Hi all, Rosie is back!

It seems hard to believe but it's been the best part of a year since I last wrote a post on my blog.  It's been busy in my little world, sure, but in reality I haven't been feeling inspired lately.  I've been feeling stifled and that all of my big ideas are too hard to reach.  It's easy to blame all sorts of things for feeling stifled and uninspired, my work, people I care for, my responsibilities, lack of time but in truth I have allowed myself to be stifled, have created these feelings all by myself (with more than a little help from an active and healthy imagination ) and I now know the only person who can make my ideas and projects happen is me.

The things that I love, the projects I choose to spend my time on will never appeal to everyone, that's the whole point really.  If most of us felt as I do about old things, recycled furniture and fabric and saving other people's junk, reusing what we have, then the world would be a different place than it is today.  It's easy to say that it's up to me to follow my ideas and dreams but the reality of marching to a slightly different beat and trusting yourself and your ideas and aesthetics is a constant tightrope walk.  Confidence is a fragile thing.

A few days away negotiating the streets of a different city have relit the fire in me, got my mind working and made it clearer than ever to me that the more I try to stifle my creativity and independence (whether consciously or unconsciously) the more it refuses to be silent, the more attention it craves.  The need to create and reuse is a huge part of me and something I want to be proud of, even if it makes me different so here are my new mission statements:

• I actively prefer to buy my clothing and accessories second hand wherever possible and the thrill of finding a classic vintage bargain is second to none, I'm ok with this.
• I believe most people are genuinely good and with kindness you get back more than you give most of the time.
• Shape, form and style fascinate me, old furnishings, homewares, caravans and cars, you name it, they have a history, a living story and they deserve to be rescued.
• My blog and projects are my way of sharing what I love.

So welcome back, to readers and to myself.  Recycled Rosie is now a place for expression as well as my projects and I can't wait to see where it goes.

Don Rex retro chair obsession

Rosie's back!  It's been a little quiet here on the blog.  A person could be forgiven for thinking that I don't care (sniff) but that's not true, I'm just struggling with time management most of the time.  My latest plan is to take back control of my time and energy with a planner board which of course I will stick to.  Work has been busy and I know all of you out there who work from home and juggle lots of interests will understand how things slip through the net.  My planner board WILL have time actually allocated to blogging so expect to hear from me a little more often.

Classic Don Rex retro - for sale $250

I've also been busy on new projects.  Trouble is that once I've finished a project I so often love the result and don't want to part with it.  Due to my current chair obsession, a quick chair count around the house alarmingly reveals that we have a grand total of 51 seats in the house.  Obviously this includes the couches which seats 3 each, brekky bar stools and my trusty computer chair(s) but still, it's time to relax the grip and market some projects I think.

Super cute, super comfy

The first cab off the rank is this little beauty, an original labelled Don Rex piece in solid cedar. I am really happy with the way it's come up, all the time and effort is worth it for results like this.


This girl has been lovingly stripped of all that nasty polyeurathane to bring out the wood grain and shape of the arms, although not so far that she loses her charm.  I've deliberately left a few nicks in the legs and the deeper patches at the tips of the arms, after all, she had a life before I met her.  She's  then been treated to 3 coats of danish oil to bring her to her best. The funky retro fabric will look fab as a feature anywhere and the compact size of these chairs means that every home can find space for one (except maybe mine at the moment but hey).

Love the atomic arm shape

Close up of the beautiful wood grain

The pictures really don't do this old girl the justic she deserves.  She is looking for her new home where she will be loved and appreciated for years to come.  Contact via this blog or through our Facebook Page
at  http://www.facebook.com/RecycledRosie

House Swap Holiday

It's been a bit quiet around the blog lately as we've been busy planning, packing and going on our very first house swap holiday.  House swapping is an idea I've been keen on for a while now but this is the first opportunity I've had to actually do one so we swapped our house on the Gold Coast with a family from Wellington for 8 days and so far, the swap has been a great success all round. 

