Love

I'm getting a tad carried away making these blocks now and yet I still have more on the go!
These were actually some of the first I ever made but I made a mess of the paint colour choice and then wasn't so keen on the paper choice I made either. However, they've been just staring at me for weeks now pleading to be finished so I figured I'd fit them in in between other projects (why do I seem to have so many on the go!)

Anyhoo these are the blocks:

The finished item.

The process for making them is really, really simple.
I cut 4 blocks from some rough 2"x2" wood and gave them a really good sand down. The corners and edges were sanded with a mega mother of all sand papers (I do have mechanical sander but I'm too lazy to get it set up    I enjoy hand sanding).
Once the corners and edges were rounded I used 2 other grades of sandpaper to smooth the blocks even more:

Before & After.

Next, and this is where it all goes Pete Tong, I painted all the blocks with Laura Ashleys 'Duck egg'. I figured a blast of colour would be just what was needed after so many recent projects have been Cream but once they'd dried I decided it wasn't really what I wanted, so I painted them cream - of course!
Once dried I sanded the whole thing paying more attention to the edges and corners.
Next I took some Latin font vellum, cut pieces to fit the front of each one and glued them on using watered down PVA glue.
This is a process I've never done before and I didn't realise that the vellum would stretch and crinkle so much which is another reason I abandoned the project after this point.

The edges of the paper were also sanded once dried.

Fast forward a few weeks and I decided to finish the blocks mainly because I'd just bought a Gold permanent marker for xmas projects and wanted to try it on something else first.
The marker is by 'Pilot' and I have to say it was a dream to use, as was the White Pilot pen I used on another project, plus I got them dirt cheap along with a Silver one off EBay!
So I attempted to transfer letters onto the blocks the usual way of tracing and scribbling buut even with a dark soft pencil nothing would trace onto the dried glue. In the end I had to hand draw the letters onto each one.

Love!

Apologies for the lack of staging.

Not too shabby huh!

So there you have it, yet more wooden blocks. Enjoy!
Thanks for popping by.





Linked to:

'My Romantic Home'
'Stuff and Nonsense'
'French Country Cottage'
'The Shabby Nest'
'Craft Scrappy Happy'
'Finding Fabulous'
'Craft Envy'
'Craft Junkie Too'
'Todays creative blog'

From yuk to Plum

So, I've been working on revamping old furniture for our new bedroom and I've just finished the second to last piece - just one more piece to go.
The colour theme is cream and Plum but you'll  have to take my word for that as the photos are showing more of a White/Purple theme.
This last piece was a dodgy old set of drawers I happened upon in a charity shop for £20. I loved it straight away but dithered about paying £20 and so walked away from it. All that night I regretted it and so the next day my very patient husband took me back to the town so I could snap it up - a well made six drawer set for £20, what was I thinking of walking away!
So this is the drawer set as it was

Yup, typical old fashioned grotty brown set of drawers straight from the sixties. The handles were bad enough (plasticky by the way) but just look at those awful ball feet and they weren't easy to get off either.
But get em off I did followed quickly by those awful handles *TOP TIP - number the drawers in sequence as you remove them, it makes replacing them sooooooo much easier * and then I set about sanding the whole thing down mainly to get a decent surface for the paint to key to.
The surface was in a good condition considering its age and the fact that it's probably seen alot of movement over time, just a few surface scratches that needed a bit of filler.
During that process I decided I didn't like the legs of this piece - even without the ugly ball feet - and so I   added a plinth to  the front. I wasn't too worried about the sides having a plinth because once it's in its final position (an alcove) it won't be seen.
Enter the Dewalt cutter - yes, the fun part!
I drew the pattern I wanted on some paper and then transferred it to the MDF and cut it out.

Gave it a really good sand down and then screwed it to the bottom of the drawers (using good old countersunk plasterboard screws). Next I filled over the top of the screws with wood filler and once dry sanded it all down till smooth.
BUT I then decided I didn't like the pattern I had just cut out. These drawers are very rectangular and the new handles I'd chosen were square so why on earth did I do such a poncy curved pattern! Oh well, I left it and just hoped it would grow on me - it hasn't!

