Friday Favourites: Painting

I discovered this victorian oil painting in a second hand shop 12 years ago. It was without a frame and in a pile of old pictures. I asked the shop owner the price, to my amazement he said $6! I paid him quicker than you could blink your eye.

I love the little dragonflies.

Wishing you all a fab weekend.

Big and Small

I am still accumulating bits and bobs for the Dolls House. Its amazing the little things you can buy. Its great because our house is full so I can buy all the things that I like in miniature at a fractional of the price. Well, that being said, I can't afford a $100 chandelier!!

I found this fab mini linen covered mannequin on Ebay and just had to make some rosary beads to adorn it, just like the one next to my bed. I have amassed quite a few rosaries haven't I (and there are more).

I was amazed to see that you can't find doll house rosary beads so I had to make my own (string, a few tiny beads and a rose stem crucifix).

I know....I am insane!

Trash and Treasure Market

It's always exciting searching out treasures. Every Sunday the Canberra local Rotary club set up the Trash and Treasure markets. Once, many moons ago and before the kids arrived, I would get up early every Sunday, go to the markets and bring home bacon, eggs and the morning paper...those days have past but we still go occasionally kids in tow.

The kids love looking for the collector cards and small treasures of their own. It also helps when the markets are next to the best donut vendor in the world. There is never a complaint......well not many :)

While there is a lot of trash there are always treasures to be found:


Soft drink bottle produced by Woodroofe South Australia, c1919. They are still producing soft drinks today, although no longer at the Norwood operations. Lemonade is their most popular flavour and was even given to sick children boiled under medical advice. We always had lemonade when we were sick, although it was flat, not heated up.

Metal troll (for my dad), 'Mi Lai' engraved vintage dog tag, volley ball medal, perfume bottle with metal lid, old ticket stub and file tags.

Aren't the graphic on this box great? I got this one for free from a stall closing down in the mall. I was cheeky and asked if they would sell it, but the shop assistant said that I could have it, bliss.

I also bought something for my sister, sorry can't disclose. Its her birthday in a few weeks and as I nickname her Miss Marples (hehe) it will have to remain a secret.

Happy treasure hunting,

The Splits

Mr T's Schoenhut clown has been clowning around it seems. I plonked him down on our desk last night (excuse the mess) when I was checking out the other clowns on this fab Schoenhut site. When I looked over today it seems he has been giving his legs a good workout...oooh that's gotta hurt.

You can see Mr T's other clowns in this post.

Head Space and some Thrifty Finds

I needed to clear my head (bad working week, office politics and a few tears) so what better way than to visit the tip shop during lunchtime.

This little guy was sitting out the back, quite serendipitous, seeing as we are going to see ‘Gnomeo and Juliet’ on Sunday. (Its actually me dragging the family to see this one). We will have a leisurely stroll around the Trash and Treasure markets beforehand. We haven’t been to the markets for months now.




Another Quality Streets tin to add to my collection (3rd tin down).



A cute small trophy, you can never have enough of these. Inscribed "Casino Judo Club, Junior Instructor".

An old shower rose, I wish ours was like this; I hate the water saving ones. This might become a project for a garden feature?? ** sorry no photo**



Last but not least, an unusual pokerwork Sluis (Netherlands) wooden wall plaque. I found it interesting so had to bring it home, it might even be available on Ebay soon.

I felt alot better after clearing my head with a bit of treasure hunting!

Tuesday Treasures: Tin

I thought that I would do a Tuesday Treasure instead of a Friday Favourite this week.

I bought this tin a few years back at a local auction. It is German and holds two perfume bottles and the original mirror. It may have been a traveling set, I am unsure?? It is one of my favourites, although the perfume is pretty smelly now.

Happy Treasure Hunting.

Happy Valentines

A little heart found in my rice crackers :)

Wonders Never Cease..We Have Progress :)

Wood-fired Pizza Oven- part 1

After five years of talking (yes I mean five!) Mr T has finally laid the foundations for our wood-fired pizza oven. I will post some photos along the way of the build, but don't hold your breath, it could take another five, hehe.

Chippy Bathroom Cabinet

Forgetting that the annual Country Muster was on this weekend, we headed to our favourite local cafe (Bardy's) for breakfast. It was near impossible to get a park (we could have walked but it is so humid that I would have turned into a puddle so we decided to drive). It has been so hot here all week (average 37 degrees C), with thunderstorms and lots of rain and the humidity has been unbearable. Looking forward to cooler change tomorrow.

I think I inherited my dads sweat glands. In summer he always has a drip of sweat falling from the tip of his nose and hot feet...thanks dad. Why didn't I inherit your skinny legs (you could cut a loaf of bread with his shin bones) hehehe.

Anyway, the Rotary fair was on and Mr T found this cute corner cabinet at one of the stalls.....see it isn't just me. It is perfectly chippy and will be great when we finally get around to renovating our bathroom.

Have a great weekend, T

Collections: Antique Jelly/Pudding Moulds

China moulds were popular during the 1800's and early 1900's to make decorative pudding and jellies. The glass ones are newer versions.



This one is made with dark pottery with a chocolate glaze, it is very old.

This is stamped 'Made in England' so it dates it to the early 1900's.

This ironstone mould is quite an early one, the glaze has a slight blue tint to it, so I would guess mid 1800's. The two following moulds are unmarked, more likely date to the early 1900's.

Above is the little one I bought at Y's Buys.




I have used the glass ones to make jelly for the kids, but because they we only packet ones, not made with the original gelatin recipe, they were not solid enough to turn out onto a plate. They still tastes good though.