Give me rust give me rust give me lots of flaky rust....I don't want newwwwww.....!

Well I hope this 'Saturday Finds' post finds everyone safe & well....!!!  It's just gone 10.45pm here so I won't blather on as I'm up again in a few hours....I didn't want the day to end without sharing my haul from the Geelong Swap Meet I attended early this morning.  I hope you like them....!!!

This sweet red horse was originally part of a rocker....It reminds me of the horse in my banner pic & I HAD to have him....!!  For $2.00 it would have been bad junking karma to leave him behind....!!

Another green & white enamel light though I haven't shown any green or the AWESOME shape of the piece in my pic....DOH....!!

I scored WELL with these milk bottles at $3.00 a piece....!!  They cleaned up BEAUTIFULLY by the way.... :o) !!

Chippy cream metal wall mounted first aid kit, black chippy galvanised tool box, ANOTHER red chippy tool box & TO DIE for chippy cream clock....*** heaven ***

Purrrrrrrrrr....hahahahaha....!!!

Thought you might like a CLOSER close up....!

LOVE this tin....PERFECT colours....!

This YUMMY vintage wall mounted paper dispenser was the MOST expensive purchase of the day at $20.00....HAD TO HAVE IT....!!

My FIRST purchase of the day from the one vendor....$12.00 for the four pieces....Do you think I was smiling....??!

Last but by no means least were these three sweeties....LOVE the colours of these old pin tins....!!

We made it back to Melbourne just after 12.30pm where I unloaded my Treasures, took pics & down loaded them before heading off at 1.30pm into the Hard Rubbish....Those pics will have to wait until tomorrow night though....!!

Mr SVJ actually called me at 630pm to tell me it was dark & I should be home....I was two minutes away & told him, "Great minds think alike...!!"

No rest for me when I walked in the door though....Because I'd left SO EARLY this morning I still had to get my exercise in so STRAIGHT to the treadmill for half an hour followed by 3 1/2 hours cleaning my stuff & working on the vendor information pack for the Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza....!!

Now I must take my leave, bid you SWEET DREAMS & head to the Land Of Nod myself....!!

I'll be back tomorrow night....!

Cheers,
Tamarah :o)

Ummmmm...Honey I spent the grocery money & can I borrow $35...??

HOOLY DOOLY....I CAN'T believe it's Sunday evening already....Talk about a WHIRLWIND WEEKEND......hahahahaha.....It's 7.30pm & I'm in bed....That's right folks I am KAY-nackered & am looking forward to being in an unconscious state in the not too distant future....  :o) !!

OK....This is a long one so you may want to grab a coffee or join me with a chardy....!!

Here goes....The day started at 4.30am after a TINY 4 hour sleep when I headed off to Camberwell Market....Considering there was NO market last week I thought the Treasures were a bit 'light on the ground'....In any case, when Mr SVJ rocked up to take me to breaky, I put on my BRIGHTEST smile & confessed to having spent the grocery money & in the same breath, asked if I could borrow $35- to complete my final purchase....hahahaha....He agreed of course HOWEVER, I have to transfer funds over tomorrow to the grocery account AND make him coffee for the week....The THINGS I do....hahahahaha....!!

Anyways....I left the market around 9.45am for home where I unloaded the van of the Hard Rubbish Treasures from yesterday, & cleaned the items purchased at the market.

Then it was off to the storage unit, to SQUEEZE in another 15 items I've set aside for the SVJ Extravaganza....!!  Now although the NEW storage place is just around the corner, there are ISSUES with access & yadda yadda yadda so the dropping off of stuff is NOT a quick process....hmmmmmm.....

Home again by 11.45am to take some pics of stuff from Camberwell & yesterdays HR, download to make sure AOK followed by a quick coffee & out the door to the Hard Rubbish....!

As the HR's a fair distance away, I didn't make it 'on site' until around 1.15pm....!!  I drove around for a couple of hours & it occurred to me that I wouldn't make it home in time to take pics of my loot so I took pics on the road while I still had some light....!

Finally made it home around 5.30pm when I received a phone call from the EVER GORGEOUS Miss Holly whom I 'met' through eBay several years ago & who is currently in Australia with her beau on business....!!

I was THRILLED to hear from this LOVELY lady & must say....If you are EVER in the need of Vintage Christmas Treasures, PLEASE visit Holly for a VISUAL feast the likes of which I can pretty much guarantee you will not have experienced before....Her pics will make you melt & if you are NOT a Vintage Christmas fan....You WILL BE....In my 10 or so years on eBay I've bought quite a bit of stuff from the US & Holly is the ONLY seller who has made me feel 'special'....With a LOYAL following though I've ONLY ever managed to win ONE item but I tell ya....That ONE win was a SENSATIONAL experience....  :o) !!!!!

OK....So I chatted to Holly for a bit & then realised, due to the echo on the line her mobile/cell was diverting to her US carrier which would be costing her a FORTUNE so we said our goodbyes.....!!

