Frock on Friday ...

The life and times of a vintage floral sheet ...

phase 1

A vintage floral bed sheet.

phase 2

A painters drop sheet.

phase 3

A fabulous frock!

A frock for all occasions?

For breakfast, lunch or dinner?

A house frock, a picnic frock, a pick up the kids frock, a make the hubby gasp frock,

a seduce a rock god frock,  who knows?

A sensible, down to earth, recycled, handmade with love frock!

(Oh and that's me in my first ever "Frock on Friday" pose -

please bear with me while I get more courageous!!!)

What do ya think?

I had so much fun creating this little number!  I bought this sheet while on our get-away to the coast a few weeks back purely for its colours.

(I love a good 70s era purple)

The sheet was in very poor condition.  It has turquoise and apricot paint splatters everywhere, wax blobs and mould stains here and there!  I had to strategically place the pattern pieces but still couldn't quite manage a "clean" pattern piece!  Well, whatever!  Thanks to the gorgeous pattern on the fabric the stains are easily disguised.

I wanted to create some groovy pockets on the side and the purple bias

was just the look I was after !

A V neckline, and the little tie was a cute after thought.  I may need to create larger cap sleeves

to hide my *ahem* bat wings though *argh* 

All in all I am pretty darn happy with the outcome! 

This one is for keeps but I will be making a few more in the not too distant future!

Stay tuned loved ones .....

Dee xox

Two more sleeps ....

Hi honeys!

The excitement is building here at camp "one denim bird" .....

In two more sleeps I am heading to All Saints Winery near Rutherglen to see

starring ...

Jon Steven's aka Noiseworks!

Being the kiwi girl that I am, I have always been a wee bit partial to a good lookin Maori Boy
(or two) with a great voice!  This is gunna take me right back to the late 80's in a flash!  I saw this mullet sporting fella at the Central Coast Leagues Club in 89 and again at the Bateau Bay Hotel in 90.

Crikey - was it that long ago?

I wonder if he will revisit this number from his NZ era???

Baahahahahahah!

  I'm glad he has a bit more "meat" on his bones these days!

Another one I'll be drooling over has to be the meanest guitarist in Australian history!

the very talented

Ian Moss

(did I mention I'm a wee bit partial to a guitarist or two as well - nudge nudge wink wink)

I'll also be

"doing the Eagle Rock" with Ross Wilson 

and riding on "The Horses" with Daryl Braithwaite!

I'm not sure what I'll be "doing" with the "Choirboys" -

I can't say I really ever got "into" them.

But no doubt I will be wiggling me hips and singing like a bird.

The only thing I'm spewing about is "Dragon" wont be there for this

"Day on the Green"

BUGGER

Anyway it's gunna be a bit of a hoot!

(me thinks I'm turning into an old groupie!!!)

Friday frocks ....

Today I posted 3 dresses to Melbourne!

Now it's time to clean up my sewing mess and move everything back out to the sewing room!

With this wet weather we have been experiencing of late I got sick of running in and out of my sewing studio in the rain so I practically moved it all into our dining area!!

It kind of took over our dining table and surrounds and now it NEEDS to go back!

17 more sleeps until Nan and Pop arrive and 17 more sleeps till my baby turns 4 years old.

I have a lot to organise between now and then!  Or should I say I have a lot I WANT to organise between now and then.

Usually I write a list of "handyman" jobs I can get my Dad to do while he is here but this time I want to make the most of every minute they are here and besides my Ma and Da need a well earned rest!  So I will "crack on" and try to do them myself.  I can be rather handy with nails and a hammer when need be!

Have a great weekend peeps!  We have a long weekend here in Victoria, so I wont need to stress about school lunches come Monday morning!  Yay!

Ciao Bella's,

Dee x

The countdown has begun ....

Today is a very special day for my mum and dad!

They got married 44 years ago!

Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad!

Ain't they fine looking specimens!



Weren't they just the cutest looking couple!

And then I came along!

Whoa .... what a beach babe!

(all photos from the family archives)

Everyone here is getting super excited as it's only 24 more sleeps till they come visit!  Yay

Hope you all have a fab weekend planned ....

I am volunteering at the

Bright Rockabilly Ink & Oil (RIO) Festival

should be a hoot!

Ciao Bella's,

Dee x0x



Washing week is over and look at the results!

A bit more vintage floral love to add to the stash!

Enjoy peeps, I have a busy week ahead,

chat soon x

Dee

It's official .... I am an Addict!

A

!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, I knew I had a serious case of the vintage sheet collecting kind but apparently I've gone over and beyond a mild interest!

While on our 4 night/3 day break down the coast I managed to scour not one, not two but NINE op shops!  I had ear-marked 10 - and don't worry I was busting my boiler to get to every one, only to find that St Brendon's Opportunity shop (my last port of call) was closed on a Saturday morning! 

