A spot of Vintage Shopping warms the heart :)

Hi Gorgeous Peeps,

I was starting to have serious withdrawals of the Vintage Shopping kind; I hadn't been for ages!

Sometimes my car just heads in the direction of my local op shops.. as though it's on some kind of crazy auto pilot! 

This is what happened on Tuesday, I had dropped the kiddies to school, it was raining and I was headed to do the grocery shopping, when before I knew it my car was making a beeline to some local op shops.   I was but a mere passenger ;)


I was particularly on the lookout this time for some vintage fabrics...  but like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get!

Here's my loot...

A bunch of gorgeous vintage doilies.

A lime green chenille blanket.

A perfect Vintage tray (Made in Australia, Adelaide. I love Adelaide, but that's a story for another day)

A chunky wooden lamp with a wicker shade.

I love lamp and trays, don't know why, they just make me happy :)




 
Two ceramic turquoise bowls with new stickers on them.

A pair of silver candle sticks.
   
An old wooden hinged card box.














A large wicker laundry basket.
  
A carved wooden tray.

An Extra large magazine holder... 
perfect for giant mags (huh?)... 

or perfect for fabric storage :)






Some stripey and polka dot fabric.

And a partridge in a pear tree ;)

I have a bunch of fun sewing (read about my new BBF here ;) and upcycing projects planned for some of this loot, and some of it is perfect just the way it is.

Have you found any vintage treasures recently?

Jo xx

Ikea Reject Ottoman Union Jack Slipcover Makeover!

Hi Lovelies,

It's been too cold to paint lately so I've been having fun getting aquainted with my new sewing machine and rediscovering my sewing moJo! 


Well actually it's not so new, I got it for Christmas and only recently got her out of the box.  Here she is on the right;  Bloggy friends meet Jan..  Jan meet my bloggy friends :)   Now that we are all properly aquainted... I'll move right along.

So I finally carved out a little mummy space in the corner of the playroom; lucky for me it's quite a large room so plenty of space for me, my sewing projects and approximately 20 thousand pieces of lego!



I've had this little rejected Ikea ottoman laying around for-like-ever!

I got him in the bargain area at Ikea, he was naked except for a piece of foam on his top, but we won't go there... he's a tad embarassed about that fact ;)

I decided I'd try my hand at sewing him a new slip cover.  Inspired by the Queen's Jubilee I went for a Union Jack ;)

I had some calico fabric and a roll of burlap/hessian fabric so I got to work cutting strips. 

I cut strips of burlap and some natural coloured linen (which I trimmed from my too long Ikea curtains... mmmm that's a project for another day!). 


I then placed them over the seat foam until I was happy with the layout. 

Having never sewn with burlap before, or used this machine for that matter, this took a little practice but after a test strip we were off and racing!

Here he is in his new Bespoke threads....

Jan is my new BFF... I love her!  I had fun with this little project... and I think this little guy is a much happier chappy not to mention warmer now ;) 


What have you been working on lately?  Anyone upcycled an Ikea reject? Love to hear about it!

Keep sparkling! :)

Jo xx

~ I'm linking up to these fab parties ~

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday No 120

Elizabeth & Co. ~ Be Inspired Linky Party

The Shabby Nest ~ Frugal Friday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesday's Treasures

Beachcombing and Coastal Treasures

Hi lovelies,

Hope you all had a wonderful sunny weekend!  We enjoyed soaking up the Winter sun at Botany Bay National Park, Kurnell.   The kids had a scooter ride through the park, hubby and I strolled whilst enjoying a stunning view of the bay, and city beyond.

























Such amazing blue skies in Sydney today! Perfect for a romantic gesture on a grand scale... awwww I love sky writing!

 I got to pop into one of my fav shops, Free Range Living...  if you're local you've got to check it out!  Deni has beautiful Australian handmade goodies, fashion, gifts, devine artisan breads and lots of crafty goodness! 

There's good coffee and Gelato next door, so it's 'a tick in the box' for the whole family... Happy days :)

The kids and I had fun finding lots of wonderful treasures whilst beachcombing!!




























I love driftwood, shells and sea glass and have always loved finding these treasures of the sea. 

Today we scored some beautiful pieces of sea sponge, some small but perfect sea urchins and a few shells and driftwood.

I just love to decorate with things from Nature and I can't wait to clean this haul up (it's kinda stinky), and display these pretties inside.  Isn't Mother Nature amazing?

 
My kiddies love visiting Kurnell,  but along with the natural beauty, sadly there is a lot of rubbish that gets washed up along the beach :( 

The last few times we have visited the kids have really noticed this.

So this time we took a big garbage bag and filled it with plastic bottles and rubbish.  We probably could have filled a dozen more.


Have you found any lovely treasures lately? 

Jo xx

Shabby Chic Stencilling fun & My first Give Away!

Hi Lovelies!

I've been MIA these past weeks, basically keeping a) warm and b) dry... Sydney winter is here with bells on...  and it's been wet and chilly!!  I've not painted anything for a little while, instead preferring to work on indoor projects; watching MasterChef, eating chocolate, crocheting and the odd glass of red!  All wonderful winter activities ;)


I am super excited Coastal Home Love's Facebook page has almost reached 500 likes... which is just crazy great!!    I'm so grateful to have such friendly, stylish and lovely likers on the page :)

Soooo to celebrate reaching this milestone I'm giving away one of these Paris Flower Market signs....

~ Classic White with French Grey ~

I have been having fun creating some signs.  They are hand painted and stencilled on thick canvas art board.

I've been playing with different colour combos; What colours would you like to see??  

Paris Flower Market Signs are available to purchase at via CoastalHomeLove

 

~ Olive with Blue ~

~ French Blue with White ~

~ Tiny Dancer Pink with White ~

If you like to win a Paris Flower Market sign...  here's what you need to do...

 ~  CONDITIONS OF ENTRY in 3 easy steps!  ~

1) 'Like' Coastal Home Love on Facebook  (please note this needs to be from your personal Fb account!).

2) Share page on Facebook with your friends!

3) Email Coastal Home Love (coastalhomelove@gmail.com) letting us know you have completed steps 1 & 2, and advise what colour you would choose if you win!

Easy Peesy! ~ Like... Share... Email!


For an extra entry you can follow along with my blog....  I'd really love you to join me for some upcycling adventures :)


Good luck and thanks so much for your support,

Jo xx

~ Conditions of entry ~

Giveaway open from 17 June 2012 and will close midnight on 30 June 2012. Open to Residents of Australia. Entrant must 'like' Coastal Home Love Facebook page and share with friends on Facebook. Entrant can be an existing liker or a new liker. Entrant must email Coastal Home Love stating preferred colour choice and that they have met entry conditions.

Prize includes; One Paris Market Flower Sign (choice of available colours) and includes postage within Australia.

A winner will be chosen using random.org. Winner will be notified by email and I will announce winner on my blog and on Facebook!

Please note this giveaway is in no way administered, sponsored or endorsed by, or associated with Facebook.  Entrants are providing information to Coastal Home Love and not Facebook. Email information will not be passed on by Coastal Home Love.

~ * ~