I'm back!

Hello all! Sorry, it's been yonks- about a month now! I finally bought a camera yesterday, hoorah! I didn't end up getting an SLR coz they were a bit out of my price range (thanks for the advice though everyone), but I bought a sort of in between camera that takes pretty good photos, so I'm back now, yay! 

To be honest not much has been happening in between uni work lately, but theres some snail mail that I need to catch up on and share with you all. Below are just a few little things I've bought lately- there's more to come :-)

I bought a set of cute little watermelon coasters and a serviette holder, which I have absolutely no use for, but I can't help but join in on the watermelon craze.

I love the bright colours and the cute typewritten book plate in this sweet little golden book

I found this Ken Done scarf which I am super stoked about. Ken Done is a rad 80s Australian designer who I am a little in love with. A lady at an op shop the other day found an amazing Ken Done doona cover, which I only noticed after she picked it up, and she bought it to use for her dogs. I already have one like this, so it's not like I need another one but it was so cringeworthy :-P

Anyway it's good to be back in the blogging world, talk to y'all again soon :-)

Random Photos

Hello all. My camera has broken and I will hopefully be buying a new one soon, but in the meantime I thought I'd share some photos I took with my phone.

1. spotty potplant (from this post- I ended up keeping one :-P)

2. vintage orange postcards

3. cute bunny cookie

4. Went for a wander in a park with my mum. 

5. My new (thrifted) pineapple candle now in the bathroom

6. Some presents I wrapped

7. Mum's lovely mantlepiece display

8. Another cute cookie 

Not a terribly exciting post I'm afraid, but when I purchase a new camera I will be able to show you all my op shop purchases! So until then, aurevoir.

Mendl's Mail

Below is a letter I sent to a fellow grand budapest hotel fan :-) 

All you have to do is paint an envelope salmon pink with watercolours, allow it to dry, then use red paint to do a simplified version of the mendl's box design.

I didn't bother drawing the design first, mostly because I'm lazy, but also because I like the uneven look, but if you prefer a more perfect envelope you could trace all the swirls etc from the actual box design. Don't forget to substitute the words for your friends address though!

Next I want to try making the courtesan au chocolat sweets that feature throughout the film - you can find a video and recipe here. 

You can even make a box to put your cooking creations in using this DIY!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the mendl's inspired mail and have a lovely week! 

p.s. I may be absent from this blog for a little while because my camera has broken :-( I have yet to decide what type of camera to get - is it worth the extra money to get a slr or should I just get a still shot camera? I am torn because I would like to have better quality images but I don't want to spend too much- definitely no more than $500 so it would be on the cheap end of slr's- is their quality still good? I am by no means a photography person so any advice would be much appreciated!

Guest Post: DIY Ombre Parcel String

Hello! Claire here from South by North. Here is a simple little diy project to add some colour to a parcel.

Cut two metres of cotton string, or however much you need. In two glasses, add a few drops of different colour natural food colouring to water, it should be quite strong so you only need a small amount of water. Drape half of your string in one glass, and the other half in the other, leaving the middle portion out of the glass. It helps the string soak up the colour if you press it into the liquid. 

Take the string out of the liquid and squeeze the excess out over the sink. Lay it out to dry. Once it is totally dry you can use it on anything!  Word of warning, if you get the string wet again the colour will likely run.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

I saw Wes Anderson's new film 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' today and I am in LOVE! I think its my favourite of his so far (which is saying something because Moonrise Kingdom is one of my all time favourite movies). The colours and the building were what made it for me (although everything else was of course fabulous). If you haven't seen it I would definitely recommend :-)

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I love how similarly Wes Anderson and Jude Law are dressed in this photo- I wonder if if was intentional?

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Such pretty colours!

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I so badly want to stay at a hotel with decor like this. 

