Button necklace for a dear friend

It's been a while since I made any button necklaces. This is mainly due to the fact that I am low on truly vintage buttons. I don't tend to like the modern plastic button necklaces - I am picky. When I first got into making vintage button and buckle brooches, 5 or 6 years ago, I didn't have such trouble locating buttons.

I save my vintage ones now for special individual pieces, and commissioned items. The cost of the buttons and the time taken to locate enough of the right colour can be great.

A dear friend of Mr BB and I has just recently turned 40. She is an amazing woman who lives in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Conjure up romantic images of vineyards, old buildings, produce markets, and that's pretty accurate! After asking what colours she wears most often, I settled on a subtle pink creation for her. 1930s, 40s and 50s buttons star in this as I know she loves this period. In particular the kitsch button of the grapes... Also a hit with this one, a magnetic clasp. Much easier to use and easier on the wire.


Happy Birthday dear Em - so glad to hear you have been able to wear it out in public!

I had a great weekend!

Misschief Maker High Tea at Pialligo with old friend Kellie - YUM.

French and Saunders Saturday night and met a legend after the show!

I am all smiles!

J
xx

The Mother Load that PMM would LOVE!

Do you read Potty Mouth Mama? She is one of my must-reads on a daily basis. You know who your must-reads are, they're the ones who you clear first from your bloglines when you have 200 posts looming to read. They're the ones that are like old friends, and they make you laugh and smile and cry.

PMM had a brilliant time during the hard rubbish collection in her area not too long ago. We were all tuning in eagerly waiting for the next haul in the covers of darkness. The expeditions were rarely fruitless, and only once did we cringe with her:

"This is where it gets exciting. So I'm checking out what I have scored. Old t-shirts (and y-fronts?!) still in their packaging. I was pretty excited about the prospect of vintage fabrics, so I went for the suitcase that was holding this treasure. The vintage fabric...? Well it was a pair of old man pjs. Poop. No - surely this is a bag full of treasure?! I delve further.. Hmph. Not the score I was dreaming of. Another pair of pjs. And you know what else?! An enema kit. Yes, that's right. An enema kit. No sewing paraphernalia. Just an enema kit. " - from Potty Mouth Mama post here

Rachel (mother of Miss M of the shoes and bib) recently saved an old suitcase from landfill for me. Her step-mum was decluttering, and getting rid of childhood items.


Inside I found a treasure-trove of delights in hankies (most soaking at the moment). Some are still in their original boxes. There are tins aplenty, a doll, leather driving gloves, books, sewing notions, all manner of great loot!


Consumption Rebellion came over yesterday and we sorted through it all, oo-ing and ahh-ing a lot. CR loved the driving gloves, but decided that she would need goggles to go with them... Maybe also a hat E!!??

Image from here.

Hankies galore!
Old Hoadley Chocolate box filled with hankies.

Tins galore! Two of them filled with hankies!


Driving gloves - soft leather and great buttons.


Lovely little doll with blinking eyes.


Lovely boxes filled with mint condition......


Hankies! Lovely Irish Linen in lots of pastel shades.

Old Golden Books - Annie Oakley and Ginger Meggs - brilliant!

More loot than I can use so: giveaway alert!

Miss 3 came in the other day from the car helping me carry in the shopping. She was confused why I fell about when she declared: "I carried the watermelon!" (Dirty Dancing, 1987).

To enter, please tell me your favourite movie quote!

Afternoon tea as a free form cake

TLK is a little over 40 (chronologically only), on Wednesday. She had a few belles over for afternoon tea today, however the cake exploded and became free-form.

It was DELICIOUS as almond chocolate cakes are, even gluten free ones! We ate the whole cake between 4 of us..... YUM

Happy Birthday to a darling friend, mother, and inspiration. XX

j

Upcycling a 45

My friend Eilleen and I very much enjoyed the Handmade market a few weekends ago here in Canberra. One clever possum was selling scrapbooks, journals, notebooks and photo albums made from old books. We were rather taken with these.

Eilleen bought several old records at the YMCA garage sale, and has done a great upcycle of these. One is blogged over here. I love the one she generously made for me -

It fits perfectly into my current handbag, with a pen snugly in the spine. I have my list of things to do on the page and my shopping lists, receipts, etc in the pockets. Thanks E - I have a pile of books ready to try my own!



The original EP is still in the back, which is a bonus if I can get hold of a record player! Master 6 wonders how to put it into the CD player.......


Our books ready for modifying! Where's that Stanley knife??

xx

TV is not all bad...

Master 6 and Miss 2 were playing beautifully with TLK's kids and some empty boxes. That is, until a disagrement. Inevitable amongst kids really, but this was one we've not had before.

Master 6 and Master 5 were putting on a TV show for the Misses 2... problem was, should they be the News or the 7:30 Report?! Gotta love the minds of these little lads!

j

1980s remembered

TLK was a professional photographer in her past life (i.e. pre-kids). Maybe she should start up again? All you Canberrans need a portrait don't you?!

She has a classic collection of photography from the 1980s as she appreciates a good Kodak moment. In the fashion vein, TLK has a set of books which are worth grabbing if you see them at a thrift store/op-shop. Here is the selection that had me grinning! These will be last of the retro fashion photos - I promise. Returning to Craft Blog Status shortly.


Look for these at your local oppy - they are well worth a browse.


Nautical? I think the rope around the neck is a little much, however the sail dress is oh-so-practical!


