We have a rule here, dictated by the financial restraints of single income living whilst raising the kid, that we don't buy something new unless the old one is broke, for the big ticket stuff. For two years we've grumbled and whined about the tiny ancient telly, the faded old car with no mod cons, and the too small, noisy fridge, whilst smug-ly reusing to give into consumer desire, letting of steam with bursts of rampant op-shopping. Then last month, jubilation! the car irrevocably broke down. welcome shiny, air conditioned, fancy! replacement. Then, last week, joy of joys my crappy cell phone died. yahoo and hello clever, consuming iPhone. Buying new stuff feels really, really good when you aint done it in a while. Kind of like a giant cake of chocolate after a diet!
Then my ageing laptop freaked out at having to download this new fangled iTunes and gave up the ghost. Bum.
Maybe i wished to hard for my phone to give up the ghost? Anyway whatever i wished i unwish it now, so please no more breakages (ok, 'cept the fridge if you have to break something more universe). So I'll be gone for a little while we see if it can be resuscitated...and enthusiastically jump back on the 'now't new' wagon... whilst happily playing with the new phone...
Anyone know how to position you photos in a blog post made via the blogger app?
Hopfully you can see a few cute things here, inluding claud instgramed, a wee addtion to the doll house-thanks
holly (its a real, very mini wheat bag! And a perfect replica of the life size wheat bag she kindly made as a surprise gift for me).
And the start of a cool feather headress i'm making for a bloggers craft charity auction miriam is putting together...watch this space

Have a great weekend everone! And apologies for lack of commenting, its really hard on a little phone with the new longer password thingys blogger has put up

My Creative Space-wire handwriting

Made this

 Inspired by this

 Been reading David Sedaris's entire back catalogue in my reading nook

Nooks and good books. Life is good.

And enjoying her. Life is excellent.

p.s

Happy, belated, Valentins 

Thanks babe x

More Creative Spacers here

Op-shop Kaiapoi!

i need no excuse i know.  it's rare a week goes by without an oppy visit, but,  if i have an excuse it is all the sweeter. so yes, inspired by Penny-Rose's reviews of Dunedins finest oppys (which provided me with a awesome guide for my oppy-shoppy day there, whilst on holiday on the nearby penninsular last week) i plan to op-shop north canterbury, all of it! all for you of course, you know, so you know what's here, and where and when, and most importantly if it's worth a special trip, or just a quick browse when your passing through...

this week the star of the my op-shop show is...

                                                                Kaiapoi

historic and beautiful river town, which was really starting to go ahead with tourism, now very badly and sadly affected by the earthquakes (streets of boarded up shops, patches of weedy flat ground where once stood fine old buildings). I really miss my serene river walks there, and 'the wooden rose' antiques store in the now demolished old post office building, sniff. But where there's op-shops there's hope aye?!


1. Save the Children


                                               

 So good it even has it's own street sign?

well, not bad actually. it's small but lovely and clean, well until we got there, but the chatty staff just laughed and cleaned up when claud flung her cup of cornflakes on the floor in a rage at being refused possession of a  bear twice her size. great variety clothes, homewares, craft material etc and cheap, ie $1 max  for most things, clothes a little more pricey. Go save some children at 116 Williams St (ph 03 3270022)

what did i come home with? a(nother) embroidery hoop

2. Bells Auctions
pretty sure this was the very first auctioneering outfit in NZ and though it lost its old buildings in the quake it's still up and running, in a tin shed on the same site. and in a word YAHOO for that 'cause though it's not an op-shop, it is seriously awesome and seriously cheap. and you get to play at bidding too, and the thrill of that chase will never tire for me .YOU MUST go there, really you must. really. its that good.  aside from remorse at having dropped out early on the bidding on a very cool mid-century style cat graphics poster thingy, I also came home with this...

 yay yay yipee yipee yay! 

i've want one of these babies forever!

where and when? Charles St ph 03 3275578 (auctions held thursdays; viewings 2pm+ tues; all day wed)

3. Bells Auctions second hand shop
zzzzz. I haven't been here for a year and yet they still seem to have the same stock ie dusty-but-yet-not-vintage baskets mainly. However if you like yappy dogs treated like little humans, as claud does, you won't be completely disappointed.
where? -50 charles st ph 3275578

4. The Great Opportunity Shop
zzzzzz. mainly overpriced, worn-out chain store clothing. Occasionally a cheap kids hand-knitted-by-a-granny gem down by the counter. what did i get? nada
where? actually, it was closed last week as the building is at high risk of collapse in future earthquakes...


                             Sharing my op-shop and op-shoppped treasures at Sophie's

"Take your hands off your doll house and step away!"

                                         "Take your hands off your doll house and step away!"

Ok, so you know I did that a couple of months ago, job unfinished, but as today is the official end date for Emily Henderson's "I'm a Giant" dollhouse challenge here is the final state-of-the-dollhouse nation up-date.
                             (There are one or two new additions for weekly up-date readers :0)

*Unless indicated otherwise, everything here was either rescued from landfill, op-shopped, second hand.

                                     
                                But before we begin, how about a little before-age to set the scene?

                                                                             Behold...

Grot and grossness,

you wouldn't want your kid to touch-ness. Bleugh, lurgy etc!

AFTER

'Cute' springs to mind. Peepo Claudine! The house too!

Exterior painted in Resene Athens Grey.

 "Ooh, I'm getting distracted, where's me manners! Come on in, let me take your coat, make yourself at home and have a gander!"

Grand Central Station doormat photocopied from my Eames House of Cards.

