Can you believe it's only 3 more days until Christmas?!? And what did I go and do, but brake my camera. Yep. My poor camera has a broken screen, so it's been sent away for a (doubtfully) quick fix. And right at Christmas too! So I've had to borrow my Mum's camera to take these pics. The rainy weather doesn't help with the quality either, but at least it's not hot.
First up, this gorgeous holly bowl I scored at the oppy for only $1!
No chips or anything, it is just gorgeous, and going to be a part of my Christmas decorating for years to come!
I also got these cute little ornaments and bottle trees for 50 cents each, and these cute dog and cat Christmas figurines were also 50 cents!
I nearly missed this reindeer basket, as you could hardly see the deer in amongst all the tinsel and stuff.
I brought it home for only $3 and gave him a revamp.
Now he's part of our Christmas display on the TV cabinet, holding some of the smaller presents. It looks so much better in person!
If you click on the picture above and enlarge it, you'll see the tins next to the basket. The red reindeer set I got from Kmart in the after Christmas sales last year for only $5. The tin on top I got from the oppy for 50 cents, and the long cylinder tin on the very right with poinsettias I recognize from last years biscuit tin stock in stores, but I scored the plain tin for only 50 cents from an op shop! The nativity scene I have two of. One has been in my family since before I can remember, the one pictured was also only 50 cents.
I used
this idea to create a gold and red tinsel tree, along with making another button tree like last years.
See the felt one at the back? I made it too, but haven't had the time (or the right things) to decorate it with. It's not as dark as it looks but a much nicer green. I'll look in the after Christmas sales and hopefully find something to jazz it up with. The reindeer statue I found at Kmart reduced to $2 each. His twin is at the other end of the cabinet. Here's a pic of the tinsel tree from my camera, before I broke it.
Finding this plain pine cone tree at the op shop for 50 cents, I cut off the ruined bits, painted him up and glued a little birdie to his upper branches.
Sorry the picture's so dark! I also scored this great hand painted ceramic plant saucer turned Christmas bowl for $3.50.
I couldn't pass it up! Last but not least, I scored a truckload of crafting mushrooms and walnut ornaments from Spotlight at 50% off!
I've decorated our "tree" in walnuts, birds, mushrooms, reindeer, and other woodsy creations this year.
The damage in unbelievable, you really can't imagine the scale unless you see it for yourself. This is what our entrance into Rocky from the south usually looks like -
This was it yesterday -
Our local hockey grounds are almost totally underwater (just a five minute walk from my place)!
The showgrounds are filling up with cattle and horses that have been saved. One cow was lucky enough to be washed up onto someones front lawn instead of being washed down the river into the ocean to inevitably drown.
Snake handlers are being called every five minutes by Police and SES workers to come and remove a snake or two from homes, not to mention the countless snakes that are just being killed, including harmless pythons.
RSPCA ambulance volunteers are run off their feet trying to find places for the countless animals they're rescuing.
We are almost at the same level as the 1991 floods, which took the life of a friends son.
The piles of sandbags have reached into the 1000's of tons!
When the waters die down, and the cleanup starts, the amount of things having to be thrown out will reach into the millions.
Yet through it all, we still manage to laugh, and band together, knowing that it could be worse.
All we can do is look at the overcast, stormy sky and pray it won't rain.