The ethos of house swapping works really well with the idea of reducing waste and using what we already have but with a slightly different slant.  This way, we've been able to have the holiday we wanted to see our NZ resident rellos without having to drag two small children through hotel room living.  We've been able to spend more than we would have at local Wellington businesses and have had no need to hire cars, pay for hotels and generally hand our hard earned cash over to multinationals at every turn.  We can self cater if we want to and have access to everything a family needs to feel at home.  Perfecto!

I should say though that we have been very lucky this time to have been able to set up the swap with a family who, although we have never actually met them, came recommended to us through our NZ contacts (and presumably vice versa).  I sort of look at this as an easy introduction to the house swap world but I have to say it is something we will definitely do again in the future.  It's also let me see what works, what I'd do differently etc.  so that next time if we swap through an agency, I'll have a better idea how to play everything.

All up, we've had a lovely week in a beautiful Wellington home with all the comforts of our own home.  I've also admired many of the lovely pieces of antique and vintage furniture in the house, spent time at craft and handmade markets and checked out the vintage clothing and furniture shops in the City.  Wellington has a lovely feel about it and they seem partial to vintage and quirky so I've got lots or ideas and inspirations to bring home and get started on.  There are a few things I'm itching to get going with as soon as I get back, I can't wait.

Ring, Ring, the happiest sound of them all .....

This is just a quick post with one of my latest lovely finds.  This little telephone table just spoke to me and asked to be saved.  As usual, I was so keen to start that I forgot to take "before" pics but if you can imagine stinky, nasty orange berber fabric, a wonky leg and tatty finish, you're about there.  The lines and proportions are great though and now she's had a little bit of TLC I reckon this little one is ready for a funky new home.

This photo sadly doesn't do her justice, it's a horrible wet day here on the coast and getting any kind of decent light has proved elusive but I think she looks pretty great anyway.

Save a sofa

We have a "leather" sofa.  It was purchased new by hubs 3 years ago with the idea that a classic thick leather sofa would last and last and age gracefully.  Unfortunately very few products are designed to age gracefully or get better with age these days, in fact most seem to be designed not to age at all and require replacement shortly after the warranty expires.

The "leather" on our sofa began to peel off (indicating that "full grain leather" was a stretch at best but hey, different argument) getting worse and worse.  What started as a little peel has fast become a mess, with the arms, seat area and back all shedding their dark brown skin across the cream carpet every day.  So what to do with nothing new?  Cover it of course, but upholstery fabric is costly and sourcing enough second hand to cover such a huge sofa is not very realistic so I put my thinking cap on.


I ruled out patchwork and waaayyy too much work for this piece and kept thinking about what to do.  Then I went on a trip to Ikea with a friend from out of town (hi Jules).  Simply in an advisory role of course and to watch her shop.  Love the place but no buying stuff.

Obviously I was unable to resist a quick squizz round bargain corner on the way to the check outs - frustrated children who need lunch or sleep notwithstanding this is always the highlight of the visit for me.  There, in the cupboard over by the wood bits almost hidden from view was the treasure trove I had been looking for, a big stack of boxes containing fabric covers for discontinued lines.  Oh the joy!  Of course there was nothing there which would remotely come close to fitting our sofa but I took a gamble that buying two sofa bed covers would give me enough fabric to make something to fit beautifully.


The most awesome thing about these was the price, knocked down to just $9.95 each, what a steal.  If you've ever had to buy upholstery fabric in Australia you will know how ridiculously expensive it is so this was incredible.  Even the lady on the checkouts was amazed.

Now back to home to figure out all the bits and see if I could make something of it.  So far so good...  mess, what mess....

Keep you posted.

Hats a go go

A birthday party invitation for a set of 4 year old twins gave me the itch to make gifts for the girls.  I've been a bit light on the sewing projects recently as my own Miss 4 has sooooo many beautiful clothes.  I always thought I would make more for her than I do but with so many great hand me downs coming our way, I've not needed to use much of the lovely children's fabric stash I have collected over the years.

What to make?  Something personal yet simple and something which they could use.  I don't know the girls well as they are kindy friends and I have never met their mother so I stuck with pinks and purples with a bit of denim thrown in.  Hats, personalised, reversible and no Queensland parent ever has enough hats!

