DOILEYS

Doileys are one of those things that are easy to pick up in an op shop (Sandlewood Op Shop is no exception!).  

Many of them are handmade with love by previous generations and although some can be slightly imperfect, there are many uses for them that can still show off their true beauty and all the hard work someone has put into creating it.

Here are five ideas for ways to use Doileys...

1. Frame them

Photo Courtesy of craftynest.com

2. Jazz up your Clothes

Photo Courtesy of blog.craftzine.com

Photo courtesy of gizbabe.typepad.com

3. Make a Lampshade, Cover a Coathanger, or make a Dreamcatcher Yes, I know this is THREE, but think of it as 2 bonus ideas ;) 

Photo Courtesy of  abeautifulmess.typepad.com

4. Create Dainty, Romantic Decor 

Photo Courtesy of twinklemama.files.wordpress.com

Photo Courtesy of greenowlcrafts.blogspot.com.au

Photo Courtesy of needle-exchange.ca

5. Create funky jewellery and accessories

Photo Courtesy of sweetpaul.typepad.com

Photo Courtesy of  sincerelykinsey.blogspot.com

Photo Courtesy of craftster.org

Welcome back .... introducing "5 ways to"

BUTTONS

WOW! It's been almost 12 months since I blogged for the shop. How fast that time has gone!

Recently Des has been spending a bit of time doing some research on different uses for some of the common things that get donated to the Op Shop. This has been generating a fair bit of interest, so I've decided that once a week I'm going to blog on 5 ways to reuse/recycle/upscale a specific item.

Today I'm going to concentrate on Buttons.  You'll find that at most Op Shops you can pick up an assortment of buttons but my personal favourite are Vintage buttons.  

They aren't as easy to pick up around the traps these days, but if you are lucky enough and happen to find them, they are little treasures!  

Here are  a few simple ideas that you can do to recycle old buttons.  Please note that none of these items are actually with us for sale - they are simply to inspire those who like to create. 

Photo http://craftsolutions.tumblr.com/

Photo : http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=287652.0

Photo http://blog.craftzine.com

Photo http://buttonitupbook.wordpress.com

Photo : http://www.etsy.com/listing/94077960/button-heart-lamp-shade-cream-lamp-shade

have you visited since we remodelled?

Remodelling is almost complete and we would like to thank all our wonderful customers for their patience during our crazy shinnanigans (aka the shop refit). 

The refit has been a huge success, with more people than ever visiting our humble little shop since we reopened with our new floorplan.  We have been receiving many compliments from people visiting ever since!

There is more space to walk around inside, our fitting room has moved, and our front window has had a complete transformation with new shelving which allows us to display many more items than we ever could have dreamed of !!

I must try to remember to take some pictures and upload them to the blog and the website!

Right now I only have this picture, which was taken Thursday night after many hours of frustration trying to assemble the shelves that form the new window display...

The window display is constantly changing as things are sold and new items are donated or unearthed from storage.

Recent new additions to the shelves include some great science fiction novels by Robin Hobb,  Lian Hearn and many many more (we received about 2 full boxes of sci fi books so if this is your genre, please pop in and have a look - we have many that don't even fit on the shelves yet!).

So if you haven't popped in recently please call by and tell us what you think of our new look shop! 

renovation rescue!!

We will be closed on Thursday 14th while some fairly BIG stuff is delivered, and the shop is literally pulled to pieces in the process. 

Hopefully we'll have everything back to standard on Friday for you to come in & see what's been unleashed!

all the cool people come to Sandlewood Op Shop.... seriously!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of having Katie in our shop. 

Katie is a personal style blogger and has created the blog Be Inspired. 

Her blog aims to "teach you a thing or two about how easy it is to be fabulous, confident and stylish, on any budget".

She's also a guest blogger for MTV fora.
Last month Katie bought a great jacket from the shop, which you can read all about by clicking here

Her next piece will also feature another purchase from the shop, so be sure to check it out.

slacker

I'm sure it can't just be me who finds these colder months harder to cope with. Seriously.
I get so slack that many things that I can keep up with in the warmer months (like blogging) go by the wayside.  Perhaps it's because my fingers are like tiny little icy-poles while I type this blog post ...

So, yeah, I've been really slack with blogging lately. Hopefully that will all change soon.

So much has been happening at the shop. If you've popped in recently you would have noticed that we no longer have the adjoining shop :(   Sadly that's been taken over by office space.

Our tiny little shop is literally bursting at the seams while we try to cram everything from 1.75 shops down to just 1.  

We are in the process currently of looking for new shopfittings to refit the shop. 
Well, when I say new I mean new to us... it's silly of me to dismiss the fact that we are an op shop and funds are tight so we'll probably end up with someones second or third hand fittings - it's all about recycling!

So hopefully in the next few weeks you will see a transformation take place.
From crowded & cluttered to slightly more spacious and organised.  That will mean that all our regular suspects like the books, shoes and toys that we keep getting asked about daily, should be able to be moved back in to the shop. 

So please bear with us while we make some big changes to our little place!

current appeals

Just to give you a quick update these are the current appeals we have running :

1. Gift Cards for Flood Clients & Disadvantaged Clients
We give clients these gift vouchers/cards to enable them to buy specific requirements such as (but not limited to) groceries, petrol, personal items such as new underwear etc. We can't always have things in every size, so this means if we can give them a gift card they can get exactly what they need when they need it ie. NOW!

2. Beanies, Gloves & Mittens for remote Indigenous Community
We have a remote Indigenous community who are in need of warm items such as beanies, gloves and mittens to get them through this winter.  Handknits or shop boughts are welcome.  Also warm clothes such as tracksuits in very good-new condition are also welcomed (Larger sizes requested).

3. Glue Sticks for Community Kindy
We assist a community based non profit kindy who support families at risk and disadvantaged families.  This community-based kindy receives no funding for craft supplies, & are desperate for a large quantity of non-toxic glue sticks for children's craft.  We help them as much as we can with regards to suitable craft supplies, but we don't have any glue sticks!



4. New Ladies and Mens Winter PJs all sizes

Some of our flood affected clients are living in houses with stud walls and concrete floors so badly need warm nightwear. Our rural clients are finding it difficult making ends meet and also find it hard to obtain winter nightwear so we have been giving any suitable donations to those who are struggling.

If you are able to help out with any of these donations, they can be dropped off at Shop 5/407 Beaudesert Road Moorooka or posted to the same address.  

You may see a "no more donations" sign at the front of the store, which is with regards to general donations as at present the shop is undergoing some major alterations and space is at an absolute premium.  Please do not be deterred from dropping in appeal items if you see this sign, however please don't be offended if we can't take your other donations at this time.