jewellery storage

A while ago I found this old broken cupboard door and have been using it to pin up photos and things. But now it's much more useful. I just put some nails in it to hang up my necklaces. (I culled about half my collection first.)

I've been searching for a storage solution for my necklaces for a little while now. They've been jammed in a drawer in individual plastic zippies for a few years, but I usually forgot about them there, so I never tended to wear much jewellery as a consequence. I'm sure I'll be wearing necklaces much more often now that they're on display. And they're much easier to choose between.

I was planning to make a jewellery tree, but I much prefer this, plus I didn't need any new materials. Yay for being creative with stuff you already own.


Speaking of jewellery, I'm a little in love with an Etsy shop called Moth House. Particularly these three pieces.




And especially particularly the bracelet. My birthday's coming up in a couple months...

reorganising

I'm reorganising our space. No longer will clothing, materials, dressforms and such take over the house, hurrah! I joke, but it really does make a big difference to me. As a place to live for Tim, Ellie and I, our unit is a nice size. Not huge, not tiny, just kind of perfect. As a place to live for us three, plus a clothing studio, it's crowded and a bit ridiculous.

Since we've moved in two years ago, I've always been distracted and haven't devoted much time to interior design. Besides that, we have so much stuff that we don't use or need, and I hadn't gone through it all properly before. I'm doing it now, and it feels so good to get rid of things. I can be a bit of a hoarder, but I can just as easily decide to chuck a thing if it takes me more than three seconds to decide. I'm a firm believer in only keeping things you love (or, turning things you don't love into things you do) but I tend to know instinctively whether something is/can be meaningful to me.

Everything has been going to charity or to Reverse Art Truck.

I'm on a ban from buying any clothing to reconstruct, because I've still got two huge tubs worth of the special pieces I wanted to keep for my personal stash.

I love love arranging things, so I'm having a great time making our place cosy and quirky and nice. So far I've only finished with my desk area, so I'll show you that.


Featuring two of my favourite op shop finds everr.

This vintage green magnetic board with a cute leaf border. This isn't the best place for it, but I'll figure out another spot for it later. I just like looking at it.


This little wooden bear whom I've named Oxford. Oxford, meet the Internet.

savers haul

I just got off the phone with Jo from Frankie magazine for an interview in an upcoming issue. As a teenager I was totally shy, and I'm still kind of getting over it, so I was nervous-but-thinking-happy-thoughts. Near the beginning I had a total brain freeze at one of her questions but otherwise it was a lovely conversation. There's a photo shoot sometime soon and I have no idea what I'm going to wear (I'm such a girl).

Yesterday I went to Savers with Ellie, which is tricky business. She's not content for very long in the pram without it moving, and when I get her out it's all 'Mummy!' repeatedly until I give her my full attention, and then a dragging me in the toy direction, where I must be constantly fascinated with her at various buttons and switches and pictures. If I then turn to look at something else there's a 'Mummy!' again, in that 'and what do you think you're doing?' tone.

Fortunately, she can be reasoned with. I figure that if I give her some of what she wants, it's then my turn. It doesn't always sit perfectly with her, but I think she's getting it. We spent time in the toy section, time in the clothes section, and then wandered across the street to get some lunch, look at the pets, and climb up on the mechanical coin-slot Barney car (yes, me too, she patted the tiny seat next to her each time she sat down). After that she fell asleep and I had some more time in Savers. It was fortunate because I found these gorgeous vintage sheets and fabric bits to turn into pretty clothes.


And this little top for my little person.


Plus I got a couple of gorgeous ethnic woven cushions which are being washed so no photos just now. All this plus a huge load of t-shirts to reconstruct and a Bananas in Pyjamas video makes it my biggest Savers haul. I must go back to Greensborough more often.

cutting down on spending

I've been working on a Mod Podge craft project for the past few weeks, doing one bit at a time while watching True Blood or Grey's Anatomy online in the evenings. It's not the finest craftsmanship, but I'm happy with it all the same.


I bought the drawers second-hand from the Camberwell market ages ago and started painting it red. I wasn't feeling that so I used found papers to decorate the drawers instead. The top left and right are layers of vintage pattern paper. The diamond blue pattern was part of the packaging for something I bought. The blue is from the cover of a vintage book we were going to give away, and the bottom drawer is covered with pages from another vintage book.


It's going to be a totally new thing for me to actually have desk storage. Not sure how I'll best use it yet.

I've just realised how much I've bought online in the past couple of months. Books and stationery and tape and things.

mouse pad from My Favorite Mirror

tape from Nothing Elegant

Pricing Your Craftwork from Fishpond

lacy bird bowl by Prince Design UK

And that's only a portion of my purchases. I thought I was doing well because I carefully considered each purchase, and nothing I bought was a waste, but that's not good enough for me. In the interest of saving money and reducing environmental impact, I want to do better. I've been reading a book called Budget Wise, Dollar Rich, borrowed from the libary like a good little saver.


