day 10 – a good find

Posted on October 10, 2012 by zefiart

Today was another busy day, in the nicest possible way.

Wednesdays are my most creative day at work. I work with a group of clients and we make movies. We write scripts, I make/plan costumes and sets, they act and we all work together to film and edit.

Its a great, fun, demanding day.

But it was a long day cause we had a general meeting after work. There’s no rest for the wicked when you live on a farm. You get home and have to feed animals, rug horses, collect eggs, feed Wayne…

Not that I’m complaining… but I’ll tell you, other than get up and wash dishes in a minute, I ain’t planning on doing much at all tonight.

Boring.

I can share this though. I found this book in an op shop a few weeks go and just loved it. It looks like it was printed in the 50s but has no date on it. Its mostly black and white inside with some colour pages. Its big, like a magazine at 10.5 in x 14 in and has 48 pages.

On the inside back cover it says its a Walter T. Foster ‘How to Draw’ book. Published by Foster Art Service, Inc in Laguna Beach Californis and printed in the USA.

Cool isn’t it? For some reason it reminds me of my childhood… the old fashion magazines I remember reading at my grandmother’s house on Paros.

good things come to those who fossick

Posted on September 18, 2012 by zefiart

I really scored today!

On the way home from work I had to stop for something at a $2 shop (ok… I lie… I didn’t have to!) and well, once I was in there I just had to look around, right? I mean, I was there!

I went through all my favourite aisles (art & craft, homewares, stationery) and just as I was leaving I spotted this little fellow.

I just had to have him! Of course he’s not porcelain, what do you expect from a $2 store? (Things which cost more than $2, that’s what). He cost me $8 but I think he’s worth every cent. I’m working on a few little projects and I think he’ll find himself in amongst them soon enough.

My other, even more exciting news, is this!

You know I can’t resist an op shop, right? And if there’s no one there to stop me, I just have to go in.

Well, this time I’m so glad I did!

This is an op shop I generally visit once every 2 weeks or so as they tend to have good prices. When I walked in today I spotted a basket full of what looked like old cotton pillowcases.

On closer inspection it turned out they were all cotton sacks. Flour, bread, coin sacks even. As I started pulling them out and looking at them I knew I had to have some.

The basket had 30c each on the side so I started unfolding, sorting, looking.

Then I thought stuff this. I want the entire basket!

So I took it up to the ladies behind the counter and asked how much for the lot?

$5 they said.

DONE, I said.

I’m so excited! Not all of them are old, but a few at least are before the metric system! (I haven’t yet sorted and counted them, just flipped through them.)

Oh boy!

I can barely contain myself.

They wanted to know what I was going to use them for.

I have no idea. When I saw them I just knew I had to have them.

Kitchen curtains comes to mind.

Office curtains even, if there’s enough of them.

Some of the bigger ones would make nice cushion covers. Some would probably look fantastic framed…

I just love the idea of a curtain though, sacks sewn together, without cutting them up and ruining them… so the curtain is double thickness. Or do I cut them up and sew them together so the curtain is more flimsy?

Oh, the dilema!

I may have to sleep on it. Give them a wash and good iron. Sort them out by size. Just look at them and admire then and thank my lucky stars I decided to stop in at the op shop today!

the grooming room

Posted on August 28, 2012 by zefiart

I know, its been a while since I’ve posted and I do apologise from the depths of my heart.

I’ve been busy. In fact, I’ve been so busy I almost forgot to sleep this last weekend.

I kinda got into the ‘zone’ with tidying up the workshop and grooming room, and then my head was buzzing with ideas and plans and projects… sometimes I wish I had a ‘sleep’ button.

So, here’s just some of the stuff I did this past weekend. I decided to rearrange the grooming room to incorporate this big ugly pink thing I got from an op shop a couple of months ago.

(I sort of had to do something with it. It was in DJ’s garage and he’d threatened to do nasty things to me if I didn’t move it soon.)

Very pink huh? I had planned to paint it and use it in the office. Or something… I mean, it was cheap. Very cheap. It’d come in handy for somewhere!

It even came complete with all these stickers! ugh. Which wouldn’t come off.

Since I wasn’t painting it I didn’t want to spend time scraping or sanding them off. And I was in a hurry to just move it into the grooming room and get it done.

This is what that corner of the grooming room looks like now. Big Pink in the corner holds all the grooming tools and beautifying products. It now has hooks on the side to hold some of my dogs’ fancy collars and hooks off the middle shelf so I can hang the clippers and dremel. And there’s a hook on the wall to hold the dryer hose out of the way.

The other corner holds the bigger grooming table, part of my poodle collection (you can just see them all, clamouring to get out!) and the newest tip shop chair waiting to be make over.

The floor, plain concrete, is covered with rubber tiles under the grooming area – easy to sweep up and nice and comfy underfoot. There’s an old rug on the other side of the room to further insulate the floor.

The other side of the room, on the window side, holds 2 dog beds. Along the wall to the right of the above photo are dog crates, another display cabinet with just as many poodle figurines and dog blankets piled up higher than my head.

