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.

Christmas Tree

The tradition in our house is to make our own tree each year.

It doesn't appeal to everyone but I am always very happy with it.

First I find some small branches from the wood pile.  This is not as easy as it seems because none of the branches is quite right so it is the overall effect that matters.

Unfortunately it is necessary to spray the branches with insect killer as the gum nuts can harbour all manner of crawlies: I don't mind them but they seem to disturb some people.

 I don't decide on the colour or number of decorations until the branches are selected and in their pot.

This year I decided on silver - all of these decorations are ones I have used before - some of them I have had for years.

I am not sure whether I should add lights.  I like the simplicity but we always have lights.  Lots of lights.

Of course it is light until really late here because we have daylight saving and we are close to the solstice (longest day) so lights really are a bit obsolete.




If the "tree" stays intact after christmas I usually leave it in place and decorate it again for Easter or just hand things on it that please me.

By the winter it is usually kindling wood for the fire in the dining room.

 

gifts in the mail, recycling & a dilemna

Today I have been thinking about the way we consume so much "stuff".

Some of it gives us great pleaure:  the pic on the left shows the lovely parcel I received from Jennie. http://jennie61.blogspot.com/

These little treasures will form part of the wall hanging I am doing with Carole Burangar.
http://kiwicarole.blogspot.com/
The next pic is of some of the materials I will use for the wall hanging.  I am pleased to know that much of what I shall be using will be recycled materials and that everything I need is already in my stash.

T

 Carole suggested we use old linen and tea dye it.  However I have some doileys I have dyed for just such a project.  I also have some old lace hankies which will fit the bill perfectly.

Some of these look too good to use but they are stained or torn so it seems like a good way of using them up.





Now to the dilemna.

We want to buy a new television with access to the internet etc.  We have just 2 televisions in our house: one in the lounge/living room and one downstairs in the work room/guest area.  The one upstairs is 10 years old and the one downstairs was passed on to us by our eldest daughter.
Both of these sets work.  They are good.  We do however want a larger and more modern set.


What do we do with the one set we want to replace? If we take it to the local waste disposal centre it will be shipped off by some company: probably to some third world country where it will be pulled apart by some poor people without any care for their welfare.


The charity shops will not accept old tvs.


What to do?

PARCELS & FIREWORKS - COUNTING THE COST

I have been thinking of the contradictory actions of our leaders and of my own response to the environment.

First, let me say, I love fireworks: I have fond memories of bonfires and cracker nights when I was a child.  Of course now it is illegal to set off fireworks unless you have a license.  No more backyard bungers.  

On the other hand I have been pondering the cost of the massive displays that are part of New Year celebrations all over the world.  Many countries are suffering the effects of the global financial crisis and yet they can "burn" millions of dollars in a matter of minutes.  

As well as this I wonder about the effect on our environment of all this explosive showing off.  

Am I just a party pooper - perhaps.  I am happy to hear what others have to say.

I have added a pic of some parcels we took to my youngest daughter and her family yesterday.  This year I have used recycled paper (butchers paper) to wrap all of the presents and used pretty ribbons (from my stash) to dress them up.
I know the ribbon will be re-used and it is not too painful to see the cheap paper go in the recycling bin.

Well, that is enough of sounding self righteous.  We are going next door this evening to baby sit the three little girls.
One nearly 5 and the twins are about 3 months.  Their parents are going to have a rare meal alone.  

I hope our friends suffering from various natural disasters are all safe and off too a good new year of creativity.  I cannot imagine what it is like to have your home threatened by wind and cold and water.  Take care everyone.