With a great idea in mind I set about finding a pattern as I've never made a hat before.  I was lucky enough to find a freebie pattern on the net so gave it a go and here are the results.

I'm pretty happy with the way they came out and delighted to say that they were made entirely from things in my sewing stash, no new anything had to be bought.  I'm not really sure if that is great for the "nothing new" or just an indication that really must stop hoarding fabrics but hey, love the results.  Both hats are reversible so they are basically the same but with different letters for each twin.

If I did hats again I would tweak the pattern slightly and I'm keen to experiment on one with a pony tail hole at the back for my daughter so I'll keep you posted when I next feel inspired to make one.  It's pretty grey and wet out there right now though so maybe our next sunny spell will get me going

.

Recycling comes in surprise ways

Today's blog post is a bit different to the ones I've posted in the past.  While yes, I've been busy with various projects which I will tell you about soon I promise, this one is about recycling in another sense and this is why I've decided to share. 

You may know that I've been recovering from injury recently.  Well, a future of surgery, recuperation and morphine for pain control doesn't figure in my one year, five year or life plans. So 6 weeks ago I stopped the painkillers and began to focus inwardly on healing the whole picture, mind and body.  Through rest, acupuncture (a million thanks to my wonderful acupuncturist and friend, Carla Chesters of Xtra Health, Burleigh Heads), inner focus, reiki and now yoga, I am pain free and getting stronger every day.  

Aside from the physical healing, the mental results have stopped me in my tracks and given me the wake up call I needed.  It has become clear (jumped up and bitten me more like) that my mind has been too busy, too crazy, I've been taking on far too much and achieving very little.  Stressed all the time and unable to give any one thing my full attention at any one time, I've been spiralling out of control, hearing negativity in my voice and my thoughts.  It's time to take a step back, live each moment and enjoy life one thing at a time (a challenge for the closet control freak but hey).

Yesterday I took the decision to stop officially practising as a hypnotherapist.  It's not that I don't love hypnotherapy, it's just not my job anymore.  There are many reasons for this and the main one is that while I'm helping clients, I'm not helping me or my family with this business model.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still a business owner, I've just changed the core of my business (more on that another time).  Recruitment agents will suggest that it's healthy to change jobs every 3-5 years and that's what I've done, I've changed jobs and boy do I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders.

So what does all this have to do with reusing, recycling and sustainability?  Everything of course! 

Reusing my inner healing ability (which had been forgotten, shelved and was covered in dust) to get past what looked insurmountable at first glance.

Recycling (upcycling actually) my core business into a model which functions for me not against me.  Resuming control, refurbishing and creating something which works now from something which worked then, that's what recycled rose does, it's totally recycling.

Sustainability, well that's the choice I've made really, to be sustainable.  Sustainability comes from being able to stand the tests, to bend, grow and learn from every experience, good or bad.  Coming back stronger, more focused and happier than I can remember how to be, it seems so clear now.


This morning I saw the appointment with the surgeon in my calendar and cancelled it.  Just 6 weeks ago I was calling round trying to get an urgent appointment with any surgeon who would have me.  How great is that!

Operation bedswap - damage limitation

Firstly apologies for the absence, I've been off the radar to all but my nearest and dearest for the last few weeks due to a back injury.  It's been a very frustrating time for me as I've gone from never sitting still to having to be completely still most of the time.  It's been a journey so far and one which is set to change things for me long term but the good news is I'm improving every day and have had lots of time to reflect on more changes I can make to our lifestyle to simplify things.  I've found some great blogs and commentary from those whove taken similar journeys and am feeling quite positive all up.  For those who have known what's happening, thanks a million for all your support, it's been totally appreciated and has helped with sanity no end.

My injury has unfortunately meant that one big fat purchase has had to be made - a new mattress!  I've tried to avoid it and get round it through recycling but it is sooooo important for my mobility now that a compromise seemed mad.  We now have a new, super firm, back fixing mattress which doesn't fit our bed..... hmmm..... what to do?  Even in the bed shop, surrounded by all those beautifully dressed display beds (with no vegemite smears and kids toys on them), I realise I have NO desire to purchase one, it makes me sad to think of how many bed frames are out there already which no longer suit the needs of their owners??????   

