Pine Bookcase





This pine bookcase was going spare in my family so I rescued it with a little Annie Sloan. Yes I know, I'm obsessed! But it's such good stuff! Painted in striking 'Greek Blue' and 'Old white'

Nik Naks




I wanted to find somewhere to house some old match boxes my husbands nan had collected and also some of his old toy cars. I spotted this old letterpress tray at a flea market and fell in love!

A touch of Summer



Chair legs painted in 'English Yellow' by Annie Sloan and back pasted in retro floral wrap.

Colour rush


Loving Annie Sloan and Fired earth colours at the moment. 
This chair I painted in Scandinavian Pink by Annie Sloan and Hustle at 5 by Fired earth. Yum!



Project Dollshouse



A new project to get my hands on! My friend very kindly donated this dollshouse to Liv. It needs a touch of paint which I've already started... Watch this space to see how it develops!

Photo Wheel


I'm always looking for different ways to display my photos around the house. I saw this idea on Pinterest and instantly I had to steal it to put our holiday photos on.

Out of the Dark Workshop




I love a chance to put my stamp on a chair and on Wednesday I had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop held by peops from Trade fair Bubble and company Out of the Dark. 

Out of the Dark is a charitable social enterprise that creates beautifully crafted furniture, They recycle, restore and revamp pieces discarded by others and in the process train, educate and employ young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The chairs we upcycled in the workshop will be auctioned at the Bubble Trade fair in February with proceeds going to OOTD. 


Upcycled toilet roll craft


This week I thought this was worth a pic! Made by me, Age 30 and daughter Olivia, Age 2.

My Old Wicker Crib


This was mums project really but I wanted to feature it on the blog because
it's so lovely and a perfect example of how new babies don't necessarily mean
spending a fortune on brand new furnishings! There's plenty of second hand
baby stuff going. This old wicker crib was mine when I was a baby.
Mum dug it out of the attic and freshened it up for my new arrival by
making this bumper out of pretty floral fabric.



She cut the paper to make the template for the bumper fabric,
using tape to position it in place within the basket as a guide.



She lay the fabric out on a flat surface and drew around the
template pieces, leaving a margin of about 1" all around for the hem.
She then cut another 2 for the backing (you can choose a plain fabric
for this as it won't be seen) and 2 pieces of wadding to go in the centre
(make these exactly the template size). She pinned the fabric inside
out and sewed the fabric pieces together with a hem, inserting ribbon
for ties as she went (how many is up to you) The wadding was inserted
before sewing up the ends.


She secured it to the sides of the crib using the ribbons and a few
stitches :)

Retro Dining





The G-Plan brand was launched in the 1950s.  
In those days G-Plan was not cheap, but it was the brand
most people aspired to own. When my friends neighbour 
decided to throw away this fabulous gem, I grabbed
the opportunity to welcome it into our house!


I sanded down the years of heavy dark varnish (bit of a job!) revealing a fabulous teak veneer. I then re-varnished it using 2 coats of clear mat wood varnish. I used the existing chair covers as a template to make new ones with a fun 1950's feel fabric.



I've since seen loads of these on ebay that the world is throwing out! See past the tat and REVAMP!

Palettes


























For my Thai cushions. I love palettes, adaptable
in so many ways!

French Maps Chair



















































Another cheap find. The body of the chair I
pasted with some old french maps I found in
an antiques market and the seat is covered in
a patchwork of ironed plastic carrier bags.

Showtime Chair


This is for my friend Caroline. It was a gift for her birthday and I made it
reflect who she is. A mixture of fun and happy quirks! ;)

Inspiration Wall




















When I work I like to surround myself with bits and bobs to look
at. Staring at a blank wall is like staring at a blank piece of paper
... daunting! So above my desk is this collection of photos, postcards
and general ephemera. It makes me feel right at home!