I'm joining in with Two Bags Full - Grow Your Blog so if you have jumped over from there - welcome!
Just a little intro if you haven't been here before. I'm Wendy and welcome to my blog which I started as an incentive to clear out my clutter - hence the name duchess_declutter. However, over time it has evolved a little.I blog about life on our little acreage in South East Queensland, Australia where it is hot and humid at the moment! We've had a lot of rain lately and our 5 acres are looking very tropical.
I also blog about my love of vintage and retro items. I'd like to say I blog about decluttering - but there hasn't been too much of that lately. I love to op shop /thrift / upcycle and have done so for a long time. I love the thrill of not knowing exactly what you are going to find, what's just around the corner.
Of late though I am more selective and concentrate more on items from the late '60s and early 70s and am particularly fond of retro homewares. Bright colourful, geometric patterns get me every time!
I've just discovered Annie Sloan chalk paint and absolutely love it. It is so easy to work with and very forgiving to a basic painter like me! So I've been madly painting some of the not so special bits of furniture and oddments that have been sitting in the garage waiting for some attention.
of course I have my little assistant Dexter overseeing my work!
This is one from a pair of bookcases from my teen years! At some stage they were bright orange - but my husband removed multi layers of lead paint (at my request) and took it back to the natural timber. Now I wouldn't mind if they orange again - however I've settled for white.
All items turned out really well - I might try and take some photos inside the house when it's nice and bright.
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I have a little parcel with several pretty vintage hankies and two vintage Australian tea towels to be mailed to the winner. Giveaway drawn on February 15.
EDITED TO ADD: I have had to change the draw date to 11 February. My apologies, but I will be away after that with no computer access.
cheers for now
Wendy
70 comments:
Hi Wendy, I'm looking forward to seeing the furniture in place :D I have to admit that I have a wardrobe full of projects, not on bigger furniture like yours, but smaller things that seemed such a great idea when I saw them in the op shop lol. Maybe I need to get me A into G :D
Hi Wendy - stopping in on my blog hop through Vickie's GYBP - I have enjoyed my visit so much so I am now a follower and will be back!! Have a wonderful week! Kerrie B - channelbankcreations.blogspot.com.au
I am so happy I found you in the blog hop today. I love to find things to re-cycle or up cycle as the case may be. And I "dream" about decluttering. But that is a hard one when I love to search out NEW things and it is so hard to part with much loved other things. Since I will probably never travel all the way to Australia I love hearing about it and meeting folks from there.
On behalf of Vicki at Two Bags Full and myself, welcome to the Grow Your Blog blog hop! Your re-purposing is great, and I enjoy doing the same. Dexter is adorable! I hope you have a lot of traffic today!
Hi Wendy - oh I love the possum :) He's so cute ... I'm hoping to visit Australia next year - can't wait.
I have dreams of decluttering and then more stuff arrives in that absolutely had to come home with me lol My husband has given up!!
Enjoy the Blog hop today - it's going to be fun
Fil Fil’s Place - Old songs and Memories
Your little possum is much cuter than the kind we have here in the US. I would be tempted to feed him, too! :)
Good morning-that little possum is so sweet-looks like you enjoy feeding the wildlife too-hugs I love to shop at resale shops too-but I usually look for items for my crafts and I love the vintage kitchen items
I am a new follower-I am retired and live very rural in the woods I do lots of fiber crafts.
nice to meet you
Kathy
Dear Wendy,
Welcome to Grow Your Blog party. The possum is really cute and it's so ready for taking a photo-shot. :D
Hope you'll made some new friends and have new followers in the weeks to come. Big Hugs from Singapore and nice meeting you
Wendy, I'm intrigued by your blog. Love the possum! We have had resident sugar gliders that lived in our outdoor ceiling areas through the winters in years past. We used to leave a little seed and things out for them too! The kids would try to stay awake late to see them as they were nocturnal, and visited our back porch after dark.
Thanks for sharing your blog with GYB, or I wouldn't have found you.
Julie, a new follower
Hi Wendy, come over here from the Grow your Blog party. I live in Perth, so a lot drier than your area...
Love the little possum, I think I would feed it too.
I'm also in perpetual decluttering mode, but never seem to get much done. I also love to collect a lot of things, so instead of having less, I have more...
Hi,
Visiting from the other side of the world. Cold and snowy here in Iowa. Found you on the blog party.
Sandi
www.thevictoriangypsy.blogspot.com
Greetings from Canada! I too am decluttering by way of an Etsy shoppe and hauling stuff to the local thrift stores. Love the possum pictures! Do they cause damage like squirrels and the like? Looking forward to spending some more time exploring your blog.
So nice to meet you Wendy via the GYB party. I look forward to following your blog.