After a quick check on dinner, I was on the treadmill for my run followed by shower & dinner....!!

PHEW...And here I am to chat about my finds....!!!

So Mr Underwood below is the reason I needed to borrow $35- from Mr SVJ....It was $45- all up & I was THRILLED to find it as I missed out on TWO on EAster Saturday when I attended the clearance sale as I was bidding against a Melbourne dealer & they BOTH went for close to $100-....SEE....If you STICK to you guns you'll be rewarded in the end....  :o) !!

I've taken what is for me an 'arty shot' as a salute to the ever talented junkalicious SUE at Vintage Rescue Squad....If you've been living under a rock & haven't found your way to Sue yet, please pay her a isit.....Sue put together an AWESOME Junking Calendar for 2010 naming ALL of the MUST ATTEND Flea Markets & Shows in the US....I am the proud owner of TWO of these babies & recommend them HIGHLY....!!!

The space bar if you can believe it is actually made of WOOD....!!

This romantic tin was exxy at $10- but it's not one I see very often....!!  The colours are TO DIE FOR....!!

Now THIS is the piece that had me dipping into the grocery money....It's an old old steam trunk made of pine with AWESOME hardware & TWO key holes WITH the original key.....YAYYYYY....Painted white, though previous 'paint history' obvious in the layers underneath AND chipped to PERFECTION, this piece was a STEAL at $110-....!!!  Love Love LOVE it....I was telling Mr SVJ when we find our DREAM HOME (with a bedroom large enough to have MORE than a bed in), this trunk will reside at the foot of the bed & be filled with my vintage quilts.....  :o) !!!

It's a WHOPPER.....!!

DIVINELY Chippy chippy CHIPPY.....!!!

Ok....I ONLY bought three things at the market so the below pick is a back track to yesterdays HR....Two AWESOME chippy white doors & windows....hahahaha....Mr SVJ wasn't quick enough to get out of my shot & my boy Baxter can be seen lurking bottom left....Isn't he BEAUTIFUL....!!!

Now to todays HR finds....I picked up a trunk with SO MUCH vintage fabric I almost FAINTED....Linen, cotton & wool....WOW....I could sell most of it or have a seamstress make me some a-line skirts I can wear with my vintage boots when I get them back from the shoe stretching dudes....!!!

The tray with the 50's print is actually an INSERT from a suitcase....Covered in fabric it's in GREAT nic....Unfortunately, the suitcase itself had had 'the Richard'....!!

The sweet little brown leather case was found with the fabric....It's a shaving/toiletries bag & the green case.....hahahahaha....Would you believe it USED to house a NATIONAL VIBRATOR....???? hahahaha....STOP blushing.....The vibrator was actually an instrument used in a vintage beautification process of THE FACIAL kind.....hahahahahaSNORT.....!!!

This umbrella with it's cotton tartan print was with the fabric & is in D-I-V-I-N-E condition....No YUKKY stains to marr it's PERFECT vintage state....!!

Oh yes....I ALSO scored a SUITCASE filled with vintage fabric from the same place...  :o) !!

LOVELY  Queen Anne style vanity....The carved mirror is in the van SOMEWHERE....Don't have to do ANYTHING to this piece other than pop the mirror on & add some glass handles....!!

LOVE this piece...VERY well made it's as HEAVY as & took quite a bit of reorganistion AND grunt to get it into the van.....hahahahaha....I really AM the Monica Seles of the Hard Rubbish world....  :o) !!!

Close your mouths ladies....YES this feather eiderdown found in PRISTINE CONDITION....The likes of which I have NEVER SEEN in ALL my years of collecting these Treasures, was bought out to me by the lovely lady emptying her grandparents home....After witnessing my delight at having rescued the fabric, she bought this out to me to add to my pile of Treasures....OH HAPPY DAY....YES....It's a keeper.... :o) !!

*** sigh *** words are superfluos at this point......

Well...That was MY Sunday....There are at least 10 things I can think of that I FORGOT to take pics of but these are THE BEST of the lot....!

Now I must hit the hay....I really am ready for a trip to the land of NOD....!!

Wherever you are, I hope your weekend was PEACEFUL & FILLED with Treasures...!!

Cheers for now,
Tamarah :o)

PS: To my Bonnie Doon mate Wendy....THANK YOU for conquering your 'technofobia' & working out how to leave comments on my blog....It makes me SMILE big time to see one of your notes.... :o) !!!

A Church Fete, a Garage Sale & an Op-Shop or two....!!

Well....WHAT a week....All I can say is, "Thank HEAVENS it's over so I can enjoy some DOWN TIME...!!" 

Before I share todays finds, I would like to THANK everyone for their kind comments re my MINI RENO....!!  In the end it turned out to be a FUN project which taught me an important lesson....If I pick something up in the HR & it has a MULTITUDE of 'issues' I need to decide THERE & THEN to work on it when I get home, or LEAVE it on the side of the road....hahahahaha.....!!