The Shaker hall.

Mini-map-made by moi.

Pew and peg rack from kit set. Mirror from a compact with a tortoise shell hair clip frame.

Lollipop stick/wooden skewer floor & tongue-in-groove panelling.

Scrapbook papered walls.

Satchel Op-shopped.

Panelling painted in Resene Moby blue. Quite possibly the most soothing colour in existence. Ahhh.

"Anyway, come through to the kitchen before I nod off and I'll put the kettle on."

"Grab a seat. Tea or coffee love?"

Tulip table from a spray painted plastic wine glass and a cork drinks coaster.

Map art inspired by Emily Henderson's original.

Picture frames ex-fridge magnets.

Cute-Craft-Cliche No 1. NZ map outline chalkboard 

(just painted by me. I'm not that good with a jigsaw, yet!)

"Righto, coffee's on. Yeah, it is a nice view"

Bench made from op-shopped bits of wood and plastic, sink from a second hand broken sink unit, the stove-top burners are stick-on Velcro dots. Sink curtain made from last remnant of my favourite ever vintage tea towel, which inspired the kitchen's colour scheme.

"yeah, it is a bit Festival of Britain innit"

Walls-Resene Laser. (Even though I love my real kitchen, I still wish this was my kitchen, sigh!).

Cute vintage radio from dollymo, and toaster from Tiger Lily in Oamaru (doll house stuff, antiques and vintage clothes all the in the same shop-you must go there, YES!!!). Fridge-made out of a broken op-shopped dollhouse wardrobe. Cabinet-second hand.

Cute-Craft-Cliche No. 2. Festive bunting!

"Right, lets go through and have a sit down."

Wallpaper-envelope inners. 

Rug-flocked scrapbook paper. 

Vase-macrame bead

Danish bowl-top off a wooden egg cup

Lamp-bottom off a wooden egg cup and an odd plastic jar

Shelves-projector slide boxes

                                                         Parquet floor-lollipop sticks.
                                        Sofa-kiddies foam squares and kebab skewers.

Cute-Craft-Cliche No3. Bus screen

Flat screen TV-Old-school calculator and the back of an advertising fridge magnet. 

Lego mantelpiece, dah!

Bird art by Michael Parakowhai. 

"Yeah course! The loo's just upstairs, then straight ahead".

Bath-fimo, op-shopped faux wood contact, bent wire, blood, sweat and tears.

Screen-pieces nicked from Clauds toy box.

Toilet and sink-op-shopped.

"Hey, while you're up here, let me show you what we did with Roz's room".

Eero Aarnio Ball Chair-Ball pool ball, teddy bear arm-joint, felt.

Wallpaper-op-shopped. 

Bed-Op-shopped letter rack chopped up, a piece of a packing crate and raw plugs.

Cute-Craft-Cliche No 4. Jan Constantine Union Jack Pillow.

Cute Craft Cliche No 5. Pom Pom string.

Cute Craft Cliche No.6. Yo Yo Quilt (TBCompleted)

Ball Lamp-macrame beads, wooden kebab skewer and a ping pong ball.

Circular shelves-free tester pottles from The Body Shop

Cute-Craft-Cliche No 7. Keep Calm (and ...Make Mini's!) poster

The doll's house doll house inspired the exterior colour scheme.

"Feel free to stay, here's the spare room"

Cute Craft Cliche No. 8 Blanket cushions, heart and cross, (made by Miriam).

Bed-made from the packaging on a set of novelty salt and pepper pots!

The sky blue wall Resene Moby again.

Cute-Craft-Cliche No. 9. Silhouette Picture.

Chest of Drawers-all op-shopped: broken jewellery box, twig, macrame beads, faux flower fronds, mirror-contact-covered drinks coaster. 

Wallpaper-op-shopped contact paper. 

Tree-like wall and ceiling wallpaper-washi paper from my stash.

This room is unfinished and I'm not that excited by it. Might have to turn it into a craft room. Yes!

"Anyways, we best go if we gonna get to crochet class on time".

Slam!

"Thank goodness they're gone, what is this, an open home?! Phew!

Righto, time for a cuppa and a mag..."

(Cute-craft-cliche No. 10-Mollie Makes magazine)

Just enough Cute-Craft-Cliches to date the doll house, so that when Claud (age 2) finally gets her hands on it (age 5, maybe) she's stick 'em on her hips, sigh and say "I've got to redecorate this dated old place"!

and I'm not done yet either...so watch this space!

******

*****   UPDATE! Here is the doll house craft room completed *****

******

In the meantime, do you want to see what the other contenders (mainly interior designers and professional doll-housers) did? Look here.

...and here's my weekly posts on the topic too if you just can' get enough x

(be careful though, it's addictive...)

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/09/doll-house-do-up-1.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/09/doll-house-do-up-2.html#!http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com/2011/09/doll-house-do-up-2.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/doll-house-do-up-3.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/dolls-house-do-up-4.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/doll-house-do-up-5.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/im-giant-challenge-doll-house-do-up-6.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/im-giant-challenge-doll-house-do-up-7.html#!http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com/2011/10/im-giant-challenge-doll-house-do-up-7.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/11/im-giant-challenge-dolls-house-do-up-8.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/11/im-giant-challenge-doll-house-do-up-9.html#!http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com/2011/11/im-giant-challenge-doll-house-do-up-9.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/11/im-giant-challenge-doll-house-do-up-10.html

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/im-giant-challenge-doll-house-do-up-11.html#

http://blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/doll-house-do-up-7-trillion-and-13.html