These are a few of my favourite things...

It's the little things around this house that really make it our home. The special trinkets, heirlooms, thrifted finds, treasured gifts and crafty creations all have their place, and no matter how many times I avoid curse the dusting, I wouldn't be without them, and I will NEVER do minimalist.

These are a few of the pieces that I am hearting in our home right now!

This little vignette of bottles hold some little travel treasures- Sand from beautiful Lake Mackenzie at Fraser Island where my in-laws own some property, we love to visit every Christmas. Some shells from a beach at Agnes Waters where we holidayed last year with some special friends, and some broken windscreen glass I spotted on the road at Stradbroke Island. The glass is kind of random, but it's such a pretty colour that I couldn't resist. It was nice to make something beautiful out of what must have been a negative experience for the person who's window was shattered. The vintage cotton reel was found in an op-shop.

And hidden inside this bottle ( a vintage hair tonic bottle found when digging up to lay the foundations for our home) is a little quote that I cut from some packaging.

Always remember this!

This beautiful clock belonged to Hub's Pop, and I think it is really beautiful. Resting on it is a brooch given to my mum by her nephew, and later used on the headpiece I created with my Mum for my wedding.

One of my favourite parts of the wedding planning was creating handmade pieces with my Mum (and sometimes Dad) each week.

You've seen this tin before in this post, I found it on an Op-shop excursion, and still can't decide if the clown is creepy or lovely! I love it anyway.

Vintage tins have such wonderful colours.

The perfect hideaway for things that B4 can't touch!

A thrifted ornate frame holds the poem Desiderata by Max Erhmann. Hubs had this tacked on his bedroom wall when I met him, and I had never read something so beautiful before. It is another little piece of why I love him, and so it seemed fitting to have Desiderata read during our wedding ceremony.

Words to live by.

A thrifted frame. I did have plans to paint it and remove the botanical silk, but it grew on me :o)

A favourite gift from Hubs, such a cheery set!

The little cups are kind of ridiculous in size, but on occasion, I have sat and refilled them 1 billion times just to enjoy a colourful cup of tea!

This precious tiny bird cage is from my dear friend Ali. She knows my bird obsession fascination well.

Speaking of birds....

Something found, a nest from some pesky Myna birds in our backyard. My own little Bower Bird collection of my handmade headpieces, clips and some gifted Quail eggs from another dear friend, Sammi, who also knows of the 'Bird Thing'.

In this vase you'll find some left over party fun from last years Girl's Night In Breast-Cancer Awareness Fundraiser. I host one every year for a few close friends and I have a LOT of fun creating the decor and theme. A post on that soon perhaps?

I love freebies! This darling laundry bag was an added bonus to a Sussan purchase last year.

I like to use it for packing special shoes for holiday trips.

Though Mother's Day is long gone (and Father's Day fast approaching) I love looking at this special, 1st ever Mother's Day card from Hubs and B4.

I am told that B4's imagination was behind the concertina heart, and with a little practice, he hand wrote his signature. I can't wait for my first entirely B4 card!

A reminder.

Another reminder. Sometimes it's okay not to have everything prepared and perfect before launching into a new project.

The most stunning sugar bowl I've ever laid eyes on! I keep a few of my rings in here. Thank you Ali, you spoil me!

I think that the trick to displaying your treasured trinkets is to mix them up with a little of the old and the new. I also keep stashes of things to rotate and refresh and I regularly reconsider things I may be keeping 'just because'. Perhaps I should dub this the '4 R's' of trinket display!

After all, how many candle votifs does one girl need?? If you try to display everything at once, you could end up with a cluttered home as opposed to an interesting one.

I look forward to sharing more of my favourite things with you in the future, goodness knows there are hundreds more!! What are your 3 most favourite things? Are they hidden away in a box, or out for the world to see?

xo Cassie

Hello Blossoms!

I just had to share with you some more of the thrifty blossoms that have popped up around our home of late! I shared my love of pretty 'weeds' and bargain flowers once before here, and the fascination with flora hasn't stopped. Sometimes I find them on a stroll around the yard or on the way up the driveway to check the mail. My favourites are the ones that B4 gives me, while saying matter-of-factly " Mummy, I picked this flower for you, because I love you." *Melt*

Yellow and turquoise make me smile. I don't think a happier colour partnership exists!

Because he loves me.

Miniature perfume bottles are perfect for a single bud.

Bringing a little sunshine inside.

Another day, another weed. There must be a prettier word for these fuzzy lilac pompoms!

After the first snap, I thought the arrangement needed a little *POP*, so back out to the yard I went for some fuchsia buds. It just so happened that the arrangement took on a heart shape!

So pretty, I can just imagine that this is a coral arrangement under the sea!

A nice little spot on our bedroom water station for this lovely bunch.

