Lucky Friday Finds #12

It's Friday! And for some reason I have a really good feeling about this weekend. We were planning on going "over the mountain", literally. Our closest mall is about an hour away and you have to take a drive either around or over the mountain, so when the locals chat about their trip to the mall they speak of going "over the mountain". This took some getting used to when we just moved to Hermanus because I'm accustomed to having a mall on almost every corner where we lived in Pretoria. Our plans were mixed up a bit when my mom asked if we could look after my little brother André this weekend while they're away. He's quite the character! I helped raise him as he was born when my other brother, Ruan and I were both still in high school. André and I are very much on the same page most of the times, he say's I'm the crazy one but I think he's much crazier than me. As for our weekend plans, I have learned that we can almost never plan anything, we don't know what the future holds and things can change in the blink of an eye. Now I'm not saying not to have any aspiration, I mean quite the opposite. We plan things all the time (as more of a back-up) and then we wait patiently for life to happen, and oh does it happen!

Today is a very good example of how things go around here. Between work, I need to get the house sorted, put some fresh bedding on the guest bed, among other things. Through all this, I'm on standby for a coffee date with my mom. She's meeting with a friend this morning and will let me know when it's my turn so as to discuss the weekend with my little brother and to make all the necessary arrangements.

As for now, it's time to share with you what I found! Again, I found this while in Pretoria last year. I was walking around in a massive plastics store (I love to roam these, they always have hidden treasures) and just before I walked out the door thinking that they had nothing that interested me, I saw it! Packed on a bottom shelf amidst the stationery, I found a few boxes just waiting to be discovered…

 -when I see something sewing, knitting, crochet or any other craft related, my brain turns on a flashing red light…awesome alert! And of course this baby came home with me. It has a very retro, 1970's air about it, doesn't it? If you look closely on the box, there's a little icon on the top left that says "as seen on TV" I wonder if this product did a bit of time traveling…-

-isn't this just the best thing you have ever seen?! It's the perfect little traveling sewing kit, with everything you'll need for a wardrobe emergency or when you're sewing tiny crafty gifts. I love how organised it is. My other sewing kit is in a little clear bag and I always end up emptying the contents out on the table to find what I need. With this sewing box, you can see and access anything you need in a flash!

What have you found recently that's worth sharing with us? I would love to hear from you!

Have an amazing weekend!

xxx

  

Lucky Friday Finds #11

Well-well… it's Friday! The weekend is upon us and I hope all of you have awesome plans for this one. Here in South Africa, Autumn is in the air! I've been sensing a change in the way the sun (although scorching hot) shone with a dimmer light… Then, last night we had our first Autumn rain! Man, I just love it! The sound of raindrops trickling down the window panes, the smell of the wet soil and just as the rain stopped (during the early morning hours) I heard our "friendly neighbourhood" owl break the silence with his calm hoo-hoooooo. Around here, the Cape Spotted Eagle Owl is the most common. We've seen them on many occasions. Amazing birds of prey!

Today, I thought, I'd briefly share some goodies I acquired while visiting in Pretoria last year. My cousin, Zandienne and I spend the day galavanting in the area we used to live and of course had to pop in one of my favourite haberdashery shops. The shop is called Ruby's and they stock almosts anything you need for your crafting pleasures. They don't have a website, but if you're in the Pretoria North area, this site has the address and phone number.

-I really had to hold back, I would have emptied my account in this shop! But since I had to fly back home, my luggage space was limited. Good thing I had a reason, ha! These adorable handbag charms, I got as gifts for my friends back home. I don't know if you can see, there's a funny looking keychain between the stork scissors and the red knitting doll… It's a dual screwdriver, the one side is a flat and the other a star. I got that for David as he can never find his in times of crisis, he keeps it on his house keys and has actually used it a few times already. I thought it a very nice "stocking stuffer" for the guys. The rest of these goodies are cute necessities, except for the necklace, that one's mine! I couldn't resist-

-Have a lovely Friday and an awesome weekend- 

xxx

Lucky Friday Finds #10

Hey Friends! It's been so long! Coming back from holiday, I was totally swamped! So Much has happened in the past 5 weeks! But I will share it all with you in future posts!

Today is my Lucky Friday Finds, feature, where I share with you awesome things, products and goodies that I find all over the place! Sometimes, I have found that you get the most awesome stuff in the most unlikely places!

I have been looking all over for a nice pair of gumboots. There are a few places who sell them in our area, but I never seem to get my size and if I do their simply to ugly. Thus, I have been searching for about three years to get the right pair. Gumboots are a necessity here in Hermanus and our surrounding areas if you like walking and spending time outside during our rainy winter season. And sometimes in the summer as well, like today and the rest of the weekend. I love the rain, the smell and the cosy atmosphere. So, with my tea brewing, I thought to quickly share my awesome gumboots with you!

 -Guess where I found them? At our local Agrimark, the last place I would have looked for printed gumboots! They were a bit expensive for gumboots so I decided to leave them and then Dave got them for me as a present! How awesome is this?! They are perfect. The day he got them for me was a sunny day so I couldn't where them. But then we had a whole week of rainy whether and I wore them every day that week! ...and I wearing them again today! Yay!-

-Aren't they just lovely? and cosy and comfy and practical... all thanks to my Dave!-

Have a lovely Friday and a wonderful weekend

Lucky Friday Finds #9

What a Lucky girl am I?! I saw these on the net and fell in love... but as everything that ships to South Africa is too expensive to ship, one can mostly dream. Now to paint you a quick picture of my dilemma, we moved from the capitol of South Africa (Pretoria) to a small little holiday town called Hermanus. Our nearest decent mall is a 45min drive from where we stay and even this mall doesn't have all the shops that I used to spend hours in back in Pretoria. For instance, one of my ultimate favourites, Big Blue is about 2hours away from where we stay. Needless to say, I don't get to go there all to often. But, the last time we went, I found these awesome owlies! A great necessity for any owl lover's handbag!

