free frames & a bootful of finds

my lovely friend Linda offered 3 frames to me last week that she no longer wanted, and dropped them off the other day.
i had a couple of ideas in mind for them, but decided on using them for our bedroom wall.
yes, i know, i WAS going to hang the large round mirror here. but, i changed my mind! how surprising!

Mike and i sat down with a coffee and the iPad, and chose 3 of our favourite photos of the girls.
i then hopped on down to K-Mart and got them printed off in 8x10 size. to have them done instantly cost only $5 each!

the detail pretty of the frame shows through where i have lightly sanded.

the guy accidentally printed them off in sepia too, so i can change them later if i want.

i was far too impatient to find a framing place to cut matting, so used up the rest of Kacey's sketch book. the paper was nice and thick and will do for now.... just don't look TOO close!

all ready to hang

before shot

i was up at 5:10am for my market 'hit' and lucky i took the station wagon.
this is what i came home with.
i have LOTS of painting to do!!

here's one of my purchases. an old timber door from a cupboard, complete with a bevelled mirror. you can see there's a bit of damage to the silvering in the light. not sure whether to leave as is or paint?? i was also thinking of getting a nice chunky door handle to attach just below where the lock once was.

so that's my weekend.
we will get the photo of Kace on the right redone, as it's a bit too dark, but I'm happy with it for now :)
Kate x

i have had a bit of interest in the chandelier cushions,
and will be putting in an order this week, so let me know if you'd like one :)
email me at mlewisd@bigpond.net.au
i'm linked up over at the lovely BEACH COTTAGE linky party! go take a look :)

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2009 display cabinet makeover

i thought i'd revisit an old makeover that started back in the beginning of 2009.
we were down in beautiful Port Stephens staying with my Mum over the Christmas break.
and, as i always do, i went off to visit the 'tip' shop to see what goodies i could find. this display cabinet was right at the back of a shed with an $80 price tag on it. i fell in love immediately, but thought i'd check with my husband (who nearly always says yes anyway) before buying it. i thought i'd better get permission from the 'car packer', as it would have to fit in the back of our stationwagon with all the other luggage. and boy, do we take everything but the kitchen sink when we go away! not too mention all the Chrissy presents that had to come back with us on that 11 hour drive home too.

not sure what his response would be, i dragged him out there that same afternoon, with him rolling his eyes and smiling (as he always does). he thought it was a great piece, although it was missing one 'curve' side of glass. it did have the original key too. we offered $50 and it was ours.

to be honest, i can hardly believe we got it home in one piece! i wish i had taken a photo- lying down in the back of the wagon, stuffed with boxes of wine, a computer, presents, beach toys, and all the suitcases were piled on top. every time we went over a bump, i waited for the 'crack' of glass. but it made it home with all glass in tact.

i found someone who made curved glass, and he had to come over 3 times to measure and remeasure before getting the 'curve' just right. by the time he got the correct 'curve' going and installed it for me, about 4 months has passed. and i was SO wanting it finished! i'm not the most patient person, so it was a very LONG wait!

here's what it looked like when it first arrived at our place.

i taped up all the glass and mirrored back, and went to work on the painting.
coat one....

once painted, sanded a little and sealed,
i then had to get the two glass shelves in without scratching the paint job. that wasn't easy!

it now holds most of my floral china, as well as hand me downs from my Grandparents.
some of the more precious items are a pair of coffee cup and saucers that my Granny received as an engagement present, medals from when my Grandpa fought in WW2, and some handmade crocheted doileys and teapot warmer he bought for his mother when he was in Germany.

i love that it keeps the dust and little fingers off all these special things too :)

where do you display all your pretties?
Kate x

check out My Romantic Home linky party here!

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light and white

remember what this mirror looked like a few days ago?
after gazing at her for long periods of time, i decided it was too gold and brassy in colour to leave as is. so here she is after the white treatment! umm, yes, i had to sit in the bath to take this one ;)
it's pretty dark and overcast here this afternoon (ahh, i hear the rain now) so the girl's bathroom, bathing in the soft afternoon light, was the best place to take a couple of shots.

i have hung onto this image for years, as i hope that one day, i will stumble across the perfect vintage window to do this same project. i'd love something like this to hang on the wall above our bed, but for now, the mirror might do the job nicely.

my next project is to get an electrician in to install all these lovely old chandeliers.
the one below is destined for our room too.

this one will stay above the dining table, but it will be great to actually be able to switch it on!

this 8 arm stunner will hopefully go in the family room......
just have to get the 'ok' from Mike first!

we are also wanting to get a sky light installed in the kitchen to let in more natural light. fingers crossed i'll have both these 'to do's' ticked off my list by the end of the year :)
between the chandeliers and a sky light, this house will be brighter, lighter and a whole lot easier to take photos in!

i want to thank you all once again for your encouraging and uplifting comments. i have been so touched by the things that you have written! i can't help but smile as i read each comment. it's taken me a while to get this blog up and running, and for many months, i did post after post with virtually no on lookers or comments at all. i suppose you were all there in your early blogging days too?
i'd love to know a little more about all my lovely followers, so feel free to share about yourself- how your blog came about, what your passions are, etc.
i look forward to reading!!
Kate x
ps I'm linked up with A Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesday's! Go take a look!!

