Saturday 29 September 2018

National Op Shop Week


Today when I had the house to myself for a change, I thought I would paint some chopsticks as I want to make some potplant 'pretties' in the next few weeks. I got the idea of the hearts from Meg's blog post Flower Pot Hearts and experimented with wrapping the wire around a chopstick to make it more sturdy.

These are quite pretty and I have an assortment of them which sit in pots on the front verandah. I think the beads would fade quite a bit if the pots were in full sun but so far they have been fine in the shade.




I do take them out of the pots when it is raining or when watering to prevent mould from forming on them.


Firstly I paint the chopsticks green before adding the beaded hearts.  I had put some newspaper on the table to protect it from the paint and noticed that National Op Shop Week was coming up. I am not sure exactly why we have such an event but apparently we do. Here are some tips for the uninitiated...Op Till You Drop!




Those who are really into Op Shopping can catch our iconic Toowoomba Sightseeing bus and visit four Lifeline op shops with a break for lunch at the City Golf Club. I have never heard of such a tour before so it would be interesting to see how many join in. Presumably some visitors to our city during the school holidays will be involved.

Personally I steer clear of the op shops these days unless I am dropping some excess 'stuff' in as I certainly don't need any more 'bargains' in this cluttered house.



Have you ever seen strawberries with a pink flower? I first came across these at the Carnival of Flowers a few years back as they were growing with the veggies at Laurel Bank Park. The CEO recently bought about half a dozen punnets of different strawberries and didn't realise he had picked up a 'Pinkie' as well. Hopefully the plants will grow well as I don't buy strawberries as they are on the list of the Dirty Dozen foods. I haven't seen organically grown strawberries on sale at the Farmers' Market unfortunately so we will just have to keep growing our own. I just have to remind the CEO to water them. 

Now I have a job ahead of me. Years ago I bought some Go-Between Freezer Film to see if it was the same as freezer paper which it isn't and it has been sitting in the cupboard unused. I just baked a couple of loaves of sourdough and the 'baking paper' is sticking to them which has never happened before. Then it dawned on me...I had picked up the roll of freezer film instead of baking paper. I am not sure exactly how I am going to get it off and it may have to be cut off. Oops!

Have a great weekend and I hope that any readers living in SE Queensland pick up some rain from those storms that are around. Sadly we only got a few spits and spats today but we continue to live in hope that one day our farmers will get good rain. 



15 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. The beads look fantastic amongst the plants, Nil.

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  2. Your beaded hearts are lovely, Chel. I am going to make mine with chopstick stems from now on too. I do find the wire stems are a bit "bendy"! I like visiting op-shops especially to hunt for old linens I like to make things with. I also look for clothes if I'm there too. I'm always on the look out for clothes for my son, he is always growing out of things!! Meg:)

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    Replies
    1. Meg, I sharpen the ends of the chopsticks too. They are a bit sturdier than just the wire.

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    2. Meg when you say 'linens' do you mean old embroidered doilies/ tablecloths? As I have some to give away.

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    3. Hi Maria. Yes, I do call doilies and tablecloths "linens". I think it's probably because I keep those sorts of items in my linen cupboards ... along with sheets and pillowcases and such. Meg:)

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    4. Would you like some of the ones that I'm decluttering? (Free of course)

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    5. That is really kind of you, Maria. I would love that very much. Meg:)

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  3. Hi Chel, what a sweet idea. They look really pretty. My dogs would destroy any I had in my pot plants though.

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    Replies
    1. Hello stranger, where have you been? Nice to see you again.

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  4. Love your flower pot pretties, Chel; a great idea! Like you, I'm trying to declutter our home so try not to bring more items into the house from op shopping but do buy items for the big toy box stored on the verandah. Toowoomba' bus tour sounds like a great initiative for those op shops on the tour.
    Recently I bought a strawberry plant at Bunnings that had red flowers. I potted up a couple of strawberry plants so the grandies could have the fun of picking the fruit...but the large possum family that ' live with us' ate both the green and the ripe fruit. Son in law is giving me a cover he made so the girls might get to have a home grown strawberry soon.

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    Replies
    1. Maria, our possums never touch the fruit and veggies for some reason. I know they get into the custard apple tree though. If my grandchildren lived nearby I would probably check out the Op Shops for toys but they can get to be a bit tempting when you see a 'bargain'.

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  5. We visited your "One of a Kind" op shop while there Chel. I only bought a good sized piece of pink cotton gingham, which has been turned into a few pigs to go to charity. The op shop tour sounds like a good idea, but like you, I don't need to bring anymore "goodies" home. I think I've 'liked' your pot plant pretties before, and the chop stick stem is a good idea. Now you've reminded me about them, I think I'll make some for Therese's (whom you met) birthday in a couple of weeks. We don't usually give gifts, but as it's her 70th a little gift is nice.

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  6. Nanette, I am sure she will like them for her birthday. I have heaps of beads to use up from when beading was popular back in the seventies.

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  7. Hi Chel. I love your pot plant 'pretties'. A lovely idea. Nice gift idea too.

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