Looks a bit spammy, doesn't it? Despite that, it's really helpful. Now that Tim isn't working (for money, anyway) I'm paying the large bills, so I've made a budget for Heidi & Seek and for home. It's all well and good to make a spreadsheet with the best of intentions, but although I've done that in the past, I haven't enforced what I've written down or monitored how I was doing. I've never been in much debt, and I always pay off my credit card during the interest-free period, but I've never consistently put money aside for savings either. Except when I was saving for a holiday, but that was different. Single life living at home with your parents is so different.

Anyway, my plan of attack now is this:

• I withdraw in cash a certain amount at the start of every week, and must only use this to pay for things. Just before I withdraw the next week's allowance, I put the leftovers of the previous week in a jar. Any additional money I get, like gifts or random cash goes in this jar too. My motivation for keeping my spending within my allowance is seeing this jar's contents grow. It'll pay for extra more expensive things, or is there if I feel I deserve a treat. I might allocate 20% of the jar to 'treats' and the rest to savings, and then deposit it at my bank when it gets big.
  
• I've made my allowance quite low because I want to try to make do. Since we're vegetarian our meals don't have to cost much. Our pantry is full of things we keep accumulating but don't seem to use, so I want to see how far I can take what we already have and only buy the basics week to week. They will easily fit within my allowance.
  
• I'm doing a similar thing with Heidi & Seek, because sometimes I can get carried away with buying supplies or whatnot. Some months my expenses are sky-high and some months it's very little. I'm setting a monthly allowance for Heidi & Seek, except at the end of the month, the money left will be topped up instead of taken out, saved and completely replaced.
  
• For Heidi & Seek purchases that I don't need immediately, like certain books and equipment, I'm putting aside some money each month into a linked online account, and I can only buy them when I have enough in that account.
• Then of course I've made the standard annual tables of bills and other required expenses, but there's not much I can do about most of those. I cut my mobile phone plan from $50 to $20, and I'll see if there are cheaper options for the rest, too.
  

The good thing about this cash system is that I can see how much I've spent that week without having to keep a tally (although I'm being anal so I'm doing the tally anyway). And I can still buy the things that mean a lot to me, but not just 'when I feel like it' and not all at once. I have to save up and to really consider where I want to spend my money.

Do you budget or have system that works for you?

op shopping and a little creativity

Spent most of today making this to put next to my stock at incube8r.


It doesn't look like it would take that long, but I had hassles printing onto fabric again. After ironing freezer paper onto the fabric then carefully cutting it out to a perfect A4, it jammed in the printer. Then a second time, then a third.

I finally realised that I hadn't set it to heavy paper. Then I printed out a perfect one, but forgot to include my website and blog. So I tried once more with the correct text, but at the heat setting stage the ink ran. I was stupid enough to be doing this on the couch, and got it stained with my promo text and ahhh! I'll stop whining now. It's finished and I like it. It looks better in person!

Yesterday was my day off. I went to a few op-shops and didn't look for anything Heidi & Seek related. I really needed a break. I got these jeans.


Yes, that does say superflare. And no, superflares are not my style. However, they fit perfectly at the top so I will be turning them into skinnies.

I also got these cute things: a mini easel photo frame and a yellow vintage sugar jar.



I'm slowly trying to make my home pretty. Space is a big issue for us so everything I buy has to have a purpose. I'm looking for things second-hand before I resort to buying anything new. However, I was looking for a solution to the notebooks and diaries I like to have on hand at my desk (but that clutter it up), so I bought this rack from Ikea. It'll attach to the side of my desk, so everything is off the surface but still easily accessible.

Walking through Ikea, I was very tempted by other colourful storage things, but I resisted. I'd much rather find second-hand boxes and things.

studio sorted

I was featured on Indie Art and Design (www.indie.com.au) today! Check out the post here. Big thanks to Carolyn.


I have finished organising my studio and it's inspiring me to go make things already. Too bad the rest of the house is still a mess. But, one thing at a time. The best thing is that I didn't buy anything. With everything sorted I can see what I really could use, so now I can keep an eye out for second-hand pieces I need.

I picked up another two sets of these awesome vintage filing drawers from Tim's mum, which were hanging out unused in her attic.



These two stacks don't really work for me. I'd much rather have another set of wire drawers instead of the big tub, and a narrow dresser with lots of drawers to replace the right side. Drawers are so much easier to access, plus I can organise the contents so that when I pull the drawer out I can see everything at a glance. Really helps with matching colours and patterns.

