Valentines Mail

Some mail I will be sending out to my best girlfriends for valentines ♥

I was completely enamoured with the conversation hearts and their sweet boxes when I went to America a few years ago. Sadly they don't seem to be in much abundance here in Australia, and I think I would have to visit a lolly shop to find some :-( So instead I made conversation heart cards from cardboard covered with pink crepe paper and letters cut from red paper. 

I used a watercolours, textas and craft paper to decorate them :-)

Valentines Pot Plants

Just some little pots that I painted for my friends for valentines day :-)

Valentines Inspiration

I love valentines day, largely for the excuse to go way over the top with hearts and pink and tackiness. It's also a nice chance to tell everyone special in your life that you love them.

 I got out my paints and paper and did a bit of valentines crafting today, the results of which I will get around to posting soon :-) In the meantime though I thought I would share some of the brilliant valentine DIY's out there on the web that I plan to try out if I get the chance. 

Conversation Heart Pinatas- Studio DIY

Crepe Paper Flower Favour Bags - Oh Happy Day

Giant Crepe Paper Roses - Studio DIY

80s Earrings

I've recently become very obsessed with wearing massive 80s earrings that I've been collecting from op shops. Last night I went to a 70s/80s themed rollerblading disco night and got an excuse to wear those massive round gold ones (which are about 5cm in diameter!).

I am renown for my lack of coordination and I think attempting to rollerblade (something I haven't done since I was about 6) was too high a goal because within the first 5 minutes I fell on my ass and now have a bruised tailbone :-( But on the bright side at least it's an excuse to lie in bed all day and read and watch movies :-)

✮ Snail Mail ✮

Some outgoing snail mail for eva who I bought my tote bag from

And Kathya in return for a lovely christmas card and letter :-) 

I painted them confetti style with watercolours

Incoming Parcel

I bought a tote bag from misako mimoko and it came in just the sweetest parcel! I love the metallic blue tape! 

I can't wait to stitch on the eyes and nose and start using it!

Purchases

I have been wanting some rife paper co. cards for yonks but they are way too expensive to get posted to Australia. But I found these rifle paper co. postcards on sale in a cute shop and also some pretty coloured tape for my dymo labeller :-D

I also found this adorable case for storing vinyls in for 50c! I have never seen one before and I think the pattern is just the sweetest thing ever!

 I love the skier who can't get his jumper off :-P

Mail

Lovely incoming mail from Doro, Kathya and Erin :-)

  Some fudge I sent in the mail to my friends for christmas

1 year

Happy 2014 everyone!

I started this blog a year ago today and have had so much fun sharing my op shopping and crafting exploits throughout the past year.  I have 'met' some amazing people through blogging and it is so great to find people with similar tastes who appreciate the same things, so thank you to everyone who comments or just pops in occasionally, I really appreciate it. 

I tend to keep my personal and blogging life very separate. Most of my friends don't even know I have a blog and only my boyfriend and my sister have actually seen it. This year I am going to try and show a bit more of myself and my life on this blog. 

Me with my cat Zinky. I feel like the bushes behind me make me look like a crazy cat lady or a witch. (not that I have any objection with being a crazy cat lady :-P)

So here goes; I am 19 and study human geography at the University of Wollongong. I have 2 older sisters and an older brother but I am the only one still at home (I'm too broke to move out). I have been with my boyfriend, Alistair, for almost 2 years now and completely love him. On saturdays I work with children with autism and I absolutely love it because I get to be a massive kid again. As you already know if you read this blog in my spare (or not so spare) time I am an obsessive op-shopper and I also love crafting and sending mail. 

 

Alistair with my dog missy, taken with his polaroid.

Sorry if this post is a tad ranty and boring but I will back to normal posts after this.

☆ MERRY CHRISTMAS ☆

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful day!

Aluminium

Last week I went to Townsville for my cousins 18th and of course my mum and I managed to fit in some op shopping on the side. Golly gosh am I glad that we did because I found an aluminium christmas tree.  It's probably my favourite oppy find of the whole year! 

