Slow times at Jo's place

Too busy for much work around the apartment this week. Too few hours in the day but I did complete this little job this morning. I've long had a thing for the destination rolls from buses and trams. A number of years ago I got my hands on a few vintage cloth Sydney bus rolls which I stretched and sold. (Here's a snap of one.) I have a few Brisbane paper rolls now and wanted to frame some. As we all know custom framing is horrendously expensive especially for large pieces.

This is the very ugly, very neglected but very large frame standing in the corner of my secret thrift store. So for the grand total of $39 and some careful disassembling and reassembling I have a framed vintage bus destination roll for my office. By the way that little recovered 70s footstool is my husband Kelvin's latest upholstery project. So cute! The fabric is from Ikea.

Jo's place

I was going to show you my finished office but unfortunately something happened that I promised my husband I would not rehash again. Needless to say the office is a couple of weeks off being finished. But my darling Kelvin made up for the incident that I will not discuss (nag about) anymore by presenting me with his latest triumph ....... these fabulous chair seats he made in the upholstery class he is taking. What makes them even more special is that Kelvin is completely blind. He had help with the piping and pattern matching but they are all his work and I love him for it!

Thought I'd share my latest thrift finds for this patio area. The table I picked up a couple of weeks ago and of course the chairs you can read about here. The mirror I bought this morning as well as what was called a side table I thought just had to be an ottoman base and I think I'm right. (Just like I was right about the incident that I am not allowed to nag about anymore.) My secret thrift store is proving a treasure trove. Also scored a b&w screenprint thats need new matting and framing. Once again UFOs (unfinished objects) but just a lick of paint and we'll be there.

Jo's place and the long boozy lunch

I am so excited. My Grant Featherston Numero chairs came back from the upholsterer. They are so retro fabulous in their houndstooth check that I could squeal. The union jack pillow you can find out about here. The busroll pillow is one of my own. The two Florence Broadhurst fabrics are for lampshades and a roman blind. OK, OK I had every intention of styling my office today and taking lots of photos but 2 of my girlfriends and their darling but dynamite daughters decided to come to lunch. So instead of hanging art and covering lampshades I helped demolish a couple of bottles of riesling over chicken caesar salad and fruit salad and meringues (lazy pavlova). Lovely afternoon but no work on the office. No batteries for the camera either as 3 year old decided that she wanted to take our portraits or rather photos of our knees and elbows. I promise I will try to take photos of the almost finished office next week.

On another front my etsy store is almost ready to go. Any day now. I'll being posting when it's ready to open its doors. Hope you all drop by!

Jo's place

It's been a busy day today. After a leisurely breakfast in the Valley and a browse through the markets (where I found a lovely little brass urn for $5) I came home to start work on hand colouring some chair prints for my ..... etsy shop! Yes I'm taking the plunge and opening a shop. Still a week or so away but you'll know when you see the widget. At the moment my fingers are stained with Windsor & Newton watercolours but I'm making progress. Keep you updated.

What Jo's doing this weekend

HELP!!!!! The UFOs are taking over. The fact that I have enough of everything is not stopping me from hunting down the bargains. But what bargains!!!!! The credenza was all of $39. There's a lot of work and a couple of chips to fix and it is only veneer BUT it was only $39. Dining room or office?


The headboard (or bedhead as we like to call them) was a steal at $15 and will grace the master bedroom. Still deciding on a colour. The two cute bedside tables were bought a few weeks apart and were destined for the bedroom as well but now I want to use these......

a glass topped pair also thrifted and in the process of turning red! I'll have to find a new home somewhere for the others. Or maybe I'll leave the decision until the room is pulled together a bit more. So this is what I'm doing this weekend. Painting and procrastinating on which pieces where. Oh and praying for rain! We're in the middle of a severe draught here on level 6 water restrictions with only bucket watering of plants. That's why my poor little courtyard has only a few sad plants and a couple of blades of grass I'm struggling to keep alive. It better rain soon!!