Collection Selection Finally! Chiffon Scarves

OK I haven't done a collection post for AGES. I originally planned to do them weekly.. ahem. 

CHIFFON SCARVES

This is a weird one, but one of my favourite collections ever! 

It is also the thing I have collected most solidly, for the longest time..

That's my ball dress I made in my last year of school
 (7th form)
I had a dreadful gastro bug and I really shouldn't have gone... I lasted about 2 hours. That's why I cropped my face out!
I made the frock by weaving the scarves together, obviously.
My shoes were op shopped, of course.
As was the brooch. 

My Mum had a drawer fall of these scarves when I was a kid, and I found them so intriguing and irresistible.. The colours were mind blowing to my young mind. When I turned 7 she made me a Rainbow Queen dress up using the scarves in the skirt.. 

Here's my rainbow queen skirt, 30+ years on!

Anyway.. Whenever I see these scarves, since I was a teenager, I buy them. They used to be very easy to find, but are a bit more scarce now. They never cost much, so I was able to get a huge collection early on!

These scarves, believe it or not have MANY uses! 

* I have used them in classrooms for dancing and drama activities.. 

* I have used them as curtains....

That's my room as a teenager!

* I have used them as dress ups and play things.

One of my nephews (who turns 21 this year!)

* They of course can be knotted round necks a la Grease or as belts.. 

* They can be used for magic tricks and dancing sessions... 

* they're great at kids' parties in the decorations etc .. 




* They're great for tying things together. eg the kids use them as handcuffs etc lol
* They're great to roll around in and throw up in the air!

Gil looking a bit deranged as he had just drawn all over his face with a  brown pen..

The possibilities are endless! 

nasty student flat.. but nice curtains!  c 1993

For some reason this one was cut around.. I think I had it on my wall at some stage.

Storage:

Another really great thing about these scarves is that they can stuff into very small spaces.. so take up little room. Which is important to me these days!!

Yay for chiffon scarves!!!

And now for something entirely different..

This morning, in our back yard.. (the school)
It's the Balloon Festival right now.
I LOVE it!

The other day..
The type of photo that makes me pinch myself -
Are they really all mine?

Happy Days! 

You can check out my other COLLECTION posts by clicking on the tag on the right..
Might link this up to Her Library Adventures.. as this collection, like all my others is all op-shopped/garage-saled etc!!

Costume Sale

Some time in February the Hamilton Operatic Society had a Costume Sale.

As a member and friend for many years I, of course, put my hand up to help out.. 

It was well advertised, and to my knowledge the first time either of the local rep. societies have had a costume sale..

Well it seems there has been a GAP in the MARKET!

It started early in the morning. There was a HUGE crowd gathered behind an invisible line.. and 40 mins after opening it was practically SOLD OUT! 

It was an awesome spectacle, I must say!

Those are 2 of the main organisers and committee members before the frenzy.. It was still pretty dark.. There is more stuff in boxes and racks to the right of the photo.

YOu would have seen Yvonne in the photo above as she took these amazing BEFORE photos..
The AFTER photos are taken 40mins after the top shots...
See what I mean!

Interestingly, the fur coats were the most popular rack.. they were LITERALLY grabbed and a bun fight almost ensued.





I scored a few things.. (as you do!)

This dress is very comfy, despite the fact that I can barely fit it at the moment (busting out as usual)
The maxi is sleeveless, with a bolero thingy in the matching floral..

The length is to my ankles, just all black. 

Sorry, self-taken photos as usual.. not easy!

These 2 ties. I have to say that the one on the left is THE weirdest print I've ever seen. It features pansies, 2 girls reading and a very strange pic of a woman and a girl just, well, sitting on a couch. 

A dress that is made out of toggy type fabric (that's swimming cozzie to those non-NZers reading this!)
The boobs have that funny padding rubbery stuff that has deteriorated over the years and is now shedding. So that will have to be removed.
This dress most defo is not my size so I will pass it on to someone at some stage!
Happy Days!

Hunting and Gathering

In love with these canisters. I got the whole lot together.. about $2 each, which is more than I'm in the habit of paying for such things - but they look so great together and the big ones are a good size.
nb I don't store food directly in these - the plastic issue as they most certainly aren't BPA free!
 I'm getting quite a collection of retro plastic storage canisters now - mainly yellow, orange and brown of course!

I'm getting kitscher and kitscher every day. Can't pass these by.  They have mounting hooks on the back, so all ready to adorn the walls somewhere.

Wierdly I got these on consecutive days. They just presented themselves to me. I had a whistle like that when I was a kid so naturally had to buy them when I saw them, for nostalgia's sake. 

My haul (plus some kids/baby clothes that I haven't photo'ed.. There's a shop that has a fill-a-bag-for $1.50.. and they ALWAYS have cool stuff in there if you rummage. (which I do!)  

Belt that will fit around my expanding circumference, some knitting needles for my colourful stash

and a 70s craft book.. 

Can't resist plastic basket weave. 

70s shades = 50c
. I'm excited to announce that I found a NEW op shop that I'd never been to! I knew it was here somewhere. Hamilton is not a big place, but there are a couple of areas that I don't know very well.. and this was in one of them. I've been looking for it for ages! I finally google-mapped it (der!)
It's got old fashioned cheap prices (10c, 20c, 50c etc and nothing appears to be more than $3.50)
Rad. 

