Monday 27 November 2017

Finding a use for unwanted stuff

Hello. Thank you all for your support on yesterdays post. I am chuffed that you stick up for me. 
Skip diving yesterday. The house round the corner has had a lot of work done to it, which has meant lots of skip loads coming out of there. I saw these two wotsits a week ago but they weren't in the skip. I don't know what you call them, trestles I think, but they look like they could be useful. I thought they were part of the builders equipment to do the job. I had my eye on them. Lo and behold, they turned up in the skip so that was my cue to remove them sharpishly, they are now in my garage. Good eh! Very sturdy, need sanding and painting. Maybe make a table, or something for the garden. 
A bag of driftwood I picked up from the waters edge on Saturday. I think I have enough now. Will be used for art projects.

This is a heavy lump, it's cast iron. There is a bungalow which has been under renovation for about a year now, the man was in no rush to get it finished. I have been picking up bits and pieces from his skip for a while. He is making one last push to get the job finished and has been working on the garden for about a week. It's on my walking route so I always stop for a chat if he is there. Today he asked if I wanted this. It's a water feature which hangs on the wall. The water comes out of the lions mouth. I won't be using it with water, but I thought it would make a nice planter. It needs a wire brush to get rid of the rust, and with a coat of paint it will look quite nice. A job for the spring I think. Too cold to do any work outside at the moment.

More shopping bags made, I have a total of 17 now to sell at the Christmas Fair on Saturday. That should be enough.

The Zippppeeee project is coming along nicely, I've decided on the background. I was going to make it all black zips, but now I think that would be too much, so I'm using a dark green fabric and the frame will be zips.

Thanks very much for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

23 comments:

  1. I love that Lion-last year I saw a new one similar & it was over £200.Nice bags too for your little cats charity.You have such a great life Ilona,it goes to show that we clon't have to have lots of money to clo also x

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  2. Love the cast iron lion. It will look beautiful as a planter.

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  3. I think it's grand that you have 17 bags to sell at the Fair and that money will help the cats! You should feel truly proud! JanF

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  4. The red wooden items look to be what we call "saw horses" here in the US. Carpenters/contractors use them to set up a work station for sawing.

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  5. Those things are saw horses. You put wood across that you are working on. Very useful items. They look like good strong ones too. You can also lay a piece of plywood across to make a work surface. They are meant to be mobile so you can take them close to the work. Not very good at explaining but trust me they will prove very useful to you as you are always doing projects.

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    1. Another use is temporary tables when all of the family comes over for Thanksgiving, Christmas, BBQs, or the Forth.

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    2. Judy, temporary table is a good idea, but I won't be using it for when family comes over, because they never do.

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  6. Some great stuff you have got there Ilona,I love the lion and Im sure that you will do something amazing with those trestles.Its always nice to have something to look forward to working on.Good luck with the Christmas fair on Saturday,just wished i was nearer as i would love to have bought a couple of your bags,Debi,xx

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  7. As already mentioned bt Ctmom Ilona, Sawhorses for sawing lengths of wood.

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  8. I've fancied one of those water feature lions for ages, just haven't got round to it yet. Lucky you. You could always use it as a bird watering hole, just a matter of keeping it topped up once it's cleaned up. Plus it could be placed high enough to stop the cats jumping up. As for the trestles, if left unattached, they could form a work table for potting up plants and other table uses, by laying a rectangle of wood across them. Then removing the table top, they could be used for the purpose of sawing up wood. Being unattached they could have various uses, and then be stored away for the winter, with the work surface up against the wall. Actually Ilona, I could do with both your finds ! (Skip envy).Ha ha. Jean.

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  9. Love the piece of cast iron, probably worth a few bob, but yes on a planter would look great. Lovely bags, love the fabric on the bottom right.

    On a different note have you heard anything about Frugal Queens blog it has vanished?

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    1. Hi. No, not heard anything, don't read it very often. Had a look round, her Twitter and Facebook has vanished as well.

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    2. May be she is re-inventing herself !

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    3. Possibly, could be any number of reasons. Taking a break, fed up of blogging, too busy. On a similar note, Katie Hopkins has wiped all her tweets from her Twitter feed, since she parted company with the Mail yesterday. She is back this morning though. People sometimes need to make changes in their lives.

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  10. Wow, great haul! Mr S would have had those saw horses in a flash. The things people throw out! The bags look good. Hope you sell them all.

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  11. Good saving...keep them handy for all sorts of jobs...even for laying out a large sewing project or spreading maps for walk planning

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    1. Good idea for the maps. The only surfaces I have to lay them out at present is the floor. Once painted up they would look ok in the house.

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  12. Hi Ilona

    Great skip finds. I always look in skips whenever I am out and about but I never seem to find any treasures. I SO WANT that lovely lion - he would look splendid as a planter in my garden!

    Kind regards

    Julia

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  13. What a super haul Ilona and I can not wait until you have worked on the lion. The trestles will really come in handy. Your bags are great and will sell well and good luck with the fair.

    Hazel c uk

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  14. We lived in England for a while many years ago and the Lion fountains were everywhere over there on people's walls. Ever since then I've thought I wouldn't say no to one either. Great find. Your shopping bags look great. Pauline

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  15. We had a couple of the trestles and we use them in the garden in the spring/summer. We drilled holes in small plastic pots, put hooks through to hang them onto the trestles and then planted up herbs, salad leaves etc. Easy to water and keeps the plants away from most pests/pets etc and saves having to bend to pick stuff.

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  16. We call those saw horses in the US. Plus, with a door laid across them or any wood, they can make a work table or eating/serving table.

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  17. We call your "wotsits" sawhorses here in the US. It used to be that every handyman had a set in his garage or workshed. Today they have folding aluminum sawhorses that are height adjustable and take up less room.

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