OK.....Being the first Saturday of the month, I had an early start at my ALL TIME FAVE Church Fete....LOL....The doors open at 9am SHARP but I like to be there a couple of hours early....WHY you ask....?? I like to be FIRST in the door to get the BEST Treasures of course....hahahahaha....No that's NOT the only reason....The event is run by elderly members of the Church & I like to help out....I open the door for the old dears as they arrive with their baked goods & run the unwanted items down to the Trash & Treasure area....It really is a social outing & I enjoy the quite of the early morning as everyone goes about the business of setting up.....!

I've been going to this fete for a few years now & you know....There are SOME months where my ONLY purchase is a cup of coffee when I meet up with my Friend, Lee but this is the ONE occasion where it's NOT always about the Treasures....  :o) !!

The pic below shows the DIVINELY rusted base of an AWESOME ironing board I bought on the way to the fete....Oh YES....It was a GREAT day....!!

The wooden top is AMAZING....I think a light clean with a damp rag & some bees wax is all it requires while the steel base needs to meet my mate 'poly'....!!

Now this one is a shout out to my 'thrifting' buddies....I picked up these two T-shirts at an op-shop AFTER the fete....I scored the pair for a tiny $7.00 & when I arrived home, I was able to delegate two paint splatted Tees to my rag bag....!!

Now these are my Fete finds....LOVELY wool skirt made in Scotland & an unworn Veronika Maine shell....These set me back $6.00 for the two pieces....!!

LOVE the details on these vintage skirts....I have 6 now....  :o)

I'm USUALLY attracted to patterns form the 40's & 50's but these patterns from the 60's & 70's were TOO COOL to leave behind....!!

Now these were MY FAVE buys at the Fete....Just LOVE a well kept vintage leather bag.....!!

** sigh ** Love Love LOVE Oroton....ESPECIALLY if it's made in Australia....!!  This is my NEW Market bag....!!

My pic has NOT done this bag any justice AT ALL....It is EXQUISITE & will accompany me on the train each morning as I make my way in to work....!!

It was lunch time when I made it home so after a quick bite to eat & some FRANTIC picture taking, I was off again to the Hard Rubbish....By the time Mr SVJ called at 6pm to let me know he was on his way home, my van was FULL to the brim with Treasures....!!

I raced home & uploaded my pics, threw a load in the wash & jumped on the treadmill for 30 minutes....!!  The next two hours were spent catching up on all those household tasks you need to do just to KEEP ON TOP of 'stuff' & here I am now....Glass of wine on the bedside table & fur baby Baxter by my side....WISHING I had managed to UNLOAD the van before logging on....That's OK though....I'm SURE to fit that particular task in SOMEWHERE tomorrow....Don't you agree....???

Wherever you are....I hope you had a GREAT Saturday....!!

Cheers,
Tamarah :o)

Mini Renovations of the VINTAGE variety....!!

Monday's post was lost to cyberspace unfortunately, but I wanted to show you one of the projects I had written about....!!

This little 1950's doll house was a Hard Rubbish find from LAST August....I was chuffed to find it with it's PERFECT green & red chippy paint....Of course the ICKY wall paper, contact, carpet & interior paint work HAD TO GO....!!  When I unloaded the van at the end of the day it came STRAIGHT inside where I pulled it apart & sat it on a bench in the dining area....And that's where it SAT until Saturday of last week....I know what you're thinking but there are some things (** read many many MANY **) you just CAN'T rush hahahahaha....!!!

So this is how it looks now.....I can see it in the bathroom filled with soaps & sponges or perhaps the laundry room with washing powder, cleaning rags & a dish for spare change & it would look lovely in a babies room filled with nappies & lotions.....!!

And so it begins....

Is it ANY wonder it sat around for 8 months waiting for me to take up the challenge...??!

Scraping, scraping....LOTS of scraping....!

After all the gunk was gone & I had a smooth surface to work with, I applied a coat of penetrol  followed by two coats of Chalk White satin finish in enamel.

The wall paper is from the 50's & was HARVESTED right out of the Hard Rubbish....!!!  I was SO EXCITED to be at the tail end of this project, I actually measured SHORT & had to match a 1.5cm gap (about 1/2 inch) at

 the bottom....I don't think it looks too obvious do you....?? 

Wherever you are, I hope you're having a GREAT week....!!

Cheers,
Tamarah :o)

Bugger....Bugger....BUGGER....!!

NUTS.....I've just spent an hour & a half on a post only to lose it to cyberspace....Unfortunately, it's almost 10.15pm & I need to be up at 4.30am so I'm unable to start over....I'll be back tomorrow night to try again....In the mean time, I'll leave you with a pic of a Christmas Wreath I made using mercury glass balls....!

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL weekend filled with all manner of Vintage Treasures....!!!

Cheers,
Tamarah :o)