Incoming Post

The other week Fee from Burnt Feather sent me an amazing parcel of goodies, and I'm finally getting a chance to share it :-)

She sent me a shell bunny! It is so cute, and it was perfect timing for easter :-D She also sent some scout badges to add to my collection of patches (which I took photos of today, so I'll post it soon), a sweet hedgehog notepad, vintage wrapping paper and a little Australiana dish! 

How great is the decoration on the cylinder she sent!

Thank you ever so much fee, I loved everything in it!!

Warren Kirk

Hello all. I haven't written for a while because I have been completely bogged down with uni work, which feels like it's never-ending. I have been trying to catch up with all the lovely mail I've been sent, so for those of you waiting, I'm sorry and I'll try to send some out soon :-) I haven't had time to write a proper post so I'll leave you all with this:

This post is a bit photo heavy because I have completely fallen in love with the photography of Warren Kirk. He documents Australian suburbia, and there are so many brilliant snapshots into peoples lives and their taste. All the photos in this post are from his flickr, which I spent forever gazing at. I just love all the vintage and tacky details and I hope you guys enjoy them too :-)

I adore swan pots.

Those sunnies, and the red post box; divine. 

 Everything about this room is just perfect.

I would give anything to have this kitchen with its faux wood cabinets and salmon bench top. She clearly has wonderful taste; that jumper is brilliant, as are all the trinkets on the shelves.  + how sweet is the bird on her shoulder!

I have a bit of a thing for vintage scout stuff. My local scout hall is the most beautiful place, filled with vintage banners, awards and pictures (I will have to take photos one day). Whilst I am partial to my own scout hall, the wall mural in this one is so great. 

 Look at those giant cacti!

I couldn't resist adding this one. I love shell art. 

And last but certainly not least, this amazing collection of cacti and concrete pots! I am slowly gathering vintage concrete pots and filling them with cacti, but sadly I come nowhere near rivalling this beautiful assortment. 

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this peek into old Australian suburbia. I will try to do a snail mail post soon :-)

happy easter

Happy easter everyone! I hope you have a fabulous, chocolate filled day! 

I haven't had any time lately to do any easter crafts :-( So I'll leave you with this sweet photo instead

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Mini Easter Mail

Some mini mail I made whilst procrastinating to send to my friends to wish them a happy easter :-)

The cards are just a little bit of thick paper with oil pastel dots and the envelopes are made out of wrapping paper scraps. They probably only took about 10 minutes to make all up. 

confetti mail

A letter I sent to Sara from random places familiar faces :-)

I don't know why I had never thought to make confetti mail before - I almost always add confetti to my letters and I made these cards which are very similar but I have never actually stuck confetti onto my mail?! I have now remedied this and I love how it looks!

The rosette award thingo isn't stuck onto the letter it's just covering the address.

I sent some dymo tape, an old Australian iron on patch (I've started a collection- I'll have to post about them one day), a fortune teller fish, a black apple card and a cute poodle coaster :-)

I bought this rainbow washi tape when I was in melbourne and it is the best $5 I have ever spent on washi tape- I am in love with it!

I have a billion uni assessments/essays in the next couple of weeks so I will probably be a bit absent for a while as I don't have any drafts saved, but I will try and post something :-)

Incoming Mail

I received a lovely parcel from Kathya the other day. Inside was the most amazing vintage christmas wrapping paper! She also sent a vintage card, sweet page markers, a tote bag and cute socks :-D

thank you ever so much kathya!

Oppy Finds

I went on another op shop daytrip in the southern highlands with my mum the other week. 

Here's what I scored:

Some chrissy decorations- it's never the wrong time of year to buy more christmas things in my opinion. I am rather sad though because I will be in America for christmas (I am going on exchange to colorado next semester) so I won't be able to use all my beautiful decorations this year :-(

A mosaic tile dish, another australiana dish for my mum, wrapping paper and some butterfly coasters. Does anyone know anything about these coasters? My mum doesn't even think they are vintage- I'm leaning towards 70s? I bought them anyway because they were only $2 and they are definitely growing on me.

A pineapple candle, an old isle of man perfume bottle, plastic palm trees and a mini shell box to add to my collection.

