Canterbury School Style Art: Op-Shop Show-Off: April 30th, 2013

we had a lovely morning in the autumn sun at riccarton market on sunday, strolling from stall to stall, eating, hunting, bargaining.  we came home with a couple of non-edible things, though the giant pumpkin, chilli and chocolate scones were THE find of the day. we pounced on these mottled but very canterbury school linocuts. one certainly depicts a canterbury scene, 'near Bealey' (on the way to Arthurs Pass). the other, of 'Mariakou Heads' is unfamiliar, as is the artist F. C. Forster. as soon as boy baby tending allows we shall have them out of their frames for a clean up. i might even stretch to a professional clean of the prints themselves if need be, such is their appeal to me.  judging by the framing: nailed in, hand drawn border, they date from the 1940's or 50's. i do love such ageless old things.

are you an Op-Shop Show-Off? or more modest about your superior second hand shopping abilities? 

do you like to linky?

it’s charitable, green, cheap, exciting, fun, nostalgia inducing, potentially lucrative and often just plain necessary. whatever your reason for second hand shopping we’d love it if you joined us on Tuesdays here at blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com for Op-Shop Show-Off, a linky open to all, all week, to link up a blog post about any aspect of your second-hand shopping life. tell us your op-shopping philosophy, or divulge your secret hunting techniques. let us know about your wants, or skite (English translation= “show-off “) about your amazing finds. review the best op-shopping spots in your town, or request or give information on your fascinating finds, you’ll always be talking to an appreciative audience here.

 How to link up?
1. post your second hand shopping related blog post.

2. link to Op-Shop Show-Off in your blog post, so your blog readers can come over and peruse or post in the linky too.

 3. scroll to the bottom of my latest Tuesday Op-Shop Show-Off post and click on the linky tool, then follow the three easy steps.

 4. don't forget to leave me a comment to let me know you linked up.

 5. have a look at some of the other linkers posts/blogs, they're all people after your own heart!

 6. grab the Op-Shop Show-Off Button from my sidebar to decorate yours (paste the code into a HTML gadget under the 'add a gadget' part of the layout section in blogger and save).

17/52 Portraits of my Children

Claudine-has her father spirit

Findlay-has his grandmothers mouth



Joining Jodi's portrait project, in week 17/52 at Che and Fidel.


*My pick from the several hundred photographs posted last week were these shots at luckybeans

and at the setting of the sun...

we shall remember them

blog-con name badge make and swap

as a bit of non-embarrassing get-to-know-each-other fun for the new zealand bloggers conference each attendee was asked to make a name badge for a swap partner. my swapee was lovely, clever-crafting mama Louana from New Zealand Green Buttons. lucky me.
she was ever so gracious even though the back of my badge was a mess and, i suspect, the pin on the back fell off forcing her to wear it beastie boys VW badge style, thus revealing it's bad back quite often.
as you can see my 'inspiration' was taken literally from her blog name.

the pretty, beautifully made badge Louana crafted for me will soon be making a boring old tote bag very pretty indeed. thank you so much x

there were many other fantastic badges made and swapped, and i'd really encourage you to have a look.
one of the prize winning blogging conference badges was made by Show and Tell host Leonie; several others featured in Roz's badge post from her beautiful photo series about the conference; and yet more are shown or mentioned on the Bloggers Connecting linky page.





Linking up at Show and Tell for the first time in ages!

crochet and barkcloth get married: Op-Shop Show-Off: 23rd April 2013

i've another dose of lurgy so no op-shop exploration for me this week, instead here's one from the Bennett op-shopping archives. a bamboo bark cloth lined crochet (peggy?) square shoulder bag. 50c from the Amberley recycling centre, it was unravelling when i bought it. the mother-in-law gave it a repair and claud claimed it for handbag-and-plastic-high-heels prancing purposes. i'd just know i'd be at the height of bag-lady chic, if only i could wrestle it off her.


are you an Op-Shop Show-Off?

 or more modest about your superior second hand shopping abilities? 

do you like to linky?

it’s charitable, green, cheap, exciting, fun, nostalgia inducing, potentially lucrative and often just plain necessary. whatever your reason for second hand shopping we’d love it if you joined us on Tuesdays here at blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com for Op-Shop Show-Off, a linky open to all, all week, to link up a blog post about any aspect of your second-hand shopping life. tell us your op-shopping philosophy, or divulge your secret hunting techniques. let us know about your wants, or skite (English translation= “show-off “) about your amazing finds. review the best op-shopping spots in your town, or request or give information on your fascinating finds, you’ll always be talking to an appreciative audience here.



