Vintage lace and recyclied glass

I have had a lovely day today: it has been cold and damp but the sun was out this afternoon.

Some weeks ago I bought this gorgeous vintage wedding gown from Vinnies.  Whenever I go op shopping I check out the wedding gowns and formal clothes in case I come across any special lace or beads.  In this case I admired this dress on the store manequin for weeks and didn't dare ask the price.  When I finally went back I found the price was reasonable and the veil and gloves were included.

I will offer it for sale on ebay I think.  It is too beautiful to cut up.

 The other thing that has occupied me today (instead of the washing and cleaning) has been a product my son-in-law has started to sell.  

It is recycled, coloured, tumbled glass.  This works for me on three levels: recycling is so important to our environment, the colours are so vibrant, and it is glass.  I have always loved glass; whether it is a stained glass window, an acid etched wine glass or the bowl of marbles on the dining table.  


 I thought it would be fun to see what this glass can be used for.

Because it is tumbled it does not have sharp edges so it is easy to work with.

In the little fish tank it looks wonderful under the water.

Next I decided to try out some candles (led battery operated candles are such fun to use) in a tumbler, a wine glass and a candle holder.  I do think they would look great on a party table. 

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The last idea was to fill the top of a pot of lavender: I think it looks fine.  I am going to use some in red on some pots outside to go with my red steps but I wanted to see how it looks in this small pot first.

This is a start up business for Brent and I am hoping it will be a success.  If you want to take a look he has a website here.

Choosing paint colours

 I have been wondering how other people decide on the colour of their homes.  We have painted each of our two previous houses in very different ways.


The first home we bought was built in 1929 so we chose colours that were popular then.  In fact we scraped back the various layers until we discovered the original colours: cream & dark green.  It looked just right when it was finished.

The next house was a sandy coloured brick and the house lacked something until we changed the trim to lovely shades of blue.  The terracotta tiles on the roof finished it off beautifully.  When the echium were in bloom it was a picture.


I have always disliked the colour (milk chocolate & mint green)  of the home we live in now but it is such an important decision - choosing the right colours - that we have only just started painting the outside.

We have chosen a dulux colour, Oyster Linen, for the weather boards.  The window frames will be charcoal grey (I haven't settled on the exact colour yet).  The verandah floor will be red, with a suggestion of brown: again I have to settle on the exact colour.

We chose these colours because the soft, light coloured weatherboards  look clean and crisp, the grey and the red are colours that we see in our garden and the birds that visit us.


I would be interested to know how others choose the colours and whether they enjoy doing the painting.  It is one of my favourite things to do.  Of course while I am painting there is not much time for stitching. 

it never rains - it pours - or leaks

 Today I had nothing planned: except a few errands to run and the supermarket of course.  


We have had quite a lot of rain overnight which has been lovely for the garden and of course it has cooled the house down a bit too.

 I thought it would be a good idea to pick up some paint so we can continue on the outside of the house.  We have painted the front wall (which is the smallest area) and I am keen to do the rest before winter arrives.

 

 I popped into the shed, which is behind my work room, to check on the type of paint.  The colour is Oyster Linen which I really love but I am always confused by all the options when I arrive in the paint department.

While in the shed I heard a loud dripping sound and as the rain had stopped some hours earlier I thought I should investigate.  I rigged up some lights so I could see under the house and was horrified to see water dripping through the laundry floor.  I rushed up the stairs and turned off the washing machine taps and disconnected the hoses, and then I moved the washing machine.  It has been leaking underneath and the water had seeped under the tiles and through the flooring.  Great.  Fantastic.  So I did have something to do after all.  Hubby was away so I lifted up the tiles, many of which were cracked or broken as it turned out.  The chip board, (MDF) was soaking wet - so now I am waiting for it to dry.  I think it will be ok - it has never been sealed - the tiles were laid directly on the flooring.  I intend to put a drainage grate in the floor and then seal it all before re-tiling the lot.  The walls could do with a lick of paint so it should look lovely and fresh when it is finished.

I did buy the paint too - just in case.

The red and green pics are for inspiration for a colour study I am doing.

click here check out this blog - something a bit different 



and this one  I could waste a lot of time playing with this one.

 Today I have been messing about with my embellishing machine.

 I love the fact that I can use up so many of my scraps and make something useful.

 the machine is very user friendly although it does take time, but I love the idea of no threads & no bobbins.

The needles are very fine and rather expensive and this little play time ended up with four of the five needles broken.

 This piece of colour and texture has a purpose -   I need to add some more scraps and then fuse some nylon tulle over it before it is ready to be used. 

Time Flies

Goodness I don't know where this week has gone.  I have been busy sorting my stash which is still overwhelming even though I have  not spent any money on supplies or fabrics this year.  

Each month I try to participate in a challenge on the Fibre Arts & Mixed Media Forum: this month the theme is "the Sun" because of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.

I decided to depict my interpretation of the heat of the Australian summer and the after effects of a bushfire.  A familiar subject in this state.  Any way I will put a couple of pics here to see what I did.  As usual I am not really satisfied with this piece but it will have to do.