Saturday

Today is the 26th of January.   Here in Australia, this makes it Australia Day.

I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains....  (by Dorothea Mackellar).    



Happy Australia Day, to Australians everywhere.

Freebie found yesteryear;  A whole packet of glass beads, and there's plenty to make a long necklace.   I feel a project coming on!
Boo to the person that tossed these away, but yay for me!

 

Wednesday

Freebie light shades found!  BUT.  You'll notice with the first three shades, there is nothing to hang them from the ceiling light fixture.  I often find them like this, and only in rare instances I find them WITH their own metal socket (is that what they are called?).  

When I do find them, I hang on to them like gold!  I've been to various lighting stores but all I'm usually told is 'no sorry we don't sell them'.  

I browse eBay occasionally and I do find a small amount of them... and they are either vintage or if they are new, they cost a heap and /or in another country.  And of course there is no guarantee that they will actually fit the light shade - even if it's a few millimeters too big, this could be disastrous for the poor shade! 

I had found this working lamp sitting outside a neighbours front yard amongst some other rubbish a few years back, but I'm not sure why I never posted about it.  Why somebody would throw out something like this, I'll never understand.

The glass panels you see were very different - they had a lovely red flower on each of the panels.  Then one day the lamp came crashing down from where I had placed it and my heart sort of collapsed as well.

Just recently I found these glass panels on the metal frame that somebody was tossing out and although it's supposed to be a ceiling shade, it fits just right on the lamp.  Aaahhh, everything is dandy again.  :)

Wednesday

I have so many many light shades, I could almost open a small shop!  Thankfully eBay helps me in that way.  ;)


A really lovely lady was advertising these in a local online paper for free - so I snapped them up:


Keeping this one...

and this one...

there are 3 of these, also keeping!

 And these were found on somebody's front verge:

These, I think I will sell.  :)

Thursday

 E.T.A.
After some investigating, the writing at the bottom says 'Blue Onion', a 50's/60's pottery label.  
 

Somebody was actually tossing this away!
How cute is it?  I know it's old, but just how old?  It has a little crazing and it's not terribly noticable.  But not a chip, and not a crack.  How kitsch!

So what's the mark at the bottom?  Peace Onion?  LOL!

Monday

See this Ikea Knappa ceiling light?  

 

They haven't sold these for years at our Ikea... so I guess they are sought after.

I found 2 that were getting 'disposed' of on the side of the road last year, if my memory serves me well.

They didn't look like they were in good shape, but I took them home and cleaned them up and they both looked a treat!  I sold the one in the photo last week for a nice price and I'll sell the second one soon.  :)

Onto something completely different.  

I really amaze myself sometimes.  Even after amazing myself, then accepting that I'm amazing, I still amaze myself.  lol.  I should really let my vanity go and just realize that I'm just plain AMAZING.

Some of you know that I collect thimbles.  

So a few months back I started looking on Ebay for thimble cabinets, holders, units etc.  Have you seen the prices on those things??  Well I have and it's enough to make your eyes pop out of their sockets.  So then I thought gee wiz, I could try making one myself.  I didn't need anything fancy, just something cute to sit them on.

And here it is!!!!

Ok I know it's not perfect, but I'm more than happy with my handy work.  My mother bought up a good point when she saw it though.... she said I should have popped a little shelf right down the bottom.  She could be right, and I might just do that in the near future.  The thimbles you see are only about half of what I have, so I may make something else but a little bit different.  :)

Thursday

There must be a way out, I thought to myself many months ago.  Out of where exactly?  Out of the mess I'm in, the stuff I have to tip-toe over, the mess that I dread looking at every time I come home, the 'crap' that is accumulating in my life... (in more ways than one).  It was only the other day when I said to my mother while I was looking through other peoples discarded stuff, 'it's a sickness now'.  You see, I know it but I choose to ignore it.  And just for the record, I can tell my mother enjoys it too, or at least enjoys watching me and also gets a little useful something herself once in a while.

I used to have visions of becoming a minimalist well before I started the accumulation, but now I see it's almost too late for me.  But if I can help one person see the light, then I'd have done my job and be thankful that I could help you, your friend or a family member.  Simply speaking, don't start collecting too much stuff.  Easy, right?

