Welcome Back To A New Year of Charity Shopping!

Happy New Year to you all!  I went out to do my usual shopping today and dropped into Life Line at Logan Central for the first time in about a month or so; and was greeted with a few lovely things that I thought would be lovely to own.  

First, though, I found I was in great need of a new handbag; a handbag that would be taken everywhere and would fit everything in it.  So, I picked up the first on off the top shelf and found a 'Tosca' bag... a leather one!  It was in a great condition and at a great price of $20.  So, I tucked that under my arm.  

I rummaged through some of the boxes and found a pink Lipstick Purse and it was in good condition.  I always love finding these as I can find uses for them over the time I have them.  It was the most gorgeous colour with green and blue flowers all over it.

I looked through the glass cases and found a keyring/locket with a very familiar face on it:  The Elegant Lady - the very same one I have as a coin purse - came as a keyring/locket as well!  So, I nabbed that out of the case.  So, with my three collectables in hand, I handed over my keycard and purchased them all.  It was great to have them in my bag.

Once outside, I went to a nearby seat, swapped over all my stuff from the old Pinelands bag to the new Tosca bag and then took the old handbag inside to be resold.  I would rather somebody else have my preloved bag; as I have taken care of it as well as I can and it will have looked just as good when I hand it back.  Well, I hope you have found some goodies over the holiday period... if you have, leave a comment and let us know about it.  Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed your Christmas and NYE time with your family.

Royal Blueness

I love collecting Lipstick Purses and this third one my cousin gave me was something I knew straight away was one before I unwrapped it; just from the shape.  And isn't it lovely?  The red interior always gets me as it's just so pretty and has that clean kind of look to it when they are new - or old - and this one has the most lovely flowers on it; which changes colours when it catches the light.

I have yet to test this one out as well.  And so until I do, it's not yet on the Tested listings either.

High School Musical Rocks!

I really love the style of lipstick purses; and this one wasn't going to be left at the markets all because of what was on it. Yes, I bought this one along with another one because of the type of purse it is: a lipstick purse. Otherwise, I'm not into the 'High School Musical' trilogy or into the teeny-boppa kind of movies. This one caught my eye also because it's in such good condition. I've yet to use it.

However, I don't think I will as it's not really all that stable. On closer inspection, I found that the hinges on it were lose and I have no way of tightening them. So, it needs a little work before I can get in to putting in for my normal rotation of use with the others.

Lipstick Red!

This little beauty was also bought at the Redland Bay Life Line store. I found it in the same shop as the one below and thought it the most beautiful little purse I've ever laid eyes on! And look at that colour! The red is just so beautiful and it wasn't dirty either; and the best part I found was that the inside was absolutely pristine!

When Mum and I were driving home, she told me that the hard purses like these ones were called Lipstick Purses. The reason being is because ladies would put their lipsticks inside them and take them to the Ladie's to touch up their lip colour at a restaurant instead of taking their whole handbag or pocketbook. It made it look less like they were putting on make up and more like they were taking a mini-purse with them.

Asian Gold

I found this gorgeous one too good to pass up. However, I also found one rather major problem with it; and it's not a good one. Despite it being such a lovely find and very beautiful, I can't get it open; even though you can see a picture of it open here (I had to use a pair of scissors to prise it open for that photo to be taken; dangerous in more ways than one! Can you imagine if I tried that in public?).

So, this one stays in its packet and in the elephant-grass basket with the few others I have and don't use for various reasons (each one is different from each other). However, I wouldn't want somebody else to have this coin purse and throw it out because it wouldn't open. I keep this one because of its beauty; not because of its practicability. So, here's one just for show.

Black Chinese Style Purse

This one was a recent purchase from - all places - a Life Line Store! It cost me $1.50 and just have a look at the condition it's in... absolutely gorgeous. I hadn't found any purses on this day until I got to the counter with a bag I was going to buy for my Mum (it was a Florentine-style bag that I thought she'd love - and she does!) and there this darling little purse sat in the basket next to cash register amongst a whole lot of belts and old buckles.

Gotta say: this one and another I have in the same style were both found in the same shop for around the same price. So, you never know what people are donating these days.

You can find pretty much anything in charity stores these days to begin a collection. Go and have a look!