I wasn't about to change it now though so I'm stuck with it!
Next the whole thing was primed as were the drawer fronts and sides followed by a light sand ready for painting.
And so to the painting: On the last piece I redesigned I 'discovered' painting with a sponge as opposed to a brush. I like the sponge finish because there are no annoying brush strokes, however this time I ran out of patience with it, it was taking too many coats just to get a cover so after 2 sponge coats I did a decent brush coat, lightly sanded between coats and then gave it  a final sponge coat.
I then gave everything 3 sponged coats of floor varnish because it'll probably get alot of knocks.
The drawers had the same treatment except for a different colour of paint obviously.
I then added the drawer pulls to the front - I had to buy these pulls though because I couldn't find 8 matching in my box of goodies (need 8 because I'm currently doing the matching wardrobe) and I managed to pick these up for 0.99 each. As they were silver coloured I had to  prime, spray and laquer them with the same colour car paint spray I had used on the other pieces of furniture.
I have to say that these pulls were really awkward to fix on. Underneath them they have a couple of pins that dig into the wood as they're screwed on from inside the drawer - a fab idea but it meant that I couldn't make adjustments to them to make them straight at the point of them being tight but loose enough to move (if you get me). I had to be spot on from the start which is difficult on your own.
Once that was sorted though I just had to get it indoors and put it all together.
*small problem* Despite me checking the running of the drawers at certain stages, when I got them indoors 2 of them wouldn't close (see the piccie). I was tempted to take it straight back out and sand them down but I suspect the wood has drawn in moisture from the air in the workshop - it's happened before- and therefore I've decided to leave it a week or so indoors and see if they shrink as they dry out.
Fingers crossed!
Anyways this is the finished deal:

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.




This post is linked to

'Under the table and Dreaming' 
'The Shabby Nest'
'The Southern Institute'
'Chic on a shoestring decorating'
'Tip Junkie'
'Delightful order'
'Happy Hour Projects'

Love 'n' handmade silk flowers

It's the middle of September guys, where has this year gone? Did I sleep through the summer cos I sure as hell missed it!
Seriously we've hardly been able to string together one week of nice warm days over the last few months here in the Highlands. I am desperate for some warmth and with Xmas only round the corner I don't fancy my chances of getting any  - there's only so much these coastal views make up for - I need a holiday somewhere warm, preferably the Carribbean!

Anyway with the weather being so damp it's taking my furniture much longer to dry and cure. Unfortunately my workshop has but one piddly window and that faces North so we get no sun in there and the wind has blown in every direction except the one I need - typical.
I simply refuse to give up on the outdoor projects and stay indoors doing all manner of crafty goodness (remind me exactly why I am refusing this), I'm just having to learn a bit of patience (and 'a bit' is as far as I've gotten) and let nature take its course -though I am considering giving it a helping hand by wheeling a big dryer into the workshop. There's no way I can work like this for much longer.

Righto I must stop this whining.
I have at least managed to finish one project! yay! A tad small though and really should only have taken a day or so but with the damp air......... there I go whining again.

I found this cute 'Love' sign at our local  factory shop (local to me is 20 miles away) and whipped it up for £3 bargain!

The first thing I did was trace the letters onto some MDF, never know when I may need another one!
Initially I had planned to paint the back and decoupage the front of the letters in something to match our bedroom. In fact this was one of the rare times that I actually did  'plan', but in typical 'me' fashion I  changed my mind mid paint and completely deviated from the plan. And that is why I don't usually plan!
I painted it cream as per 'plan' and then sponged the edges as per' plan' ready to let it dry and decoupage it.
However, it looked like this

Yuk! This is the first thing I've ever sponged the edges of and so I wasn't really brave doing it but even so........
I them decided to paint it the purply plum colour I've used on other furniture for the bedroom and see what that looked like.
Once it had dried though I didn't like seeing the brush strokes in the paint so I started to gently sand it down - I say 'gently sand it' however when the sand paper you use is high grit it kinda defeats the purpose, but oh well.
As the edges became worn with the sanding I found I really liked the effect so decided to keep it that way.
This is what it looks like now

Not everyones cup of tea but I 'love' it!


