my best garage sale finds yet...

Hi girls, well yesterday I ended up going to a couple of garage sales.  Lucky for me I did as I was contemplating (whilst still in bed) not to go and just laze a bit .. but something told me to get my butt out of bed.
So to get straight to it this is what I found...

a beautiful pink velvet french provincial lounge! It also came with 2 boudoir chairs that aren't shown here.

AND this...

 a beautifully carved mirror with columns roses and leaves. I've only shown the top section here as we had to put it in between some boxes to keep it upright. It is a huge mirror that is straight at the bottom so I can sit this flush on my fireplace surround.

I am so happy because now I can finish my lounge room. You may remember I had purchased a vintage lounge that needed reupholstering but that never happened and is still sitting in the shed. So I will be selling that one and using this one instead. 

Of course all my plans for a blue with gold accents are no longer.. as I will be replacing the blue with pink. I'm not really loving the timber trim so I might have to paint it.. still deciding what colour to use against the dusty pink.. I might start with the smaller chairs first to experiment.

It may take a little while as I need to empty my lounge room now as I had started using it as my sewing/store room for my ebay store...

take care, Maryann  

some new keepers...

I did pick up some lovely things on my weekend away with Fred that I have been slowly listing on ebay but there were a couple of things I decided to keep.

a pretty quilt stand .. I just love the shape of this..of course I will be painting it white..

I hadn't intended to keep this but it went so well on my mantle it's now a keeper.

lovely silver plate teapot..nearly didn't get this as it's fairly corroded on top but so glad I did as I just love the shape and intricate design on the feet.

some used ballerina shoes that sit in my room for now..

another crystal perfume bottle.. can't get enough of these..

and last but not least my most favorite item of all out of everything I purchased.. this vintage ballerina clock with dome.

The ballerina and clock are wind up.. and it all works perfectly! I just loved this the minute I saw it. 

I seem to be starting a ballerina theme here and I know I have a ballerina print stashed somewhere in my shed! Will have to go searching for it...

take care, Maryann

 

what's in the shop.. August '14

Hi girls, so since reopening my ebay store... Shabby French & Vintage  ( used to have one called The Shabby Boudoir many moons ago) I've been very busy trying to fill it up with lots of pretty and varied things... mostly things which i love and would be very happy to have in my own home. Even though sometimes i think this is my down fall as i find it very hard to purchase something that is not me .. then when I do buy something I totally love .. it's very hard to let it go.. and so it goes..
Anyhow here's a few things in store right now...

I just adore these french poodles!

and will also be listing a new (not new in design) cushion soon as well. I will have 2 of these identical.

Had a bit of a shopping spree last week and have plenty more new things to list.. and ofcourse there were a couple of things that were keepers for sure (especially one) but I'll show you what they were next time.. soon.

take care, Maryann

some more finds... for my frenchy lounge room..

I know one day my lounge room will be finished.... but for now I wanted to show you a few more things I came across for this room. Firstly was this coffee table .. I will be painting the base white.. I do already have a timber queen anne coffee table but for $5 I couldn't pass it up!

and I was so excited to come across these..

I have been on the look out for a bust so when I found two I was over the moon.. they also have touches of gold which will go with the look in this room. They are still as I found them so I need to clean them up a  bit. I couldn't pass up the brass and mother of pearl cross. I have never seen one like this.

 on another note.. all the trees on the side of my house have been chopped and I have a massive job ahead of me fixing up the gardens.. I have planted nearly 400 bulbs and just have a few more bluebells to go..

have a great day ladies... Maryann

latest finds....

Well I did manage to pick up a few things at the last swap meet I went to. I could have picked up much more but a lot of things were too pricey so unless I really want them to keep for myself I pass them up.

pretty pink floral cup and saucers.. these were still new in the box. i have seen these for around $70 at the shops.. I got these for $10!

I seemed to have a pink theme going this time.. pink frosted glass platter, perfect for cakes or biscuits... $3

I was so happy to find this pink glass light fitting from the 50's.. perfect for my laundry..$15

also found this metal planter and it's a perfect size to plant my tulip and hyacinth bulbs in ..$10... he wouldn't go down in price ( I haggle everything!) but for that price I still wanted it..

but what I was most excited to find was this outdoor fireplace. I had just been eyeing one off literally the week before at Bunnings for $149..

ofcourse it's not new but it's not very old and only used a couple of times ... price.. $70, half price sounds good to me, especially since I nearly had to twist his arm to give it to me for this price ..he wanted $90.

I think we will have some fun using this now that the nights are so chilly..

 so take care, Maryann

more vintage finds...

Hi again girls, thought you might like to see what else I grabbed from the swap meet. Apart from the sideboard and mirror I showed you in my last post, I also picked up these.. and I do seem to have a silver thing going on this time..

this is a keeper.. I love the pink inlay and will look good on my dressing table (once I finish it!)

I came across this pair of lanterns and when I purchased them I hadn't planned to keep them. They  are more meant to go in a hallway but I think they'll look really good in my family room. Now all I have to do is get Fred to go in the roof, which he hates!

I just love this silver and glass dressing table set. Aren't the brushes adorable!

I just had to get this pretty pink angel with pink frosted wings... she now sits in lisa's bedroom.

$1 bangle for me..will go nicely with a top I have!

I definately have a thing for cherubs... lol!

Now i'm not into orange or grass green but this jug set just caught my eye.. the colours are more vibrant than in the pics and it's in as new condition.. love the little painted dots at the top of the jug. This will be going on ebay once I get round to it...

I also picked up this vintage scooter to put in the yard.. another to add to my collection of bikes and tricyles.

Not a bad day. I could have picked up so much more but the prices they wanted were not far from shop prices so I really had to search for a bargain. Still I enjoyed the hunt and came home with a few great finds!
HAVE A GREAT DAY!...  Maryann ... and if you're thinking what the hell is happening .. 3 posts in 3 days.. I know, I  can't believe it either!!

week-end finds

There haven't been many garage sales lately in my area but today I went to the markets and came home with a few nice finds! I am always on the look out for shades and today I found 3.

Click on pics to supersize..

A couple of tin tea light lanterns. Just loved the old rusty look of these and might put them in James' room.

Is that breadcrumbs on the table.. James had a crusty bread roll by the looks of it!!

A crystal tray and pretty pink sugar bowl with detailed tong. I love the ribbing effect on the glass.

Some dolly pegs for my laundry and glass door knobs

A silver tray which I just love as it has the prettiest bow design around the rim.

I also found 3 trophys dated 1939, 1941 and 1952. I think they look good on this tray for now.

A vintage fly sprayer. I already have one of these in my garden.

Now for my 2 favorite finds of the day... this gorgeous little pram. I love the shape of the legs and the little springy bits. I am going to use this as a planter and fill it up with flowers! I saw a gorgeous pic somewhere out there in bloggy land and it stuck in my mind. Ever since then I have been on the look out for one.

and an old vintage meat keeper on legs. I just love it. The previous owner painted it this colour.. which is perfect, a cross between green and torquoise. It has a deep tray up top, which is where you're supposed to put the ice and has a larger tray at the bottom to catch the water.

I pulled it apart and gave it a good scrub. After trying it in a few different positions in my dining room I finally put it next to my hutch. I love the pop of colour it gives!

Not sure what I'll end up putting on top but for now these tulips will do nicely.. take care, Maryann