The little green box is actually a tissue box I repurposed to file my garment patterns, which I make from interfacing. Yes I know I'm supposed to make them from card, but I like that they can all fit in this box - which I might cover with something pretty. All that's there is a basic t-shirt pattern, with long and short sleeves in a range of sizes, plus patterns for my yoki tees, which I haven't made recently because they're time-intensive. I adapt the basic patterns each time I make something, or work on it as I go along.



As I was sorting my fabric and clothing, I came across this darling little cardigan I bought from Thailand, which I love but looks terrible on me, and I hadn't the heart to part with it. I decided to 'frame' my inspiration poster with it. Now I can enjoy it without needing to wear it.


I picked up that vintage book, 'The Awful Dressmaker's Book' from a little second-hand bookstore off Gertrude Street, as well as a sewing shortcuts book and a sew your own wedding book. The mannequin I got from Camberwell market and painted. Not sure I'm feeling the black now, but I suppose it could be worse!


The black pot is for an indoor plant that we never used for its purpose. I lined the inside with a few layers of scrap fabric, so my tools don't get damaged. The ceramic 'sew' tags are from mudcakes on Etsy - they were my first Etsy purchase I think, way back in 2006. I tied them up with black ribbon and hung them on the pot. The tree print is from littlestflower on Etsy, and the stones are from Ikea forever ago. The little figurine is a tiny carved wooden bird, which I claimed from my dad's things.



Huge wire basket for shipping supplies. Next to it is a gorgeous vintage sewing machine I picked up at a garage sale on the weekend for $5!


So I didn't really need another sewing machine, but it might come in handy and it makes me giddy just thinking about the fact that it's mine. Waiting until I get a bigger studio so I can put it on display when not in use.

Right. I'm off to make things.

progress

Aren't these tags adorable? They were made by Carolyn from leftover card and paper and inspired by my recycled hangtags. I can think of a bunch of uses for these. Nice work, lovely!

A few weeks ago my clothing rack broke because I piled too much stuff on it. (Avoid the ones from Freedom, guys!) It was handed down to me so it was less frustrating than if I'd bought it new myself.

Anyway, after checking eBay consistently since then, I still hadn't found a replacement. I was after a double rail one. So I decided that today would be the day! (Because do you know how annoying it is trying to hang more clothes on a crooked rack that would fall to the ground without the support of the wall and a carefully-placed piece of furniture.) I went to a used shop fitting place in Dandenong, and they did have what I was looking for... unfortunately it was new. I bought it because there is only so much energy I can spend looking for a single necessary item second-hand. While I was there I picked up a used metal basket that I liked the rustic look of, for storing my shipping supplies.

I took apart the old rack to drop off at a local recycling centre, along with my old computer. I read recently that only one in five computers are being recycled, and the rest are going to landfill. I had no idea these recycling centres existed until today, but they're such a great idea. Have a look online to see if there's one in your area, and tell your friends not to throw their computers away!

On the way home I noticed an ex-display furniture place across the road from where I used to work. They were having a sale on antique furniture and I found a few pieces I loved. But Tim would kill me if I brought more furniture back to our already packed place, plus we didn't really need any of it. But if anyone in Melbourne wants to check it out, it's in Clayton near the corner of Blackburn Road and Princes Highway.

I did find part of a cupboard door huddled in the corner among bed heads, and I thought it had potential. Five bucks later and I have a cute inspiration board hung above my computer.


I got these tiny pegs a little while ago and now finally have a use for them! Knew they would come in handy.

I donated 16 shopping bags worth of items today - what a relief to have them out. It was cleared from mine and Ellie's closets, with some fabric in there, but I haven't gone through the majority of that yet. I already feel much better. I tried to just get to sewing this morning, but I was a procrastinate-y mess because I wanted to organise. Once I have an idea in my head it's probably better just to run with it. I got a lot done today, once I got over fighting with myself.

Recent thrift finds

Firstly, I know my Etsy shop has been a little lonelier than usual, listing-wise. I've had a backlog of Heidi & Seek items that hadn't been posted because I didn't have photos. Now that the photo shoot is done, starting from tonight, I'm resuming regular daily or every-two-days listings. For reals this time.

Secondly, I thought I would show you some of the things I picked up recently while thrift shopping.


This little guy was a steal and caught my eye out of the many pastel stuffed animals. One might assume I bought it for Ellie, but teddy sits on my desk because Ellie hasn't warmed to stuffed things. She can have it if she decides she likes it.


I've been very interested in brightening up our place with delightful storage bits and pieces. The ceramic cup and yellow tin bucket are for holding thread (cup) and holding fabric scraps as I'm working (bucket). I thought the tin was adorable but haven't put it to use yet.


An adorable woolen cardigan for Ellie, only $4. Had to mend a hole, but it's good as new now. After I took this picture I realised the poster was in the background and thought I'd get a better shot of it.


That's my dad, drawn when he was a teenager. It's one of those life drawings you see people peddling in public places. It's nice to remember him by.