 How to link up?

1. post your second hand shopping related blog post.

2. link to Op-Shop Show-Off in your blog post, so your blog readers can come over and peruse or post in the linky too.

 3. scroll to the bottom of my latest Tuesday Op-Shop Show-Off post and click on the linky tool, then follow the three easy steps.

 4. don't forget to leave me a comment to let me know you linked up.

 5. have a look at some of the other linkers posts/blogs, they're all people after your own heart!

 6. grab the Op-Shop Show-Off Button from my sidebar to decorate yours (paste the code into a HTML gadget under the 'add a gadget' part of the layout section in blogger and save).

16/52 Portraits of my children

Findlay-all smiles. one for the nana's.

Claudine-ukulele, 'cause it's the kiwi way. in that single ray of sunlight we've seen all week.


week 16/52 Portraits Of My Children Project, at Che and Fidel.


*my favourite from last week was a little peeky-cheeky lad  here at Mouseriver

Op-Shop Show-Off : Bloggers Connecting Special Edition: April 16th 2013

                                                    Hands Up.    Who likes op-shopping?

                             

i'm still buzzing from my fantastic weekend at Bloggers Connecting. the gang of 64 included several of our loveliest op-shop show-off linky-upers: Heather, Louana, Justine, Holly, Laura, Kelly, Nin, and Maria, and even a self-confessed op-shop show-off lurker...(come on Lisa, JUST PRESS PUBLISH lol!).

i may also have been 'strong-armed' into leading a blogger raid on Christchurch's best oppie (the Lincoln Road Salvation Army Op-Shop in my humble opinion) by Ms's Cat and Leonie amongst others. i don't believe any of us left empty handed? me, i was delighted to pick up a couple of just-the-right-shade-of-beige wool blankets for my latest braided rug project.

pic-nz grooviest bloggers getting down at the dance-o-mat (come on, you know what beige blankets look like!)



are you an Op-Shop Show-Off?

 or more modest about your superior second hand shopping abilities? 

do you like to linky?

it’s charitable, green, cheap, exciting, fun, nostalgia inducing, potentially lucrative and often just plain necessary. whatever your reason for second hand shopping we’d love it if you joined us on Tuesdays here at blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com for Op-Shop Show-Off, a linky open to all, all week, to link up a blog post about any aspect of your second-hand shopping life. tell us your op-shopping philosophy, or divulge your secret hunting techniques. let us know about your wants, or skite (English translation= “show-off “) about your amazing finds. review the best op-shopping spots in your town, or request or give information on your fascinating finds, you’ll always be talking to an appreciative audience here.

 How to link up?
1. post your second hand shopping related blog post.

2. link to Op-Shop Show-Off in your blog post, so your blog readers can come over and peruse or post in the linky too.

 3. scroll to the bottom of my latest Tuesday Op-Shop Show-Off post and click on the linky tool, then follow the three easy steps.

 4. don't forget to leave me a comment to let me know you linked up.

 5. have a look at some of the other linkers posts/blogs, they're all people after your own heart!

 6. grab the Op-Shop Show-Off Button from my sidebar to decorate yours (paste the code into a HTML gadget under the 'add a gadget' part of the layout section in blogger and save).