Well not for some.  There are different types of hoarders, take me for example.  I don't need stuff, but I like to see stuff around me.  It comforts me, I'm not alone when stuff is around me.  The truth is that I could give it all away tomorrow if I really needed to, but because I don't have to in my own mind (there's the problem!), I won't.  Something major would need to happen in my life for me to discard everything I have.   If only the husbeast would tell me to clean up my act, then I probably would make a big effort.  He won't help me with my problem because he's got a problem of his own, and that's collecting his own junk!

I have to change my ways and quickly because it's getting out of hand.  Thank goodness I can say that I haven't become a full on hoarder - but I do have that tendency if I'm not careful.  Maybe if the husbeast sees that I'm making a big effort, then he'll follow suit.  One would hope and wish anyway.

And just when I think it's almost too late, there is a light bulb moment.  For me it was Ebay as I mentioned recently.  Did I say recently?  It feels like days ago, but in fact it was many weeks ago.  Oh time, where on earth do you go in such a hurry?

Anyway, Ebay has been my saviour when it comes to my accumulation.  

Now, I don't have to be the brightest star to know what your thinking.

" DO YOU MEAN WHEN I BUY SOMETHING FROM EBAY, IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT WAS IN SOMEONES PILE OF JUNK READY TO BE DISPOSED OF??? "  Was that what you were thinking more or less?  I know if I were you, that's exactly what I'd be thinking and with GREAT SHOCK AND HORROR.

But let me ask you... (and before I ask the question):

Senario No.1

Somebody has had an item in their home for many years from when it was new or second hand, but they decide to sell it on Ebay.  It sells, the purchaser receives it and is satisfied with their purchase.

Senario No.2

Somebody discards an item from within their home which they had for many years from when it was new or second hand, somebody else find this discarded item and cleans it up and hey presto, you have an item to sell on Ebay.  It sells, the purchaser receives it and is satisfied with their purchase.

What's the difference?  Something very simple; it was placed outside exposed to the elements for a short while.  Whoopy-do.  So who really cares?  As long as the item is in clean and in excellent condition, who does really care?  Germaphobes?  Get over it!  Snobs that need everything new from the store?

Get over yourself!

And so, I've justified my actions and they make sense and I'm very happy.

I have absolutely no shame it tell you all this, because I really can't see what the big deal is anyway.  It's just another way of recycling and we all love that, don't we?

I love selling on Ebay and it does help me with my problem somewhat.  Funnily enough, most of what I've sold has been my personal stuff and not much from someones trash pile.  If I did tell you about the very few things I've sold that weren't mine, your jaw would probably hit the ground because mine nearly did.  But let it be known that I will only sell things that are well and truly worthy of selling.  I will only sell it if I had pleasure from having it in my home.  Isn't that comforting, Ebay buyers out there? 

Some miscellaneous stuff found;

All that was wrong with this sweet little necklace was the broken clasps and chain - it was so easy to fix.  Looks cute on too!

Whilst on a rummage with a very missed person, I scored these vintage pots.  The bottom had 'Made in England' and the very missed person begged me for them, so we did a swap.  I got a nice cane and iron plant stand for them.

I can't remember if I had already shown this glass.  It's a Luigi Bormioli 'Light & Music' martini glass in perfect condition.  When I found it, it was next to a broken one - shame!  Not too long ago I found another nice LB item, but I will show that one another day.  :)

E.T.A:
A few minutes later... I found that I did already blog about the glass above.
I hope repetitiveness isn't going to be a new problem for me??

Tuesday

The mind is a funny thing... especially mine.  For most of us, it gets worse as we age.  With me, it's going down hill very quickly.  Thank goodness for calenders and notebooks because without them I'd be roaming the streets at night with my nightgown on - honest truth!

A couple of posts ago, I had told you of the 'naughty little thing' that I did.  If you can't remember, go back and read about how I acquired some brass knick-knacks.

A few days ago I remembered that I actually did that naughty thing twice and not just the once, possibly within the same year.  Shame on me?  Yes of course.  But I will still own my innocence by saying I was young and stupid!

So here we have them, my two lovely little pewter animals... the platypus and the porcupine and both terribly cute:

Have I forgotten anything else that I've shamelessly acquired in my young and silly age?  I can honestly say no.  I feel better after that confession.  I can sleep easy now.  :)

Wednesday

Back in the early 1980's, I did something a little naughty.  I didn't think it was naughty then because I was young and silly, but I knew it all too well that it certainly was as the years rolled by.


