Trying not to buy? who am i kidding?

I have been trying to only buy things that i need, rather than things that i want... but i failed. I found this glass bowl, $4 and of course had to have it... will work out later where i will put it. It just makes me happy

then, i found this cot sheet, and turned it into this,

from this pattern.

its one of those cross over dresses, super easy to make, but very difficult to take a decent picture lying flat.

and here are my boys with my gingerbread house... not sure how long it will last in this house.

material madness

Onceagain, things have been quiet here. Ive been house sitting for the last week or so, so quiet on the op shopping front.

For christmas this year, i have been attempting to make things for people for christmas.
Here is benny holding mums beach/pool bag. Made from oilcloth, and lined with red linen serviettes, from Lions club oppy, i think it looks cool. So cool, that im def going to make one for myself, as i have been using this one non stop to cart all the kids stuff about.


On Tuesday i stopped at Hornsby Salvation Army Oppy and came back with this lot of material. all the small pieces were 50c, and the big piece, which is a curtain was $3.


as you can see i whipped up a pair of shorts for benny. Its lovely and thick cotton material, and i think they are pretty good looking shorts. The sort that i would buy if i saw in a shop. Unfortunately i didnt have any elastic, so they are draw string, or should i say draw shoe lace! at the moment.

My gorgeous model.

and here is another little bag i zipped up with the oil skin, with lining made out of a $2 tablecloth from Berowra.

Today is thursday, today is one of the good days (although every day is a good day) to go to the op shop as the ladies churn out a lot of new stuff into the shop...

Some Hippo Loving

I certainly go in fits and starts on here dont i. I must admit i have not been to the op shop quite as much as i usually do. Life has been extrodinarily busy lately, and i even went for nearly two weeks without going to an op shop! thats amazing really.

Today at Jo's craft morning, i made these shorts for my boys. They are made out of a curtain that she bought from Hornsby Salvation army and she very kindly gave me half. After she had given me half, i found this fabric on ebay for sale for $45 a metre!!!!! eee gads. I cut very carefully after knowing that fact. I think jo paid about 2 dollars for 6 metres or so! I think my boys look gorgeous.

Hope thats a better pic Rhonda!

Really! would have thunk it?

Night Nappies? you wouldnt think that they were that hard to buy would you? Both coles and IGA had sold out, and i was not going to buy a whole pack of large nappies, which tom hates wearing, just so i could put a night nappy on him for one night. Can you believe that i got 3/4 pack of night nappies fromthe op shop???? i nearlyfell over when i saw them there.



I made this very cute kids size messenger bag last night. Ben refuses to wear it, but tom does to put his trains in. Very funny sight. What was even better was that i attached the strap using my press machine... aaah i love that thing


some more material

can see a boy bag being made out of this

a pair of lonsdale boys sneakers for $2

and two single racing car sheets.... bliss

Doona cover to tote bag and a little bit dipsy

Benny loves the Teletubbies,.. I found this Dipsy at the op shop for $3 and he has not let go of it since i gave it to him. You think he likes it?

My friend Kath gave me a pattern for a picnic tote bag. I have started it using an old doona cover, and the pink material is an old sheet. Unfortunately the sheet has a bit too much polyester in it so it makes it "walk" when you sew it, so i will

have to re do the straps before i line it. Ilike it though

More material from the Oppy

Interesting way to put my pictures... how did i do that?

No matter... Today i got from the Op Shop a Pippi Longstocking video . How could i not??

This lovely blue fabric which will be excellent to use as a lining for one of my bags.
Jo, this picture is particularly for you. My material was SO out of control, shoved here there and everywhere, that i decided to use a picnic basket that tom bought at the op shop once. It now houses some of the material, with the rest organised (for now,) in a plastic container.

And last pic is of my new messenger bag in progress... what do you think?

My first messenger bag sewing adventure

Here is my first attempt as sewing a messenger style bag.

I made up the pattern by looking at a bag that i already had, then used some ikea kids paper, to cut out a pattern. I have lined it with a co ordinating fabric and put a pocket for pens, a phone, and keys. I am so so so happy with it. I can see a few more being made for christmas presents.

The only thing is that i didnt put wadding or interface in this one, as i just wanted to make it to see how it turned out, and i didnt have any, but i know the Op Shop has a big wadge of fleece wadding which i will buy on tuesday when it opens... oooh i cant wait.

Star Gazing

Today was a great day at the op shop.
Got this ENORMOUS telescope. $6 ... can you believe it. it is missing the eye piece, but we have a spare one from another smaller telescope that we have, plus it needs a few screws put in the legs to keep them up....

This gorgeous purse, which was 50c and when i opened it, it is a Marimekko original coin purse....

and then this Diana Ferrari dress, which if was my size i would be keeping, but decided that it couldnt stay in the shop... i found a friend who is a size 10 and who loves op shop stuff!!!!

A bit of Ikea loving

today, my monday craft girls and myself ventured out to Ikea to buy some material. As you know i have an issue with buying material from the regular material shops, as any material that i like usually costs close to $30 a metre. Ikea, between $5 -$10 metre, and its super wide.

It was good fun, and the boys had a great time, andwere very well behaved, well as well behaved as two small kids can be in Ikea.

Shhhhhh

My mega press setter... any one needs some press studs put in?

My Peter AlexanderSheet

My cot sheet i bought today which i am going to make into another top soaking, of course i didnt think to take a picture till it was already in the nappysan....

Things have been quiet on the Op Shop side of things. Not because there hasnt been things to buy, but more because i have been busy. Busy doing what im not sure, just busy being me. To think of all the bargains that i have missed!

