Happy Sunday

Today's "Happy Sunday" is a bit different than usual because there isn't much to say about this week except for one word.
VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last seven days went like this:

Monday: ugh, 4 more days of work
Tuesday: ugh, 3 more days of work
Wednesday: ugh, still 2 more days of work
Thursday: ugh, still still 1 more day of work
Friday morning: ugh, 9 more hours of work
Friday evening: MisterT and i both came home at around the same time, and the first thing we screamed was "vacaaaaaaaaatiiiiiiiiiiooooooooooon", followed by a silly "happy dance".

It is actually a stay-cation, but the only thing that matters is that we don't have to go to work, and instead can spend some time together and do whatever we want.
We plan to do nothing, but i want to take the opportunity to do intensive spring cleaning and decluttering and work on new items for my shop. My parents will be here for a week or so, and we are going to Marseille later next month. Moreover I will be able to wear all my colorful socks all the time, which is great because i love my fun socks but unfortunately am not allowed to wear them at work.

Today was the first flea market of the season, and as always i went very early in the morning and later in the afternoon.

We had scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast, i made a cheesecake, finished two custom orders, took a nap ( or two), enjoyed looking at my new bouquet of gorgeous red tulips, and i wore pink socks :)
Doesn't sound very exciting, but this is what a perfect lazy day looks like to me!

Hope you all have a happy Sunday, too!

DIY: Sugar Bowl Makeover

I'm not sure if there is an english word to translate the german word "Kaffeekasse": a piggybank for a team to collect the money for their daily coffee. 

Using Folk Art Enamel Paint, Mod Podge and a vintage image via Google, i turned that old flea market sugar bowl into a pretty turquoise "Kaffekasse". Perfect for MisterT's yellow-painted office! 

Isn't the color divine?? I absolutely love it!

And a "before" photo of the bowl:

I should have used more paint, because you can still see some of the floral pattern shimmering through. I guess that's what happens when you work on projects late at night with dimmed light...
But who cares about imperfections? I love the result nonetheless, and so does MisterT. And the color is simply amazing!

This project is linked up to my favorite parties and the Dog Days of Winter Thrift-It Link Party at Crafty, Scrappy, Happy

Flea Market Finds

- Winterling Schwarzenbach "Indisch Blau" gravy boat: Null, nada, niente, nothing!!!
- a large shopping bag full of paper and cardboard: 0€
- super cute mustard yellow ballet flats, brand new, never worn: 3€
- and some random junk items for free, as always in the late afternoon

Flea Market Finds

My favorite flea market is back! It only takes place four times a year and after missing the first one last month, I took a day off from work to be able to go there today.
I went twice: early in the morning i found a long pearl necklace with over 200 pearls, which is perfect for crafts and so much cheaper than buying pearls at the craft store. Late in the afternoon i went again, accompanied by my mother, and since most sellers needed to get rid of their unsold junk they gave some items away for free. I grabbed a shirt and skirt ( great for fabric crafts), another shirt and sweater ( great for me to wear), a pretty belt, another belt with pearls and beads ( more free craft supplies, yay!), a starfish plate, a Mikado game, a sugar bowl that i am going to paint, and a handfull of cookie cutters.
I also found this ultra kitschy but super cute flamingo bag with bamboo handles for 1€. Love it!
My mother purchased a bag too, with a pretty tropical floral pattern.

Back home i noticed some of the cookie cutters are from Wilton and Tupperware. Fabulous!
I had to try them immediately, and started working on some christmas ornaments that i am going to sell in my Etsy shop soon.
Christmas in July :)

Flea Market Finds

I have never been a huge fan of flea markets as i feel quite uncomfortable in a large crowd.
But i do love buying used items and i developed an immense flea market and thrift store passion since i started reading all those awesome DIY and home decor blogs. It's amazing to see how ugly or slighly broken furniture can be fixed and transformed into a gorgeous individual item. Moreover i am absolutely sick of all those store-bought mass production products and i wish i could just throw out all our IKEA crap and start over furnishing and decorating.

In addition, buying pre-owned stuff is extremely helpful when money is tight, like now right after our wedding.

There is a very nice flea market four or five times a year. It is crowded of course and sometimes it's really hard to get close to the stands, especially to those that sell clothes. But almost everyone is so friendly, I even got a brooche for free the first time i went there. And the best part: it's right around the corner, just a one minute walk.
I really, really like that market.

Unfortunately today was this year's last time. Ughh, how am i supposed to survive winter without my beloved market?

Anyway, i found some great stuff today. A bunch of willow balls for only 1€, three doilies for 1,50€ (handmade by a nice lady's mother) and beautiful burgundy leather gloves for 2,50€ ( heirloom according to the seller, but i don't know, i'm not an expert)
Not bad at all!

I decided to take a little break and go back home and then return later that day when sellers usually need to get rid of everything and reduce their prices.
That was a smart decision.

I bought one pair of jeans for 2€, which turned out way too much because the guys from the next stand sold everything for just 1€. So i bought another one there. I actually purchased them for some craft projects but i'll keep the first one as it fits perfectly.

Then there was this very nice old lady who decided to give away some of her items for free! I took five picture frames, a women's jacket ( yay, free buttons and gorgeous velvet), an english novel ( hooray, book pages to make more flowers), a table runner, two cloth napkins and one vintage hankie. Aaaand a green corduroy skirt from ZARA. Awesome! I'm sure this was at least 30€ but probably even more.

I am extremely happy with today's finds and I'll definitely miss that flea market.
Can't wait for it to return next year!