For sale

Hi dolls!
Excuse my lack of posts...I've been ultra busy getting our home ready. It's up for sale eeek!!!

We made the decision to up and sell a few weeks ago. Been toying with the idea for years now and have finally bitten the bullet.

Looking for an agent was not a great experience. For some reason I just dont trust ANY. Maybe because I used to work in real estate and the industry mentality is "do anything to make a sale". Hopefully the agent we choose is somewhat professional and objective.

Anywho - below are some pics they are using for marketing.

Hope we get a buyer *fingers crossed*

Thrift trip

Hi dolls,

Haven't had a chance to do much thrifting lately *BOOOOO*!

Managed to squeeze in a quick trip though at my fave spot - Vinnies Hoppers Crossing. I found these funky print loose pants - gorg with a black singlet, sandals and huge a$$ sunnies. Unfortunately,  they don't fit *curse curse curse* so I will be adding this pair to my ebay shop.

Next item is a cute as a button Sportsgirl summer clutch.

And finally, two timber picture frames. I have a ton of photos that need to be developed and displayed, so I decided to start collecting frames to go up along the hallway at home - I'm naming it my "hall of fRame"!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway - entries close tomorrow!

My attempt to clean out the garage

Hi! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Easter! I ate too many chocolate eggs and still trying to recover…..can you really overindulge on chocolate during Easter?

A few weeks ago the nesting instinct bit me in the butt- AGAIN! At 8.5 months pregnant, I had a strong urge to clean out our garage one Saturday morning. I don’t think we’ve ever cleaned the garage and we’ve been in our home close to four years. It has come to the point where it is super dusty, dirty and full of junk my collection of furniture to restore. Anyway, it took me a whole Saturday to clear and move items around  – drag rest drag rest drag rest – I even wiped down and cleaned the walls. Crazy? Probably.

Unfortunately everything took me twice as long as I am twice as big. OH so much to do so little time eeek!

Here are the before shots:

And here it is tidy, fresh and so clean clean (this is the best I could do at this stage of my pregnancy!):

Now we can actually use the garage for its intended purpose…to house the car!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

Ebay trunk.

Hey all – how was your weekend? Mine was busy busy busy – but maternity leave is just (3 weeks) around the corner.

I just wanted to share with you my latest eBay purchase.

Lately I’ve wanted to move our shoes from the laundry into the garage. However, I wanted to make sure that:

1. Miss J (our dog) doesn’t have access to it.

2. Spiders can’t use our shoes as a home *shivers*

3. Protected from dust and dirt.

So I was considering just purchasing a plastic tub with a lid but that’s just boring right? So I browsed eBay and didn’t find anything for a couple of weeks. Until one lucky day I spotted a shipping trunk! I won the item for a measly $6 *woot woot*

Here it is before:

Yes it is a metal scrap heap  pretty battered but all I can think is CHARACTER!

I had some white spray paint left over from my nursery projects and spray painted my heart out! I didn’t have enough paint and the trunk looks very incomplete, uneven….shabby. I subtly sanded the corners to add to the “used” look. The inside was lined with peeling pinkish paper – definitely needed replacing. Peeled this off and replaced with Ikea wrapping paper.

Anyway – here is our vintage trunk/shoe storage.

I'm hoping to add some writing to the frontage (e.g. “shipping” in some vintage font) but currently lacking imagination...any suggestions??

Hope you enjoyed this mini project. Have a great night!

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway here!

Nursery update – toy box & bird cage (not).

Hello everyone I have returned! I have been so busy the last few weeks with dinners, catching up with mates, birthdays etc , that I have totally neglected my blog. Also, now in my third trimester, I really utterly feel and look pregnant! Been going to bed at 9pm latest and napping when I can over the weekends which can be partly to blame for my absence. Ok enough excuses.

For those who follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook, you might have noticed that I recently won a toy box on ebay. YAY! This was one of the last pieces I needed for the nursery. Luckily enough this toy box/chest doubles as a bench and I didn’t have to drive halfway across Victoria to pick it up. Location was practically down the road, over the bridge, down another road and around the corner! The item was in great condition and I don’t think I would have revamped if it wasn’t going in the nursery – on second thoughts maybe I would have replaced the fabric!

So initially I removed the screw (things) that was holding the fabric in place. The foam was glued to the box and needed to be extremely careful not to damage the foam, unscrewed all the fittings, sanded down with an electric sander (my new best friend) and it was ready to be painted. This time around I used a small roller instead of a brush and it halved the time in painting. I spray painted the fittings in black as I didn’t think the brass would suit. Finally, washed the foam and sewed a cover using the same fabric I used for the lamp shade – you know to provide some continuity around the room!
 
So here it is before and after - in all its revamped glory!

