a little Christmas giveaway!

well, i think it's time for a little Chrissy giveaway.
what do you think?!

i have this gorgeous crisp white cotton Christmas stocking to giveaway!
it's brand new with tags still attached.
RRP $16.95 from Freedom.
lovely silver/grey stitched detail.

oh yes, i got one for myself too!
matches my wrapping this year perfectly!!

and i'm also including this sweet white crotchet heart.
from Ikea- comes in a pack of 4.
L.O.V.E them!!!

will post world wide.

all you have to do is be/become a follower of my blog and leave a comment.
that's it!

i have these stars hanging all over the place!
great on the tree, a bag, a door knob, whatever takes your fancy :)

thankyou to all of you for your lovely comments over the year.
every single one makes me smile :)
good luck!
i'll draw a random winner at the end of next week!
Kate x
Homemaker on a Dime
very merry vintage style

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getting into the Christmas spirit & some child free time!

we have never put the Christmas tree up this early!
but we were all feeling a little holiday-ish, as the girls were packed
and ready to head to Sydney for a couple of fun filled days with their grandparents.

so, as we do every year, we put the tree up with Chrissy music playing, the girls
wearing Santa hats complete with food galore!
( Em and Kace choose what we have- and healthy options must be included!
They dished up enough for about 15 guests haha!)

a glass or 2 of champas must also be had by Mum, and a beer for Dad.

Once the girls were on the plane, we headed off to the
Chandler Markets (got this great mirror) followed by a stop at
Ikea for a few more Christmas supplies (and white coathangers :)

and then onto the Woolloongabba Antique Centre where i got to see
Sandy's Shop from Paint Me White.

i took some pics of some other fav shops.
love that cane bed head :)

quaint pieces in this little corner

gorgeous old change table in Tiffany blue

and then into the city for lunch and Christmas shopping.

after a 5:10am start, we came home exhausted at about 3:30pm!
an easy dinner and a DVD were in order.

then it was wrap wrap wrap and under the tree with all the gifts.

my mirror in it's new home

Christmas is definitely looking a little more relaxed and beachy around here this year.

i tied lots of silver star ribbon and made paper doily cones to
hang from these sparkly branches

we've thoroughly enjoyed our child free time, but i can't wait to get my girls

a bit later this morning from the airport!

have fun decorating your home this festive season :)
Kate x
ps i have listed alot of vintage items on eBay. click on the button on the right hand side of
my blog to view.
my Romantic Home
house of grace
funky junk interiors

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15 minute DIY tablecloth

here's a quick and super duper easy DIY project for anyone!
and don't tell me you can't sew, because neither can i!

what you need:
*3 metres of pretty fabric (i got mine today from Spotlight.
they have 30% off store wide until 8pm tomorrow night!
i got this fabric from the curtain section. the fabric i used is 120cm wide
reduced to $7 a metre, so that's a good priced tablecloth!)
*scissors, pencil and measuring tape

my table is 2 metres long, so i cut the fabric down to 240cm.
(i like to have some leftover for another project)

i'm a shocker at doing things to plan.
i just go by eye, fold over about a 1.5cm edge and go for it.
do both the shorter ends of the fabric first.

so as you can see, i'm no perfectionist!

ta da!
my new duck egg blue tablecloth.

and i promise, it took only 15 minutes to sew.

table before....

what are you waiting for?
go and make your own now! it's too easy!
Kate x
homemaker on a dime
a stroll thru life
a beach cottage
shabby creek cottage

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this week's finds & happenings

my week began with a long awaited trip to Ikea with my "fav
Ikea shopping buddy" to check out this year's Chrissy dec's.
you might have seen one of these crochet stars in my previous post.

these cute crowns are very "Rachel Ashwell" don't you think?
so pretty popped on a table, hung on the tree, or atop a bottle of wine.

i love a bit of paisley, so had to grab a packet of these glittery dec's.
each year, i like to hang a little Chrissy decoration off my wrapped pressies.
i might use these this year.

here they sit in my newest milk glass find.
in a couple of weeks it will be time to get the house looking festive!

yesterday i did my first craft and arts market stall.
my tea cup candles were very popular!

my friend Bek is a talented sewer, and had a stall full of beautiful
children's clothes.

it was then home to get the house ship shape for a bit of a dinner party.

i'm kicking myself for not getting some pics with the guests!
we had a ball and sat outside all evening. the weather was lovely.

a market find from this morning.
a huge tray marked on the back 'made in India'.

i'm thinking it will end up in the middle of my coffee table stacked with candles.

after a couple of 4:30am morning starts, i'm
thinking a nanna nap is in order for this afternoon!
enjoy doing whatever it is you love this Sunday :)
Kate x

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"the smallest walk in robe in the world" makeover

beware!
extremely unglamorous blog post ahead!!!
don't be fooled by the 1st pic, i just had to start this post with something pretty!!

welcome to my walk in robe.
actually, the smallest one in the world.
come on in :)
(oh and don't mind the 18 yr old beyond had it carpet!)

we had manged to cram SO much stuff in here.
i was quite impressed with myself when we pulled it all out.
i could have filled a small truck lol!

so, here it is in all it's messy crammed glory.
part of me can't believe i'm doing a post on this, but hey, this is real life!
i love sharing what i get up to with you, as well as creating an online type
journal to look back on.
so here goes.

it got to the stage where it was too hard to keep tidy.
the top shelf was so deep, it shadowed the clothing below making it difficult to see.
we store everything from clothes and shoes in here,
to Christmas presents, luggage, bedding and light bulbs.

and the crappy little mirror just wasn't cutting it!

step one.
hit up IKEA for as many white timber coat hangers as i can carry.
(this wasn't enough, so i got more yesterday :))

step two.
smash out shelves with a hammer, rip out gross carpet and
pull up timber and concrete nails.

step three.
concrete nails leave holes behind, so fill holes and
plaster walls.

step four.
find alternative clothing storage in family room.
cram what's left into both daughter's cupboards leaving them very
unimpressed.

step five.
choose a storage system that doesn't break the bank.
a quote from Howard's Storage took my breath away.
Ikea was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than that.
but, the best price was found at Bunnings.
a system called CLEVER CLOSET.
and it's ALL WHITE!! (big smiles from me)
oh and a $5 tub of mistint paint in a really nice colour
also found it's way home with me)

step six.
install it yourself.
well, get your husband to while you sit back and watch
from the bed with a glass of wine.

step seven.
hang clothes temporarily to make sure you leave the right amount
of space between shelves.

step eight.

foof and potter getting everything back in.
done!

ok, let me invite you in to my newly finished walk in robe!!
break down of costs.
*Clever Closet system: just over $400.
*walls painted in Dulux Antique White USA. already had some left over.
*floors painted white. $160 for 10L tin. painted both walk in robe floor and bedroom floor.
*Ikea white coat hangers $9.99 for pk of 8. total: $130
*Vintage light from Salvos: $22
*Ikea Hemnes Mirror $119

double the hanging space and
total organised bliss : PRICELESS!

cute light fitting

very hard to photograph my divine new mirror but here it is!

there's my sweet little dolly sitting in the corner
that i've had since i was a baby.

lovely white timber mirror.
seems almost made to fit :)

white timber coat hanger love
(don't get me wrong. there will always be a place for crocheted and padded
coat hangers in my wardrobe. they're down on the bottom shelf)
throws and blankets stored in pretty bags and pillowcases.

so there you have it.
our now very functional, teeny tiny walk in robe.

thanks for coming along :)
Kate x
house of grace
very merry vintage style

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