SO, operation bed swap is underway.  Simple really, we need a nice king size bed frame (swap or sell) and have a lovely queen size one to swap or sell.  I'm betting there is someone not too far from here who has a king size bed which is too big for them/their room and wants to swap or sell it.  We shall see.  If this is you or anyone you know, take a look at the bed frame pic below and let me know if it's what you're after.  It's chocolate leather (pu I think) and in great condition.  Not including the mattress but will sell this seperately.

From tragedy rises something amazing

It's been a little while since I posted as there has been rather a lot going on in our lives, some of it positive and some of it negative - the usual ups and downs of family life.  There are also moments when I have thought, as a new blogger "why am I bothering to do this" or "no one will read it anyway" and I imagine all bloggers go through this from time to time. 

Sometimes though, something very special happens which shows the true strength of humanity, the kindness and compassion which underlies all the hustle and bustle of our busy lives.  This week, that something happened!  If I had ever doubted the power of the online community, the effect blogs and social media have on people, I take it all back.  The events of this week have taught me to value those around me every moment, to appreciate everything.

When tragedy struck for a second time for the King family, a fellow blogger and friend, Naomi Ellis at www.sevencherubs.com, decided to try to use her online community to make a difference, she thought she might be able to raise some money to help out, boy was she in for a shock!  In less than a week an outstanding amount of money has been donated, mostly by those who did not know the King family personally but had been touched in some way by the blogs they read, the lives they follow and the compassion they felt for the Kings.

Watching this unfold with such speed has grounded me to realise the good and kindness within those around me.  Maybe that person you just cut off in the traffic, glared at for holding you up or the girl behind the counter who seemed rude, is one of those who gave this week to a family they didn't know.  Perhaps those people have their own personal struggles going on and a smile could make all the difference to their day - just a thought!

Please read more about the events of this week and share with your friends here http://www.sevencherubs.com/2012/01/king-family-donations.html

Everything about this has me counting my own blessings as my heart goes out to this family.  It also leaves me feeling a whole lot better about the world I live in.  Well done Naomi for reminding me that sometimes a tragedy can bring out the best in people.  My thoughts are with the Kings during this terrible time they face.

 xxx

Unexpected early withdrawal symptoms

I'm well into the challenge now (well, first week and a bit anyway) and I've spent more of it than I expected making mental lists and fretting over all the things I "need" to replace this year which I will now not be replacing.  

I will admit that a little niggling voice has been chastising me for not having gone out and shopped up a storm before starting the challenge.  For the record, this was definitely something I made a point of NOT doing as it's so against the spirit of the whole thing.  We still have more "stuff" in this house than some whole villages will ever collectively own, something I'd like to remember, a lot.   

Some of the ridiculous things I've stressed about are:

• All the towels we own;
• my gym gear;
• the carpets in the house (????? that's a first, hadn't even noticed them until this week).

I'm thinking this is retail withdrawal and that it will pass, hopefully in the next couple of days. 

Apologies in advance though to all who share gym space with me as I will be looking very shabby, very soon, if not already.  On the upside, I will be clean and so will my ratty old gym clothes, I promise.

I'm feeling really positive and excited that it is already making me think about things.  Maybe I'm more of a retail junkie than I thought I was!

Keep you posted, 

Leigh 

Garage conversion - project room for me - YIPPEEEEEE!

Right, so here's the thing.  I know I'm lucky to have the space I have but with a houseful of students staying with us in the early part of this year I was worried about my projects taking a back seat when the spare room was in use.  When we had students last year I found that my activities kind of slowed to a stop as all my gear lives in the spare room wardrobe.

I'm really keen to scale it up this year, not the other way around so I put my thinking cap on.   Result - garage conversion!

Now, we have not been able to fit the car (or anything much else) in the garage for almost two years so nothing lost there.  However, the reason we have not been able to fit the car in is the amount of "stuff" lurking in there.  Solution - deal with the "stuff" and create a brand new "project space" and area for the printer/filing etc so that all that stuff is out of my therapy room - yay.

