cheap thrills

bells and baubles

2006-12-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

A few years ago about a week after christmas we were at a garage sale in our neighbourhood where a family was selling off a departed mother's entire lifetime of hoarded chintzy domestic chattels. There were hand made gingham aprons and 1950s towels and sheets and concrete chicken garden ornaments.... We loved it.

One of the things we bought was a cardboard box of chrissy decorations which we didn't bother to open and forgot about until the following christmas. These are some of the treasures we found when we finally opened the box.

have fete

2006-11-23T05:18:00.000-08:00

I've never really been one for cake decorating but i did recently buy a cheap plastic piping set for the girls to ice biscuits with now and then and they love it. So when i saw this completely unused 1970s stainless steel and canvas decorating kit at a friend's kids' school fete for two dollars i was inspired. Think of the biscuits! Think of the cakes! Think of the piped mashed potato!

If i can bring myself to pull it all out of its sensational box.

uk goods

2006-11-05T01:24:00.000-08:00

Well here we are back from our travelling adventures in England and Spain and i can happily report that i sampled op shops from Plymouth to Birmingham. Not that i really wanted to pick up extra baggage but with the girls constantly buying themselves more toys with money the rellies were giving them i knew this cool red vinyl suitcase for one pound would be invaluable. And it was. The hat was a pound too!

And this little woven sewing box was something i just fell in love with.

come in sit down

2006-09-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't been op shopping or garage saleing for a long time now, i think it's dawning on me that i don't need any more stuff no matter how cheap it is. But as i haven't updated this site for ages and had a hankering to i'm posting my sofas - of which we have three! yes i know it's ridiculous we've got three full lounge suites squeezed into the house. We really don't need that much seating but i don't want to get rid of any of them. One was free from a friend, one was bought at an auction and the other was bought from second hand shop.

off me trolley

2006-08-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

My mum found this shopping trolley for me at a garage sale (it's in the genes but she's better at it than i am). It's great for filling up with fruit at the market but stangely enough, considering its age, when i first got it the lid section didn't fit over the body bit so i had to take it off, cut it up and remodel it with my own red vinyl. Turned out pretty good i thought.

bowls

2006-07-15T02:20:00.000-07:00

Here is some of my collection of op shop bowls. I'm a sucker for them, especially when they only set me back for between 50 cents and three or four bucks.

jug and mug

2006-07-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

I really like this 60s plastic drinks set but i almost didn't buy it because at $10 it seemed exhorbitant! In hindsight, though, $2 per item seems a very reasonable price for the amount of joy it gives me.

canisters

2006-06-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

Vintage kitchen canisters have become quite pricey these days if you find them in so called 'retro' stores or collectibles shops but for me they lose all their allure if i have to pay real prices for them. The joy i get from something seems to be inversely proportional to the amount i spent on it so our fridge which cost $1300 doesn't thrill me at all (well a little bit because we got a $500 discount heh heh) but these canisters, which were a couple of bucks or passed on by friends, i lurve.

bag lady

2006-06-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

On my latest oppie outing i found this cute bag for a dollar and the one below it for 50 cents. I mean how could i pass them up. At least if i'm ever made homeless i'll have plenty of stylish old lady bags to cart my stuff around in.

my motto

2006-06-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

I found these salt and pepper shakers at a swap meet a few years ago for a dollar and as i'm a lover of kitsch and a total hispanophile who doesn't like to spend much i couldn't believe my luck.

And even though i don't use a lot of salt and pepper, when i look around we seem to have our fair share of shakers. This gorgeous helix pair were handed on by a friend who was getting rid of stuff his ex had given him and happily for us she was a great trawler of ebay for vintage bakelite.

These yellow woven ones were an op shop find and the 60s pair in front were given to us by Mr M's mum when she cleared a load of junk out for a white elephant stall. Never be too proud to take people's junk, you could wind up with treasures - that's what i always say.

boot sale booty

2006-05-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

I went to a car boot sale on Sunday and topped up my supply of pouffes. We have three cluttering up the floor already but i just couldn't go past this orange vinyl one for three dollars. And cushions for two dollars each....why not.

And no trip to a boot sale is complete unless i come home with yet another suitcase. These are just some of my collection and even Mr M remarked uncharacteristically when i got in "oh... another suitcase". Time to stop ...must...resist.

scurtains for me

2006-05-23T00:30:00.000-07:00

I'm always collecting bits and pieces of interesting fabric from second hand shops but up until this year it's all been stuffed in an old chest feeding the silverfish. Now, in my new organised life (both girls at school), it's neatly stacked in this new, handy shelf - until i'm looking for something, then it ends up all over the floor.

Here are some of my favourite skirts all made from curtains. Looks like i'm at a knee-length A-line time of life.

art shmart

2006-05-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

I used to love buying pictures from oppies and garage sales - until we ran out of wall space. These days half of them have been retired and Mr M even suggested we get rid of some (i was scandalised.) But here's a small selection of the stuff we do have on the walls. The bottom picture has the added thrill of being 3D.

nuts and bones

2006-05-14T03:14:00.000-07:00

I realise this celebration of tack isn't to everyone's taste (though i can't understand why) but these confections of shell and nut really make me happy.
Obviously the skulls aren't op shop finds but i love 'em so they're free thrills. The top picture is a turtle skull that Mr M found on a beach and the bottom ones are quokka skulls i collected on Rottnest Island. Not sure if it's legal to smuggle quokka skulls off the island so please don't tell anyone. I can't resist a good bone and my collection of jawbones including teeth really cheers up the garden.

loose stools

2006-05-06T23:45:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of stools that i picked up at St Vinnies for three bucks each.

lamps

2006-04-30T00:28:00.000-07:00

All the lamps in our house are second hand. The first three here were bought for real money at reputable op shops or garage sales and the last three were donated to us by friends who, in each case, were getting rid of stuff because they were leaving town. The last one was made by an amateur potter in their first attempt at coil pot by the looks of it.
We're pretty set for lamps actually what with the other six or seven i've got stashed away for repairs. We just need more rooms to light now.

tables

2006-04-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

I love these tables and they only cost a combined total of $4. The two green ones were given to me by friends who found them in sheds or something so they count as free thrills which are even better.