-the lipgloss is Honey flavoured, they only had this one flavour, though. but I'm not complaining,

I love it! I carry them with me wherever I go-

xxx

Lucky Friday Finds #8

I don't know about you, but I love finding new things to eat. I don't mean like FearFactor style, just stepping away from the traditional South African usual's and trying something different. There's something about Chinese grocery stores that allures me. I just cannot seem to stay out of them, even if it is just to look at all the interesting stuff. It would probably be nicer if someone could explain to me what all the different food stuffs are and how they are to be used. Anyway, my favourite section in these stores are usually the "candy" sections. Which brings me to my awesome Find... Rice cakes with black bean paste! Wow! I love these little cakes! They're so light, yet rich, and squishy and yummy. I can't seem to get enough of them and what's more, Dave loves them too. YaY! I found these ones at the little chinese grocer at China Town, Cape Town.

  -ooooweeee, I need to get my hand on some more of these! yummmmm-

xxx

Lucky Friday Finds #7

A very quick browse through our local Animal Welfare and I came home with this really lovely crochet blanket. I was just about to throw it in the was when I realized it was damaged. So I decided to trow it over the bed to inspect the extent of the damage... it was quite bad. A was would have been disastrous!

 -this poor blanky has been through quite an ordeal with what looks like a burn-hole and on other places someone tried to fix it, but not very successfully-

 

-so what I started doing, is to unravel the poor dear, take out the un-fixable blocks and put it back together again. Just like Humpty Dumpty, only I'm sure this one will have a happy ending-

xxx

Lucky Friday Finds #6

There is nothing better than finding a "lucky packet" at one of my favourite thrift stores! I went into Matchbox the other day and found this baggy filled with awesome vintage fabric stuffies!

-half finished projects and lovely bit of vintage fabric. Such prettiness, these will make for the cutest gifts, maybe pincushions or brooches with the small bits. The tea cosy inners could make nice handbag linings-

xxx   

Lucky Friday Finds #5

Yay, it's Friday! Gillian found all these really cool stuff at our local charity shops here in Hermanus. How amazing that one of my reader friends not only loves thrifting but loves sharing too?! I can't thank you enough, Gillian! This is such a nice package, with the vintage lampshades, fabric and buttons. I know just what to do with those cute lampshades... I have a friend who makes the most awesome lamps from vintage books, doilies and crockery. I'll post you some pictures when I get them done:)

 -Oh what a nice surprise this was-

xxx

Lucky Friday Finds #4

There is nothing quite like a good day out thrifting! It takes your mind to the happiest place and you forget all your troubles and cares... I feel I should warn the beginner thrifters, though, it can became somewhat addictive. Well I was out doing my rounds and thought I'd pop in to say "hi" to my sweet friend, Irma, over at The Matchbox. Yes I stayed for about two hours and no I did not leave empty-handed. I rummaged around Irma's little shop while we had tea and chatted about two hours away... just look what I found!

 -Aren't these just lovely? Can you believe I found this pretty owl, man I was lucky!

Now, I'm in two minds about these little frames. Dunno whether I should spray them a different colour or keep them in their original state. Any advice?-

Have a happy Friday

xxx

Lucky Friday Find #3

Here's what I found at Matchbox... I know, I just can't keep myself away from that little shop. I've been looking for the right tea strainer for quite some time now. So when I stepped into Matchbox to visit my friendy, this awesome retro tea strainer was just waiting to come home with me. It's perfect. You make your tea with the leaves in your pot, simply put the stainer over your cup, and the strainer catches all the leaves. My other two strainers are the type which you put the leaves inside and then put the whole thing inside your pot. The one only makes one cup and the bigger one doesn't fit into my teapots at all. I've got lots of different tealeaves, I can't wait to start brewing some real tea! These cute little frames are made of plastic with old withered printed silk flower portraits inside. They have "slide-open" backs which makes it very easy to replace the fabric. I thought of doing some embroidered art for our bedroom to put in them. I'm not yet sure whether to spray paint them or not. What do you guys think? 

 Ah, these little vintage deer were hidden away, lucky for me, I saw them just before I left Matchbox. I snatched them up and brought them home with me, aren't they pretty? 

Enjoy Your Weekend<3

xxx

Lucky Friday Finds #2

You know how you sometimes do stuff you know you shouldn't be doing, but you just can't help doing it...

...well, I know I shouldn't support Chinese trade, especially in our small town where local craftsmen and -women are struggling to make a living. You can find almost anything at the Chinese R5 stores at half the price as what you would pay at other local stores. Then, off course, the quality of these Chinese made products are usually very poor. I just cannot help but browse through these Chinese stores, sometimes you come across some really awesome handmade items. I know, you think I'm crazy, but these are hand carved clothing pegs made from Chinese bamboo! The traditional Chinese products were usually of exquisite craftsmanship. If you look at their history in arts, their work was amazingly detailed and of the highest quality. It's a pity that greed and consumerism changed all that. 

Aren't they just beautiful? They even re-used miss printed playing card paper for the packaging, now that is cool!

xxx

Lucky Friday Finds #1

Wow! Just look at what I found at my favourite secondhand shop...Matchbox! 10 balls of Mohair! A lovely little cotton make-up bag, Woolworths brand. A beautiful coral, vintage purse. Butt Trim buttons still on their original card. A mesh embroidered pin cushion and the most beautiful, floral, silk shorts<3 This really made my day! I can't wait to make something with this Mohair, perhaps a lacy cardi or a poncho...I'll just have to surf the net for a suitable pattern:)

I love the colour pallet all these items create together, don't you?

xxx