The End of an Era

My mom handed the keys of her old home over to the new owners this evening. Just before she did that, I was instructed by my daughter to snap this bit of typopgraphy:

She has kept a record of her grandchildren's heights [and the neighbour's kids too] over the past 16 years.  Around birthday time, she would take the children out to the garage and mark their height and add the date. That piece of history will probably be painted over by the new owners so, so I am glad Christy reminded me to do this!

I am busy getting ready for the i♥market at the moment.  The plan is to have quite a few new and tweaked products on my stand.  This week has been busy with my mom's move, so I will have to introduce you to some of them next week. Tomorrow I turn 21 for the 30th time, so I have to fit some celebrating in too!

See you on Saturday!

This week!

Freshly Found will be back at the i♥market this Saturday the 2nd of October with some brand new products!

 

It's a busy week, as my mom moves home on Wednesday. She is downsizing, and so a lot of my latest thrift finds, have come from my own family. 

And the Winner is.....

Today, exactly 1 year ago, Freshly Found online store was launched! Thank you to everyone for entering the Give-Away to celebrate this and 3 years of blogging.

The winner is Caty!  According to her blog profile she lives in La Rochelle, France.  Visit her beautiful photo blog here.

Hope you enjoy your 3 handmade bracelets!  

 I will be contacting you directly to get your address details!

Traditional Zulu Hat

A while ago when I went on a tour of the Markets of Warwick, I bought this beautiful traditional Zulu hat.  It is worn by married women on ceremonial occassions.

I thought it might look good hanging on the wall, but in the meantime, it makes a perfect home for my latest crochet project.  

I am crocheting daisies out of tapestry wool, some of which I bought at a charity shop and some of which I just had at home.

I love the concentric circles formed by the weaving of thread through the netting on the top of the hat.

Tomorrow the winner of the give-away will be announced!

Irish Soda!

Freshly Found Crochet covered Soda Bottles and Bowls in the latest Irish Image Interiors Decor Mag! 

Cool Hey! 

Buy the Mag if you can, see more of the article, styled by Marlene Wessels here, or see the products in the Frehly Found shop here.

Today's the Day!

Today, 3 years ago I posted my first Freshly Found Blog entry!  Today is also my 600th blog post!

 

So it is a Freshly Found Celebration.  This collection shows my love for vintage and found goodies and it includes 3 bracelets for a giveaway!
The bracelets are all significant to Freshly Found and the journey we have been on over the past 3 years.
The sari rope bracelet pays tribute to the rich Indian Culture here in Durban, and the fact that vintage sari fabric forms the basis of many Freshly Found products
It is no secret how passionate I am about crochet, so I had to include this crochet cuff.  I love re-interpreting the vintage craft of crochet in a relevant and pleasing way.
The 3rd bracelet is folded and woven from strips of vintage book paper.  Sandile and his team are making these for me as well as folding books for my other projects!

 

So, if you would like to stand in line to win all 3 of these bracelets, please leave a comment on my blog telling me what "vintage refreshed" means to you! [All blog comments will be eligible, but I would love to hear your perspective!]

The winner will be announced on the 25th of September, on the 1 year anniversary of the Fresly Found Online Store!

1...

1 day to go in the countdown.  To fit in with the surprise theme, have a look at a gift I wrapped for a kitchen tea.

You can see the gorgeous invite was printed on a single record and the record cover was printed with a funky pic of the couple!

 

I responded by recycling some CD posters.  I turned the coloured part inside and stitched them into gift bags.  The gift ribbon was video tape and the gift tags were made from pages from a vintage movie star manual!
So much fun.
And ... tomorrow's the day we've been waiting for!

2....

2 of us, my daughter and I silhouetted in the afternoon sun on our veranda....

and 2 days to go in the countdown!

3...

I was so taken with this abandoned Children's hospital building in Durban, very close to the beach front.  

I found it quite compelling and stood for a while just studying what once must have been a beautiful building.

The countdown continues...A busy day yesterday means that I am posting this a few hours late. Another post to follow later today.

4....

Four days to go ...

and I thought I would show you the Freedom Cafe in Durban at the Concierge Hotel.

What an inspiration overload.  Delicious food, proactive service and such an innovative environment! 

We had a look at the gorgeous hotel rooms too!  If you're in Durbs, you got to get there!

5....

Today is the start of a Freshly Found countdown!  And a little bit like this screen in my living room, I am not showing you everything, yet! 

But I will tell you that it's 5 days to go...
And I am loving the way the light shines through the embroidery on this lime voile sari.  The full sari was enough to simply slip cover the 4 panels of my wrought iron screen

See you for 4... tomorrow!

Measurement Treasures!

This is my new collection of old scales.  I grew up with the one on the right and so it is an integral part of my history.  My mother loved to bake and so did I.  My mom is moving home in a few days, and so passed it on to me. 

The scale on the left has an unknown history.  It was a thrift shop find,  but it was obviously well-used and helped to bake lots of treats.

I love the typograpphy and the patina, that only time and use can embellish with!

PBJ's Please

Freshly Found PBJ's are in full production now.  The lovely Colette has come on board and is using her skills to crochet up a storm.

My substantial stash of Black Cat Peanut Butter bottles [the smaller 400g size] is now almost depleted,so I am appealing to my friends and people living in and around Durbs to pass on any they may have.  

We promise to recycle them in the most beautiful way.

Apologies to to those who have tried to access our shop.  It is offline at the moment, but our website administrator is working on it, and we will hopefully be up and running soon.
The PBJs will then be available online, as well as at the monthly i♥market.
We are also able to ship the covers only - if you have your own jars at home.  This helps hugely with the cost of postage! Contact me directly if you are interested.

Polka Dot Rescue

I am far more adventurous in my decor than I am with my wardrobe. I am quite a classic dresser.  

A favourite beige jersey mysteriously developed a hole the other day.  I didn't want to recycle this one yet, so I crocheted polka dots and covered the hole and the front of the pullover too.  

 Now we just have to see if I pluck up the courage to wear it.  But at least I can! [Can you tell which dot is hiding the hole?]