It's taken a bit of a reshuffle,otherwise known as "Leigh's Big Day In".  It was a big day and I was shattered by the end but I'm super excited by the space I've created.  I've split the garage in half  across the middle so that all the utility stuff is at the front and therefore easily accesible when the door is up. 

The non-projecty, non-sewing friends amongst you will look at this and maybe think, yeah so but to me, this means a whole new level of opportunity.  A space where I can have my "works in progress" around and can leave them out when I'm not working on them.  Somewhere where my machines, tools, fabrics can be set up and ready to go anytime without driving my family crazy, oh the bliss!  Any sewer or crafter with limited spare time will know relate to how much energy is spent packing up and getting out your stuff to work on the project.  Sometimes I'm getting too tired in the evenings before I'm even set up so a designated "Leigh space" is unbelievably decadent.  I've actually been cruising out there just to look at it and imagine the possibilities, sad but true.

So, without further blabbing on, here are the pics of my new "room":

2012 challenge "Make do with nothing new"

As I've got more into my recycling projects I've also become more thoughful of just how much of a throw away society we have become.  The only trouble with that is that there is no "away", all the stuff we chuck out is still here clogging up our space/planet and this bothers me.  I've also realised that stuff = stress and that I have way too much of both right now. 

Soooooo..... my challenge for 2012 is to "make do with nothing new" for the whole year in an effort to vastly reduce our family's footprint.


We are an ordinary family who have never attempted anything like this before so I do realise it's gonna be a huge challenge but I think I'm up to it and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it changes the way we live.  So here goes:

In 2012 I challenge myself to:

• Make no new purchases of non-essential items for 12 months.
• Source things we do need from recycled (preferably charitable) sources.
• Re-use and re-purpose things we already have in our household wherever possible.
• Consciously choose foods with minimal packaging and source all we can from local businesses.
• Recycle everything we can.
• Greatly increase the volume of food we grow ourselves organically.
• Continue to recycle and upcycle all sorts of things for my projects.
• Generally make do with what we already have and get creative with it.

Essential items are:

• food;
• toiletries;
• kids shoes & school gear;
• replacement of necessary household appliances should they be unrepairable; and 
• repair/servicing of cars and the caravan.  

After much thought I have also decided to exclude tools and materials for my upcycle projects from the challenge.  Although largely recycled, there are some things (paint, staples, threads etc) which simply cannot be obtained second hand.  

This is going to be a huge learning curve for us and I would love you to share all your positive suggestions, tips, advice and support.  Please remember that I'm a person, just like you, I'm not trying to tell anyone how to live, just trying something new for us.

I'm looking forward to blogging our progress, who knows were we'll end up?  Right now I'm off to install the "No junk mail"  sign on the letterbox.

Ciao for now

Tip Shop armchair

Hi everyone and welcome to my latest project, the tip shop chair!

Now those of you who know me will know that the tip shop is one of my favourite places to visit.  All that booty just chucked out, you never know what you might find.  This particular specimen cost me the grand sum of $15 which I was delighted with I must say.  Why anyone would just throw out a classic old chair like this is beyond me but hey, one man's trash is another girl's treasure.

The structure is just fine here and the chair is super comfy, just the upholstery to replace as it is a bit shabby.  The good news though is that this chair has been reupholstered at least once before (I think from the shape the chair itself is quite a good age).  This means that I can use the pieces to make templates and see how the upholsterer went about the job much easier than if the upholstery were original.

The plan is not yet clear but I'm still on my recycled denim wagon so I think some kind of patchwork design might be the go.  This is by far the biggest fitted upholstery project I've tried so I'll keep you posted.

As Christmas is nearly here so I'll have until the New Year before work starts to come up with flashes of inspiration.

How hard can it be .....

Patchwork chair reno

Just a little update and a new pic of my patchwork chair project.  I've been very busy with my projects recently and have just finished (finally) adding the trim to this chair.  Its 3 little "friends" have also been all stripped back ready for a makeover.  I also decided to distress the chairs a little and it suits the whole look although it is hard to really see that in the photo.  This one is staying here with me however the other 3 will be up for sale once completed and I'll post them here first.  I also take orders or refurbish your existing chairs in your own colour scheme using as much recycled material as possible for each project.   Here she is!

