Getting the paint brushes out

The paintbrushes have been out and so I can cross a couple more projects off my to do list.

I brought this chalk paint based on the many successful projects I had seen completed on Pinterest, pity I didn't take some time out to read more because I would have realised this was not the best paint for my project!

Hubby picked up this old stereo cabinet from a local charity shop a couple of years ago, It was just the right size to sit by the front door so that we can drop things on that are on the way out the door. It had a glass fronted door which I have removed.

The tin of chalk paint provided just one thin coat and a second coat would have been needed to get it looking anything like, at a cost of almost five pounds I was reluctant to purchase another one.  I had a poke round in the garden shed and found an almost empty tin of chalky white eggshell, perfect for this job, I don't know why I didn't look in there in the first place!

The finish is far from perfect but I am happy with the make over, the baskets were a great find from TKMaxx and are the perfect size for the cabinet, not to mention a handy place to stash my growing pile of scarves.

While poking around the shed I also found a pot of grey whisper gloss paint that I thought would be ideal for the fire surround in the front room, it was always my intention to paint this but I just hadn't taken any action.  You can see from the rust on the top of the tin it had been lurking in there for quite a while.

BEFORE

AFTER

The orange pine has gone and a contemporary cool grey has taken it's place.

Note to self always check what is in the garden shed before dashing off to B&Q!

The eagle eyed amongst you may have already spotted the new finish on my Easter post

I hope you all enjoyed your Easter break, did you get anything crossed off your to do list?

Easter is on the way

While I plan for Christmas all year round Easter is one of those holidays that always seems to creep up on me and catch me unawares.  I have been percolating a few ideas but not all of them came to fruition as my time seems to be just evaporating at the moment.

 You might recognise the tea cup from this winter whites post, I taped a couple of pipe cleaners on the back for ears, the eyes are  two 0's and the nose is two no1's from some glass tape I brought from Cox and Cox a few years ago.

A repurposed jam jar decorated with washi tape filled with daffs, I will be sorry when the season is over, they are one of my favorite flowers.

I put together a few bits and bobs to create a kind of Easter mood board, I will twiddle with this a bit more as I am not completely satisfied yet.

The crocus bulbs are just hanging in there for a final splash of colour and I swear the daffodils were open in front of the camera as I was taking the pictures.

I used a flyer from Lidl as well as cards, napkins and buttons in spring shades all held down with industrial quantities of washi tape,

I hope you enjoy your Easter break and remember that Easter Egg chocolate has no calories :)

What plans do you have for Easter? will you be making anything?

Spring Spring Spring

There was are was a hint of sunshine over the past couple of days and it really felt like Spring was beginning to put in an appearance, this song came to mind. In September I planted up a few pots with flowering bulbs and we have been reward with a lovely show of flowers

I really packed in the bulbs when I was planting up the pots and topped them off with some winter flowering pansies which have survived quite well in the mild winter.  A few bits of ivy from the bottom of the garden has provided a bit foliage interest and I will use them again when the pots get replanted with summer bedding plants.

I picked up this lidless sugar bowl in the charity shop a couple of weeks ago with a plan to put in crocus bulbs next year but on a trip to Morrisons I found a little pot full on the verge of flowering and they are bursting out after just a couple of days.

The nights are still very chilly and the sun was notably absent today when I had pencilled in a couple of outdoor jobs to do, they are now pencilled in for tomorrow!

How is your garden looking?  have you seen any sunshine or are you still in your thermals waiting for spring to put in an appearance?

Friday crafternoon

After my lovely relaxing weekend in Norfolk I seem to have lost my mojo a bit and have been feeling a little bit blergh, disinterested, not with it.. So I thought I would treat myself a little Friday crafternoon and came up with another jam jar tealight holder design that used up a couple more pages from "the book"

recycled jam jars and old book pages

I didn't have a clear idea in my head of what I wanted to do so I just grabbed a couple of jars from my hoard and pulled out the washi tapes and my big tin of stamps, punches etc and started playing around with the stamps on the book pages.

