Tuesday, November 8, 2011

pale pink birdcage

this sweet birdy cage was my 1st find at the markets yesterday.
bird cages are popping up everywhere in this house.
she wasn't quite as pretty as this when i found her.
for some reason the previous owner had umm wasted alot
of time painting her a ghastly shade of purple.
not being able to leave her behind just because of the yucky colour,
i decided it couldn't be too hard to paint her up right?
wrong!
it was a worse job than 1st thought!!
took me ages shoving the brush into every nook and corner.
totally worth it though :)

before....
yep, beyond hideous!!
i've been painting all weekend. time for a break.
i'm off to IKEA to check out Christmas decorations,
and to try and buy myself a new mirror for our walk in robe.
back soon :) Kate x

homemaker on a dime
house of grace
very merry vintage style
a beach cottage

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Sunday, November 6, 2011

market stall

hi! hope the weekend is proving to be a great one for you all!

next Saturday a friend and i will be doing a market stall together.
i have spent hours making teacup candles.
(the one above is a favourite :)
27 to be exact!
i always keep my eyes open for pretty teacups, jugs and
any other little containers that would make the perfect candle.
i've also been madly painting up blackboards to sell as well.
the glass jar you can see to the right is full of chalk filled organza bags.
sweet matchboxes that will compliment a pretty candle
and look lovely on display.
vintage suitcase full of raggy wreaths.
just in time for Christmas, or can be hung all year round.
i snapped this pic of my 'first to flower' agapanthus
when i got home from the markets this morning.
we will be at the Samford St Pauls Anglican Church
12th November 7-12pm for those who might like to pop in.
Kate x

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Monday, October 31, 2011

my baby turns 10

another successful Birthday and party was had over the weekend.
i can't believe my baby Kacey Rose turned 10!!
and what a blessed 10 years it has been as her Mum.

Emily did up the blackboard for her party. she's so talented and creative.

after my usual Market trip, we were straight into the party preparation.
Kacey wanted a blue/green/white theme. fits in well around a pool party :)
i found this whopping big vintage jar at the markets for $3.
perfect filled with blooms and greenery from the garden.


Present time with the guests.
one of her friends did up this little posy from her own garden.
so thoughtful
while the girls were inside playing "Pass the Dare" (as Kacey calls it)
i set up the party food.
they all received a pool toy to play with later.
here's Kace getting all embarrassed while completing her dare!
it was then into the pool!
yep, i just sat back in my adirondack and kept constant count
of the girls 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 every 2 minutes!!
one of my happy agave plants growing pool side.


the cake!
so yummy and easy. we bought the lamingtons from our local bakery,
topped with cream, flake chocolate and of course basketball candles!!
it was such a lovely afternoon.
off to a slower start today thankfully!
Happy Monday everyone :)
Kate x

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Saturday, October 29, 2011

crochet, finds & white concrete floors

after being absent from blog world for almost 2 weeks, i'm back!
and it has been a crazy 'almost 2 weeks' at that!

it began with someone driving into my car door as i was about to get out,
my eldest daughter sprained her neck and had one of the worst cases of wry neck our chiropractor had ever seen,
my cousin came to visit for a weekend,
a friend had a 40th,
throw in multiple chiro appointments and work,
my youngest turned 10 today,
her party is tomorrow, the house is a bomb site,
and top it off with an all day conference which was on today!

and in amongst all that, we have been ripping up carpet and painting floors!
and i am THRILLED with the outcome!
our carpet is going on 18 years old, so it was time to get rid of it.
not wanting to shell out 1000's of dollars at this time of year, we opted
for painted floors. all thanks for the idea goes to Sandy over at Paint Me White.
many of you know she has painted her own floors white and has been living with them for 2 years. i would never have thought to do it myself!

so, following what she did exactly, we set to work.
Kace loves to help out. once the carpet was gone, she painstakingly pulled out the timber edge
and concrete nails along one wall. Mike did the rest :)
all the holes and cracks were filled and sanded.
the room was an absolute cloud of dust!
here's the room all prepped and ready for paint.
we left mirrors and pictures on the walls, as well as the curtains hanging.
i won't do that again. they all needed a thorough clean and dust.
after 3 coats of white, it was looking pretty fabulous!
Mike just went around the edges of the skirting boards with a white silicone sealer
to get rid of all the gaps.
the next afternoon we moved everything back in.
i was then up the following morning at 5am styling away!
i popped some fresh greenery from the garden into Grandpa's water jug and
placed this gorgeous basket at the base of the bed. i found it last week (along with
other bargains you will hear about further down) at the markets for $3.
the little white crochet blanket was made for Em by her Great Aunty Phyl when
she was born.
the tablecloth was $10.
the perfect romantic touch draped across the end of the bed.


i'm definitely loving the crochet in our bedroom right now.
it has found it's way onto pretty much every surface!
the floors have a lovely soft satin finish to them, and are actually
warmer to walk on than tiled floors.
$2 English SADLER biscuit barrel filled with flowers.
Kace decided she wanted matching bedside tables in her room, so took ours.
so we are currently going the mismatched look.
I encourage the girls to 'shop' the house for things they might like for their bedrooms.
they enjoy it and i love seeing them think through their own decorating.
if you want to see how i did the frames up above our bedhead, you can visit that
blog post here.
here's a quick and cute idea. thread smaller round doilies onto the
hook of your coat hangers to pretty them up.
top with some pearls.
the floral cushion was $1 and has a lovely Sanderson feel and print to it.
it was originally a cover for a lounge seat.
i took the block of foam out and replaced it with a large cushion insert.
50c vintage choccie tin.
i might get some rugs for the cooler months, but
will enjoy the floors bare over Summer.

the walk in robe floor has been painted too.
it's still a work in progress as we gutted it and will shortly install
a new hanging system to maximise it's usable space.

bedroom before....
ok, now onto party prep for tomorrow's pool party!
Kate x
House of Grace
Homemaker on a dime
Beach Cottage
very merry vintage style

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

matching blackboards

i had a request from a friend for 2 scrolly blackboards for her sisters
for Christmas.
and the very next day i found what she was after!
it was a student free day yesterday, so i spent the whole morning painting them up.
the edging of each is so pretty.
more teacups waiting to be turned into teacup candles
they are both a great size.
what a great gift idea :)
my crystal napkin ring collection.
found 2 more last week to add in.

close up of the scrolled detail.
before....

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