Interesting to hear people's hair-going-straight etc  stories after my last post.

For the record - my hair didn't go dead straight. 

It still has a wave and I can make it go curly if I work at it.. 

Happy Days

 Linking up to Her Library Adventures.. go over there and check out what else has been scored in the thrifting world this week! 

versatility

I've joined the Versatile Bloggers ranks thanks to the lovely Libby from Truly Myrtle. (If you want to see a FANTASTIC styley crafty mama's blog, go and check her out! Plus I know her in real life and she's as cool as her blog..)

I don't know quite what the versatile thing means.. I think I should win a Collector of Crap award or an award for Most Chaotic Blogger.

Anyway, if you didn't already know,

The rules of this award are as follows:

* list seven things about yourself,

* let the person who you have awarded know you have nominated them,

* nominate 15 other blogs, and

* list this set of rules.

SEVEN RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME

I might have mentioned some of these in passing. i am trying to think of things that you may not already know about me..

I am going to try and make these interesting. And I'll add a pic or 2 if I can find one that illustrates my random points. 

1. I am a twin.

Me and Paul

2. I always had curly hair. Like really curly. When I had an operation in 1988 my hair went straight! Random. That was when curly hair was cool, so my Mum, feeling sorry for me, took me to the hairdresser (first time ever!) for a perm.

Me and my curly hair.

Now I have one curl that persists, especially on rainy days. It's on the top of my head and is quite unruly at times. It makes me laugh sometimes because it sticks up. But it never goes away, even though I can disguise it at times. 

3. I have shockingly unhealthy teeth. I am onto my 3rd root canal in 10 years. (They can't finish it until after the baby is born, as they need to x-ray) It all came about when i started having babies. There's an old midwives tale: "A baby, a tooth" so I guess that's right in my case. I pretty much vomit regularly throughout the pregnancies and I believe the enamel has been stripped off my poor pegs. The expense is the worst part of it.

4. This one is a bit of a snigger. I was a cover girl once.  NZ Hot Rod magazine. An embarrassing poodle-esque hairdo. 

5. Although I love second hand stuff, and most of what I own is from an op shop or garage sale, I draw the line at 2 things. I will never buy a second hand refrigerator or a second hand mattress. And I would say undies too, but then I had to concede that I have bought bras and spencer-y things in the past with no issues.

6. I am the world's worst housekeeper. I used to be quite good, before I had kids. But now, my priorities have changed. And there are too few hours in the day, and too much to do!

Thankfully, I don't have a picture to illustrate this one. I'll just say that I am often living in CHAOS (Can't HAve Anyone Over Syndrome)

7. I don't drink alcohol. I used to. Quite often. Randomly, I begun to have allergic reactions to it. And they were unpleasant. Like my face going bright red and my breathing speeding up and my throat feeling like it was swelling up.  Usually only after a sip or 2.

Occasionally I have a try at drinking again.. and sometimes there is no reaction at all. But generally I can't be bothered risking it.

This is a photo of me drinking. It was my 21st party. 

So as a result I am a 2-pot-screamer. A cheap drunk.

And so here's the tricky bit - trying to pass the award on. I can't find anyone who doesn't have it. Sorry. Don't mean to cop out or break the rules. This blog award has been around for a while, so most people already have it I think. 

Maybe if you're reading this and you'd like a little bloggy love, let me know and I'll pass it to ya all official-like!

I'll put you all out of your misery now!

End of post! 

Happy Days

Top o' the Weekend to ya!

This was Friday's frock. I bought it last week. As usual, I'm having trouble fitting myself into it.

So not the most flattering, but a really beautiful dress. 

Comes to just below my knees. Very comfy fabric.
As always, I rarely seem to be able to get a full length shot. Must invest in a tripod. But first I hope I find my camera! (still borrowing my sister's but need to give it back) 

It's got some crossing over bits that I didn't get sussed at all.

Yeh I've lost sight of my feet now..

But if I stick my bum out a bit I get a glimpse of them!

I love these shoes. I DON'T love the state of my swollen pregnant feet right now.  Attractive.

Iris looked adorable in her Friday Frock. Perfect for mowing the lawn of course!

Gilbert and Iris teaming up.

Everything apart from my shoes is op shopped..(even Iris's sunglasses and the mowers!)  I bought the shoes new a couple of years ago, for about $10. They are uber-comfy. 

Happy St Paddy's to y'all.

Op Shop Booty

Here are a few things I've found on recent op shop trips, during the last week...

Another nice  kitsch-ish cookie tin. Lid destined for the wall. 

Iris chose this pallid looking baby. I'm impressed with his/her outfit!

Great fabric, smashing green dress and some more plastic beads.. 

For those of you who have kids who are into Sylvanian Families (like my boy Joe) you'll know how blimming much they cost.. This is the department store/cafe and was $4. Quite a bargain. I almost felt bad paying it - but I knew someone else would get it for that if i didn't! The lady at Vinnies was apologetic that it was so much. Bless.

2 curtains. very cool fabric.

Desk chair . Love it.


Quite a good stash. Probably about $25 for the lot.
I love Hamilton!


happy Days!


Linking up to Her Library Adventures to share the thrifting love!