Anyhow,yesterday i went to craft day, and finished my top that i had been making and wore it yesterday. I want to wear it today but its too cold, but was very happy to hear that tomorrow is going to be hot, so it will get another outing.

Today at the op shop i bought, what i thought was a doona cover, but its a queen sheet, but it turns out to be a Peter Alexander sheet, so am going to buy some white, or dark blue sheeting material and turn it into a doona cover.

Did i mention that i bought myself a press setter. It was cheap, and silly me was checking the letterbox each day for it. I laughed when it arrived... It weighs more than 15kgs, and is very large, but boy does it put in press studs super fast. Now to think of all those things that i can make that have presses on them... oh the possibilities.... i also bought some bamboo material and some PUL and have made tom a night nappy as he wants one that can be put in the wash and used again. Who am i to argue

Boxy Bags

The house was tidy!!! the kids were asleep, and the husband was out. The TV was off, there was a free dining room table, and the sewing machine was easy to get to. It was meant to be.

I found a tutorial here for these cute and very very ver fast to make bags. They are not lined, and take about 10 mins to make. In the tutorial they pfaff about with sewing the corners, but as you will know thats not me, so i just did it without anyof that and they came out fine. I think next time i will put a lining in them,but they are oh so cute, and it means that i could buy some nice material and get heaps of them out of 1/2 metre.

This blog has been on a bit of a sewing/crafting bend of late. Well, the material still is all from the Op shop,.. and so are the zippers actually, so i think working it out, these bags cost about 50c each to make.! I love it.

The Fast and the Furious, handbag style

What do you do when you have two super active boys, and the crafting bug strikes... Get them to make capes for their dog, and give me 15 mins to make a handbag. Yep, 15 mins from start to finish.
Its super dodgy, i used upholstery fabric, 20cents worth, the lining cost 15cents, but its definently a bag that i will make again, with different fabric, and take a tad more time.
Ben kept running away with it, so i guess its his ...

what a morning!

This morning i awoke thinking that the world was coming to an end. The sky at 5.50am was red... I mean red. I have never seen anything like it. I turn onthe TV to see that its a duststorm, the likes of which Sydney have never seen.

This is a picture taken at about 7am out my front window. Its amazing really, apart from the fact that breathing is a bit of an issue!

Op shop loving this week i picked up these Dr Seuss books, all practically brand new, for $1 each. Tom thinks Wacky Wednesday in particular is the most hilarous book he has ever seen. I really enjoy reading that one to him. Also "Put me in the Zoo " was a book i remember reading when i was younger, and he thinks that ones pretty good too..

And lastly, here are some of my choc bikkies that tom cooked for us. He wanted the strawberries because they looked nice, not because he likes them..

Had to include this photo as well. Tom doing some reading. He tells me he's going to be an electrician when he grows up. Wonder why?

Pillowcase style top,

This is what i made today at Jo's house... Sorry the pics very small, but i cut it from somewhere else. I bought this material from the op shop, its about 8 metres worth, in a bundle of material for $5. i need to tighten the elastic a bit, but it came up surprisingly well. I surprised myself. Jo and i are very much no rules sewers,... i dont like patterns, they take up too much time,. dont like measuring once again takes too much time, so i made this up, and im sure it will be ok!

head over to http://retromummy.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-another-giveaway.html blog for a chance to win... she does have lovely stuff.

$5

mmm. i didnt choose for the photos to be centered.. oh well. Here is my benny on the purchase of the year. $5 from the oppy for this climbing frame, with slippery dip, and the two cross pieces, you can attach a hose to and have a bit of sprinkler fun. both kids love it, and its a big hit when friends come over. they attach another slippery dip to it and have races....

Couldnt help but add this one in. Tom in a crocodile suit, which he insisted on wearing on that stinking hot sunday that we just had. Loves it

and one more of my $5 loving...... and benny poking out the top, testing it out.

Op Shop Fun

All this week there hasnt been much at the Oppy to buy, which i suppose is a good thing, seeing as we have too much stuff, but still i go every day.

First of all here is a pic of my benny on one of the few things i actually bought new, for his birthday,.. He loves it


Here it Tom with a Maisy tea set, which both of them love, and we have already had numerous tea parties.


Here they are washing them clean.



And i also got a wooden farm set, which is a huge hit if you gauge it by the number of fights it has caused over who is going to use the winch next to haul up the hay bales. photo of that to follow.

Pasta Machine

Yesterday i bought a pasta machine from the Op Shop. It was not cheap going on op shop prices, but thats because it was brand new in the box. $10 is cheap for the entertainment it provided for the kids.

I did um and aaah over it a bit because it is one of those things that can sit in the kitchen and take up space,.. but i decided to give it a go, as i have always wanted to try making pasta.



Here is benny in his PJ's with his apron on with the Pasta machine.


and heres tom looking very proud of himself drying his pasta on the coffee machine!.

August 2009

So much has been happening this month. We have been to the snow and had a great time. THe majority of our ski gear came from the op shop, along with fitting out the other two families that came along with us.

Tom and ben have been very busy making their own cardboard kitchen outside with utencils from the Op Shop... they love their kitchen.


Tom cooking







Tom in his op shop gear ready to head out for the afternoon with his dad

Me and Benny enjoying a very snowy day. Tom took this photos with his $5 camera from the Oppy.

So many more bargains have been got from the op shop, obviously im a bit behind to write every one. But yesterday we got a telescope, which the boys both love, and they use it in conjuntion with a globe of the world which was $1.50 and they look through the telecope and then find on the globe where they are looking.... Lovely to watch.