Playing shop ...

Is there anything more satisfying than a collection of buttons (and thimbles) to run one's hands through and play with? (photos taken in the middle of the night hence weird lighting).

I have collected a fair amount of vintage buttons over the years. These are just some. I also love old sewing paraphenalia like wooden spools. Old jars are a great way to display my collections.

This was one of my favourite vintage cushions. Its gone to a Cath Kidston fan of all things floral. It was silky and looked hand painted. A great recent find.

I cannot walk by vintage floral cotton sheets. They're cheap and plentiful and I've had many for years however they're becoming more popular among crafters and lovers of all things vintage. I love mine. They're all patterns I remember my grandmother having.

My last son is growing up so these handknitted bears need to go to new homes where they will be loved and appreciated by other kids.

These are the choice pieces of my vintage blanket collection.

Part of my extensive vintage wallpaper collection.

Flatware, crockery including Meakin and Crown Lynn, and some retro Scandanavian pieces. Many were found in free boxes or the 20 cent table, nothing would've costed me more than $5 but most was free or thrifted for a song.

Detail.

This fine lady has hung on my wall for a few years. She reminds me of my mum. There's a photo of my mum modelling when she was younger and there's something in this picture that captures the same uncomplicated youthfuness of that photo.

This lady sold. I found her for a song as well. I loved her painterly quality and the absurd cat on her head. Her soft muted tones and that shirt as well as her folksy face gave this print great visual qualities. I shall miss her.

This is a recent folksy print I picked up locally. Its colours are incredible, this photo does not do it justice. It looked almost fairytale-ish but is actually rather sinister. Those trees are dark in nature and the animals have a manic, starved look about them. Its because of its unusual content, it caught my eye. None of these pictures cost me more than a few dollars. I'd love to know more about this print's origins and the artist who created it.

These floral prints are making a big comeback. Every now and then I need a bit of girly-girl to bring balance to my absurdly testosterone loaded home.

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It was a spur of the moment decision to grab a table at Wellington Underground Market last weekend for their "Retro, Recycled and Restored" themed event. We had NO money for the booking fee, float or even a coffee (thanks to a friend for a one-day loan), NO idea of the space available, NO idea at all. However we did have a few things I thought people might be interested in.

Just a bit of history. A couple of weeks ago, having decided I did not want to return to work (which we all know now is about as attractive as sticking a pencil in my eye or smashing my head with a mallet), I did a little thing in the middle of the night. I prayed.

I simply asked God to help me create success and income to contribute to our family using whatever strengths I had and the rest would be a leap of faith. If I've had an idea since, then I've pursued it.That in a nutshell is my entire business strategy.

Then a friend sent me an email about the market last Saturday. A day and an almost sleepless night sorting out some goods and deciding on display left me exhausted on the actual day. All these things above were found in our home and garage, from years of gleaning at op shops, gala's and recycling centres throughout the country.

Suffice to say, we had an incredible response and were selling to other marketplace holders before it officially began. I also traded with other stall holders and got some great things.

Richard had to keep picking up his jaw, it kept dropping to the ground as he realised what people were prepared to pay to own some of our things. In his eyes they were old chipped bowls, vessels for his curry ingredients and things that had kept his car from being parked in the garage.

One of the successes for me was hearing him command me "You must go op shopping all the time" and he promised to never drive by another opportunity ever again. In fact he even came for a short trip to the thrift store today. So I won his support wholeheartedly.

The leather suitcase and hatbox were props only. I could've sold them many times over though.

This is about half of the goods I took. We ended up with three very full tables plus things on the floor. Unfortunately I was so busy, I forgot to get a shoot of my very laden and fun retro table that hummed for the best part of six hours.

I want to thank the girls who run the Wellington Underground Market for a great welcome on Saturday and their continued encouragement and support throughout the day. I also want to thank my friend Betty-Ann for her support on the day as a shop assistant and her producing many resources for us including white table cloths amongst a plethora of useful things. I also want to thank dear friends, fellow crafters and makers, Catherine, Bonnie and Shellz for swinging by and encouraging me along. Finally to my husband Richard, who did the majority of the donkey work of lifting and hauling all the goods into and out of our car FOUR times within 24 hours, and my kids who were self supporting at home on their own while their parents worked our neyney's off, a big thank you for your support.