Hello from California. That brushtrail possum is just toooo cute! He appeared to be posing for the picture! I have never seen one before, so that was a sweet shock! I love vintage hankies and would be pleased to be entered for your contest. I enjoyed your random ramblings and your comment "I do try and move some things along but mostly I seem to just find more!" made me laugh. I am now following your blog. Perhaps you will check out mine: http://bluejeansandteacups.blogspot.com/
God bless :)
-Heather
I really enjoyed your post and the furniture you are refurbishing. That is great paint, but a bit pricey where I live. I also love that you find great things at the thrift store. Seems you find some wonderful, wonderful and useful pieces (I've been scrolling down, too).
Loved the visit, since this is my first time here and at GYB. http://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/2015/01/grow-your-blog-blog-hop-event.html
We have just discovered Annie Sloan paint it too. We bought a coffee table on ebay, painted out the horrible timber colour and now it's lovely. Your possum is very cute and he/she is certainly enjoying that snack. :)
Anne xx
Followed over from GYB....although I LOVE retro and refurbish and recycle stuff alot (heck, most of it I grew up with in it's "first" life... so it could be recycled now!) It is so beautiful and perfect for my life. I love looking at what you have done!(I now follow!)
Cheri
fabricandmemories(at)yahoo(dot)com
Hi there Sue - I think you have lots of projects on the go all the time! Hope to see them feature in your blog soon.
Thanks Kerrie - I'm a follower on yours now too! Lovely to meet you and thanks for dropping by. You're right, there are a lot of blogs there to read and I will try and read as many as I can too.
Hi Beth, thanks for your comment. After dropping by your blog I can see why you 'dream' about decluttering as do I! With all those gorgeous quilts, tea cups and creativity it would be difficult to let anything go!
Hi Carole, thanks for your role in helping out for this blog hop. It must have been a huge effort for those involved. I will be dropping by your again to read and catchup on some more!
Hi Fil, thanks for your comment. I've dropped by your blog and found it very interesting (now a follower). Hope to catch up with more soon.
Hi, thanks for your comment, I've just dropped by your blog and commented on how different your part of the world is from mine - particularly at the moment! Hope to read some more soon. cheers Wendy
Hi Wendy! Nice to meet you ... you host a great party!
So that you know, I've become a Follower and when time permits, I'll be back to see what other beautiful things were made by your hands!
What this party is all about is to GROW your blog and I'm hoping to do the same. When you get to Section One, check out A Country Chic Retreat and SuZeQ Creations, my personal blog, in Section Fifteen I'd love for you to follow and subscribe to.
Happy painting (and decluttering!)
SuZeQ
I'm your newest follower visiting from Grow Your Blog. Enjoyed my visit and your fun craft ideas. Hope you'll come and visit Buttercup's.
I'm visiting via GYB from St. John's, NL Canada. Thanks for posting about yourself. .
Hi Wendy I thought I was already a follower of your blog, but you were not on my feed. So glad I checked. that paint looks lovely.
Hi Wendy am visiting from the pacific Northwest in the US. I love your blog post and have been reading older posts.
I just used some annie sloan chalk paint to redo my grandma's old china hutch. I will post about it after the blog party.
I am happy to be a new follower.
Hi Kathy I've just visited your blog and you are certainly very creative with your crafts. I love vintage kitchen things too and just bought a few more today! It's all fun.
Hi Angela - what a lovely colourful blog you have! Thanks for your comments on mine and I hope to catch up and read more about all the things you create soon.
Hi Julie - we get sugar gliders here too, but they around as much as the brush tail. I often see this guy out and about at night when he lives his cosy abode. Your blog is lovely, as are all your creations! I often think I will try quilting but haven't got around to it yet. Cheers Wendy
Hi Sami thanks for visiting my blog and commenting. I've just been over to yours and found your story very interesting indeed. I've never been to Perth but hope to some day. cheers Wendy
Sandi thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog. I can only imagine cold and snowy at the moment! We spent the weekend in the pool and it was very hot and humid! cheers Wendy
Jennifer thanks for your comment. I've just hopped over to your blog and I'm a new follower. What a great lot of collections your have! Looking forward to reading more. cheers Wendy
Hi Debbie - I'm now a follower of your blog. I love Venice too and would love to divist again. Hope to catch up and read more of your posts soon. cheers Wendy
Hello there Heather yes I've just dropped over to your blog and joined too! Happy blogging. cheers Wendy
Goodness, the AS paint is expensive here too! I am very frugal with it and water it down where I can. I do love thrifting though and hope to continue doing some painting here and there. thanks for your comment and for visiting my blog! cheers Wendy
Hi there Anne - love that apple slice on your last post, must try it soon. That's great you are into painting too, it's such an adventure. Well for me anyway, I know you have more experience with painting! Hope you share a photo of your coffee table soon. cheers Wendy
Cheri, thanks for your comment - I had to smile when I read your blog post. I used to scrapbook a lot too. Now I can't even look at anything scrapbook related! I must get around to selling my goodies too as that is another craft I won't be doing again anytime soon! cheers Wendy
Hi Sue - thanks so much for your comment and becoming a follower. I'm finding this whole exercise of growing my blog very interesting. It's so much fun to read about other lifestyles and different areas/countries. cheers Wendy
Hi Carol, I'm one of your followers now too. Wow - such a lovely photo of Central Park. I've visited NYC briefly but not in the snow! We have heard about your extreme blizzard weather. Stay safe. You should have plenty of blogs to read! cheers Wendy
Hi Judy - thanks for visiting. Your creations are beautiful. I'm now a new follower. Lots of reading and inspiration there. cheers Wendy
Hi Gillian, yes I thought I was on your list too! I've often read your lovely tropical garden and recipe posts. Hope to catch up with some more soon. cheers Wendy
CatieAn I'm looking forward to seeing your china hutch! You are so very creative, I don't know how you find all the hours in the day to do it all! cheers Wendy
love your energy to tackle redoing furniture!! great blog .... have fun at the party!
