Recent finds..

.. well mainly today's actually..

I'm thrilled to have found this as we had one EXACTLY the same,
and I dropped it...

LOVE this little girl. She might just end up with pride of place on the kitchen window sill..

Strangely and totally attracted to this..

SHe's got a great attitude, don't y'all think?

Cute shoes for my Iris.. I'm sure I had some once that were exactly the same..

A bit of 3D Japanese kitsch. 

2 new chairs for a tenner.. 

50c of sparkly kitsch beautifulness..

plus a skipping rope and another plastic fantastic canister to add to my ridiculous collection..


Total spend today: about $20!! Nuts!

Hope you've had some good scores recently!

IT'S GENETIC

(Gratuitous sentimental journey post alert!!!)

I went to my Dad's place in the weekend, in Auckland. It was the bi-yearly inorganic (hard rubbish) collection weekend in his area. Bliss, joy!! Oh how I longed to join the other curb-crawlers and go rummaging around the streets!!

But I was there to help my siblings SORT OUT all the stuff that was cluttering up Dad's basement and loft. You see I come from brilliant Collector stock! My darling Mum, rest her soul, was a creative and bright and wonderful woman. Thrifty and sentimental.. she held on to a lot of stuff...

Need a zip, anyone?

Now I have to add that she was not a hoarder, and she always managed to find a way to keep the house tidy and organised. HOW????  I would love to ask her, if only I could..

She was obsessed with storage solutions, as am I.. but I often find my stuff gets the better of my house!!

I love looking at all the stuff she accumulated, and remembering all her stories and anecdotes about things she gathered, places she'd been...

The doll collection that I  was not often allowed to touch when I was a kid!

Needless to say, Mum always had the things we needed for any projects we wanted to undertake..

Box of (mainly) buckles!

Some of my fav things at Dad's place......

One of the besquillion things that Mum's fair hands created.. 

My doll house.

2 of my all-time fav books from childhood - I have found the color one at a garage sale
- but am still hunting for Zeralda's Ogre!

Five Friday Faves

1.A bit of kitsch from my wall!

2. Crown Lynn.
Must sort out the rest of my collection..

3. Ms Bardot.

4. PYREX
I wish I could collect funky ones like
 this guy!(pyrexboy78 on flickr)
he has a whole basement full, by the looks of it!

5. FUNNY!!
I love the way they've underlined it in mustard!

MESSES (Not for the faint-hearted!)

I don't know if it's the weather or what.. but we are in more of a state around here than usual...
And my nerves are a bit frayed after one mess too many the last couple of weeks!

All the incidents were caused by a child under 2, bless her heart!!

Private sprinkles party on the floor.

Applying sunscreen (yes it is Autumn/Winter)

This is the first of our 2 floods. As you can see, I was in the middle of a big sort out, and
there were wool blankets, pillows and duvets piled up there..
And the water came out of the bathroom and headed into all the rooms,
under the linen cupboard (that's it on the left) and caused A LOT of damage.

We just got it all dried (yes it is raining here at the moment - and not great drying weather!)
when the next flood occured -  the dehumidifier got pushed over in a
bedroom and spilled all the water on the carpet.  (Actually that was a 4 year old)

And this is one revolting one for old time's sake...

Weekly COLLEcTION SelectIOn - my challenge! #6

MATCH BOXes

WHY don't they make match boxes like this anymore? 

Is it because smoking is discouraged?

Why can't the big 24 packs of matchboxes from the supermarket have 

some sort of funky design on them?? 

I don't collect match boxes, but a collection has found its way into my house. Most of my 'collections' are like that - I don't actively seek a set of things, but somehow, bit by bit, I end up with a few or more of something... 

(Apart from the Crown Lynn Colour Glaze and the sifters - I specifically hunted and gathered those!!!)

So I have a few of these.. They are just so cute. And I love the artwork that is on them. The designs and the fonts in particular. There's a bit of a kitsch factor involved too of course!

I had some funky cylindrical ones like this but NO IDEA where.
(That's the trouble with me and my collections LOL!!!)

Except this almighty one.. with matches still inside!!

As an aside...
The view from the kitchen window today.
It's a great day for ducks here in Hamilton. NZ!

Weekly COLLEcTION SelectIOn - my challenge! #5

CROWN LYNN

Colour Glaze crockery

This is going to be a bit of a nerdy blog, I'm afraid. And I won't be able to do it all in one post as I guess I'm a C L collector and I have got LOADS of it...

Crown Lynn is a New Zealand institution( Fab facebook page linked in there). Until the 80s it churned out terrific table ware and decor delights, and it has become extremely collectible in recent years.

When I began 'thrifting' Crown Lynn was EVERYWHERE. It still kind of is, but certain lines are very collectible and the price reflects..

But more about that in other collection posts..

This is COLOUR GLAZE

It had other names at different times too, as they made it for YEARS and YEARS.

The idea was that if a bit got broken you could just get some more from the factory..

I coveted this for a while and actively sought it...
(Dinner plates)

Embarrassingly, this is probably a third of my Colour Glaze dinner ware..

Normal sized bowl on the left, pasta bowl on the right.
 Another thing about C L is their practicality..

That's a normal sized cup on the right, and on the left a 'MAN CUP' !! LOL
They are quite hard to find and I am lucky enough to have 3 duos..

MAN and LADY

That's a little dish on the left. I think it's called a PIN DISH somehow..
But they're pretty cute.  Bread and butter plate on right..

Check that link out.. it's my ultimate covet.. FIESTA is the range.. and it is nearly impossible to get a set like that!!! FIESTA