The bloody cheek of it!

I have come to the conclusion that there can't possibly be anyone in East Gippsland with a passion for vintage sheets as I do, as here is a sneak peek at what I managed to score!

I also managed a good haul of pillow slips as well for vintage lovin craft!

I could have come home with much more but I was a bit picky and choosey!  Two op shops I visited had back walls full to the brim with sheets!  I was in heaven.  Like a mad woman possessed! 

And, I think I even convinced my Grace (12) of the pleasures of op shopping (and) re-crafting/styling at home!  (It's taken me a while!!!)  She is currently going through a "surf wear brand" stage!  I am trying to teach her if she finds a pretty fabric or top at the op shop and re crafts it she can have the look she's after at a fraction of the cost!  (and still have savings in her bank account!)

We have a mum/daughter project going at present to find pretty floral fabrics (of her choice!)  and make them into singlet tops with a lace (or doily) insert!  These babies are over $50 at the surf shops!  I am envisioning one made at home with love for around $2-5.

(we will keep you posted!)

Aside from that we had a great time, camping, fishing, eating, exploring and op shopping.  (although my body is finding the thin self inflating mattress a little unbearable whilst camping and am feeling the need to upgrade to "Glamping"!!! )

Happiness to you all,

Dee x0x



Salt and sand ...

Tomorrow we are heading to the coast for our "salt and sand" fix!

Yippie!

I finished a dress for the gorgeous Miss Steph today 

so now I can get down to business and pack my essentials .....

1.  the latest Frankie magazine came out today!  Perfect holiday reading!

2.  my well worn East Gippsland Map!

3.  a trusty coffee maker!

4.  a wee bit of hand sewing (dolls clothes for Nikita)

5.   and the best kind of "tourist" guide an "op-shopping" girl could want!

(aka Op Shop Guide Victoria)

I have tagged about 10 op shops to visit!  Whoa hoo!  Look out peoples, I could be dangerous!

Anyway petals, have a great weekend,  I know I will

Ciao

x0x

Well hello lovelies ...

Gee, it's been a while ...

I have been meaning to blog over the last fortnight but life has been rather hectic of late.

Firstly, the kids are back at school and my baby is now at big Kinder!

I am slowly getting back into the "school run-around" routine and finding my way from one bleed'n after school activity to the next!

Secondly, I have had an influx of dress orders as well so I have been squeezing a lot of sewing into every spare moment of the day!

And most importantly, I have also thrown myself back into a healthy eating and exercising routine as one has gained a bit too much weight in the last six months and I seriously NEED to get back into shape.  I am usually very conscious of my weight but I have let myself go beyond my usual "danger" zone and for my own sanity I am doing something about it! 

 I have also been rather reluctant to "paste" photos of myself all over the web but I am feeling the need to join in on such shenanigans as

"Frock on Friday" and what have you, so tune in!

Anyway, here are a few photos of op shopped fabric finds ...

a wee bit of "floral" love

ride em cowboy and Aztec prints

(thanks to a friends de-stash)

batik elephants and stripes

I also fell upon this website containing a printable pattern for this adorable

Horrockses dress

you must check it out HERE it's a freebie!

I am madly finishing a few orders this coming week and then we are off to the Coast for a teeny tiny holiday!  Taking our retro boat and tenting it for a couple of nights! 

Our current holidays mainly consist of Mr One Denim Bird and son fishing and

Mrs One Denim Bird (moi) and daughters op shopping and general cafe swanning!

All sounds rather perfect really!

Hope you are all happy and well wherever you are!

Dee x0x0x

Australia Day! - It's fairly special to me!

Today 23 years ago I arrived on Australian soil!

(yep little ole me!)

i was 19

it was a Thursday

i flew united airlines

i sat next to a good looking guitarist

i had no idea what lay ahead of me

but i was eager to find out

i found out much later, my mum cried all the way home from the airport

(a 5 hour drive)

i vividly remember the 80's style frock I wore, i wanted to rip it off the minute I stepped out of the Sydney terminal

it was 39 degrees

i'd never experienced anything like it in my life!

i caught the bus to central station

and waited at the pub for the train north

it was one of those rickety old trains with the seats that flip over

i watched with innocent eyes as we trundled along through graffitied suburbs that would become comfortably familiar

i remember thinking the train was full of weirdo's

only to find the train terminated at my stop and all the weirdo's got off the train with me!

(of course they would! what was I thinking?)

i caught a taxi to my destination

the view made me think I'd died and gone to heaven

i shared a 2 bedroom unit with 4 kiwi lads

i slept on the couch

and got a job in the first week

the rest is history I guess

and I've NEVER looked back

i always reflect on Australia Day

and think of the girl i used to be and what ive become

pre children i celebrated like the rest of them

a few beers, a few prawns on the barbie and a hangover the following morning!