When I put Big Pink in the grooming room I moved out a bench, which is now living in the laundry. It works perfectly there – underneath it holds 2 laundry baskets plus 2 grooming/show tool boxes. The top of the bench is a great place to put washing baskets and sort washing. I’m planning to put a couple of shelves in there soon and make that room over a bit.

The other things that were moved were 2 smaller cabinets which are now in the hydrobath room holding towels.

Before you ask to see the rest of the casita, let me remind you that the casita is an old, OLD house… the original farm cottage on our property. It has no foundations as such, and someone somewhere along the line, thought that taking up whatever flooring was in most of the casita and replacing it with concrete was a good idea… It may very well have been a good idea.

If the concrete wasn’t just sitting on the wettest ground this side of the great flood.

So… the rooms with concrete floors are damp. Badly damp. One room is totally unusable. Unless you plan to grow mushrooms. The grooming room isn’t so bad, but its not great either. The hydrobath room and the laundry are … well… lets just say there are patches of concrete which never seem to be totally dry, even when I haven’t washed a dog in a week.

In the front part of the casita, where floors are timber, its great.

However, there are parts of the ceiling which are sagging or totally missing. In the damp areas there are walls with mould. Eeech. Given the floors get so damp in winter, how on earth do you even THINK about fixing the damp walls?

When we first saw this place we dreamed of fixing up the old cottage. It has character. It has baltic pine ceilings (where it has ceilings). But its a real mess, and we don’t have the money to fix its problems.

So, it remains a shed. A grooming room. A dog washing room. A laundry. A workshop. A horse feed room. And a dark gloomy mushroom growing room.

One day, when I’ve patched up holes in walls, replaced missing wall panels, whatever, I might be able to show you areas of rooms, like the laundry. Till then, trust me. It ain’t so pretty!

adding to my junk collection

Posted on August 10, 2012 by zefiart

Seems every time I go into an op shop or junk shop (I avoid antique shops like the plague), I find something small, or something huge.

Over the last few weeks I’ve done a bit of browsing with no serious intent to buy anything, yet somehow I still managed to spend an undetermined amount of money I will not admit to in public.

This is just a sample of the stuff I’ve found and collected.

Who doesn’t love rusty funnels? That shop had another bigger one, but I refused to pay the price they had on it.

Hooks of all kinds – good. They’re getting harder and harder to find.

The funniest little tin opener I’ve ever seen. Cute.

As I said, the pic above is just a sample. There are more cookie cutters, a few more coat hooks, many smaller cup hooks, rusty hinges, tons of old tarnished cutlery.

And latches, locks and door hardware. And some really pretty blue and white plates. Speaking of which, I saw 3 sets of old crockery I love… I’m so tempted to go back and get them.

Do I need more plates? Frankly, yes. Then I won’t have to wash dishes so often.

I’ve also started collecting cookie cutters and other such stuff for my rusty/shiny dangly things. I am in love with those things. If I actually sold some I’d be thrilled.

And the hole thingies for drills.

I know what I’m talking about, you don’t have to know what something is called to know what it is, or be able to use it!

And doilies. Lots of doilies.

Why doilies you ask?

This is why:

I want to make curtains for my home using cheesecloth and/or burlap and doilies. I’ve been inspired.

So, what am I up to this weekend?

Well, as you well know, there’s no rest for the wicked. I have a ton to do as usual. Unfortunately most of it comes under ‘need to do’ rather than ‘want to do’.

A friend is visiting and since he’s the guy who put up the deck and mudroom for me, I’m getting him to put the window frame in the mud room so I can start painting it. I’m dying to start painting.

So I must unearth the timber he’ll need for that job.

Then my day will include fixing the hearth to take up to the tenants in my house in Fentonbury. I had to buy a new bolt for it yesterday. Plus I have some curtains to take up as well.

I took some cuttings of my favourite bush in Fentonbury last weekend and I need to put them in the ground. So, since I’m getting dirt on my hands (did I say dirt? Mud, I meant mud.) I may as well plant some poor things I’ve finally decided on a home for after only 12 months in pots.

Then I have to sort through things to take to the market on my way there, pick up horse pellets (also on the way there), drop off the stuff for Fentonbury, and finally my reward is dinner with friends!

The clock’s ticking. Why am I still here?

junkaholics unite

Posted on July 31, 2012 by zefiart

Hi, my name is Zefi and I’m a junkaholic.

I know I have a problem.

I admit it. Don’t they say admitting it is half the battle?

But what if I don’t want to change?

I’m like Harry… “No Zefi, NO! Don’t look in the tip shop!”

“I. Can’t. Help. It. Its. So. Beauuuuutiful! ARRRRGGGGHHHH”

I feel for Harry.

Yesterday on the way home through Margate, I couldn’t resist the pull of the Re-Use Shop.

This afternoon, I couldn’t resist the tug of another junk shop.

Ok. Two.

Alright.

Three.

Sheesh.

