Around the Block

Before I get to carried away here's a squizz at a recent make for a special little girls first birthday pressie. The horse is from a pattern in the Scandinavian Stitches Book and I had to use the beautiful border fabric from the hideaway range (Lauren and Jessie Jung I think) because it is sooo lovely. She's a little small to actually have an opinion on whether she liked it or not but her mother seemed to think it was great so I'll chalk it up as a success!

I been watching the latest series of The Block on channel nine (well taping, then watching it really) and I have to say that I am liking the extra challenges and segments where they learn some new skills to use.

I would much rather see the contestants tackle some real renovation work and not just be involved in the decorating side of things, if they are getting builders in to do nearly everything then the builders might as well be the contestants. And I'm especially loving the second hand challenge though buying an ex floor stock piece of furniture is not exactly my idea of second hand. I'm liking Josh and Jenna's style the most (at the moment) as it's the closest to mine, and I was a little amused to see Polly's heart rate go up upon entering a second hand shop from being stressed. Mine does the same thing but for the opposite reason! Second hand shops are awesome! The lack of enthusiasm the contestants had for the trash to treasure challenge was a bit surprising. I know that they have $100,000 to spend transforming their little terrace houses but they would not have had that in their real life renovating to spend on whatever they fancied, so I thought they would have been a bit more familiar with using things that are not brand new. If I wanted my home to look like a furniture showroom then I would just go and live in one! It is very easy to go and buy everything brand new from a shop, but much more creativity and thought is needed to transform pre-loved pieces into something new to treasure. And really, who spends $250 dollars on one cushion! Maybe it's the sewer in me but the thought of spending that much money on a bit of material and stuffing, now that makes my heart rate go up! So producers of The Block please keep giving the contestants challenges that make them think about recycling furniture into new pieces and thinking outside the square (or block!). It's much more inspiring to viewers (me) and much more realistic in terms of budgets. And just in case one of them actually reads this and is thinking "well what did you have in mind?" (cause that is really likely to happen!)

Here's some examples-

Little fishes bed is a good one. Remember it cost all of ten dollars from an op shop and after a sand and a paint with some glossy white, it looks brand new. It's solid wood and is so much lovelier than a cheap crappy bed made from chipboard or laminate. It can always be painted or sanded if someone draws on it and made to look new again so it's perfect for a kid. Here's another example- I recently bought a TV cabinet from the tip shop ( it's like a giant op shop) that has been turned into a low line cupboard. I wanted a low cupboard or buffet side board thingy to go in the dining room and wanted something wooden and solid to go with the other hutch thing and our table and chairs that are in there.

It was difficult to find what I was after (remembering that I'm not going to spend a fortune on a cupboard) so some clever thinking was needed. The TV cabinet was perfect, it was basically two sections that were easily separated and the bottom section became the new cupboard. (Apologies for not remembering to take a pic of the TV cabinet, you should all know I'm crap at remembering to take before shots by now)

It's solid wood (yay!) and sturdy so if a little fish climbs on it, nothing will break or collapse.

Mr fish kindly removed the top of the cabinet and made it the top of the cupboard for me (with eyes rolling of course) as it was in better condition than the piece on there and fixed a broken door insert with some panelling from the back of the unwanted section. None of this was difficult to do and we only needed some nails and a jigsaw to transform it. We broke down the remaining pieces of the cabinet and put some bits aside for disposal and kept some bigger pieces for use later on. The spare top piece that got replaced will make an excellent mobile work bench when put on a pair of saw horses.

So there you have it, a new piece of furniture made out of an unwanted one. It's being painted at the moment and then I'll show you how lovely it looks! So come on Block people, inspire me! Apologies also for the terrible photos, I forgot to take one when the light was better.

Little fishes new bed.

It was decided that littlest fish needed a big girl bed. She was just growing too big for her toddler size bed and as handy as it was given her room is rather small, it was time to go. So off to the bed shops we went! And then we came home.... All the beds that we saw were made from "timber veneer" or "laminated stuff" or other rather blaghhh materials. All we wanted was a wooden bed painted white. But they don't seem to exist in our town. So then we decided to search the op shops to see if we could find an old bed to fix up and, lo and behold we found one! At the second place we went to there was an old timber bed that looked to be pretty sturdy and apart from being old and a bit grotty it was just what we were looking for. And it cost all of ten dollars! Not $399 or even $250 just ten. dollars. Sold!

We brought it home and gave it a clean then sanded it and after an undercoat it was looking better already. Both the fishes had to help with the painting and after three coats of white semi gloss paint it was ready for action. Mr fish took the metal springs off the base and replaced them with timber slats for a firmer base and we gave the frame a coat of silver spray paint to brighten it up.

So now little fish has a lovely new bed that can be re-painted or touched up should anything get scratched or 'decorated'.

And after we took out the change table that was hogging the space in one corner there was quite a bit of room, a lot more than we thought. I'm not sure why it didn't get the boot earlier, I'll put it down to slackness.

She insisted on wearing her singlet on the outside of her pj's, she's just that kind of gal!

That's a shell of a lamp!

This is one of a pair of lamps that came to live here after I spotted them at the tender center. They had rather ugly shades on them and looked a bit sad but I could picture them with a fresh new shade perched atop them and hey presto, they are now lovely again! They are pretty old judging by the wiring on them but in good condition and now they have lovely new hats on, they are just perfect. And they look just grand sitting on the bedside tables. Don't you just love it when you find a great bargain???!!!!

(and yes they are real shells in there!)

(Lovely new shades are from Tarjay people, they have some seriously nice shades at that shop)

A very hungry caterpillar likes to drink tea.

Well not really but I do! My very clever, bargain hunting friend took me to a place she goes to where there are bargains to be had on Thursday morn. It was a place Mr Fish has been before but he told me not to bother going there as there was nothing to be found! That's the last time I listen to him!!!!! It was none other than my local tip shop recycling centre! It's across the other side of town which may explain why I have not bothered to go there myself. (I usually only venture to the local green waste facility which is nearby) There was a shed full of old dressers and hutches and wardrobes, which were full of old tea sets and china and vases and glass wear and lots of other things. Then you go outside and there's a huge yard full of other stuff that won't fit in the shed! I picked up these lovely tea cups and saucers which are both bone china from England (I normally get things cause they look nice, it doesn't matter where they come from but you might want to know! And they cost $2 per set!!!!!!) The yellow saucer and plate didn't have a cup but they were too lovely to leave behind. So now I have a new place to lurk in the hope of finding some treasure and next time I'm going without the kids and without Mr Fish! Thanks Trine for taking me :)

This bunch of squares have been cut out to make.......

This very hungry caterpillar cot quilt! It's for Mr Fish's cousin who is due soon. I kept it simple and quilted wavy lines across the quilt instead of going around lots of squares. The parents to be like bright colours so hopefully this will fit right in.

Noddy and the doll quilts

Over the last few months I have managed to find these Noddy figures at the local op shops. They are soooo cute and remind me of when I was little and loved to read Enid Blyton books. I have no idea if they are just a cheap cereal box type toy or one you can actually purchase but they are all in great condition and I love them for the memories they bring to mind.

These two doll quilts have just been finished, they were super quick and easy to make, I didn't even bother with wadding as they are not needed for warmth. I top stitched around the blocks once they were turned right side out so they look a bit 'quilted'. They are for xmas pressies for two little girls but I won't mention names in case their mums read this.

Market day is tomorrow so wish me luck!