Crafternoon supplies

The tapes never made it out of the storage jars, I was quite happy to convert the stampings into mini bunting

mini bunting

I played around with over printing, using bigger stamps but tearing the design into smaller flags and with the depth of print.

mini bunting T light holders

I had a few issues tying off the string tight enough and had resorted to a dab of sticky tape to hold a couple of the flags in place but this now gives the undulating line making it look more like bunting when it is hung out.

twinkle lights in jam jars

They ended up filled with the twinkle lights from Christmas rather than T lights as they reflect more light back into the room when stood in front of the mirror,


Another no spend make and my mojo is a little less faded.


What are everyone's weekend plans? It is Mothers day on Sunday here in the UK so I expect there will be plenty of pampering and treats around.  My daughter is away this weekend so I have already been treated to a lovely bunch of bright pink Lillies and and some delicious Green and Blacks chocolate.

Unplugging for the weekend

I have had a largely unplugged weekend as we had a family weekend away on the North Norfolk coast. This was not entirely planned and our accommodation did have a good wifi connection I just didn't feel the need to constantly be on my phone and my laptop never left the bag,  However, I did carry my pocket camera around and took a few snaps of the places we visited.

There were beaches

Wells Next the sea beach huts 

Winter beach scene

no sand castles today

Wells next the sea

Cromer beach

Wells next the sea harbour

Birds.....  Norfolk is famed for it's bird life with many twitchers spending hours observing them.

Seagulls on Cromer Pier

Seagulls lined up for the next snack

Chaffinch waiting for a feed

Keeping a beady eye on things

Mallard and Drake with a perfect DA

Trains, The North Norfolk Railway  runs from Sheringham to Holt and has both steam and diesel trains running though out the summer and on selected weekends throughout the year.

letting off steam

Full steam ahead

A pier................. Cromer still has an active theatre at the end of the pier and a cafe that does a luxury hot chocolate complete with flake and marshmallow, just the thing on a February day to warm you through.

Cromer Theatre

Victorian seating to sit and take in the view

seating all along the edge of Cromer pier

Quirky finds

Wells next the sea stamp dispenser, sadly no longer in use

Traditional pebble and flint stone wall which is typical in this area of Norfolk

Lots of rope, all part of the harbourside

tying up in the harbour at Wells next the sea

Wall art at Sheringham beach

I didn't unplug completely and used my phone to take and share some family photos and a couple made it on to Instagram, I think I would find it more difficult to do at home.

Have you tried unplugging at home or on holiday? how did you get on?

finding something under the stairs!

In the spirit of trying to complete some of the WIP projects I have around the house I blew the dust off a tin of blackboard paint that has been lurking under the stairs for a couple of years.  My original plan was to use it on a canvas I brought from the poundshop to create a "destination" board, it was for a Christmas gift but as usual I had too many projects and not enough time.

I was inspired to dig it out after I saw a big glass jar/vase with a big swoop of blackboard paint across it saying welcome.  I did a quick experiment on a couple of small jars to see if I needed to make any kind of preparation to the glass surface but they seemed fine.  Two coats were  needed though as one was a little too transparent.  The biggest jar we had is the one I piled the decorative tapes into last week so out they came while I got busy with the paint brush, I felt that the proportions were a little bit too wide so I have edged it with some nice washi tape I picked in Wilko

The canvas has finally got it long awaited coat of paint and I am keeping an eye out on my Charity shop hunts far a suitable frame.

Before you write on a blackboard surface it needs to be "seasoned" otherwise what ever you wrtie or draw on there stays in the background and "ghosts" through.  To season it you need to take a stick of chalk and using the side rather than the point rub across the surface until it is completely covered, you then rub down still using the side of the chalk, finally you  rub off all the chalk and you are ready to use it.  The reason for doing this is that the blackboard surface is very porous and this "fills" the surface.

I will not be seasoning the canvas as it has a textured surface, I have ordered a white chalk pen from Amazon  but it won't be delivered until sometime between the end of February and the middle of March so I have plenty of time to decide what I am going to put on there.

I am very pleased with how easy this was to do and I have plenty of paint left so I am looking round for other things to paint, anyone got any suggestions?