This post covers a whole new project I've had happening for a while so I thought I'd share.

I was given four of these chairs which were painted in a cream(ish) colour with purple velour seats and gold piping.

They had been in storage for some time and they have hung around as a possible project for years waiting for me to decide where to go with them so the fabric and the paintwork was pretty shabby looking and not really my taste.  This post is the story of the first chair.

With my current dual obsessions with recycling denim and all things patchwork, this is what I came up with.

Sanded back and repaint the chair white.
Pulled off all the upholstery and used the old bits as a template to create patchwork pieces to go back on.  (All the fabric used was already in my stash as was the paint so no cost involved.) 
 Using a staple gun, fitted the new upholstery onto the freshly painted chair and ... voila

I still have to glue the trim in place over the staples to satisfy my picky nature but all up I'm delighted with the results.  The big decision now is whether to keep this as a feature chair and do the others completely differently or create a "set" of four (although they will all be different of course).   What do you think?

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall ...

What to do on a wet windy day with the kids on holidays?  Get the sewing machine out and have a go at making them some toys, what else.  Here's humpty, and I'm pretty happy with the way he's turned out.  He's completely made from bits and pieces already lurking in my fabric stash so he cost nothing to make.  The original plan was that he would be a gift for Christmas however he has been adopted by my 5 year old son (who reckons he's "awesome") so I'll have to come up with something else for the gifts.  I also now have an order from Miss 3 for a pink and purple unicorn with ribbons and shiny bits ... hmmmmmmm.

Byron Bay Roadtrip

Ok Ok, I know I have been totally slack with progress reports on the van so apologies for that.  The time has just zipped by recently and I've been meaning to take some update photos.  This weekend we went to the lovely Suffolk Park Holiday Park at Byron Bay for a weekend in the van so I took a couple of shots as we were packing up.  I'm pretty happy with it all now and have decided not to bother with changing the cupboards for the time being.  I think I'll keep that for an inspired moment somewhere down the track.

The van went into the repair shop last week for a set of sexy new legs as we managed to snap one of the corroded old ones off on our last outing.  The new ones are longer and stronger which makes the van much less rocky than it was.  It cost us a little bit to have done and I wish I could do that sort of job myself however a complete lack of welding skills (or interest in welding come to think of it) meant that the lovely guy at the caravan repair shop got the job. 

What has been finished by me is the curtains.  We now have full blackout curtains in a plain colour to match the canvas so you don't really see them.  These were made from bargain fabric I found at the Spotlight clearance.  Full blockout curtain material down from $22 per metre to just $2, I was on a high for days about that find!  I've jazzed up the plain with red spotty lighter weigh fabric curtains for the bed ends, tiebacks and on the door.  The original plan was red spots all round but the effect was way to much, made me feel seasick.

Other than that, this weekend was our first (and possibly last) attempt at using the awning which came with the van.  It works fine but takes nearly as long to put up as the whole tarp setup so we will just use that I think for long trips and take the pop up gazebo for short ones.

The van itself we are really getting the hang of and it's quicker to put up each time now, I'm really pleased with it overall and am starting to think an external paintjob may be on the cards. 

Here are the latest photos:

Quite a change from this:

 All up I'm feeling pretty proud of myself and inspired to tackle some new projects so watch this space.

Love my caravan

The whole project is coming along really well now, sorry it's been a while since the last post but there are loads of changes and I'm really loving the van now.  The space has gone from bug infested and quite scary to be in to fresh and clean and ready to travel.  Here is a rundown on what I've done and the order I did it in: 

•  Painted the brown ceiling, cupboard frames and cabinetry white.
• Relined the old and perished ply facings below the beds and round the seating area in grey vinyl.  I know that these shuld probably have been ripped out and replaced but hey, it's a fun van and that was WAY too labour intensive and difficult.
• Recovered the mattresses.
• Recovered the seating cushions - the old covers were basically more dust than fabric but I managed to salvage and reuse the zips after a wash.
• Relaid the floor to cover the old brown one.  These are stick on tiles from Bunnings which can be cut to size with scissors.  They discontinued them half way through the project and I had to do a spot of detective work to track some more down but I love them and this is a much easier option that trying to work with the rolls of vinyl on this kind of space.

