the little kangaroo

Once upon a time, there was a little kangaroo. We don't know how or why, but she found herself living in the 50c toy box at the Op Shop. Because she was so small, she fell all the way to the bottom, where it was dark and scary (and to be frank, a bit smelly).

One day a little girl came along who knew all about Op Shops, and knew exactly where to look. A new friendship was born.


The little girl said "you need a bath - you've got mushrooms growing behind your ears!" The little kangaroo wasn't so sure, but soon she felt much cleaner.


She didn't even mind being hung up to dry - it was fun, like a giant swing!


Soon she was meeting new friends, and enjoying a big kangaroo group hug.


She even learned to play dress ups, and bake imaginary gingerbread.


Dressing up was so much fun - she decided to try another dress up. "Hello, Mr Dino! I'm being a dinosaur too!"


Mr Dino thought the little kangaroo was so funny - he laughed so hard that he rolled over!


The little kangaroo felt embarrassed, but Mr Dino said "come on, little dinosaur, it's time for a Dino Ride!"


It had been an amazing day, but the best bit was still to come...


A hug from her new best friend


who doesn't let her go, even when she's sleeping.

For more flea market finds (with probably more finds and less self-indulgent storytelling), see here.

reverse finds

We've reached the last weekend in Spring, so this will be my last Reverse Finds entry for a while - phew! I've found the pressure of sticking to a weekly post no matter what a bit harder than I expected (and as it is, I cheated sometimes, setting up a link to last a fortnight).

I've also learned a bit about myself. It seems that I am more committed to blogging than cleaning up... and that, while I've given away a fair bit, there is much more to do. I've also learned that I need to focus not just on getting rid of things we don't need, but also organising what we do need...

So this week, I've done a bit of cleaning up - I spared you the before picture of our fridge, but here's the after...

It's a bit empty (except for eggs - guess who had eggs in bread for dinner?), but hopefully after a bit of meal planning and organised shopping, it will be filled in a more organised way, with a bit less food waste (nothing like a fridge clean out to induce food waste guilt...).

Now I just need to go through the freezer... and pantry... and plastics cupboard...

If you have a reverse find post to share, feel free to add a link below!

my creative space

This week's creative space is inspired by... last week's creative space!

(or, more accurately, by our daughter's artistic response to last week's nature find)

I loved the way she represented the nest in her own energetic style... which led me to reconsider some plans I'd been making.

I'd recently bought a pile of blank teatowels with the plan of getting our daughter to stamp them with potato prints, and using them as presents or present wrapping for some family and friends. I'd come up with some design ideas, and had thought about ways to get our daughter to put the prints in the "right" spots on the tea towels...

Then I saw the nest, and realised that would be a GREAT design - and her own design too.


So out came the tea towels and a brown fabric marker - and nests were made.


I reprised my "one cut" stamp making technique - this time with an egg shaped potato. The (opped) corn cob holders were a plan to keep child hands away from paint (it actually worked!).

These are a few of the results - I love the way she took the nest idea and made her own modifications along the way...

(I think I had similar help to Jess with my photography this week!)

I did decide to have a play with another potato print design - I like these clouds, but they were harder work, with closer supervision, and occasional instances of me completely taking over...



She also got to make a couple of her own designs - I think she really appreciated being trusted with these "fancy tea towels" (even though they were pretty cheap!) and did a great job!

For more creative spaces, visit Kootoyoo.

reverse finds

I have an "unallocated present" box in my place - a place for presents I bought for someone, then changed my mind, or found the "perfect" present later. The plan is to look at and use these presents before buying anything new... which works - sometimes...

Unfortunately it's been a while since everything actually fitted in the box... so I'm taking the tambourine and puppet from the top of the pile to the "Wishing Tree" - I know Target and Kmart both have them, and I'm sure a lot of other organisations have their own. I hope I am forgiven for giving a "noisy" present.. in my defense, I actually bought this for my own child (and then she got one from someone else).

Hopefully I can allocate a few more of these presents for christmas this year, too!

Are you giving away / clearing out too? You can add your link to the list below, if you like!

my creative space

It's a slow day here in my creative space, so I have decided to spend some time admiring the work of other makers - both online, and in our own backyard...

We did spend a bit of time imagining what it might have looked like before it was abandoned...



For more active making, visit Kootoyoo.

my creative space

Today I planned to avoid the siren call of Kirsty's My Creative Space... instead, here I am... just quickly to say hello and do a little (entirely understandable) procrastinating...

Tomorrow I am presenting at a conference, speaking in front of a (hopefully not too big) crowd... so my creativity is being focused on strategies to remember what I'm saying, to breathe and speak slowly, and to keep my hands from flapping so much I take off and fly away (maybe that's why they call it fight or flight??)...

The other part of my creative brain is finding little ways to keep a little person happy and calm today. The toilet roll forest, and the black felt "dirt", were actually her idea - I just helped with the fabric "leaves"...

Looking forward to popping in on a few of you today during my "study breaks" and having a better look around after the conference is finished!

flea market find

While driving along the other day, I suddenly realised I was in hard waste collection territory. I tuned my antennae, and almost immediately noticed this...


It wasn't so functional when I found it, but after a few screws and washers, and a bit of a clean up, it works again - in a slightly hesitant way, but that's fine by me.



I even love its paint spatters...


For more finds, visit Her Library Adventures... there is talk of a challenge... not sure if my find will fit, but I'm too excited, and wanted to post about it straight away!

reverse finds

This week, I gave up on trying to find something of my own to give away, so turned to my husband's part of the wardrobe - surely with my help he could give away even more...

Instead, my contributions were on the "keep it" side... "maybe I could do something with that old t-shirt"... "some of the denim in those jeans is still good, surely I could reuse it ..."


Despite my "help" this modest pile did make it to the op-shop...

Feel like joining in and doing some clearing out of your own (however modest or large...)?

Add your link below - this one will stay open for two weeks, as I'll be away from the computer next Saturday.

my creative space - wardrobe archaeology

One thing my husband and I have in common is a love of "old stuff". Our first big trip together was to Italy and Greece, where we revelled in ancient treasures.

Our love of "old stuff" is evident in every room of our house - filled with things we have had since childhood, or "old stuff" we have found and re-homed. You might call us hoarders... I prefer to say "we just like old stuff."


When we last tried a little wardrobe clear out, my husband sadly pulled this rumpled, yellowing, almost threadbare Astroboy t-shirt out. He sadly said "I guess this should go." I knew it was hard for him. This t-shirt has a history. I decided to find a way to stop it becoming a rag.


I roughly cut out the design, and the same size from the back of the tshirt, then sandwiched them together with fusible webbing. I then carefully cut out the design and ironed it (with another layer of webbing) onto an old calico bag from a conference (with a logo that needed two layers of fabric to obscure).


I did a bit of hand stitching around the edge, and quickly tacked on the original t-shirt tag (perhaps I should have tidied up the original stitching on the bag first?),

and it was done.


A bag just perfect for dad and daughter trips to the library or cafe, and a bag that I hope holds onto the meanings and memories of that old t-shirt.

For more creative spaces, visit Kirsty.