avid gatherer

hello my name is rosey and i have an addiction...there I've said it. the line between when i thought thrift shops were full of clutter to when i saw them for their true haven is blurred, but i admit it, i cant help but fossick through any store that might hold the holy grail of thrifting finds. 
what is the holy grail?? good question, when i find it i will let you know ~_~ but for now anything that grabs my fancy is good enough and this week i managed to find a few goodies for under $30.

i just love this colander, the colour is so pretty, i need to paint lots of things in this shade of blue so that i can be surrounded by it.  and this is not just a show piece, oh no, she is a working gal, heavy, so nice to hold. so happy she is mine! on the same outing my sister was with me and she found a sweet little mosaic brooch, really good day for gathering ~_~

then later in the week we hit another thrift store and found this baby.

i seem to have a little collection of mirrors now and i love each and every one of them. i haven't hung them all but i really do want to, they are like pieces of art work and should be displayed.  i have the nicest etched mirror...maybe when i clean the craft room i can dedicate a wall to my mirrors.

and on the way home from a visit with friends we dropped in to our favourite thrift shop and found this!!

i have decided that this is a boy and i just think he is the most handsome typewriter ever made.  he is an Olivetti, studio 42, circa 1947 and we are in love with him.  lucky my hubby had his eyes open and spotted him on the bottom shelf just waiting to be snatched off to a new life.  imagine the stories that have been written on this little beauty... my imagination runs wild of who the owner might have been.  he takes pride and place in our family room ~_~ swoon!

i know that i am not alone in my addiction, i seem to have passed it on to my girls and of course my hubby is the biggest hoarder of us all (you should see his collection of old planes and i don't mean the type that fly). but after reading a little article in my Mollie Makes magazine i am going to start calling myself an 'avid gatherer' instead of a 'thrifter' it has a nicer ring to it don't you think? and i have decided to embrace my addiction...after all, i have plans for my gathering even if they are just dreams for now ~_~


have a great week
xxxrosey

p.s. made the tastiest banana cake with caramel icing thanks to Merles recipe...best cook book ever!

on loan...

on a recent jaunt to the local thrift store with my sister anita, we stumbled upon this most gorgeous round cabinet and although the price tag was hefty, anita couldnt pass up the chance to grab it.

we justified the purchase by saying that it would be used to help promote her cake decorating business. the round top is a tray so the idea would be to display a cake inside and pop the bite size taste test slices (try saying that 3 times fast) on the top and take it over to the prospective bride...cant you just imagine that? anyhow...thanks to anita not having enough room at her place at the moment this little treasure gets to live with me for now...
and now how about some pictures of some cakes that she has made so far this year..

mia loves cats and she loves mario cart wii, isnt she lucky to have a cake decorator for an aunty?!?

and this cake was made for my niece's boyfriend...guess what he loves?
if you want to see more head over here to her facebook page http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=745983764#!/pages/Bloomin-Scrumptious/210765318993399 she really is fabulous!

anyhow, 2 posts in 2 days...you will be sick of me soon.

xxxrosey

at last...

well after a much longer time away from this blog than anticipated...i am back!!  after 12 months of study i can call myself a florist ~_~ now all i have to do is find myself a job.  i thought i might pop on here and show you the results of my final display. the brief was that we had to create a window display or a display for a bridal expo but the catch was that we all had different dresses...dresses from the red carpet.  mine just so happened to be a gorgeous shade of blue violet and after toying with the idea of using shades of orange i decided to stick with a monochromatic theme and here are the results.



  



not sure how to write in this new style blogger (well new to me as i havent been on here since november last year!) i used to be able to write and insert my picture and drag them around etc...but it was a huge mission just to do what i have done so i am not going to mess with it anymore.
we had to make a hair piece, bridal trailing bouquet, bridesmaids posy and a table arrangement.  i decided on a candy bar theme and made some sweet paper bunting and asked my sister to make me some macarons and a cake with ruffled icing.  i borrowed some candy dishes from my niece and filled them with purple treats. 
the second photo shows my lavender and spray rose hair piece at the bottom of the teapot.
the third photo shows the trail bouquet, so pretty!
i love my cascading table arrangement but it looks huge on this small table so just imagine it is sitting on a bridal table ~_~
and how cute is my posy sitting on top of a stack of macarons which were divine by the way.
i was very happy with the results and exhausted afterwards!  a week later and i am just about to refine my resume and go hit the pavement. wish me luck!

i hope to be back here more often now, any advice on how to work this new blogger would be greatly appreciated. 

xxrosey 

oh deer has it been that long?



cant believe how long it has been since i have posted on my blogs, but i have a good excuse honest i do.... 

you see i have been busy studying a floristry course and being away from my blogs has paid off..i passed everything with flying colours and for my final assessment i got 96 out of a possible 100!!  so proud of myself.

i hope to be back on here and over here more often..
couldn't resist sharing this sweet deer with you, i bought it from Julie and just had to put it to good use. love these vintage vases...nothing sweeter than old world charm.

and nothing sweeter than picking roses from the garden my girls planted for me for mothers day.

