Another one of my creations from the weekend. I wanted a bench seat to go in my hallway, but was struggling to find something that suited our home or wasn't too big. 

So brainwave in the middle of the night... Use a floating shelf (that we already had) and add some cool retro legs (from a laminex coffee table I had in storage). Voila! How cutsie is this?

I am now on the hunt for LEGS!! If anyone has retro legs (including table legs) lying around their place, send them my way as I have heaps of other projects in my head that I would love to do. Off to scout hard rubbish! LOL!

Toodle-pip!

I found this clock in an op shop and instantly thought,  "Hmmm, I could make a quirky terrarium out of you!"

Step One - Pull the clock apart so you are left with only the base and glass dome.

Step Two - To clean up the base, I used black spray paint.  Depending on your decor choose any colour!

Step Three - Give the base a coat of paint in a well ventilated area and leave to dry.

Step Four - Gather a small amount of artificial moss to cover the base.

Step Five - Once the paint has dried pile the artificial moss on top of the base.

Step Six - Choose a miniature to sit on top of the moss.

Step Seven - Position the miniature in the center of the base.

Step Eight - Wash the glass dome and sit on top of the base.

And there you have it, a Quirky Terrarium! You can buy bases and the glass domes new but they can be a bit pricey, so keep a look out for some old clocks in your local op shop.

Here's what you will need:
1. Glass dome and base - maybe from an old clock (mine cost $7.99 from an op shop)
2. Artificial moss (I bought mine from ebay for $5 + postage)
3. Spray paint any colour
4. Cute critter to live in your terrarium

Toodle-pip!

(Cute hoop artwork by Gretel Girl)

It Begins

The jaws go straight in...

No mercy...

Dreams turned to rubble.

The sun was shinning, but there seemed to be a grey cloud hovering over my street today. Sadly the house 2 doors down from us was demolished. I walked past a couple of times to take the photos above, and felt an overwhelming sense of sadness coming from the remains of this home.

It is amazing to think that this lovely home was once someone's life dream, would have probably taken months to build, and yet within a few short hours the only thing remaining is a pile of rubble.

I was disappointed to know that the owners and demo company in charge did not salvage anything from the building. I don't understand why, there were beautiful floor boards, windows, solid wood internal doors, and the original 1950s bathroom with pink tiles and blue bath! Oh yeah, did I mention all of the original hardwood and stone that would have been useful for other building projects. WHAT A WASTE!

On the weekend I went through the house. The blinds and light fittings were still all in place and there was a cute little sewing room with 1950s cupboards and laminate bench. I was imagining the previous owner sitting at the little bench sewing up a storm.

Sorry, no inside photos as it was getting dark when I was sneaking through. The house was crying out to me for help and I felt absolutely helpless - after all, I was kind of trespassing and there was little I could do. I did manage to salvage a couple of things but will talk more about that in a future post.

This land is now the future dream of a new couple with plans to build a brand new home.

On the weekend Denis and I were delighted to visit the very first pop up "Breakfast Rave" held in the Barossa Valley. Organised by my dear friend Cherie, along a team of like minded foodies from the Barossa, the Rave is a spontaneous community event expected to pop up in various iconic Barossa locations.


Sunday's event was held at the Angaston Train Station. No longer in use, it was the perfect backdrop for this sustainable breakfast affair. I love the fact that a new breath of life was given to this old building even if only for a day!


We even got to take home an heirloom tomato plant in a compostable pot as a thank you for supporting the first event! Actually the whole event was compostable ... all cups, plates, forks, bin bags and food scraps were compostable and thrown straight into the Rave's compost! I'm impressed!


Breakfast was divine, Spanish style slow-cooked beans with free range poached eggs, grilled sourdough and a dollop of natural yoghurt - all for only $10. Oh yeah, top that with some coriander and chilli!

Finished with a gluten free chocolate brownie by Scullery Made Tea. YUMBO! And I must say, I think I had the best Mocha I've ever had from Barossa Coffee Roasters - a big call but it is true!

Keep in the loop on The Breakfast Rave Facebook page or check out more photos from Sunday's event here >

To my delight I found this cute old ladder in the last hard rubbish collection, someone's trash and now my treasure.

I originally grabbed it thinking it would be useful for product displays at a market or in my studio window. Then after catching up with an old school friend recently I worked out a new use for it...

I already own an authentic bus blind from Auckland that hangs in my kitchen so I just had to have one of these matching tea towels especially considering they feature the main towns of the Barossa Valley! Thanks for my tea towel Cherie!

My friend Georgia (a visual merchandiser) and I caught up last week at the Messagemark Studio to create a display featuring my new range "Dinky-Dye Designs".

It's so fantastic to be using my old bits and bobs from my Grandma, Parents and random hard rubbish adventures! I am now seeing everything with fresh eyes - Georgia did such a FAB job of combining my more modern designs with the old vintage and retro pieces. An eclectic mix, and the colours really work well together. I LOVE it!! So so cute. Wish my Grandma could see it!

For more photos visit Flickr here...

I discovered the talented Helen Hedding through Facebook and instantly fell in love with her beautiful up-cycled softies made from retro fabrics, second-hand jumpers and clothes.

A bit about Helen
I have been sewing and recycling for as long as I can remember. I had a fabulous Mum who would let me cut up old clothes to make things out of, so I have always eyed off second hand clothing as fabric. I worked in a textile agency in the late '90's and started collecting all the (once abandoned) fabric samples and made them into handbags. When I had my daughter the need for hand bags was superseded and toys took over.

I now use a combination of saved fabric samples and recycled clothes found in thrift shops for a majority of my works. When I start a new project I don't go shopping I just use what I already have stashed in my studio. Re-using and using up old clothes and fabrics gives a certain character to my toys and also ensures that each toy is nearly always a one off original.