15/52 Portraits of my Children

findlay-our co-sleeping ballet (iphone photo)

claudine-ballet in the park (iphone photo)


week 15 of 52 portraits of my children. linking up at Che and Fidel



*i've had no time to look at everyone elses portraits this week to pick a favourite, but if you head over to Che and Fidel you could always pick your own!

to catch and eat a wild mushroom

proper parks, as in with copses of trees as well as play areas and lawns are our prefered place of play, especially this time of year. leaf piles, acorns, sticks. puddles, worms, mud. we take claud for a run in the park like you might a dog, laughing as she goes feral, liberating her pent-up sitstillonthematuseyourindoor voiceputthatdown kid wildness. on our most recent trip out as claud hared off shrieking, poking her stick at anything pokable we saw a man, lurking in the trees ahead.

terry, having never met a person he could resist talking to strode over. on hearing "...looking for mushrooms" as i approached, i briefly fantasised about the whistle trained obedience of dogs and von trapp children, knowing claud in her just released-into-the-wild state wasn't going to come to heel  willingly come hold my hand to prevent her messing with 'shrooms. as the guy turned to me though i relaxed, recognizing him as an ex-colleague. after a slightly uncomfortable reacquaintance; me (overcompensating?)-"wow, so great to see you" (hug). him-"erm, what's your name again?" he, and his partner who subsequently emerged from the bushes generously instructed us in the gentle art of mushroom hunting.

for it is porcini season people! in christchurch! who would have thought it? probably not the colonists who shipped over the now mature english trees which harboured the spores in the roots, and certainly not me. as soon as the couple left bearing a teeshirt bowlful each, we started to search. the porcini are very difficult to spot being the same colour as the leaf litter. or maybe they were just cowering from the sudden onset of decibels in their quiet corner of the wood. but ten minutes in, shuffling and scanning by eye and by foot we scored us our first, giving us a high, a special foragers high not available when buying the dried version down the deli (or indeed, ingesting mushrooms of the naughty kind).

back home i dug out my david mellor mushroom brush, pleased to have a tool of wild mushroom worship. it must have been modelled on a porcini mustn't it?! but, cute as a button (mushroom) it may be on the bench, it is in the field a mushroom brush is required (along with a basket) as the dirt soon dries and resists the brush off. mud scraped and sliced they are a thing of beauty. the mature, mustard-gilled ones made me want to sue orla kiely for ripping off nature. the ones alive with worms on the inside made me want to shower in bleach.

we set aside the smallest, tastiest porcini and dried the rest, taking the edge off my sense of store cupboard deprivation (we're not preserving this year due to the demands of newborndom).  then after dribilating (deciding between equally drool inducing recipes) over my silver spoon, in the end we settled on fresh porcini risotto, which is reportedly a traditional italian autumn dish. terry then unwhetted his appetite by pouring over multiple porcini identification guides on the net while i stirred, 'just to make sure'. though we have it on good authority that there are no poisonous mushrooms in NZ that resemble a porcini, worry is his way.  but in the end the aroma which won him over from his 'you eat it first so i can look after the kids if you die' wild mushroom position.

we lived to tell the tale, and it was a delicious one.

Rostrand bowls: Op-Shop Show-Off April 9th, 2013

I just love the fresh and cheerful 50's aesthetic of the hand coloured designs on these bowls. Terry wants to claim them as snack dishes for his sometime in the future drinks cabinet (he's been collecting retro bar gear since long before i met him, but still no drinks cabinet...actually we're in no rush now we have an inquisitive 3 year old and an understudy), and i might let him. as long as he promises to always have a ready supply strawberries to accompany my pimms, once i get off this breastfeeding gig circa 2016-17!



are you an Op-Shop Show-Off? 

or more modest about your superior second hand shopping abilities? 

do you like to linky?

it’s charitable, green, cheap, exciting, fun, nostalgia inducing, potentially lucrative and often just plain necessary. whatever your reason for second hand shopping we’d love it if you joined us on Tuesdays here at blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com for Op-Shop Show-Off, a linky open to all, all week, to link up a blog post about any aspect of your second-hand shopping life. tell us your op-shopping philosophy, or divulge your secret hunting techniques. let us know about your wants, or skite (English translation= “show-off “) about your amazing finds. review the best op-shopping spots in your town, or request or give information on your fascinating finds, you’ll always be talking to an appreciative audience here.

 How to link up?
1. post your second hand shopping related blog post.

