Doilies, a trip, & the tale of a stool

Hello dear friends & readers

(warning ... this may be a lengthy post ... you may want to grab a cuppa or a tipple or two)

This past week I have taken a flying trip to my Mums (who lives about 4 hours away from me)

There are 2 main highlights of visiting with Mum (aside from Mum, of course)  . . . the 1st is Op shopping (there are 5 Op Shops in Mums little town), & the 2nd is visiting my friend Claire ... I managed to do both this quick trip  :-)

(a footnote for my overseas readers ... here in New Zealand we call thrift shops Op Shops, which is derived from the word "opportunity")

Beautiful Mount Egmont ... I grew up thinking everyone had a mountain out their bedroom window
(yes I know they now call it Mount Taranaki but NOT me . . . . )

These are the doilies I managed to acquire on my Op Shop foraging

(I have yet to soak & wash them)

plus the gorgeous vintage sheet they are resting on was an Op Shop find for $1

Now before I go on, you really must pop on over to here & read eco ethel's post on joining her B.A.D. club  ...  I think this is a great idea & I am sure there are many out there who would want to "join" ... eco ethel is a girl after my own heart ... she just loves a doiley,  or two,  or three . . . 

These little vintage cut crystal salt & pepper shakers were another Op Shop find . .  .  since returning home I have filled them with vintage buttons & decorated them for the Cottage (VERY tiny vintage buttons for the taller pair I might add !!!!!)

While I was at Mums I managed to decorate this horseshoe for my son & his partner Sarah who are getting wed in my garden in late November

Woops . . .  hope Sarah isnt reading this blog post ???!!!

I cover real aluminium horseshoes (like they use on race horses) ... (a dear old soul in his 90's gives them to me as he spends his days hanging out at the racing stables)

I wasnt able to find any silver letters anywhere - I usually buy these from cake decorating shops - I had neither the time nor the energy to traipse all over Hamilton City searching,  so I bought gold ones & found my can of spray paint 

worked perfectly fine as far as I could see . . . 

Visiting with Claire . . .  always such a buzz & an inspiration - I am never disappointed, in fact her home has popped up a few times on my blog posts . . .this is what greets you as you knock on the door ...

One of Claires creations - "dont open the door" I yelled to her "I am drooling"

  she had recently made a new quilt & it was hanging on the wall ...

my photo does NOT do it justice - it was stunning

Claire had been redecorating her t.v. room in quite a masculine theme as this was her husbands lounge mainly 

 I just fell in love with her handmade plant holders

I am seriously hunting for the Mr's old wooden rulers now !!!!!!!!!!

Op Shop belts  -  I LOVED this one - simple but effective

Claires Country Room

I know that  Michelle has posted about Claires country room here before ... & in fact,  lots of Claires creations as they belong to the same craft group - a very talented bunch of ladies

You have to look in every little corner, nook & cranny

The window seat - where I sat dribbling !!!

Claires new vintage table filled with birthday gifts & treasures

Lastly, this was in her entrance hall - my photo has chopped the top of it off (unfortunately) but it was a torso she had made from chicken mesh wire & stuffed the "skirt" with old dressmaking pattern tissue, then fashioned a light bulb inside so the whole shape lit up at nights ... it was just beautiful (& amazing) & I could imagine how stunning it would look glowing at night ...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now for the tale of the footstool ... on my last visit to Mums back in April I rescued acquired this old footstool from the Hospice Shop for the princely sum of $4

I unpicked the cover (which took hours & contained about a million staples), removed the 4 "feet" then when I was doing some of my paint revamps, they got a sand & a quick wax/coat of paint

After all my patching & piecing with my doilies & linens back here, I decided that I would like to make a patched doiley cover for the top ... to be honest I didnt know what to cover it with but this look just kind of appealed to me

the long rectangle piece on the left is actually a vintage pillowcase

I am so thrilled with my $4 stool "revamp" . . .  naturally the Mr has been forbidden to stick his grubby cowshed socks on top of it !!!!

And then just this morning - slipping on our very wet steps, hurting my derrier & my back, feeling rather sorry for myself, hobbling out to the mailbox, licking my wounds . . .  a package ?????   to me ?????

beautiful soft hand-crocheted heart mats in the palest shade of blues

a surprise from a dear friend across the miles . . .  a blogging friend - sore back & posterior forgotten :-)    
So beautiful, such a lovely thought - thank you so much dear Amy

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - thanks so much for being patient with me through this rather lengthy post - hope you enjoyed all the eye candy
much love/hugs/friendship to you all,.
Julie x0x0x