Wedding again - The sleeves, the bows in hair. You guessed it - 1983!

Unsure why there are bodies on the ground... Nothing flattering about these outfits, nothing at all. Thankfully we all made it through 1985!

j

Victims of fashion or trend setters??

I have been enjoying the comments on the fashion-doyenne post from last week, and have had some lovely links and photos sent my way.

A dear friend has sent through this lovely shot (weddings seem to score well in the "what was I thinking?" stakes - perhaps a message there for any Bridezillas out there...

I love the make up, the hair, the 'cocktail hats', the frills, the lace gloves, and the colour. Excellent example of the genre. Eyes had to be obscured for permission to print - there are reputations to uphold!


Also in the wedding style, circa 1990. These lovelies are related to me, so I can comment that at the time these dresses were superb! Taffeta shot with blue and red and fresh perms too!


Carnation bouquets with some gyp to fill them out. Classic. 'Twas a great wedding too!!

I will draw the Giveaway tomorrow - don't forget to comment here to be in the 300th post and One Year Blogaversary draw.

j

Prescribed rest

So the Doctor prescribed me rest and rejuvenation. Where better a place to start than the hallowed halls of the Palace o' Coffee - Brunetti in Carlton. This is an establishment where "barista" is a career, and the familiar faces from years ago still blend the perfect brew.

Where the cakes are so fresh they are warm when they arrive on your plate.


Where the gelato is so fresh it's ok for the kids to eat is for breakfast.


Where the pannini are mouth-watering and plentiful.

Already we could feel the knots going from our backs, the tension rising from the mind, and the smiles tickling the corners of our mouths.

Brilliant.

j

Declarations of LOVE

A Dear Old School Friend is visiting from down south, to view the Degas Exhibition at the National Gallery here in Canberra. The exhibition is stunning, and well worth a visit this Summer to Your Nation's Capital.


Mr BB had assembled a magnificent pasta, vanilla bean ice cream, and chilled Alicante, and we were all gathered for dinner around the table.

Image from here.

Miss 2 held our attention with tales of the day, which were summed up for our friend as:

My brother is a good sister. (Go figure) -

My Daddy can cook (chunk of chicken in mouth),

and

Mummy does puzzles! (sure, why not!)

J

Mail in - vintage goodies!

Thanks dear Em for my beautiful vintage pillowcase tied with ric rac - inside I found:

Vintage patterns for nylon ribbon projects! Covered coathangers anyone? Yay!

j

Blogtoberfest Lifeline and giveaway reminder

Ok, so I'm already drooling at the recipes that have arrived in the comments for yesterday's giveaway. You still have plenty of time - why not try some of the recipes out in the meantime? Everyone's a winner! he he he

So yesterday I posted some crafty sewing and knitting I had been doing, and Bells commented on my knitted lace pattern. She knows I stress a little with knitting, and suggested a lifeline.

Hmmm.

I was grateful for the concern, but were things that bad?! I mean, Life Line doesn't do knitting help does it?? She has offered knitting tuition in the past, some great tips and ideas, but WERE things this bad? Unpicking lace isn't the end of the world... Maybe I was whining too much?

Today however, despite a revolting headache, rather than risk cancelling (this would be the hird cancelled arrangement), I lunched with Bells, Jejeune, and TLK (mother of the rice paper roll/tissue lass), and the issue was raised again. Bells and Jejeune were knitting away, and Bells asked had I seen her advice on the lifeline.

Rather stupidly, I realised that she was referring to this *, not this.

* see tip 3 in the post

As my friends would have said (albeit many years ago...) DER FRED.


(unrelated photo of my stone "North Wind" in my garden)

j

Reveal...

Blogtoberfest for me is all about shedding the crap and going for what I really want to do, all inspired by This Post.

So part of my shedding, is allowing people to photograph me, and for me to look at the pictures. May sound easy to some, but some of us - not so much.

Thanks to that exhibition, there are photos now doing the rounds, so I thought I should link up. Nina Ribena takes a decent pic - check out others here.

Helen, Tania, and ME.

j

Blogtoberfestivities without pics, days 6 and 7...

Day 6 was a whirlwind of festivities. A barbie with friends, turned into a beer-hall event, with kids bringing the sandpit inside, and a menu BigCat will hopefully approve of. In the spirit of the festival that Is Blogtoberfest, we enjoyed:

Bratwurst
Coleslaw (Aussie version of saurkraut..)
Beers
and
Potato Salad.

Although there were no Lederhosen in sight, the ambience was certainly as German as we could muster, with two Celts, one convict-descendent, and some Welsh in the mix.

The day drooled on, with my girlfriend Shan and I going interstate for 3 hours of Spotlight - where my attempts at being restrained were quashed by my stash-building-desires...

Camera-less, post-purchase, I lost my bag of goodies somewhere in the chaos that is Spotlight. Bloody buggery bollocks - not happy Jan, etc.

Is your local Spotty chaotic too? Shan and I realised we've never been in an organised one! Adelaide, Queanbeyan, Sydney, Melbourne (both Box Hill and Bayswater), all in our experience messy and disorganised. We still love them though - what about you? (I know some who live in their local! ;-)

My lace is sadly neglected, however tonight is the night for some lace building, and I will post pics tomorrow of metres of completed lace (or a couple of rows of mistakes - much unpicked...)

Enjoy your day -

j

Sometimes it just sucks

I am sorry. I feel for you. I cannot imagine your pain.

x