Most of you know that we recently moved into a brand new home, every bit of it built by my husband with as much help as myself, Stacey & Leanne could muster and I really wanted as much of the inside to be hand made or renovated by myself as possible - my contribution if you like!
When it came to our bedroom I had bought the bed linen months in advance - a range called 'Rosina' by Catherine Lansfield - I fell in love with this range for 2 reasons - 1), it's sooooooo pweety and 2),Rosina is my middle name.
Anyway when it came to the curtains I wanted to stay within the same design range because there are too many variations of 'Plum' and I wanted to ensure the curtains matched. Problem was that for full lengths curtains I was looking at alot of money for two windows, so I decided I'd buy one set of curtains at 90" x 90" giving me the full length I wanted but would also be able to halve each curtain therefore giving me two pairs of full length, lined curtains (and saving a packet).
But I was halfway through sewing up the final curtain when I realised I'd only have one set of tiebacks - duh!
Having never made tiebacks before I was dubious about trying but I had some cream fabric that matched the cream in the curtains beautifully and actually managed to produce 4 tiebacks.
This left me  looking at the lovely Plum satin type material that the  original tiebacks were made of and trying to come up with something I could make that would enhance the new tie backs I'd made.

Ta da!

Fiddly but definitely doable and worth it.
I cut each tie back into 4 strips and singed one of the raw edges over a candle. This not only seals the raw edge from fraying but gives it that darker edge too, plus singeing with candles is reeeeally therapuetic.
I then ran the other edge of each piece up the sewing machine on a long straight stitch and then gathered the strip by pulling on the end of the thread, as each flower uses two strips I gathered the one to be used first a little tighter as it would form the centre of the flower.
I wrapped the first strip round a piece of wire, gathering it as I went and added pleats or folds as necessary and then the second strip was added much more loosely. Once at the end I wrapped it tightly with masking tape and took it off the wire. I then added another strip of cream in the same fashion as the others because I wanted a bigger flower than I was getting with just the Plum strips.
Once I had fluffed each flower to my liking I attached them to the tiebacks  by cutting a slit in the top piece of fabric (these tiebacks are 2 layered) next to the hook and inserted the taped end of the flower and set it in there using 'Fixsal' glue.

These tiebacks really do look lovely and for a first attempt I'm really chuffed with them.

Now I shall give you a little peek at what I'm working on at the moment:
I fell in love with this chest of drawers at a charity shop in town. Going for £20 I was too tight fisted to buy it at the time but soon regreted it and talked hubby into taking me back the next day to buy it.
I spent the entire journey there praying no one had bought it and kicking myself for not snapping up in the first place.

Don't like the handles or those plastic feet but it's well built and is going to look fabulous with a transformation.

A few days later in the same charity shop (a rarity for me as I hardly ever go out let alone into town) I spotted a side unit. Bit funky looking and I hate the sliding glass doors but I know exactly what I want to do with it and where it's going to go. well actually I bought it for the dining room but it's now going in the living room - once it's been transformed of course!

And only £5!

I've been wanting to make a couple of coat hooks for a while now and what I really wanted was some Iron hooks mounted onto wood but the cost of iron hooks is ridiculous, especially for a back hallway never to be seen. So for £1 each I got these

Ugly huh? Have some faith though, they're gonna look great!

I'm also working on a really old wardrobe which has so far in this current makeover changed colour 4 times - no wonder it's taking so long. But there's been good reason for it and I will share the whole sorry saga with you once it's finished.
Plus I'll introduce you to Lita - be prepared to be cutified by her cutiness.

Thanks for popping by and come back soon.


xx

This post is linked to

'Tip Junkie - Tip Me Tusday'
'not just a housewife'
'Ginger Snap Crafts'
'I'm Topsy Turvy'
'Funky Polka Dot Giraffe'
'Nifty Thrifty things' 
'The Creative Institute' 
'JAQS studio'