On a Roll

Next bit of DIY whatnot comes in the shape of this tray thingy. Again, this was thrifted years ago and has been too ugly to use, but in the back of my mind I knew it could be saved somehow, and with recent dabbles with paintbrushes already fresh on my mind it wasn't long before Mod Podge showed up to join in the party.

With some undercoat and leftover wallpaper and a little bit of Mod Podge thrown in for good measure it took less than half an hour and we had yet another Orla-fied item ready to use. In fact, I am hinting for breakfast in bed just to make use of this item...









And if it's any consolation, I'm getting as bored as you are with the incessant Orla Kiely references in my house. But what to do. She's ace.

Garden Notes

However much I think I'll remember, by the time harvest comes I've always forgotten the most basics of when I've started seeds, when I've hardened off, how many crops I planted and how many came to the table. Not that it matters, but I do like to think I'm learning as I go along with this growing gig. So this year I made a note book - watercolour paper, folded and sewed and an ink and watercolour front cover. Simple.

It will be interested to compare with other years and a nice little keepsake.

And finally...

I think these are the last of the DIY paint blog posts. I think. I might get the urge to do some more, but for now, I'm all painted out.

This lamp base was green faux marble, thrifted with the intention of painting. At last it is done. All that remains is to buy a proper lampshade and add doilies (yes, why not?). Because this lamp is a bit of a granny chic lamp, I think. She needs doilies to finish her off and make her feel special. (Apologies again for Orla overload).

And this little beauty was calling for a spruce up... a drop spindle who has laid dormant and forgotten since the wheel has been put to use. But a lick of paint, some lipstick and eyeshadow and she's all ready to bat her eyelashes at me and call me over to the dark side of spindling once again. Who could resist the allure of a spruced up spindle?

Just Because

And whilst we have the paint out, why not paint a couple jars, add a decal, hide the screw lid with some lace and call it a vase for good measure? They will look nice on the table outdoors and add a splash of colour inside too. Why not.

The Paint Diaries

The DIY bug has hit hard this spring. The need to spruce up, polish off, clean and tidy, well, it's time.

These chairs have been on my radar for like EVA. I thrifted them years and years ago for 50p each to go in the homeschool area. They've been well used before - I think in a school - and you can see dents, paint, marks and rust - they're battered beyond measure, but more than that? Well, they're orange. I had always intended these another colour.

And so, with a warm day ahead out came the primer and undercoat and the lovely 'craft room blue' I have used on my walls and by the end of the evening I had two matching, pretty chairs. Dent free, non-orange, and lovely.

Next on my radar - the homeschool table. Just as soon as I can decide on a colour.

My Biggest Fans

These heinous, sun-faded, thrifted, dust-ridden, crimes against good taste that had been sitting in the boys' room for longer than I care to think about were destined for the charity bag or bin. I didn't much care which. Because being beyond fugly makes it OK to dispense with things in my book.

But then. There was that nagging voice in my head 'waste is the biggest sin', and I really do not like wasting perfectly useable things. It makes me tetchy even thinking about it. But I did so want something shiny and preferably not fugly... what to do?

And then Pinterest saved the day. Again. Paint! What was I thinking?! Of course, paint. Always paint.

A quick trip to the DIY store to buy aqua spray paint resulted (due to the fact that I took the boys and there was no aqua spray paint) in this - slightly better than heinous - gold fans. "We can pretend they're trophies, mummy!". Hm.





I know for a fact that one day these will be aqua. I'm just biding my time...

The Mod Podge Diaries.... 1

Organisation is something I like doing. It feels like I'm achieving something tangible. Folded, tidied, put away, everything with a little home of its own, perhaps even a folder, or wallet, or box. Yes, that's me. I like everything to have a home.

What I do *not* like is spending money on other peoples' ideas of how to get organised - gosh there are some ugly creations out there - plastic tubs stacked on another (I have my fair share of these before you say anything), drawers for paper which take up too much room, filing systems that are expensive. My idea of organisation has to square perfectly with being a) compact and put-away-able and b) dirt cheap bordering on free. And yes, if we're honest, c) homemade.






And d) 'beautiful'. Recently I needed a place to put all the worksheets and work the boys get through - filing systems, under the bed, in a bag, left near the printer - all these options had been tried and tested, and I couldn't ignore the mass of work any longer. These free cardboard boxes suited me - they are the right size, strong and stackable. Alas, they lacked the quality of 'beauty'.

Enter Mod Podge to the rescue. Again.

With just a little piece of Penguin Classic wrapping paper from our department store I pasted the sides of the boxes with this faux bookshelf, and ta-da! instant granny chic camoflage for an ugly box!















I can place these on a shelf out of the way and they instantly blend in with the aesthetic of the decor. Granny Chic camoflage for sure. I like it. I may be doing it again. I may even attempt to cover the children in it. Watch this space.



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Mod Podge + Orla Kiely

I have used this combination before to produce some nice results, but using leftover wallpaper on a dull piece of furniture really is a great way to make something a feature rather than an eye sore.

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Mirror Mirror Smashed on the Floor...

Well, this used to be a mirror. And then one day my babes made one of their daily pilgrimages to my side to declare 'oops, Mama, we didn't mean to...' as I winced and waited for the next words out of their mouths praying it wasn't something I really liked.



Annoyance not really an emotion I dwell upon as it does drain me so, I shrugged it off and binned the frame - it didn't come with a glass front and I couldn't see how I could salvage it into a picture frame or anything useful.

But then. Pinterest. Another site of mass distraction. Oh my. And frames seem to have a lot of life to them outside the box - some people are stapling wire or string to empty frames and pegging pictures onto them, and others are doing this - painting the backs with chalkboard paint and making themselves a little reminder board.

Not one to pass up a good idea, especially if it means landfill stays a little emptier - and hey presto! a chalkboard for the kitchen, because I never can find a paper and pen when I want to jot something for the shopping list.



I think I prefer it to the mirror! Not that I would ever let my babes know that, of course....


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Easy Makes :: Kilner Jar Sewing Boxes

I love this new make of mine - a simple glass jar with a handmade pincushion hot-glued onto the lid keeping all my go-to sewing things in one place :: some thread, needle threader, seam ripper, needles and some scissors and shears. All the things I regularly use in an easy to carry along compartment.

I am particularly fond of having my own pincushion just for needles now, which were always hard to find in the forest of pins of my others.

I just LOVE this jar of mine. It's just one of those things that defies explanation.... make one why don't you?



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