I started off with some money in my pocket and now (don’t tell Wayne) I owe $43 on things I’ve ‘put aside’ with my name on them.

I just can’t help it!

And I don’t want to be cured. I like this disease.

I mean, I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs. What’s one teeny weeny addiction?

It ain’t hurting anyone!

Today’s haul included some rusty hinges, some lovely old spoons, a collection of old deep fryer baskets (I have a cunning plan for them!) and a galvanised milk bottle carrier.

As well as this little cutie:

And this (really? A rabbit decoupaged with cats?)

And yes, another poodle. But I have this fellow’s brothers so I had to complete the family.

Well. No one’s perfect.

how not to blog

Posted on July 30, 2012 by zefiart

Turn on the computer and make a cup of coffee as it starts up.
Sit at desk, opening tabs with right hand while patting standard poodle with left hand.
Spend the next 15 minutes wiping up coffee from desk, under printer, under monitor and inside keyboard while yelling out four letter words as you jump around trying to blot up a full cup of coffee with tissues when said standard poodle shakes his head and spills coffee all over the desk.
Throw away all the post-it notes you had on your desk with reminders and lists of things to do, plus entire unused post-it pads as they’re soaked beyond repair.
Wonder just how resilient SD cards and USB sticks are to coffee drenching…

Ok. So now I’ve sorted that out and have a big pink towel on my desk soaking up any leftover coffee from under the monitor stand and the printer guts, I can tell you about my weekend.

I did NOTHING. Not a thing.

Well. Ok. I did groom 3 dogs. And we did go visit some friends for dinner and stayed over-night. That was very nice.

And we stopped by to renew our dog registrations.

But other than that I did nothing.

Oh, on the way back from our friends’ place we drove past the Margate Tip Shop. Or Re-Use Shop as its called.

You know me. I never met a tip shop I didn’t like. Or could resist stopping at.

Wayne wasn’t impressed. We were too busy, didn’t have time to stop.

But I had the keys and I was driving. So I went and looked while he waited impatiently in the car.

I found a few goodies… 4 doilies which I’m now collecting to make curtains as inspired by an image I fell in love with on Pinterest. Some rusty bits and pieces (I love my rusty bits), and another $1 kitchen chair!

I’ll soon have more chairs that I can possibly use, but hey, it was a nice chair, sitting out there in the rain! I couldn’t just LEAVE it there, now could I?

Here is a picture of the doilies, tea stained and drying out on the towel which is drying out my monitor.

And here is a picture of the chair. Cool find for $1, huh?

Needs a bit of TLC, but that’s what I’m here for!

am I the only one?

Posted on May 21, 2012 by zefiart

… who finds rusty things beautiful?

No. I know I’m not. In fact, Wayne is a rusty fan too. Actually he has a big rusty collection. One that is now also mine in that what’s his is mine and what’s mine is mine. hehehe. Ok… what’s mine is his too, expect for my tools. My tools are my tools cause he forgets them on the lawn or borrows them and puts them away safely in a spot where neither of us can find them again.

I shouldn’t be mean about Wayne on my blog… I know his family reads this! (Hi guys! I’m joking. Mostly.)

So… I mentioned my addiction to tip shopping, did I mention that I went tip and op shopping the other day and came away with a pretty good haul of stuff for under $15? Compared to what I see on Pinterest and other blogs, we in Australia are deprived. When I hear about the stuff people in the USA buy for single figures I turn green with envy.

For instance, there are no fancy cabinets in junk stores around here. Nothing with decorative trim unless its 60s laminate stuff. Not that I’ve seen anyway, and trust me, I’ve looked. I crawl around on my hands and knees, over wardrobes, and under piles of grannies old bedding. If we want something like that we have to pay antique shop prices. And when you pay hundreds of dollars for an old piece of furniture you’re a bit reluctant to experiment on it.

Still, I did find some good stuff. I usually do. In fact, most of the time I have to restrain myself.

So, I ask again… am I the only person who gets excited about things like this?

These chandelier crystals are only plastic, not glass, but they still look good and will come in handy for something!

Love these little cupcake thingies. I really must learn what they’re called…

Ok… old hinges. And old numbers. And old latches. And old bolts. I like ’em.

Hooks and knobs and handles and door hardware…

This isn’t a tip shop find. Its something I found in Wayne’s garage. I have no idea what it is, but its galvanised iron and its cool! Wayne said I could have it. I swear. I picture it holding useful items on the outdoor table. A bottle of water. Glasses. Napkins. Salt and pepper shakers. Or jars full of flowers…

Did I show off my new teapot? I think I’ll use this one as it is once I clean it up.

So, here’s a photo of my ‘new’ whiz bang workshop organiser. Eventually I’ll put wheels on it so I can move it easily and I’ll find/make/adapt boxes to fit into the slots as drawers. For now, I’ve started sorting things into whatever containers I had handy which fit into the shelves. I’m so excited. I can finally see my work surfaces again – I only have to pull out 4-5 boxes to find the one I need.

I will be putting labels on them.