Saturday, April 28, 2012

As much as I love simple things with a modern edge (and a bit of rough) sometimes something sweet and pretty catches my eye and before I know it, I've handed over the dosh and it's a mine.

While I can find a place for a bit of cute in our home, I can't squeeze it all in. a) there's not enough room and b) it just wouldn't look right.

After all, it's a fine line between having an eclectic interior and one that looks more like your local Vinnies! (op-shop/thrift/charity shop). The whole "less is more" thing best describes my personal style but try as I do to resist it, I think I'll always have a soft spot for what is best described as a bit of beautiful clutter (thanks Jem x)

Some of this stuff will be given away (the china girls are for you Tam), the rest of it, who knows...

So to make me feel better about shoving them in the shed (there is nothing beautiful about the clutter chaos in there...a beautiful nightmare would be a better description!) here are a few pics of things that tested my resolve. They said "buy me" and I did. 


they had me at hello...

and

so did these two chubsters

free to a good home (just send me a note)
the chubsters have been adopted! yay!

Still on toys, this was only a dollar...

kerr-ching!

(note to self: a dollar saved is a dollar earned
did you really need a Fisher-Price cash register Kylie? )

And then there's this little fellow

his cap reads Oriental Queen (a souvenir perhaps?)
he's atop a vintage paint-by-numbers, I keep buying these as you will see because...

here are two I bought a couple of days ago


I do really like these, will we ever hang them? probably not...

btw, we had an emergency visit to the Vet this week with our real-life pooch - the naughty boy sussed out Annabel's chocolate stash and demolished it. AGAIN

Since the spectacular rise and  fall of Sweet Dreams Vintage (ha!) I've done a good job at looking (lustfully), not buying, the vintage sheets I've come across on my travels. These, however were too charming to leave behind


detail from the palest pink pillowslips, frilled edges too

forget about the little girl, this one for me is all about that cactus!

Do you lack self control when you hit the oppies? Are you charmed by a bit of nostalgia like me, or do you only ever buy stuff you know you have a spot for? Tell the truth...

I'll end with something for the Ladybird lovers out there

no room for trinkets and toys now, it's lovelies all the way!

Here's a list of my current "doubles":

Play With Us
The L.B. Book of Things to Make
The Gingerbread Boy
Telling the Time (digital version)
The Magic Porridge Pot
Jack and the Beanstalk 
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 
Books Are Exciting
Australian Mammals

if you need any of these to grow your collection please send me a note and they're yours. Be nice and only ask if you haven't already got a copy. I'll try to share them around as much as I can, ie. I will only send them to one person if I receive one response.

Newsflash 18 June: I have found new homes for all the "ladies".

Thanks for reading, I know its a long-ee.


x





31 comments:

  1. You know I just walked up stairs from pottering-about the new au pair's digs, and I thought, 'I need some kitschy goodness to spark things up in here'.

    I'm, as I type, trying to find an Australian Map tea-towel to put on the wall.

    If you're giving something gorgeous away, I'm happy to take it! I'll meet the postage and the cost of said item. Really. You should keep the cash-register though. Really.

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  2. And, yes, I will buy things at the Op Shop just because they appeal to me. I don't usually need them, and now I think of it, most of the bits-and-pieces I've given away too! Maybe that was the way it was meant to be.

    You're a good woman.

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  3. The till is my favourite - old fisher price toys are so appealing. And anyway I'm quite certain you could eBay it for many more dollars than you paid - so it's an investment!

    There's something rather nice about paint by numbers too, not sure what it is. I do like the coastal one a LOT (I'm not such a dog person).

    Most of my clutter is sadly not beautiful, as it's plastic which belongs to the children, despite my best efforts. I know I was guilty of buying things purely to blog early on - I'm trying not to get carried away, and also to develop a bit more of a cohesive style. I tend to see things on people's blogs and decide I like them, but I'm often just carried away by how they've made something look, and only later realise it wouldn't really work in my house/wardrobe. That said, I'm always envious of your airy looking photos and how you arrange your finds!

    xx

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  4. Love that cash register. We have the newly re- released version of the oldie which is good as we then also have all the money as well and Liongirl has much joy from it.I know what you mean about being selective at the oppie. I really try and stick to pyrex, vintage sheets and kids books but sometimes do get sucked into buying other bits and bobs. melx

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  5. The thing I love most about the sneaky peeks we see of your home is that it truly is a reflection of your tastes - I think that is a holy grail in so many ways; having a home that feels like your ideal environment! :-) I can completely empathise with a bit of chaos here and there though; the clutterbug gene is a b*tch for not letting me walk away from something pretty! Those paint-by-numbers would look so lovely in a hallway!

    Jem xXx

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  6. I'm won over by the the cactus, but you knew that! I have been known to over indulge at thrifting in the past, now I have rules and a budget and the ability to forget! Sharing finds is the way, we might need to host a swap meet, where we list our unwanted items to swap with each other? :)

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  7. I do struggle with the need and want issue when in an op shop...I have so many treasures tucked away that I have inherited that I can't really justify bringing too many things that don't have a history to me....although I do weaken at times. Good job on the book collection...do you have many more to get?

