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!!!

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!

Roses are red...

... but sometimes they're pink.  

I found this lovely oil painting for $1.  Signature says E. Williams.

The black metal plate stand was also $1.  I'll eventually pop it into a frame and hang it up somewhere because I find the front of the stand a little distracting.  And of course to keep the price down, I shall look for an appropriate frame at the op shop!