I think that's it for now and you can see it all in the photos.  I'm hoping to have all the curtains finished and the cupboards relined in something other than hideous pink rug mat stuff so I will post again once this is all done.  I haven't been able to track down replacement handles for the two missing ones in the kitchen though so if anyone knows of a Jayco van being stripped or wrecked or happens to have a couple of these hanging around at home, please tell me.  The story goes that the same handles were used on ALL Jaycos and many other brands for about 15 years.  All were made at the same factory and it continued to create spares until a fire gutted the factory and destroyed the mould.  It was never recreated as by that time they were only making spares so these handles are pretty hard to get hold of - might have to get clever and rig something up.


I'm still working out what I'm going to use on the cupboard doors, want to wait until the curtains are in to see what will work.

Here are the pics

Caravan carries on

Hello blog followers, this week is just a quick caravan update but ... drumroll ... I actually have some photos of progress made (along with one of me & Alex with some superheroes we met while taking time out from the reno).  A little bird I spoke to this week tells me there are a few out there who are watching what I'm up to but haven't yet followed the blog, I'd love to see who you are and know that I'm not just yabbering away to self, so please follow me, comment on me and give me any advice.

You can begin to see where I'm heading now even though we have a ways to go yet.  The vinyl on the walls is up and looks great with the new red cushions and the white paint.  It looks a bit bumpy in the photos which is partly true as the ply under it is a bit warped but the sun made it look way worse in the pics and I reckon once I've reattached the brackets for the green table which sits in the middle there it will all stabilise nicely.

Next step is remembering which bracket goes where and then starting on the flooring.  I will have to pack it all away again for a week or two now though as the open home/auction of house combo this weekend might go better if I don't have a fully open caravan in the middle of the front yard (just a thought).

I think that's it for now so Ciao All and speak to you soon.

Sloooow progress (but progress all the same)

Well, it's been a little while since I posted a progress note on the van, no photos yet but I'll get some later this week.  The painting is all done now and it looks fab, new seat covers made and covers for the mattresses.  I've also managed to find a spot in the corner of the front yard to park the van which hopefully won't upset the neighbours too much.

Progress has been slow this last week or so as we've decided to sell the house in the meantime.  This has meant that all my fun caravan reno time has been stolen by house tidying time (bah).  I did have a big score this week though for the wall covering vinyl I was after.  I managed to source a roll of several metres of industrial wall/floor vinyl from the lovely man at the carpet shop for a complete bargain $20.  It did take a while for me and the carpet guy to be on the same page regarding what I was after (not brown, beige or fake tile look) but what I've ended up with is perfect for me and has been hanging round his warehouse for years left over from a job apparently.  Very excited and now working out the best way to cut it all to size without losing a finger or two.

That's all for today folks, will get those photos happening soon.

Ants everywhere - slight setback

This week I started to paint the ceiling of the caravan.  It had an old leak which had left the roof looking pretty scruffy so I'm painting it white.  I should tell you all the my theory is that there isn't much you can't achieve with a bucket of white paint no matter what the job is!  A quick trip to the paint dude at Bunnings Hardware and a can of stain covering primer later and the action began.  Big surprise as I'm happily priming away, turn around and a sea of ants is descending from the roof (guess they don't like primer too much then).  Honestly, it was like something out of a horror movie (remember the flies in Amityville anyone?).  No way I could continue until the ants were gone so I've basically spent the week waging a war on the little terrors. 

At first I was worried that it was a major setback but a quick google fest later and it turns out this is pretty common in old vans which have been stored outside for a while.  I tried bug bombs and sprays to little success but good old ant rid seems to have now done the trick, took a few days but they are goneskis.  The ants couldn't get enough of the stuff and I'm happy to report that there are no live ants left to be seen now and about a gazillion of them dead on and around the van.  Now that I've seen (and hoovered up) more dead ants in one place than I ever care to see again, it's back to work.