I am visiting from Vicki's BYB party. I am unfamiliar with brushtrail possums. He is cute and I hope his extended family does not move in. We used to watch possums on our back deck years ago feeding them peanuts so the cats could watch on the other side of the window. We never had a problem with them moving in. We moved instead to France. I love reading about life in different parts of the world so I am following you on bloglovin. If I win am I allowed to take scissors to them? Jean in Berlin (French Oddities)
Ohhhh, I am so envious! I adore that possum!
Lovely to meet you via GYB
Rae
I'd be feeding that little possum too! I love thrifting as well, even tho' apartment life means I can't bring too much home with me. It so much fun just to go and see what treasures are there! Thank you for inviting us to visit your blog.
Thanks Shirlee - love your button collection! cheers Wendy
Hello Jean - I've just left a comment and am now a follower on your blog. Yes, you may do whatever you like to vintage items! I think you would come up with something very creative. cheers Wendy
Hi Rae - thanks for your comment, he is cute.... and he keeps coming back too. He must like it here! cheers Wendy
Hello Mary Anne, what a beautiful blog you have, and you are very creative too! Thrifting is great but I guess there is only so much you can fit into an apartment! Hope to read more on your blog soon. cheers Wendy
Hello Wendy
Well like you I live in Aust. on the far south east coast and love collecting vintage - mainly these days it is more old clothing, lace doilies etc. which I can recycle into my mixed media creations. You have worked hard at restoring so many pieces of furniture
and it all looks good from here. I hope you don't grow roses like we do as that possum wouldn't stand a chance in our garden.
Lovely to come and visit you and hope you meet some lovely new friends here too!
Suzy
I like your ideas ,looking forward to your inside the house. I will follow so I know what you are doing. I love junk put have no more room and my HD say where will you put it, I know I would find a stop.
Laura
Hi Wendy, I love vintage kitchen allot-and I do use them too-which is the best part-lol
It was lovely to read about your love of restoring vintage items, and see some examples, Wendy.
What a pretty place you have there. Watching the sunset, or even sunrise, over water is so pretty. The little possum is so cute. We have possums here too but they don't look like yours and aren't at all sociable.
I enjoyed seeing your part of the world! I've never seen a brushtail possum! He does look cute!
Lovely to meet you Wendy - I'm visiting from the UK
I enjoy collecting too (junk, my husband mainly calls it!!)
Tropical sounds awfully appealing today......fog and rain here in the pacific nw.
t_ktl at yahoo.com
Thanks so much suziqu for your comment. Your mixed media work sounds and looks very interesting.
I would like to blame the possum for my failure as a rose grower, but I think it is just too humid for them. Do love roses in all forms though! cheers Wendy
Yes they all say 'where will you put all these things' don't they! I always manage to find a spot too Laura!
cheers Wendy
Thanks Maria, always fun keeping up with your activities too! cheers Wendy
I have to agree with the morning and night time over the water too!
I think that this little possum has been making the most of food snacks we have been giving him, however I think we might have to stop soon before he is too spoilt!
cheers Wendy
Hi! yes plenty more of our world to come. This has been great encouragement for more blogging for me. cheers Wendy
Summer has just been dragging on a bit too long here Alexis! Hot and muggy again today. February our hottest and most humid month.
cheers Wendy
Hi Gill, nice to meet you too. Thanks for your comment.
Junk! I'm sure it's nothing at all like that, but very collectable items.
cheers Wendy
Hello from the USA and the GYB party. I can appreciate your painting projects as I am getting ready to do some myself.
It looks like your possum enjoys his treats. I should have joined in to grow my blog I wonder if it is too late.
You are so generous to offer this giveaway. I love Australia. I'm from NYC but have visited your fair country a few times and have been to Hervey Bay, Byron Bay, and around Tasmania! I look forward to seeing your blog updates!
- afistfuloflemons @ gmail
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