A particular magazine had an advert - it stated that I could order some little brass goodies, and if I wasn't completely satisfied I could send them back and get a full refund.


So I ordered them.  After I received the items, I 'forgot' to pay for them.  By that I'm sure you know fully what I mean.  I put the whole thing out of my head, expecting another invoice to arrive saying 'PAY UP OR ELSE!'  That invoice never came, and the years flew by.  

These are the little brass items that I 'stole' (with dust): 

 

 

Is it really stealing, I ask myself?  Was it wrong?  Yes to both questions.
Isn't it also their own fault for forgetting to send me that second 'firmly worded' invoice?  I say yes.  We are both at fault.  

Never mind.... I put it all down to learning the complexities of life, and more.  Needless to say that I never did anything like that every again and never will.

Saturday

Apart from the fact that I find some interesting things being thrown out by people, it never ceases to amaze me that fragile things are thrown out.  

You couldn't have passed it onto a family member, a friend, the next door neighbour, an enemy even?? No.  Straight onto the the rubbish heap!  

And what's more surprising is the fact that I find a lot of un-smashed glass.  I can picture it;  They walk out the front door holding something unwanted and fragile.  They place it lovingly onto their trash heap.  The trash collectors (usually men, because I've never in my whole life seen a woman trash collector) come along and throw everything in the rubbish truck.  Do you think they are going to lovingly pick it up and place every fragile item they find in a special 'fragile box' inside the truck?  I highly doubt it.   They don't care as long as they get the job done and then go home already!

Having said all that... I am grateful to the people out there that gently place their unwanted fragile things onto their trash piles... for people like me to enjoy.  :)

Free 'Music & Light' martini glass (by Luigi Bormioli of Italy glassware), intact with absolutely no chips or cracks - perfect.  A set of four will set you back $35 and possibly more.

Free belt attachments etc.... from a a belt that was being thrown away.  I nearly tossed the whole thing in the trash bin after I bought this home - but something stopped me.  I'm guessing you can see what that was.  I'm sure I can use these for something!  I'm pretty sure these all all brass.  Too bad if I'm wrong.  ;)

How cute.  These Diamantes were attached to the back of a shoe that was being trashed (surprise, surprise!), but it was a big pity that I couldn't find the second shoe.  Yes, I did wash my hands after handling the shoe!

Monday

I can't for the life of me remember if I've already posted about this free yellow vase.  Never mind, I'll show it again.  

When I found this, I was perplexed as to why anybody would ditch a perfectly nice vase.  When I looked closer, it was plain to see why. 

What a big shame!  I kept it anyway and unless you turn it around, you don't know there is a heartbreaking chip on its base.   Without all the dust on it, it's still a nice piece.

On a different note....

I purchase some really lovely plates months ago from an op shop.  I will go more into the plates at a later stage.  For now, what I'd like to show is what I got WITH the plates for free.  

Plate holders, also called plate stands but I'm only showing you half of what I actually have.  Pretty exciting to a person that collects plates of course!  I had asked the lady at the counter if I purchased the plates, would she throw in the plate holders for free.  No doubt she said yes and I was very pleased.


And one more thing for today.....  
Free (breast cancer awareness) Avon Teddy!!!

Tuesday

Personally, I'm not liking this new blogger set up.  Maybe it's because it's new and I've still yet to learn how to navigate my way around, maybe I just don't like change, or just maybe.... it's because I'm already finding it difficult to find something I want!  Either way, it's no use complaining so I may as well be at peace with it.

Found for free;

Gold of the Pharaohs book.  Not in great condition on the outside with its bent spine, but pretty good on the inside and quite interesting.

Three unused citronella candles.  Seriously?  Somebody actually threw these out?  Yep.  I guess they figured summer was over with no more mozzies to keep at bay.  People never cease to amaze me.

And found at the same time, a normal candle on a glass plate.  No, the diamantes on the candle AND the place don't make it look any prettier, sorry!  

Saturday

Found for free...

80's Aussie Nostalgia

Some inside pages have come out, but at 

least it's a clean separation

Large piece of fabric, and there's 

plenty to make a dress

These metal squares are magnetic - heaps of fun designing stuff on the fridge! lol.