Feeling the 'BLOG LOVE' & Saturday Finds

I'm a little overwhelmed I must admit by 'blogland'....I discovered blogs & blogging quite by accident one night when looking for vintage millinery flowers....Why it actually took me 8 months to dip my toe in & launch my own though is a mystery....!! Perhaps I was worried I wouldn't have anything worthy of reading or that my pics weren't up to scratch....I really can't say for sure....I am sure though that if you're reading this & don't have your own blog....DON'T waste time like I did....Just have a go.....You'll be rewarded in many UNEXPECTED ways....!!

Just this week for example, I've had two new DIVINE bloggers visit me....The ever so STYLISH Maria of Dreamy Whites left me a lovely note that made me smile for hours when I discovered it....If you haven't had the good fortune to have stumbled onto her blog you must do so NOW....Don't forget to pop back here though to finish reading about today's finds.....hahahahaha....No SERIOUSLY....EACH & every pic on Maria's blog will make your pulse race....!

If Maria's visit wasn't enough....The DELIGHTFUL Chania of RAZMATAZ also introduced herself & I've just spent the last couple of hours lost in her LOVELY blog. Our design styles & colours are quite similar & I know I'll be visiting her YUMMY Etsy Store on a regular basis....!! I LOVE her collection of ironstone & stash of Meakin Hotelware & am thrilled at the opportunity to spend time 'visiting' her in the future....!!!

So here I am feeling the 'BLOG LOVE' & so thrilled to be a part of a community spanning the globe where I get to 'talk' & 'meet' WONDERFUL women who share my passions & creativity....I am feeling VERY happy & VERY fortunate....!

Now for today's finds......There's no Hard Rubbish about at the moment, so I started my Saturday with some house work & painting chores before heading off to what I uncharitably refer to as the 'skanky' trash & treasure market....In my defence I use the term 'skanky' because the items I find are usually VERY VERY grubby & I DON'T mean a little dust either....We're talking oily residue of some sort & other dubious substances....!!

I stopped at my local op shop first & found this wooden toilet roll stand...It has a yukky stain at the moment which I'll sand back & when it's done I'll use it to stack my collection of bakelite bracelets on.

I didn't get to the market until a little after 1pm & considering it's open at 8am, I think I did quite well....The Italian basket & wine bottle are TO DIE FOR & I took a bit of a risk spending $40- without being able to take it out of the basket & have a good look but I'm SO HAPPY I did as it's G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S.....It's also a WHOPPER standing at a little over 2ft tall....So NOW I have a YUMMY wicker basket, an AWESOME wicker light shade & a STUNNING green bottle.....YAYYYYYYY....And it gets BETTER....The gentleman I purchased this piece from had two others.....yes that's RIGHT....TWO MORE....He gave me his card & said if I was happy with this one to give him a call & he could bring the others over.....YAYYYYYYY again..... :o) !!

I also found three rusty coat hooks, the glass knob & the two cream painted cans at the market so all in all it was a GREAT VISIT....!!

The West German paper mache egg was found on the way home at the Salvos for a TINY $4-....I have 3 of these now & love them to bits....!

Here's my green bottle after I snipped the 15 pieces of wire holding the lid in place & gingerly removed it. At this point I was VERY worried....You know sometimes when you buy glass & it's cloudy....I don't know about anyone else but I've NEVER been able to remove this stuff....!!

I put a HEAP of Napi San in the bottom before I turned on the hose to fill it up & went inside for some tools....Mr SVJ had some dowel kicking about in the 'man cave' & I had the bottle cleaner & tape.

If you find yourself needing to do this can I suggest you buy the BEST wire bottle brush you can find....!! Check the wire is coated with PVC, the bristles are thick & they splay out across the top of the brush....If your bottle or jar is HUGE like this, you'll need to bend it up to get to ALL the hard to reach areas inside.....!!

Ahhhhhhh....Mission accomplished....Isn't she BEAUTIFUL.... :o) !! It's currently sitting on our sideboard in the living area next to a small 1ft version....All I need now is a medium size one & I have a set.....hahahahaha.....I'll DEFINITELY be calling Joe to tell him I'd LOVE for him to bring the other two over.....!!!

I can just see the THREE of them on a YUMMY chippy white farm house table.....** swoon **

Wherever you are, if you're reading this I hope you a had LOVELY day.....!

Cheers for now,

Tamarah :o)