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  8. Swoon over your Ladybird collection :)
    I dont have any of the mentioned LB books and I would happily pay postage too.Snow white and Jack and the beanstalk would be My favourites,I'm a sucker for the Fairy Tales.
    Its so kind of you to give us the chance to own them.xoxoxox

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  9. These are so, so sweet Kylie. I think its lovely that you buy things like this when they take your fancy. The pillow cases are my favourites - they are just so pretty.

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  10. I love the cash register most of all!

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  11. Oh but it's all so lovely, Kylie! I buy things all the time which I neither need nor have room for. Sometimes they find a space, sometimes they get stashed in a box, or given away as a gift, some are sold, but I do find it hard to resist if something kitsch and gorgeous catches my eye...
    The cash register and the cute little figures can surely find a home with you (looks as though the cash register already has, it looks great lording it over all your Ladybirds!) xxxx

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  12. Do I lack self-control when I hit the oppies? Need you ask? I experience a larger than normal rush when I find something in an ope shope for someone else!! Your ladybird collection is impressive!! I'll dibs the two wee chubsters if no one else has yet? I can send you the postage. Beautiful Clutter - don't we know it!!

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  13. Oh, Kylie, you are so kind to think of me, they are so sweet. I am happy to pay you for them and postage of course. Send me your details through :)

    I wish I had your restraint, my home is a cluttered haven of all eclectic things. I love looking at it all and it makes me happy, but not the cleaning..haha

    The ladybird collection looks fantastic. I love how you have grouped the colours together. Have you read them all yet??

    Enjoy your Sunday, T x

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  14. O i love the little dollies..have a cupie doll myself..and the ladybird books wow..your a gal after my own heart..i have a lot but share them with my little girls lol..i am always on the look out for more...just got to get hubby to make ma shelf to keep them altogether...lovely things you have..
    sara

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  15. Sorry meant to say i found some lovely vintage sheets in a CS for my 2 littlies beds...they are so pretty..and get this 50p per sheet..so i had them all and spent £3..thats 6 sheets...bingo what a bargain
    sara

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  16. As you know I have no restraint...... Of course you need a cash register that way you will know where all your money is going haha. x

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  17. aahh what cute buys love those pillow cases they are very pretty and so is that little sailor boy. Wow you have a great collection of books now ;-) Have a lovely week, dee x

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  18. I'm a little like this too, I often see something that I just cannot leave behind but rarely do I have room/space for. The kitsch factor alone always has me, I would have bought the toy till too! xxx

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  19. I can't resist buying tons of things I do not need. I just make up uses for them in my head and then it seems okay to buy them. *lol*
    (Example:) Toys for my future Children or Decor for my future vintage-esque home.

    Some things I buy for the purpose to re-sell and make some extra cash.

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  20. No adorable sweetness compares to vintage adorable sweetness.

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  21. The chairs are a compromise, I couldn't get the T H Brown's at the time because of freight charges and was very sad. These cost as much as two Browns. I often look at them and hate them for being what they are.
    Not in a good space at the mo...but am trying to shake it.
    I love paint by numbers!I saw this site this week
    http://www.paintbynumbermuseum.com/
    Looks very intense...they obviously take their paint by numbers very seriously in the US

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  22. Ok if I was to be truthfully truthful and tell the total truth... Lost cause. I see things and make up the most ridiculous excuses/notions/reasons as to why I just have to have it... Examples: A - vintage tape measures: it's best to have a range because you never know what you're going to measure (clearly this makes NO SENSE at all) B - woollen blankets: when we buy our caravan (whenever that will be) we will need lots of blankets for when we travel down south and over east (whenever that will be??) C - white pillowcases .... um ... actually I don't even make up excuses for these... I just give in to my addiction and grab em :-)
    I think we are entitled (possibly even obliged) to rescue loveliness (however useless) from the becoming ground fill ... we are curators of history. Sigh... that's another one of my excuses.

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  23. I see another garage sale in the making...hee hee, just joking. Of course you needed that cash register for...grandkids one day? Lol. I am starting to get pickier with what I buy but do have couple of cupboards in the shed to sort through. You have some really cute things there and I can see why you wouldn't be able to pass them up.

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  24. I've got 'issues' (pronounced aka Kath Day-Knight) Love the 'no bull'...takes me back. Ha, didn't realise that the cruise ship was in fact a cruise ship.

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  25. Like you (and virtually everyone who commented), I buy what appeals to me whether I "need" it or not (and usually I don't). Love your buys, Kylie, especially the paintings and the pillow slips. I like a good cactus too!

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  26. So amused by the till- I buy things all the timer that drives Steve nuts (most recent being a light for the entrance to our new home- which would be fine except the current home isn't even up for sale yet and we haven;t found a new home!) Hey ho, the heart wants what it wants (and is generally much more fun than the head).x

    http://sandersonsmithstory.blogspot.co.uk/

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  27. Hey I have popped back to see how your book giveaway is going...I would love the Gingerbread Boy seeing as it is still there....great story to use with my playgroup families I think. xxx

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  28. oh my, thats a lot of stuff. Naughty step for you!!

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  29. i love a good old vintage painting-by-numbers number. so, what are you going to do with these, i wonder? they'd make great backings for cut up cards, i think... ?
    n♥

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  30. I like those dog painting very much - beautiful blues.

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  31. There is just something about those paint by numbers hey.

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