I thought Summer ended 2 months ago?

Gee, it's been 10 days since i last wrote. Apologies. While i've been able to list 2 new items in my shop 2 days in a row, my blog's been sadly neglected. But here i am now! =)

Yes, it's been very sunny this past week, here in Sydney Australia. So blindingly sunny that i did 2 laundry loads in a day and they both dried in one afternoon. Summer decided to make one last blast at us. Actually, this autumn hasn't been very cool at all. GLobal warming perhaps?

How was your Easter? Mine was quiet, nothing special. I have however, been catching up on a lot of reading. You can always count on your favourite books to perk things up, after a lapse of period of them sitting on the shelf. Appropriately enough over Easter, i was reading The Big Over Easy (poor Humpty), and then its sequel. Check them out. I can't wait for Jasper Fforde to drop by Down Under again. =)

New items up in my shop ----------------> Check them out~ another map notebook and a set of 4 mini notebooks. I still feel weird when i do a search on Etsy and see the things i made come up. Teeheehee....

Another exciting matter! At my op-shop (thrift store) job, i discovered 2 genuine LV bags (amongst other designer bags) during sorting, i priced them and then sold them that very day! Heeheehee.....i practically shoved them in front of a few customers. It didn't take much persuading.

And remember my art courses? Still can't wait to start. But i gotta get organised. I will be much busier with 3 classes a week, so must summon all my time management skills. Anyway, what i really want to say is that i don't have to worry about the funds for the materials at least. Aside from getting 10% off the art shop near the art school (as a student), i got a tax bonus courtesy of the Aussie PM. Yes, the stimulus package, designed to encourage Australians to spend spend spend to rev up the economy once more. Thank you Kevin Rudd. I shall spend it wisely. =D

That's all folks! Talk to you soon.

I Love Op-Shopping...

...it's so much fun. Especially since my favourite op-shop changed management/something and there's now twice as much stuff in store. I thought it was just an influx of pre-Christmas donations but here we are at the end of March and there is still abundant stock.

The first books i bought for re-purposing were a set of some 20 vintage paperback volumes of German lexicon. I was captured by the foreign text and colourful map pictures in them. And the fact that the store manager offered me to take the whole set for $5 after he spied me thumbing through the volumes. Sold.

I regret that decision.....i think. I still have them. There's too many to use up. So far I've used up maybe a whole volume. 19 left to go. Maybe i can sell them as scrapbooking/collage supplies. Anyone want them?

Anyway, my more recent book purchases have been better choices:

Japanese Children's Picture Books

Sticker Book. Hardcover abridged version of Treasure Island

Illustrations in the Treasure Island book

I've been drawn to children's books recently because they have more pictures. And maybe because I'm going to be an aunt for the first time later in the year. =D I did have a sudden pang of conscience while i was picking these up. It seems like sacrilege to defile any book. I'm trying to choose really battered ones not likely to be picked up/reused by anyone else. Like the Japanese children's books. It's less likely to be used by anyone else.

Some vintage books from Reverse Garbage

(their own proper website hasn't been working a while - basically a junk warehouse)

and op-shops

Excerpts from the Aussie and Kiwi sayings book

I'm planning to give away this sayings book. I think i know someone who will love it. =) Might make a copy for myself first hehe.

Toodle-oo...

Found and Bought - Treasures

Time to reveal a bit more about myself. I'm currently working as a volunteer at an op-shop in the next suburb. It's only for 2.5 hours on Wednesday afternoons, so it's not too time-consuming and is quite fun. =)

I read people's accounts of how they find treasures in op-shops/thrift stores all the time, sometimes more so if they work there because they get first picks. I never thought i would be one of those people as i had always been refused in previous applications. But a few weeks ago, magic happened and i joined one of them!

The OneNoffs shop in Randwick Junction is run by The Ted Noff's Foundation. TNF helps youths and their families who have drug and alcohol issues. And now on reading the website more closely, i see Ted Noffs was a co-founder of Lifeline. Interesting.

I've been on 3 shifts so far and have seen some interesting items, but didn't make any purchases. Then earlier this week, lo and behold! I discovererd a gem (to me). Presenting...

This beautiful black velvet pencil skirt

Everything in store is currently 50% off. And because i am staff, i get another 50% off! So from $10, to $5, and finally i got this beauty for a mere $2.50. =D This has got to be my best op-shop buy yet. $2.50!

And i didn't even get first dibs at it. It was just hanging on the rack along with many other black skirts.

It's a very good velvet material. Most velvet clothes i've seen are thin and wrinkle very easily, but not this one. It probably needs to be handwashed carefully. This skirt certainly made my day.

Velvet really does not photograph well, let alone black velvet. Notice it's not wrinkly or too lint-y.

In crafting news, i'm still working on "designing" note cards and notebooks. It's tough. No wonder designers charge an arm and a leg. All that time spent thinking and trying to come up with something appealing and original.

It doesn't help that using reclaimed paper means having a very unpredictable supply. So i decided to get some truly recycled paper, for some of my future creations.

Ecocern paper is made from 100% post-consumer waste (photos coming soon). That's right. That means it's made entirely of office scrap papers, and what-not. No new trees were chopped down to make them and no bleaching agents were used to make these lovely, earthy-feel brown-gray paper.

Ecocern does sell 100% recycled white paper as well if that is what you prefer. I also bought some cardboard to experiment with because i only eat so much cereal in a month. =) Anyway, check them out:

http://www.ecocern.com/

78-90 Old Canterbury Road (it's in the Industrial Complex - i walked right past it twice - another story another time),

Lewisham, Sydney, Australia.

Till next time...