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mirror makeover & pretty china

thankyou to all those that commented on my last post. i'm so glad to hear that many of you also adore vintage bottles! a big thankyou also for the tips you suggested for getting them clean. it was a little diluted bleach that worked best in the end. they look alot better now! i'm kind of embarrassed that i couldn't have waited until they were clean before adding them to my post!

i thought i'd share a mirror makeover i did last month. this scrolly sweetie was a find from a local op shop. it was crying out for a freshen up, so i painted it up in a colour called 'white albatross'. it's a lovely soft grey/lavender. not anything like white all all!
i also gave it a very light sand to accentuate the pretty detail.
my huge kitchen hutch i painted up last year was done in the same colour. it's really pretty and is a nice change to the usual white or antique white that i would normally use.

as you can see, it's hanging in my laundry room.

before......

i found some of my china in the cupboard yesterday, and decided to pile it up and sit it out for everyone to enjoy.

Ness is having a gorgeous giveaway, so head on over and take a look! it's a must!!!
I have also joined the linky party over at Coastal Charm. Pop over and visit Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays!
Funky Junk Interiors

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Sunday market finds

Good Morning to you all on this scorchingly hot and humid Sunday!
My market buddy and i left EXTRA early this morning, because we wanted to get in and out before the real heat hit. with a forecast of 35*, we weren't going to hang around any longer than needed!

i found 2 more vintage bottles that will sit nicely with my little collection i already have going.
any ideas on how to get the dirt out of the bottom of them?

getting there that little bit early, scored me this!
that ornate detail- love love it.

i saw a lady walk around the front of a stall holding it and gasped. wondering how on earth i hadn't spied it first, i asked if she had bought it. her husband who was manning the stall piped up and said "oh, no, that's my wife".
yay!
and i whipped that beauty out of her hands super fast i can tell you!

it's quite a large one, and the bigger they are, the harder i find they are to photograph!
it's extremely heavy and has a beautiful plaster frame.
i can't even find any chips in the plaster which is amazing.
i also took a pic outside, but the photos really don't do it any justice.

a cute Valley Girl scarf- perfect for Springtime i think.

a soft mushroom coloured Witchery top and yummy black ruffled handbag.
love the ruffles.
don't get me wrong, i do love buying new things too!!
off to do less exciting things now such as the ironing and vacuuming.
at least i get to do it in A/C!
Kate :)

ps I have just linked up over at Stuff and Nonsense.
Pop over and take a look at her lovely blog!

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too many magazines!

do you excitedly anticipate the arrival of your favourite homey magazines every month? either through a subscription or off the shelf when finishing up the grocery shopping?

i have 2 subscriptions and usually buy another each month, and now i have an overload of magazines. and it's time to do something about it!

i throw out the odd one here and there, but i've never had a major cull like i have this last couple of days. when it comes down to it, there are often only a few pages i really pour over in each mag.

so, why not collate all my favourite pages into one folder?!

this pile was just the start!

a do have one pile that i will hold onto forever. 10 years ago, Mike bought me a magazine and wrote a birthday message inside the cover. he stated "why buy a card when you can get a magazine for the same price? and you get so much more enjoyment from it"
wise man :)

here are a couple of examples. i love going back and rereading all the gorgeous messages. i get magazines instead of cards for my birthday and Mother's Day.

for this project, you need 2 or 3 white folders- depending on how many magazines you go through. you can get them for $5 each from K-Mart, but i found 3 for a total of 50 cents from a local op shop. they have a plastic outer sleeve and you can slide in paper to jazz them up. My friend Julia came up with the idea of sliding in patterned pieces of scrapbooking paper.
i have decided to do something different which will also keep the cost down.

you will also need to purchase a couple of boxes of plastic sleeves to slide all your fav pages into. i found mine at Coles for $4.72 for a box of 100.

grab a ruler, scissors and pen to measure out your pieces of paper.
i chose some pages i liked out of the magazines i was throwing out, and used them to pretty up the spine of each folder.

and for the front, i used the covers of magazines.

once you have ripped and torn till your heart's content, sort into categories eg, bedroom, living, bathroom, study, garden, craft ideas, Christmas etc.

this is a great exercise, as it really does help cement your decorating ideas and show you what colours you are most drawn to.

if you have a guillotine, trim off the rough edges.
otherwise use your scissors.

i flicked through a total of 72 magazines over 2 evenings an half of yesterday.
this pile has now been reduced to 3 folders full.

another idea- cover a scrapbook with pretty paper and glue in your favourite things.

i did this one up a couple of years ago.
Emily has also had fun doing the same thing.

i do rather the folders though. much easier to sort and change around if you need to.
here are some pages i chose for my folders.

bookshelf before......

after!

this post is linked up over here at Thrifty Decor Chick
and House of Grace! go and take a look at all the wonderful ideas people have when it comes to organizing your home!

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