Today though, I finished a cushion I started ages ago

 I also hung out a few vintage sheets

organised some haberdashery

neatly stacked clean vintage sheets

photographed a dress i finished last weekend

picked a bucket of ripe nectarines from our tree

cut out 3 flowing tunic tops from these pretty fabrics

re-arranged my very own shadow board

and generally just fluffed around

i did very little housework

and cooked a simple meal

It was the perfect way to spend Australia Day!

Hope you all celebrated in what ever style suited you!

Dee x

What's in store for 2012?

Well Hello Peeps!

It's been a while ha!

I have kind of lost my "mojo" at present AND I haven't been looking for it either!

My days have been consumed with entertaining, negotiating and mediating the 3 kidlets.

Child 1 has a part time job working in a cafe so I run her in and out of town.

Child 2 & 3 have had week long blocks of swimming lessons and so I have been running back and forth to the next town for those!

Hubby is flat out at the bike shop and so we barely get a glimpse of him.

Rellies are currently in town so we have been squeezing in "catch up" time.

We have filled in the rest of the time with swims at the river, sleep-overs, play dates, movies, and the usual housework hoo haa!

The "Make it, Bake it, Grow it" markets are back in town tomorrow and I have booked another stall so I have been trying to update my stock and get it all pretty and ready to go!

Quite frankly, I am feeling rather exhausted!

I have managed to sneak in a tiny weeny smidgen of op-shopping and have found a few vintage sheets/fabrics for the stash ...

L to R

1. pretty blue retro floral cotton sheet

2. funky retro brown and orange patchwork cotton sheet

3. gorgeous blue batik fabric

4. lovely floral patterned bark cloth

5. another funky brown and tan patchwork cotton sheet

6. pretty pink and yellow floral cotton sheet

I also picked up this cute az pattern on etsy for a fiver

I have great plans for this baby!!! 

One thing I have been dilema-tizing over though is how I am going to fit everything I want to achieve into this year!

My children are all over the show this year ... one at high school, another at primary and my baby starts 4 year old kinder.

After much thought I have decided to give away "custom" orders and concentrate on finishing the pile of half sewn/half cut garments I have been meaning to get around to finishing!

I've decided to sell everything on "etsy" ONLY and once I have sewn a garment I can upload it and "voila"

it will be ready to ship!

I will be making a variety of styles and sizes - something for everyone, but it will take a bit of pressure off and I can do it all in "MY" time!

I hope this wont put any of you off, I just need to make it work for me and my family!

This year is going to be a pearler I can feel it!

Well petals hope your all well and happy

chat soon

Dee

x



Dreams can come true ............

For most of my motherhood years I have been wanting to start a wee venture! 

One specifically for ME.

 I have seriously needed a creative outlet

(bookkeeping for our own business in the bicycle industry has been a learning curve, a challenge and rewarding but

NOT

creative enough for this crafty girl)

and sewing has always been a hobby of mine.

(a sort of escapism, if you please)

Initially I thought I would try the local markets and had been part of the "committee"

that started our local

"make it bake it grow it"

 market which took off in Winter 2009.

Then I discovered etsy!

I knew the path I wanted to take straight away.

Being the "not-so-dandy-at-the-techno-stuff"  kind of chick I struggled to get it off the ground. 

(In fact I procrastinated for months) 

It took me MANY hours late at night trying, trialling, researching, googling, you tube tutorial-ing, asking, begging and borrowing to learn how to navigate my way through, behind and around this whole social media, online craft world that I knew jack squat about!

Boy have I learnt a lot!!!

(and I have no way in hell mastered it - YET!)
But I'm giving it my best shot!

In between squirrelling away in front of the computer screen,

 passing on my executive role *ahem* as a director/administrator/gofer/floater,

 taxiing my 3 kids to their various activities and running a household 

I have managed to launch this teeny-tiny-slow-but-steady home based business called

where I sew garments for lovely lass's who want something a wee bit different.
(In my spare time of course)

I get to create.

It gives me an excuse to op shop for fabric

(not that I ever needed one)
Infact I op shop even more than I used too!

I can do this from home.

In my own time.

Exactly how I want it.

And
it truly feeds my soul

more than I could have ever imagined

and because of this

I have met some amazingly talented, stylish, hilarious, crafty, thrifty, kind and giving souls here in blogland!
You are all truly amaze-a-mondo!!
So, I have no idea where this venture will take me in 2012 but I know one thing for sure I will be sticking around!
So here's to a bright, prosperous and fun-filled 2012!

enjoy
Dee x

(A little of some of the things I have made since going "online")

xox