You Light Up My Life - well, one corner of it!

I love my vintage china cabinet - the one I repainted a while ago, but it was looking quite dull in its little corner of the room.  So I decided to put in a string of lights (left over from Christmas).

 

I am so pleased with the result.

 

Everything looks much nicer - the lights shine on the china making lovely shiny highlights.

 

Brightens up the whole room.

 

Joining with Nita at ModVintageLife for

Mod Mix Monday

 

Love, Liz

Table Transformation

I've had my hall table for ages and, to be honest, it was just a dumping ground for keys, mobile phones, gloves etc - nothing very special.  But it has, as you can see, been transformed - all thanks to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

 

I'd read that you could use this paint straight away without previously preparing the item you were going to paint.  Of course, I thought it was, perhaps, too good to be true!  But - it is true - I just got the paintbrush out and started.

 

Before painting.

The paint went on like a dream, and you can water it down if it starts to get a bit thick.  There's no nasty smell and you can wash your brush in soapy water once you have finished.

 

After allowing the paint to dry (which doesn't take long), I gave the table a rub down with Annie Sloan Soft Wax, which again is so easy to use.  This gives a protective finish to the table.

 

Then the good part - deciding what to put on the table!

 

I got my paint from Iconic Home in Troon - a lovely little shop and well worth a visit if you are in the area.

 

My next challenge is my dining table and six chairs!  Phew, I'm going to be busy!

Love, Liz

This is not a sponsored post - I just love the product and wanted to tell you about it - makes life so much easier for those of us who love painted furniture! 

Don't Get Mad - Get Crafting!

This is a little project which I've been meaning to do for ages - make a pin board.

Yesterday I got really annoyed at something (too boring to relate) and came home in a terrible mood - do you ever get angry and edgy and stomp about the house?  Needed something to dissipate these feelings so got cracking on the pin board project.  Been waiting for months - took me half an hour!

Can't even remember where I bought this cork board - could have been the pound shop.

Covered it with wadding then had an idea and sprayed it with my favourite fragrance - that way it will smell lovely when I push pins in it.  Put some fabric on the centre of the back - I like the back to look nice too!

The most difficult part was choosing which fabric to cover it with - tea towels from Wilkinsons or tartan - no too bold!

Settled on a soft light blue and cream fabric and used some light pink ribbon.

Tra la - finished, and best of all - bad mood gone!  So the moral of the story is, next time you are really annoyed at something - get crafting!

Love, Liz

Painted White

This has been one of those little projects I've been meaning to do for ages.  Every time I passed by this little mirror I thought I must get round to painting that.  Well, yesterday I actually did!

It started out as one of those plain wooden mirrors which you see everywhere - they even occasionally turn up in charity shops.

I couple of coats of white paint and it was transformed.

The back was just very plain hardboard which I thought made it look a bit unfinished.  So I printed off some old ads, aged them with distressing ink and glued them to the back.

This mirror will now look much more at home in my guest room.

Love, Liz

Weather report

We've not had any snow here in Greenock.

Yesterday was very foggy - really spooky to hear the ships' foghorns on the river.

Today is lovely and sunny, but chilly!

New Pictures

I needed two new pictures to brighten up a plain wall, so I decided to have a look around to see what I could use.

This is what I ended up with.

I took two old wooden frames, sanded them then painted them white.  Then I cut two pieces of thick card the exact size of the backing.

I covered these with cheery, flowery paper napkins from Tesco - and just taped them to the card.

Then I went through my stash of pictures and cards ... yes, I know, most people have fabric stashes - mine is pictures and bits and pieces cut out of magazines, newspapers etc!  Anyway I found these two lovely little postcards of old advertisements which I taped onto the napkin backing.

Polished and inserted the glass.  And there we have it ... two new (cheap) pictures!

Love, Liz

In the past I've used giftwrap or old sheet music as background and then glued pretty pictures and lace onto it.  You can use anything really.  Would be great to go with a theme in a child's room - pirates or princesses - I've seen lovely giftwrap on these themes!

My New Vintage Dressing Table

I'm really pleased with my latest project.  After the success of my display cabinet, I wanted something else to do.

Remember I gave you a little hint a while ago - now its finished!

Found in a charity shop!  Unfortunately the wood was water-stained and not in very good condition.  Hubby did the taking apart and sanding.

I did the painting.

Didn't have a proper dressing table in my guest room, and had been looking for something for ages.  Didn't particularly like any of the modern styles I'd seen, as the room is quite ... vintage/old fashioned (not sure what the word is)!

Love the shape of its legs and the delicacy of it - sometimes older furniture can be quite bulky.  Think the mirror is just lovely!

Kept it quite simple, but no doubt things will start to accumulate on it - I'm thinking old photos, sheet music, glass bottles etc - would be great for display.  If I ever have a shop, that's what I would use it for!

Love, Liz

What a transformation!

Been busy transforming this week!

This is the result.

It started out as this - colour was OK in last house, but doesn't really fit in anywhere in this house.

Sanded down, new paint colour, and coat of varnish -

I'm really pleased with the result.

What do you think?

Love, Liz