This precious weed was a find! On a little stroll up the back yard with Hubs to have some respite from an obnoxious delightful B4, I found this divine bunch rising from the dirt. They closed up pretty quickly once inside, but I managed to snap a couple of shots on our fresh new table setting before they said goodnight.

Like pretty pink stars they just burst out out you! I haven't managed to find another bunch, these are mysterious little ones..

 I wonder what I'll find tomorrow when I walk up the drive......

xo Cassie

Evolution of the Floating Shelves

I'm back (again)! I haven't gone far, and whilst I haven't been posting, I have still been going about my usual ways, so there is plenty to share! Provided I can sit at this darn computer for longer than 5 minutes without interruption!

One of the biggest folders in my blog 'To Do' pile, is labeled ' Floating Shelves Get Out of Hand', because, well they did. Such is life that random things accumulate where they shouldn't and pretty decorative vignettes (lovely displays of treasured objects) turn into dusty, cluttered collections of stuff!
So for today's post, I'm going to show you the way things got out of hand, and the evolution of the floating shelves over the last few months.

Although the basics of my last display effort were intact, there were random things that had been dumped 'temporarily' on their way to their real home.

Some confiscated toys from B4 and spray paint waiting to be used sit amongst the treasures. The dead flowers in the jar are inexcusable!! If there is nothing better than fresh flowers, then there is certainly nothing worse than dead flowers on display!

A little bit of paperwork and another toy, oh and have I mentioned I have a little OCD when it comes to straightening things up? So that pencil case and the CD cover are not pleasing my eye at all!

Then, with just a little TLC, the shelves start looking much better! You can play Spot The Difference with the next 2 images, because once I started rearranging,  I just couldn't leave well enough alone....

Three extra trinkets have snuck in....

Bringing something out of the shadows.... When I'm taking photos of my home, I see things in the images that I don't see with my own eyes, like the frame tree which was in shadow in the previous shot. This can be a great tool in perfecting your own decor.

Everything in place and dust free.

I love this! It's a little wooden paintbrush, that I haven't dared to use for fear of it being ruined! But now that I think of it, a dip of paint on it's bushy 'tail' might be perfect!

A little rearranging on the bottom shelf sees my Shape Shifter displaying a Lego block (I have lots of fun scouring the house in search of a new object to imprint), and some beautiful vintage buttons that my lovely Mum bought for me.

A book for anybody who has a little trouble getting rid of their stuff,  Corinne Grant 'Lessons in Letting Go.

My little blue bargain bowls are put to use. Well one of them is anyway..

And then, in the blink of an eye, the floating shelves get another facelift!

Pops of yellow brighten up the display, and the occasional hint of red sneaks in. I would never have imagined that I would decorate with primary colours, but maybe turquoise doesn't count?!

That pesky can of white paint gave a facelift to a few things I had lying around, and tied them in with the white scroll stools.

Pretty details: The kimono fabric frame, crocheted doily, candle holder (holding blue faux flowers) and the framed butterfly print were all found in op shops. The bird was a gift from my mum (gosh she's lovely!) and the other candle holder and blue flowers were reduced items from Diva and Sussan. Who'd have thought I'd find a pretty and cheap candle holder in a women's fashion store?!? *Thrifty Tip-Look in unlikely places for special treaures!

An interesting and bold print shell from my Mum's shop adds interest to a vignette of favourite things.

Yes, those birds are still taking over my house! The Shape Shifter has shifted shapes..

Another treasure from Flights of Fancy, a metal dragonfly. He also got a facelift with some white paint.

I could not believe my luck when I spotted these limited edition Easter M&M's at my local supermarket, perfect colours for our house!!

I had to start topping up with normal M&M's when the pretty turquoise ones ran out ;o)

The photo albums were found at a local discount store, Sam's Warehouse, and I picked up the Frame Tree at a school market. I absolutely love my yellow ornate frames, they stand out from the brick wall and make the whole place feel cheery and bright!

In this little perfume bottle you will usually find little purple weeds flowers that B4 picks for me almost every time he goes outside, but this day it held a pretty feather instead.

Argh, I just LOVE these vintage buttons! I don't think I will ever be able to use them though, they're lovely just as they are!

I wish I had more of these jars to hang from the facure on our verandah, but they look just fine here :o)

Some things were meant to be, like this tin. The colours are some kind of wonderful!

One of my favourite comments from visitors to our home is 'I love how different it is every time I come around and there's always something new to explore!'. I am constantly changing the displays in our home, sometimes to accommodate a new treasure, or just because I am tired of dusting the same old things!

Style will always evolve over time, and the more you play with your displays, the better you will get at putting them together. Why don't you have a go at creating a vignette of your favourite things, or refreshing a tired display? If nothing else, it might inspire you to dust a couple of things ;o)

xo Cassie