2. link to Op-Shop Show-Off in your blog post, so your blog readers can come over and peruse or post in the linky too.

 3. scroll to the bottom of my latest Tuesday Op-Shop Show-Off post and click on the linky tool, then follow the three easy steps.

 4. don't forget to leave me a comment to let me know you linked up.

 5. have a look at some of the other linkers posts/blogs, they're all people after your own heart!

 6. grab the Op-Shop Show-Off Button from my sidebar to decorate yours (paste the code into a HTML gadget under the 'add a gadget' part of the layout section in blogger and save).

14/52 Portraits of my Children

claudine-frolicking in the forest

findlay-watching the leaves move in the wind overhead


taken on our easter outing


taking part again with everyone on the 52 portraits project at Che and Fidel


*my absolute favourite from last week was the portraits of the children at little buckles. both are attractive and interesting, and both made me reminisce about my own childhood, which i love.



my portraits thus far are here (though I've noticed in a 'head cut-off' format. sigh. will fix it up one day...)

an autumn easter

we went out country for our easter egg hunt. i could tell you all about it, claud entranced by the horse chestnut tree (conkers-yuss!), Fin entranced by the dappled light on the woodland floor, me entranced by my gorgeous (and clever-did i tell you she can fasten her own shoes now?) kids. but i have tonsillitis and feel grotbags so just photos before the easter moment passes.

the last three shots are where claud announces as we were about to leave that she want to go back into the woods because she thinks she can hear a gruffalo, the last when a sudden shower of acorns nearby made her shriek "it's coming"!

Fantastic Fabric Find. Op-Shop Show-Off April 2nd, 2013

Tim Main is a fantastic new zealand artist. he was, and still may be based in christchurch as i remember doing a studio visit some years ago, and deliberating over buying one of his screen printed harekeke fabric wall hangings. i didn't buy one in the end, can't remember why, but i do recall really liking the modern-day-new-zealand-william-morris look of them.
rifling through a box of hideous chintz, in case of cool chintz at the auctions in Kaiapoi recently i had a heart-stop op-shop moment. four Tim Main wall hangings!!! i must have looked a little excited as an old bloke leaned over and asked what i'd found. i hastily shoved a hideous chintz in his face and said "look at these, they'll be perfect for covering my dog's bean bag". he turned up his nose and turned away, and clearly my blatant lie (dog? beanbag? sewing? me?) worked a charm as i got the box for $2. yes, that's 50c each folks! that's $139.50 off the retail price of each at the wonderful store store bolt of cloth.

ideally what i'd like to do with them, or at least a pair of them is hang them in lieu of a bed head board, like these images from my pinterest account, though i can't see the husband agreeing to ditching our cool bed head any time soon... what do you think? what would you do with them?






had any fantastic finds yourself lately?

are you an Op-Shop Show-Off like me?

 or are you more modest about your superior second hand shopping abilities?!

do you like to linky?

it’s charitable, green, cheap, exciting, fun, nostalgia inducing, potentially lucrative and often just plain necessary. whatever your reason for second hand shopping we’d love it if you joined us on Tuesdays here at blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com for Op-Shop Show-Off, a linky open to all, all week, to link up a blog post about any aspect of your second-hand shopping life. tell us your op-shopping philosophy, or divulge your secret hunting techniques. let us know about your wants, or skite (English translation= “show-off “) about your amazing finds. review the best op-shopping spots in your town, or request or give information on your fascinating finds, you’ll always be talking to an appreciative audience here.

 How to link up?
1. post your second hand shopping related blog post.

2. link to Op-Shop Show-Off in your blog post, so your blog readers can come over and peruse or post in the linky too.

 3. scroll to the bottom of my latest Tuesday Op-Shop Show-Off post and click on the linky tool, then follow the three easy steps.

 4. don't forget to leave me a comment to let me know you linked up.

 5. have a look at some of the other linkers posts/blogs, they're all people after your own heart!

 6. grab the Op-Shop Show-Off Button from my sidebar to decorate yours (paste the code into a HTML gadget under the 'add a gadget' part of the layout section in blogger and save).