LIFE IS GOOD.

hope to be back soon with some Christmas tags i plan on making for teachers gifts.

xxrosey

month of crafting

just a quick post to tell my local followers of some craft sessions at one of our local libraries.  my best friend Julie has recently become team leader of the banyo library and has organised some arts and craft classes lessons to be held in august.  she has asked me to share the details here on my blog and hopes to see lots of wonderful crafters come along.
basic patchwork with Chris tasker  tuesday 2nd august 2-3:30pm
quilting demonstration with Chris tasker tuesday 16th august 2-3:30pm
felting workshop with Julie tasker wednesday 24th august 10:30-12pm
bobbin lace making with Chris tasker tuesday 30th august 10:30-12pm

bookings essential call banyo library on 3403 2200 
i don't think there is a cost involved but you can clarify that when you call to book a spot.

cheers xxrosey

i'm late!!

sshhh don't tell a soul...but...

i didn't mean to be late and truth be told i have until midnight tonight to be on time....the invitation from Vanessa over at a fanciful twist did say the 25th of June. come follow Alice on her little adventure.

Alice was reading her book when all of a sudden she caught sight of a little rabbit muttering something about being late...she followed this curious little fellow right down a rabbit hole and landed with a thump in a strange little room and watched him disappear through a little door in the wall.

.Alice was confused by what was before her...after taking a nibble of the cake she couldn't stop burping!! oh my, how rude! she decided to take a sip out of the bottle to try to cure herself of this rude calamity and even though she stopped burping she shrank down to a very small size..small enough to fit through the key hole to follow the white rabbit.

once through the keyhole Alice found herself in a garden of talking flowers and sweet woodland animals. a happy little caterpillar called down to her and told her to eat some of his mushroom to return to her normal size. she thanked him with a smile and took a bite...

hooray, it worked! just as she turned to wave to the caterpillar a sweet cat with the most fabulous blue eyes appeared before her. somehow he knew that she was trying to find the rabbit, the Cheshire cat told her to ask the mad hatter and with a twinkle in his eye he disappeared again. the mad hatter?? what is a mad hatter?? as Alice was wandering, wondering what on earth a mad hatter was, she came across a tea party.

more woodland animals enjoying a spot of tea and a delicious cake...and a curious little man. could this be the mad hatter?? but he has no hat...

"excuse me sir are you the mad hatter?" "why yes young lady, come and enjoy a spot of tea" "oh thank you...actually i was wondering if you had seen" and before she could finish her sentence someone spoke from behind her.

"oh, i see that you have found the mad hatter but have you found the white rabbit?" "no, no i haven't seen him, i haven't a clue where he might be" and with that everyone started to giggle...

for there he was hiding in the roses all along. Alice laughed and laughed and drank and ate and enjoyed her time with her new friends until the sun started to set and she decided to head home. after saying her goodbyes she she made her way back to her little house to dream about her adventures.

goodnight everyone!!

thank you for visiting my little blog, i had such fun even if i was a little late ~_~

dont forget to head over to a fanciful twist to see who else has played along.

and be sure to visit linda at lilly cottage i attended her whimsical and wonderful REAL tea party, it was charming to say the least.

xxrosey

thrifting thursday

as my lovely friend Linda from lilly cottage says...'sometimes the thrifting gods are smiling' or your blinkers are off and you are open to finding lots of little treasures. well over the past few weeks i have managed to gather a few pretties, enough for my mister to ponder whether i have a hoarding problem ~_~ my biggest problem is that i want to keep it all rather than taking it out to the cottage for someone else to love.

i fell in love with this lamp the moment i spotted it.

it is hard to see in this picture but it has the prettiest shade of pink enamel in the middle, i just knew it would look lovely in our family room. i really must clean up this shelf....

i found this little coffee pot today, it isn't real silver just silver plated but that doesn't matter... it was just too gorgeous to pass up.

a few more little pretties to add to my shelves or to the shop...my Avon bottle collections sure is growing @_@

look at these sweet doves...the fact that they aren't perfect is what makes them perfect!

at $8, this stool was a bargain...it is not going anywhere, i need a stool like this to take photos on ~_~ and it is handy to pop my washing basket on.

i found these little glass bottles which i suspect could be salt shakers without their tops but i think they would make better rose vases don't you?

and the rose pot stand is simply gorgeous too.

i also gifted myself a new camera for a low $68 (14 mega pixels) and have been playing with the settings...i thought the pot deserved a sepia tone. looks lovely.

i love this rose sketch...not sure if i want to part with it...

and i think i might have found THE prettiest tin ever!! just look at it! it is even better in real life as the flowers are raised...simply stunning. might need to keep this for my sewing supplies.

and the sugar server is just lovely...well that's what i think it is.

is it a sugar bowl and server?? what do you think? i would love your suggestions.

well i feel like a good little blogger now that i have finally posted something! i will be back with some pictures of Lilly cottage someday soon, i promise.

xxrosey