scarf organisation

Everything in our home is multipurpose. I mean, it can (and often has) been used previously in many places and for many different uses.

Take this little pig with her piglets. She once lived in the kitchen to hold keys. The old enamel house number is from Wayne's childhood home, it also lived in the kitchen at one stage.

Now, they're together again as part of my new scarf hanger.

This was a quick and easy project that took me weeks to photograph and share. Between us, we have a zillion coats, jackets, beanies, hats and scarves. I made a whole lot of coat racks to hold the hats and coats, I put up an antique coat rack which I got from my grandmother's house in Greece for our scarves and beanies... but I wanted to keep my prettier scarves separate from the practical warm ones.

I looked around at what I had and found this chippy bit of timber lining. All I did to this was wash it and scrape off the loose bits of paint.

I found a thin leather belt I'd collected from a tip shop, and a small bit of leather which was probably some kind of collar, maybe... also from a tip shop. I cut these to the right length to make loops to hold scarves. Mainly cause I didn't have anything I liked to act as hooks for this project.

I left the buckles on a couple of the leather straps just for something different.

I added the pig for other odds and ends and added the number just because.

Its the first thing you see when you walk into the mudroom, hanging between the door to the house and the door to the toilet. Below it, on a small cabinet, is a rustic box Wayne revived, now holding gloves. That box used to be my 'in house' toolbox in a previous life.

So there you go. A little something new for the house to make life a little more organised.

I hope.

z

Shared at: 

new sewing & craft box

Did you notice the pretty first aid box beside the TV in my eyelet curtain post? Its my new sewing/craft box!

This was a gift from a couple of good friends. It was among some work things which were going to be thrown out. They took it home, cleaned it up and had planned to use it as a tool box or something, but lucky for me it really wasn't suitable. Take a look at what's inside:

It opens like a concertina, metal shelves sliding out at an angle. Problem is, the box itself plus the weight of the shelves means that if you put anything heavy on the shelves the whole thing tips over.

Obviously first aid supplies are light. How much can gauze dressings and band aids weigh?

I had planned to put beading and craft things in it, but they can be heavy too, so I went with sewing bits and pieces. You know, threads, needles, bobbins, buttons, pins, elastic, small things you have no use for, bits of ribbon and lace...

Since its heavy, and I mean HEAVY, the first thing I did was put small wheels on the bottom. I figured that once it was in the house I could just roll it from here to there and never have to lift it again.

And cause I tend to craft and sew in the living room while watching TV (no wonder the house is always a mess!) its close at hand with anything I need.

Pretty cool huh?

This is all part of my trying to organise myself and our home in such a way that I can make things without having to lug things around and spread them all over the living room all the time. When I started doing up the office I took all my crap stuff out and put it in plastic containers in the casita till I could sort it and organise the right storage for it. Its mostly still out there, but over the last couple of weeks I've been bringing in a box at a time and going through it. Some things are staying, a lot are going to work for art and craft programs there.

The stuff that's staying now has some cubby storage to keep it organised.

These are just the cheap little MDF and cardboard cubbies that they sell at Kmart. I used scrapbook paper to decorate them so they're quite cute (not the best job...) I figure I need at least one more of these, but they make it so easy to find things - everything in its own drawer.

I also have a tip shop small wardrobe which is waiting for a makeover in the casita. Its going to have some shelves put in it and get a facelift, then it'll move into the office to hold my neatly organised and sorted craft bits and pieces.

I'm getting there.

z

white eyelet curtains

A friend of mine at work once asked if I accepted charity. I said sure, I'm not too proud. Anything you don't want, give it to me. Old things, broken things, whatever. I'll most likely want them.

After all, I've worked hard to earn a reputation as a junk-addicted crazy poodle lady.

So, when my equally crazy friend Patrice asked if I'd like the old curtains from her living room, I said yes. Of course.

I'd admired those curtains before. I love eyelet curtains and I love white curtains (says the woman who bought metres and metres of grey and silver curtain fabric to make curtains for the living room). Anyway, they're not old. She's only had them for about a year.

Worst thing wrong with them was the bit of cat hair on the bottom, but hey, whats a few cat hairs between friends?

She also gave me a few plastic curtain rings and a couple of brackets to re-hang the dark grey curtain over the door ... that's our front door, the one we never use to walk in or out of the house, and it lets in so much cold wind in winter that I always hang a curtain over it. This year I couldn't find the curtain I'd used last year with its rings and brackets so I improvised. Not always a good thing. I had to take it off and put it up again, but it works better now.

But back to the white curtains Patrice gave me. They're nice and long so I did what I've never done before and hung them up as high as I could. We have a  pretty low ceiling in our living room so that's not really high, but turns out its the right height for the curtains. No hemming needed.

Patrice, bless her little cotton socks, also gave me some plasterboard toggle thingies for mounting the brackets. Well, after mucking around for ages, searching for the right brackets for the curtain, compromising on ones that 'will do' and fiddling with toggles and screws, I got them up.

All while listening to The Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. Great movie.

I really like them.

Now I think I need to buy enough to do the other window which looks to the front of the house. They come ready-made as continuous curtains at Spotlight.

Next time I'll make sure I have the right brackets... and the right plasterboard fittings.

That'll make life easier.

Oh, I have a new drill. Its a cheapie that Wayne got me a couple of months ago. Its much lighter than my trusty old one which was probably my first power tool ever. And its got a chuck which is probably better for me as I can't really hand tighten enough.

So there you go.

I finally did something.

z

something to smile about

We've just had a week off. A whole week, sandwiched by a weekend on either end and a public holiday on Monday... That's a whole lotta time to ourselves!

You'd think I'd have tons to share right?

Well, you'd be wrong.

It all started last week when I had to use my day off to drive a whole lotta stuff into the city and to the gallery where Wayne had organised work take part in an exhibition. Then I drove into the city both Saturday and Sunday cause Wayne was the only person who put his hand up to man our part of the exhibition. That meant I spent two days in Hobart... not bad in itself. I watched a couple of movies and had coffee out and did some shopping... But they were days not spent at home, working on... oh... I dunno... anything!

Then, on Monday we had to go back into Hobart to take down the exhibition... more driving in to the city, a whole day pretty much gone.

We live about 30min or so out of the city, more in traffic. But going into the city always blows out. You try to do as much as you can "while you're in there" and one hour turns to two and so on.

Tuesday grooming and a great playdate with a friend and her poodle. Fun. We all enjoyed that. Wednesday grooming again, all day. Thursday (yesterday) another drive into the city to pick up the Art From Trash entries this time, ours and work ones.

And today... we had an appointment at the tax man.

All bad news I'm afraid. And that's for last year. In about a month it'll be more bad news.

sigh.

So, you'd think that having spent only half a day out today, I'd be champing at the bit to get out into the workshop to make something. Anything.

But no. I'm sitting here, near the heater, trying to keep warm. Tasmania turned the cold on for the first day of winter and hasn't let up since. Big frosts every morning, pea soup fog all day... Lovely.

I'm just too weary to go out there and work in these conditions. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the next day.

Eh. Who knows.

Meanwhile I'll entertain you for a bit. Will that do?

I love words, language, etc. So its no surprise I love these:

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supplying a new definition.

Here are the winners:

1. Cashtration(n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4.Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future. 6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high .

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10.Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11.Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon(n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15.Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug(n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor  ( n.): The colour you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

And how about an absolutely amazing website:

Or the funniest ad ever:

Or maybe this is:

This is funny but also hits cute and sweet:

How about some funny images:

Hope you had a chuckle or two.

z