I'm definitely no expert but I get the impression that aluminium trees weren't as much of a craze here in Australia as they were in America? I see them everywhere on people's blogs but I had never actually seen one in real life. I've been wanting one for ages but the trees online are way out of my price limit so I was so thrilled when I saw this one for $8!

Now I have somewhere to display my meagre collection of glass baubles (another thing I don't think were very big here because the majority of these were brought back by my mum from America).  

Last week was quite a big week for finding aluminium things because we also found these: 

I have a bit of a thing for anodised aluminium so these planters had to come home with us. A fact which caused us a lot of trouble because they are actually quite large and didn't fit in our bags (we thankfully were able to take them on as hand luggage on the plane even though the customs man was dubious). They are a lot prettier in real life and I can't wait to plant something in them!

I also found this aluminium canister set. I think it's missing a size but I still love them!

I'm linking up to alivingspace and sirthriftalot :-)

Cupcake Kit

 

The other day I made a cupcake kit for my boyfriends little sister for Christmas out of a postal box. I had so much fun making it and collecting all the patty pans. I love decorating cupcakes but I am simply terrible at it :-(

I thought I'd share it because it's a really cute and easy christmas gift.

contents: homemade mini pompom garland, icing bag and tips from spotlight and various patty pans :-)

p.s. Only 5 more days till Christmas! hoorah!

Pretty things

Just a few little things I found lately :-)

 pineapple salt and pepper shakers and a crazy eyed deer.

Vintage fake flowers

Mail

A lovely letter from Sara filled with a ton of goodies.

Oppy Finds

These are some of the things that I've found at op shops over the past few weeks. 

Some epic shiny holographic dinosaur stickers, cardboard christmas coasters, vintage airmail envelopes, and some vintage cards. 

Lovely wrapping paper. I can't get over how great the dog one is.

I found all these beautiful nativity sets on the same day and they were all in their original boxes :-D

 

A pot holder and an almost matching tea cosy from separate oppies

This is a 1950's lino square that I got from an antique shop - it wasn't the cheapest but I couldn't resist coz it has a cactus and I intend to hang it as a piece of art. I am so going to have a kitchen with vintage lino on it one day! 

I'm linking up with sirthriftalot :-)

Christmas Mail

I finished exams! hoorah! Since finishing my mum and I went on a little op shopping trip to the blue mountains so I have some purchases to show you when I get around to it :-D

Seeing as it's almost christmas (or it feels like it to me anyway, I decorated about a month ago), I feel that it is time for me to send out some christmas mail! I have a whole pile of vintage christmas cards because I always snap them up and I would love to send some out. So if you want a little bit of christmas in your letter box just email me your address to em.odonnell94@gmail.com and I will send you a card :-)

Below are my favourite cards so I can't promise that you will get something quite as cute (I am such a hoarder and can't bear to part with them) but I will try my best to send something lovely.

Collection Post: Tea Cosies

Golly gosh, I feel like I haven't posted in ages! I've been studying for my uni exams (only two more to go!).  I managed so sneak in some op shops in between study so I will eventually get around to posting those :-) Until then here is a post about my tea cosie collection that I had saved in my drafts and quite forgotten about. 

Sadly I can't lay sole claim to this collection. It started off as my sisters collection, but my mum and I probably bought about two thirds of them at op shops and so we claim it as ours as well :-P The craze has died down a bit because of storage space issues, but whenever we see a cool one for a few dollars or less we usually buy it and add it to the pile :-) 

  

The Koala ones are probably my favourite. The one in the photo above is hilarious because of the position where the spout comes out ;-)

This pineapple(?) is fluro orange and I simply love how tacky it is.

The doll one is a tad creepy but I kinda love it for that reason. 

I think this ones supposed to be a mushroom?

We have about 50 now but my sister has some at her house. So there's our tea cosy collection. Hope you enjoyed it :-) Which are your favourites?

Incoming mail

I recieved some amazing mail this week :-D 

 The postcard below is handpainted! and of cacti (my favourite things)! thanks ever so much doro!

And I recieved an awesome little package from Emma, that had a little shell box in it! I love it! There were so many layers of wrapping but I was so excited to open it that I didn't get to take photos but Emma took some before she sent it (here). thank you Emma!