I love weather houses but these are the only two I have ever found in op shops (the one on the right is my newest acquisition). 

I also bought this great 60s/70s? dress from an antique booth (so it was quite expensive but I loved it too much to pass up). 

I'm linking up with sir thrift a lot and a living space :-)

cacti mail

A letter I sent out recently to Aurelie in reply to her lovely mail :-)

She's a fellow cacti lover!

p.s. if you want to make a cute cactus origami, there are instructions here. 

outgoing mail

A parcel I posted out for Kathya who sent me the polaroid! It definitely isn't as cool as the parcel I received for winning her competition but I tried to fill it with goodies. I included a frankie gift wrap book, vintage postcards and coasters and a vintage address book :-)

I also sent out some mail to Fee a fellow australian, who writes the awesome blog burnt feather :-)

melon mail

Yesterday I was inspired by a potato printing post by peas and needles to make a watermelon envelope to send to a friend :-) 

Potato printing is so simple and super fun! I hadn't done it for years but I definitely recommend giving it a try. It's such a good way to make pretty wrapping paper - I did a whole massive sheet of watermelons! 

post

Below is some lovely mail that has graced my postbox recently :-)

I won a polaroid camera (I know- crazy awesome right?!) from Kathya who has an amazing blog filled with beautiful photography, op shop finds, stationary, pretty mail and baking. I was so so so excited to receive the polaroid (along with polaroid film, washi tape and cute stickers!) in the mail. Thank you ever so much Kathya! I have finally sent you a parcel in return- hopefully it comes soon!

I  also received some lovely postcards from Sara, my sister and my boyfriend, and a beautiful letter from Aurelie which I have yet to reply to. Thank you all!

p.s. you may have noticed that I changed my thimble banner. I made it really quickly on an online photo editor so it's a bit dodgy but I was a tad bored with the other one so I thought I'd give it a try. Any thoughts? Do you prefer the new spotty one or the old cat one?

Oppy Finds

Hello all, I'm back from Melbourne - t'was a great trip, filled with lots of lovely shops and cafes :-) And now I can finally share my oppy finds from the blue mountains and from my trip down the coast! Below is most of what I bought. We found an awesome record sale - 5 records for $20! I bought Michael Jacksons 'Thriller' and 'Off the Wall', Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumors', Cat Stevens 'Tea for the Tillerman' and an Elvis record :-D

I can't leave any cheap Australian kitsch in an op shop and so I had to bring home the resin shell photo holder (and the same goes for the Australiana letter holder in the bottom picture). My mum collects the little dishes with gold edging - I find them ALL the time in op shops so by the time it gets to her birthday I will have a bajillion! I also found a heap of vintage patches and some christmas baubles which I picked up because they were 20c :-) 

The sad little onion face I scored for free because he has a few chips but I love how ugly he is.

I'm linking up with Sir Thrift-A-Lot and A Living Space :-)

A Perfect Parcel

I received the dreamiest little box of goodness a little while from Christine of On My Honour (who I sent this letter). I pretty much squealed when I saw all the goodies inside the confetti tissue paper!

It was filled with so many pretty things, including an old glass bauble, vintage postcards, the sweetest little notecards and lovely old buttons to add to my collection!

I am absolutely smitten with the adorable poodle coasters! Thank you ever so much Christine, I will send you something soon :-)

I have received so many great things in the mail lately and I have been waiting for a free sunny day to take photos, but alas, now that I am back from my trip down the coast I am headed off to Melbourne for a few days with Alistair. I am so excited to visit all the pretty cafes and shops!

☆✮ Swimsuits ✮☆

Happy belated valentines! I hope you all had a good one! I went to the blue mountains for a surprise op shopping trip with my boyfriend and found lots of goodies. I will have to post the spoils of the trip later as tomorrow I am going down the coast with some of my friends for a week. So I will leave you with this great photo of vintage swimsuits (I so badly want the flamingo one) and I hope you all have a fantastic week :-)

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