, wink.  Another shocking photo;

Now dear friends, I'm not a hawaiian shirt wearing type of gal at all, especially a man's shirt, but the fabric is so cute!  I NEED to make this into some kind of top for myself! 

Lastly for today is a sarong.  Good for either a short dress, or a modest skirt.  And I'm more of a modest skirt wearing type of gal these days because of my chicken legs. 

A very special plate

What started my fascination with plates?  I can answer that quite easily and quickly.  It was well over 5 years ago when my father and I were at a shopping center, walking along and browsing before we got to our destination.  We spotted the shop named 'Thingz' and stopped to have a look at what they had for sale on the outside of the store.  

My eyes went straight to a gorgeous bunch of plates.  I commented on how pretty the plates were, so he quickly bought me one.  Now, that action in itself is special, isn't it?  This plate has such HUGE sentimental value to me, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I (or anybody else!) ever accidentally broke it.  Yes, it's THAT special to me.

Here is my gorgeous Il bacio (the kiss) plate;

Onto some other pretty op shops finds...

This little soap dish is just adorable, at only $1;

Two towel hooks, both for $4 and bought because of the old time shabbiness look to them, which I simply love.  I later found out that they are part of a bathroom accessories set, by the pottery makers 'Wagner & Ryder Australian Pottery'... and somewhat vintage in age;

And these cute little pots right here, I love them to bits, $4 for both;