The Tea Parlour Sydney - perfecting the art of vintage high tea revival

The Tea Parlour

Just stumbled across this Sydney based High Tea institution and had to share.... It's a modern day mash up of style and vintage revival. Not just tradition for tradition's sake Tea Parlour is a truly quirky and creative space created by Amelia Ruby.

Any vintage loving Sydney bound individuals should definitely consider a visit - high tea $15, sandwiches and or scones $6 and loose leaf teas $3...

A true up-cycler Amelia has transformed old books into menus and has collected gorgeous vintage china cups and cutlery once destined for the junk pile... love it!!

I adore High Tea.... think it's my Anglo Indian heritage.... combining foodie treasures sourced from India during the British Raj ie. Tea, Sugar and Cucumbers (where would the finger sandwiches, jam and hot beverages be with out them!). This delicious food experience is always a visual and gastronomic feast and Tea Parlour Redfern certainly takes the cake!.

Faux Cow Hide Rug - Online Thrifty Fun!

Just a little excited about my latest impulse online purchase.... truth be told most of my online purchases are on impulse but this one at $28 including postage is definitely high on my list of current faves!. 

It's a fun faux cowhide rug/ matt found on Ebay.... I love that it's allergen and cruelty free and that it was a bargain! 

This definitely fills the void once reserved for a Jonothon Adler Zebra Rug .... for now anyway!.

Candy Jar Punch Bowl - Making use of glass jars for party's and events

I LOVE a good Candy Jar.... as a direct result I have a collection of jars in all shapes and sizes that sit around gathering dust - so I'm making an effort to put them to good use.

Last weekend was my lovely husband's birthday and I wanted to serve a spiced beer punch and a sparkling peach tea punch but I didn't want to buy punch bowls, I'll never use again and have no where to store, so I thought why not use the candy jars.... the medium sized jars fit 2lts of punch per jar and, using a small sauce ladel to serve, these jars not only look effective but also hold enough fluid to feed 10-15 guests for a lunch time event without having to refill - love it!.

To create a vintage inspired drinks bar add some vintage crystal glasses a few bottles of Sanpellegrino Sparkling and an antique soup ladel - thrift stores are a great place to find vintage glasses, mix and match different designs to create an eclectic mix.

DIY Offset Stripe Painted Rug - Kilim Inspired

This was one of those truly satisfying DIY craft projects. I wanted a rug for our living room... something that would lift the space adding dimension and detail. I also wanted something under $100 and this project came in at $80 which was perfect!!!.

Having poured over a number of Chevron striped rugs, I decided to break with tradition and paint an offset stripe pattern inspired by Kilim rugs and the amazing Madeline Weinrib black and white Buche rug that adorns Nate Berkus' apartment floor as shown below.

Nate Berkus' Apartment - Vintage Movement via Pinterest

and here it is my version...

It's not as classic and sophisticated as Weinrib's version but it really works in our small space and I was thrilled with the result!

Here is my how to...

Shopping List

1x Ikea Erslev Rug ( I used the 140cm x 200cm size)

1x Scotch Green Masking Take (1.4inches x 60.1 yards)

1 x piece of chalk

1 x long 1 metre ruler or Yard Stick

1x pot of textile medium (250mls)

1x 500ml pot of paint in your chosen colour 

You can use up to 1 litre of paint for this project. I managed to use 500mls mixed with 250mls of textile medium but that was cutting it fine towards the end. The textile medium is mixed at a 2:1 ratio (paint to medium) this allows the paint to soften and blend with the cotton rug rather than having the paint dry hard.

Caution!

and this is why!!!

Make sure you fill in any missed spots to ensure your stripes are bold and defined

Sit back and enjoy your work!!!

Re-purposing Vintage Jewellery, Brooches & Earrings into Magnets- The DIY Way!

Hope and Joy

I love this DIY craft project because it makes good use of retired vintage earrings and brooches making them new and functional again. Thrift and charity stores are a great places to find inexpensive vintage jewellery that you can transform into beautiful magnets for fridge or message boards.

A great gift idea for mother's day, Christmas (for placing inside crackers or bon bons), kitchen tea, wedding favours or as a house warming gift.... these magnets will delight anyone!. The sky is the limit here, you can choose old buttons or the bling-ie-est crystal earrings you can find, creating a set of one off magnets, that will make you smile from ear to ear!.

and here's the pictorial 'how to' thanks to curbly 

Curbly

Ok, so you will need -

1.Small Magnets ( you can usually purchase these at craft or variety stores) if you can't find blank magnets you can also buy small cheap magnets and break them apart keeping the actual magnet component. If you have any old magnet lying around cutting them to size using strong cutters may also be an idea (please be careful doing this be sure to use protective gloves and eyewear etc).
2. Hot Glue Gun
3. Vintage earrings/brooches/buttons etc.

Pull the backing off the earring of brooch using pliers, place a dot of glue and affix the magnet back and voila!

country living

Hope & Joy

As shown in the first image above (hope&joy) you can make your own vintage message board by painting a metal tray and drilling a hole through for hanging then using ribbon or chain simply hang the tray on the wall and use your vintage jewellery magnets to post your notes - brilliant!!!  

Celebrating the work of Trixie Delicious - Up-cycling Artist Extraordinaire

I love a good re vamp and Trixie Delicious takes it to another level. The fabulous up-cycling artist takes vintage plates and tea cups and transfers them into cool, gutsy, modern works of art. I would love to make a collage wall art display with Trixie's creations and one day I'm sure I will.... I call it The Chintz Emo Movement, definitely not for the faint hearted!!.

Images Courtesy of Trixie Delicious Blog