I’ve also been on the hunt for a small decorative bird cage to hang in the nursery. I have searched high and low during my charity store trips, trash and treasure markets and ebay, with no success. So during one very humid lunchtime – I was walking (my current and only form of exercise) around the city and came across a candle store. On the sale table was this gorgeous mesh candle holder. I know it’s not a bird cage but I loved it and instantly visualized hanging in the nursery. Hubby K didn’t see my vision when I showed him but men are hopeless when it comes to ATTENTION TO DETAIL!

Have a great night lovelies!

Lamp & terrarium DIY.

I visited my local charity stores and the only item I came home with was a lamp for which I paid a measly $3. I liked the shabby base but definitely not the shade (it doesn’t match the nursery!).

I’ve never attempted to change a shade before or really even considered it but I have been reading some blog posts which have totally inspired me.

I removed the existing shade, which peeled off rather easily and used that as a guide to cut the new fabric. Craft glue in one hand and shade on the other and I was off. Turned out ok and looks super cute in the nursery.

I also have an old fish bowl which has been sitting waterless and fishless in our bathroom for a few years now. So since we recently cleaned up the back yard, I thought I’d put together a terrarium for the outdoor table. I kept the pebbles in there, a layer of carbon (the ones used to filter a fish tank), soil and then plants. I chose succulents only because they are so easy to grow and needs little TLC. A great little project for those who are green thumb challenged!

What did you do this weekend?

Nursery purchases, before and after.

I haven’t mentioned much about the progress of the nursery. Don’t be fooled I have been like an insane woman scouting, sanding or painting furniture for the nursery.

I have been on the lookout for a bookshelf and laundry hamper for a while now both on ebay and thrifting. Finally, I found both on my thrift trip over the weekend. Both are cane and in pretty good condition. I get so excited and I love LOVE finding items during my trips. Don’t get me wrong, I usually don’t find anything but sometimes you just get so damn lucky!

I wanted these in the nursery so they obviously needed to be repainted white. This is my first “project” with spray paint so I really didn’t know what I was in for. I found spray paint by White Knights which is lead free and has non chroming properties. A great find given I’m six months pregnant!

Firstly I cleaned the hamper and bookshelf. And then I put my gear on, shorts/tshirt/thongs a.k.a. workwear, goggles, mask and spray painted my heart away. I didn’t realise that spray painting was so difficult! Ok not difficult but…awkward?! In hindsight, I maybe should have used a brush instead. Has anyone else tried to paint cane furniture? Did you have any issues?

Took a few hours to dry and once ok I had to put it in the nursery immediately. It’s very shabby chic but i think it works!

I started to paint the shelf before I realised I hadn’t taken a picture! So the before shot of the shelf should really be titled “in progress”.

 

 
I forgot to mention  the lid on the hamper wasn't attached so I used black ribbons to keep it in place and allow for opening and closing.
 
The nursery is almost finished. I am just waiting on a toy box, which I'm not sure I will get *sigh*.
 
The room smells like paint so I had to move some plants in there to filter the air. I *heart* indoor plants .... but I'll save that for another post.
 
Until next time!

Front Garden Makeover.

We moved into our house about three years ago and the estate we live in advised that, as part of our land contract, they will do the front landscape for free. Sweet deal!


So the grass was laid and shrubs planted and” ta-dah” – the landscape was done without having to lift a finger. Garden was nice and neat until water restrictions came into force (unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the original landscape). AND I didn’t know how hard it was to maintain real grass! Also, at this time I was too busy trying to furnish the house and honestly didn’t care too much about the front yard.

So without any tlc the front garden was overcome by weeds, overgrown grass, dying plants and a mound of unused gravel left over from the back yard. Yes – you guessed it, we were that derelict looking house on the street. It hurt my eyes every time I came home.

So late last year, I decided that something had to be done. K & I agreed to get the front yard looking somewhat presentable and of course to stick to a budget, i.e. $2,000.

So here are the before shots – trust me it looked worse in real life.

We hired someone with a bobcat to clear the garden except the magnolia tree. Then K & I decided on the layout. I bought the plants from the local weekend market – much cheaper than a nursery or Bunnings. K placed the timber borders for the garden bed, planted, organized rock and got someone to lay the Tuscan topping. K & a friend cut the fake grass to size, prepared the foundation and laid the grass. The two pot plants at the front were indoors but look better outside, so didn’t cost me anything but a “Please K can you carry them outside?”. This garden blitz took us a few weekends with family coming to help when they had spare time. But I must admit – this version looks much better than the previous don’t you think?

Overall, we spent no more than $1,600. That’s $400 under budget *happy happy joy joy*!

By the way, I have a few listings on ebay. Check them out http://shop.ebay.com.au/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=vintagefokus&_sacat=See-All-Categories