Free Clock & Paper Shredder

I scored a free Seiko Quartz pendulum clock with chime in new condition last week!  Why was it free, you ask?

Simply because it wasn't in working order and the owner mentioned that it wasn't worth getting it fixed because it would probably cost too much.  The clock itself is worth around $200 new (depending where you live).  And the only reason why I grabbed it is because my darling hubby can fix just about anything.

Well, not this time my friends.  The clock guts look a little frightening and we'd probably have to buy a completely new movement for it.  'Oh, my heart hurts' is what I thought when he mentioned that.

The last thing I want to do is spend a small fortune on something I picked up for free.  And my usual rule of thumb is ; do not spend more than $10 to fix (or add) something that was for free.

So my idea is this.... unscrew the long bottom part and use it as a normal clock, because I do have a stack of normal clock movements.  Not as pretty of course, but at least it will work.  The photos were taken before I cleaned the glass, hence the smudgy yuk on the lower glass.

So, as I was just about to leave that lovely gentleman's house, he then passed on a non working paper shredder!  Well, at least darling hubby fixed that quite easily!

Light Shades

I found these glass light shades for $2 each.  Bargain, I say.  I needed exactly that many for a shadeless ceiling light, which was free from a junk pile, thanks very much.   And who'd have thought - they actually fit!

Now, I could have sworn I blogged about this next bit of news months ago...  I had found a couple of lovely bedside lamp shades with the exact same shades for $10 each at the op shop last year but when I went to find the post, I could not.  Then I remembered I had posted about it at my other blog (ziaperamore.blogspot.com) but I had changed the layout and the old news is gone.  Oh well.  Looks like I'll have to take some new photos of those soon.  :)

Free new wardrobe

My wardrobe is literally busting at the seams!  (pun intended).

Just under a month ago I picked up a bunch of dresses and tops from a lady for free simply because she was bored with them.  I wasn't expecting anything flash or fantastic, but when I saw them I was pleasantly surprised.  When I got home I quickly washed them all, impatiently waited for them to dry, then tried them all on and was EXTRA surprised that they all fit perfectly;

Very cute detailing...

This one feels like am wearing nothing because it's very light and airy...

Something a young, hip chick would wear at a nightclub, perhaps, but I love it...

I donated this one to my niece because it's exactly her style, but hey it did look great on me ;) Thankfully she liked it when I surprised her with it...

 My big red mannequin doesn't do this dress justice at all and obviously needs a desperate iron.  Looks really cute when it's on...

 

I'm not sure about this one.  I like it but it's a little unusual for my taste.  I'll keep it in case I change my mind one day...

This will be my new 'indoor' summer dress, because I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it outdoors....

That generous lady also had shoes to give away but I simply wouldn't take other peoples shoes (eekk!) and the sizes were too big for me anyway.  But hey...yay for free clothes!

mmm... perfume....

I love perfume, but what gal doesn't?  Specifically I'm a sucker for miniature perfume bottles whether they're old or new, but I've yet to find very old ones (fat chance!).   My very first bottle was passed on to me by my dear mother a good 10 or more years ago.  I was then hooked!

The three I'm about to show you are just some of the ones that I've found this year, and all found at the op shop.  Then in a later post, I'll excitingly show more.

'Miracle' by Lancome for $3.  Oh how divine.

'Soft Musk' by Avon for $1.99.  That hard to see design on the bell shaped bottle is / are two holly leaves.  I love musk!

'Intuition for Men' by Estee Lauder for $2.99.  Hubby won't be using this one, because he (thankfully) prefers a bottle that actually says 'aftershave'.  ;)

Pick a bale o' cotton...

This cotton set me back $10 last year.  Another one of those 'I really don't know why I bought it' things!

Cheap enough for 600g of cotton I guess.

It's about an 8ply and in the U.S. that means DK weight, so it's a bit thicker than what I'd like for cotton.

I've inspected it and it looks like I can separate it in 2 to make it thinner, but honestly... do I really want to go through that much trouble for some cotton?  And knowing me, I'll end up in a BIG pile of tangled cotton mess and my husband wouldn't be able to find me anymore.  Oh the horror...

Anybody know which language this is written in? 

What? Free? Really??

A lovely person offered all their beads and beading/jewelry supplies for free - so I quickly snapped them up!  Most are glass, metal and crystal, with very few plastic beads thrown in.  Lot's of wire, findings, crimps... just about everything I need for making jewelry.  :)

What you see in these photos is about 90% of what I got, because I've made a few simple pieces which I will show in the near future.  Yay for me!

I've seen this contraption advertised for over $20!!...