Paula Mills Art

Found this little gem hiding in my paper drawer on the weekend - completly forgot I had it. Must have been a thrift shop find. decided there is no point letting it be a wallflower - it deserves to be shown to the world. I've uploaded the pattern onto flickr so you can find it there - so if you want to make the little bird - have a go - I have a special plan for it myself .... will reveal when all is done.

So we all had the most wonderful summer holiday together, but its only a matter of time that we all had to go our separate ways. Paula back to Melbourne, my brother off to the South Island and us.... well we stayed put. Our time together definitely had a "gathering" theme to it - from collecting mussels on the beach, eggs from the chook house, or the big family evening meals with seven children and six adults trying to outdo each other with the noise level. A highlight for Paula and I was some gathering excursions to the local thrift shops. Here is a shot of the collection - My fav. is the metal and glass rack which I will use for the craft market stall for display. It was discovered in a vintage collectors dream of a shop called "ma-mite" - run by two old lady's with a fantastic eye for all things collectible and cool - with some old vinyl playing and the walls strung with vintage bathers, I don't know what was more fun, the lovely finds or the shop itself....

Some of the little moments that have brought us joy over this holiday time together. Some found treasures alongside fun family outings. We love to op shop together and we have fossicked some really nice pieces - (look out for some special vintage bits in our shop soon!) This little deer is one of a set we found - one each yay!

Well I remember there were times in our early years when sharing was quite hard to do ( eg : bedrooms and barbies). I think if I went thrift/garage/op shopping with you we would have to revert back to our age old system of working out who got what: put everything in a pile, then take turns choosing the first three things we wanted, then the rest numbered and drawn out of a hat! Here are a few of my latest bits of a recent scrounge: Lovely granny blanket (can't have too many of those), some fabric, apron and vintage habby . The really bad eighties patterns you seen in the corner are not there because i have a yen for a drop waist jacket or a lumberjack shirt- no, they have an eco use. I felt these patterns were in dire need of being put to rest once and for all, they are so bad one should put them out of their misery and so I do - by using the pattern paper to clean with!!! Love, Shells

If you are ever in Wellington, NZ - Trash Palace is the place to go for a good thrifty scrounge. Helen and I decided to go on a recce on Thursday and i found some nice little bits. The orange and floral containers were in the free bin outside. The tea cups are for my craft stall, the hoop is for some more screen printing (after the love bunny turned out so great), some ribbon, fabric and always some old patterns - cos the graphics always make me laugh. Oh, and some nice old books to add to the paper stash - grand total: $8. aaah the satisfaction........

I am totally in love with any old books that are about the human body. The graphics are always amazing. I think its from a childhood nostalgia. I remember there was a World Book Encyclopedia that showed the human body on clear pages so you could peel back the layers. I found this great book at the local charity shop and my 8 year old daughter loves it!

Doing the (yawn, yawn) shopping recently, my day was boosted with a lovely little find. These seedling's all wrapped up in the local paper - the Dominion Post. Apparently, Sweet Williams represent friendship in the floral world, which I think is a lovely sentiment to have sprouting in my garden. It will go along side some Lavender which is said to represent "grace". I have decided to plant them in here; ( the Lavender is still baby size and can't be seen yet)

Shelley inspired me to go out and have a little scratch around my local op/thrift shops, one is never disappointed! My finds were: 2 meters of beautiful, vintage, flocked fabric, a little gold tray, two pretty glasses, another stunning tea cup to add to my collection, a pile of old Australian stamps, a 1952 encyclopedia and some pretty writing paper with birds on - all of this was under $25, ahhh the satisfaction.

My sister and I will tell you that nothing beats a good rummage through an op shop or at the flea market. I have to admit Paula is the queen - but i can hold my own sometimes and Im still proud of the plaster Virgin and child icon I recently found for her on a trip to Melbourne. Since this is a blog about the things we enjoy, i thought it would be fun to post our "finds'' on a regular basis. My find of the week was a beut. A set of drawers made of Remu wood. Lovley honey colour and lots and lots of little compartments and flat map drawers. Salvaged from an old science lab. Bargain at $5 a piece. I got two and the old scale in the photo and the old chalk board. This will soon turn into my drawer full of wonders. If you have an old vintage cabinet full of things - I'd love to know - What's in YOUR drawers?